Of all of the innovations that have changed our world, few have had the impact of the internet. From a novelty used by a fringe element in the mid-90s, in just ten years the Net has fundamentally transformed the way today's consumers communicate, gather information and make buying decisions. Even clients in their 60s and 70s, once holdouts on use of computers, are emailing grand children, downloading photos and doing research online before major purchases.

Arguably, the most profound impact of the net is the loss of vendors' traditional control over information and the leveling of the information playing field between buyer and seller. One example: Before buying autos today, one in two Americans research the dealer's cost structure - those who do so pay on average of $500 less. Another instance of access to information as a result of the Net - until recently, most universities held student ratings of professors in confidence; with "Rate your teacher", there are no longer secrets about what students think of their profs.

Along similar lines, before booking hotels, today travelers check "Tripadvisor", a site on which consumers enter feedback on their experiences. And then, of course, there is the ease with which clients can gather online research on stocks and funds and compare the information they harvest online to what they hear from their advisor.

The fashion in which the internet is changing our lives, both personally and professionally, is an unstoppable force - the changes we've already seen will be dwarfed by the ones coming down the road. Love it or hate it, the Net will fundamentally transform the way in which we will do business tomorrow.

Here are three quesions advisors need to consider to ensure your business is tech ready for the new world we're entering at hyper-speed.

1. Do you know which of your clients and prospects want to be contacted via email - and on what issues? In talking to advisors recently, I was appalled by how many fail to consistently collect online contact info for their clients, both their email addresses as well as the topics on which they prefer online communication and those on which they want a call. Today, this may be discretionary - tomorrow it will be the cost of doing business. This may not be essential today; if you don't have email addresses and preferences for your clients tomorrow, you'll be at a fundamental disadvantage.

2. Assuming you have a website, does it send the right message? More and more consumers make a prospective vendor's website their first destination. Increasingly, your website will be the critical first point of contact with prospective clients. (Parenthetically, I spoke recently to a senior manager at a tech firm who was referred to three different advisors; only one presented an online image which impressed her. While she sat down with all three, her mind was pretty much made up before she met and did in fact move her account to the tech ready advisor). As an aside, the cost of building serviceable websites has plummeted - cost is no longer a reason not to have this essential tool in place.

3. What will clients and prospects find when they "google" your name? In the pre-Net world, financial advisors could control the face that they presented to the outside world. Today, that's much harder to do - at a minimum, advisors should know what people will see when they do a basic search online. And if they don't see anything, what are you going to do about it?

Today, the tech face which your practice presents is still a nice to have - tomorrow, it will be the cost of doing business. If your business is not ready to operate in a tech ready world, now's the time to start putting in place the steps that will make you competitive tomorrow.