They're not just Canada's hottest e-businesses — they're also
the country's elite warriors in a global battle over who controls the next great commercial frontier.

There has been plenty of behind-the-scenes chatter about Canada's rapidly improving e-business sector, but an extensive survey by Bain & Company is the first ever to document — and list — its best prospects.

According to the e25 ranking of Canada's top 25 on-line firms, the
hottest dot-com of all is Point2 Internet Systems Inc. and its
business-to-business site, Point2.com. The low-profile Saskatoon company started as an on-line equipment listing for traditional industries such as mining and oil.

The survey, conducted by Bain and published by The Globe and Mail,
evaluated 285 companies, about 100 of which scored high enough in the five categories — innovation, impact, execution, funding and fame — to be considered strong bets for the future.

The e25 stresses the importance of innovation and strategic impact —
while playing down more conventional measures such as Web site traffic and revenue — in order to ferret out the best prospects in Canada's New Economy. That approach is bound to generate a lot of controversy — and much needed discussion about the evolution of the nation's on-line sector.

Jon Huggett, vice-president of Bain's Canadian branch, says it's time to stop thinking of e-business as a peripheral novelty and start viewing it as core to today's business world. "It's not the Old Economy or the New Economy, it is the economy."

The stakes are extremely high. International Data Corp. (Canada) Ltd.
forecasts that sales over the Web in Canada will reach $149-billion by
2004, 85 per cent of which will be between businesses. "If we don't
participate effectively in the Internet economy, we'll get left behind," says Michael O'Neil, IDC's country manager for Canada.

THE RANKINGS

1 Point2.com
Heavy equipment exchange
Score: 90

2 Book4Golf.com

Golf portal
Score: 84

3 Tucows.com
On-line content provider
Score:
83

4 CarBiz.com
Portal for auto dealers
Score: 80

5 GlobalMedic

B2B e-health company
Score: 77

6 SportsRocket.com
On-line game
provider
Score: 76.5

7 Skulogix
Web agent for fashion
Score: 76

8
Bingo.com
Entertainment Web site
Score: 75.5

9 Epost Canada

Electronic post office
Score: 75

10 Onvia.com
Small business
services
Score: 74.5

11 BayStreetDirect.com
IPO-investor
intermediary
Score: 74

12 WebHelp.com
Assisted Web searching
Score:
73.5

13 Chapters Online
On-line bookseller
Score: 73

14
Megawheels.com
E-adviser for autos
Score: 72.5

15 Bid.com
Web
auction technology
Score: 71

16 E*Trade Canada
On-line securities
trading
Score: 70.5

17 Brandera.com
Marketing industry portal
Score:
69

18 TDbank.ca/CanadaTrust.com
Web banking, brokerage
Score: 66.5

19 iMoney Corp./Canoe.ca
Financial news, shopping
Score: 66

20
JobShark.com
On-line job recruitment
Score: 65.5

21 Medbroadcast

Medical information
Score: 63.5

22 Wiredmerchant.com
End-of-life
computer sales
Score: 62

23 Gearunlimited
Sports equipment sales

Score: 61.5

24 Workopolis.com
On-line job recruitment
Score: 59.5

25 PatchGear.com
Industrial gear brokerage
Score: 58.5