Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Principle
E-commerce and m-commerce require the careful
planning and integration of a number of technology
infrastructure components.
E-commerce and m-commerce also enable consumers
and companies to gain access to worldwide markets. They
offer great promise for developing countries, enabling them
to enter the prosperous global marketplace, and hence help-
ing to reduce the gap between rich and poor countries.
Since e-commerce and m-commerce are global systems,
they face cultural; language; time and distance; infrastruc-
ture; currency; product and service; and state, regional, and
national law challenges.
Revolutionary change always raises new issues, and
e-commerce is no exception. Among the issues that must be
addressed are security, theft of intellectual property, fraud,
invasion of consumer privacy, lack of Internet access, return
on investment, legal jurisdiction, and taxation.
A number of infrastructure components must be chosen and
integrated to support a large volume of transactions with cus-
tomers, suppliers, and other business partners worldwide.
These components include hardware, Web server software,
and e-commerce software.
M-commerce presents additional infrastructure chal-
lenges including improving the ease of use of wireless
devices, addressing the security of wireless transactions, and
improving network speed. The Wireless Application Protocol
(WAP) is a standard set of specifications to enable develop-
ment of m-commerce software for wireless devices. WAP
uses the Wireless Markup Language, which is designed for
effectively displaying information on small devices. The
development of WAP and its derivatives addresses many
m-commerce issues.
Electronic payment systems are a key component of
the e-commerce infrastructure. A digital certificate is an
attachment to an e-mail message or data embedded in a Web
page that verifies the identity of a sender or a Web site. To help
prevent the theft of credit card numbers and banking infor-
mation, the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) communications pro-
tocol is used to secure all sensitive data. Several electronic
cash alternatives require the purchaser to open an account
with an electronic cash service provider and to present proof
of identity whenever payments are to be made. Payments can
also be made by credit, charge, debit, and smart cards. Retail
and banking industries are developing means to enable pay-
ments by using the cell phone like a credit card by waving the
end of the phone near a scanner device to pay for purchases.
Principle
Organizations must define and execute a strategy to
be successful in e-commerce and m-commerce.
Most people agree that an effective Web site is one that
creates an attractive presence and meets the needs of its
visitors. E-commerce start-ups must decide whether they will
build and operate the Web site themselves or outsource this
function. Web site hosting services and storefront brokers
provide alternatives to building your own Web site.
To build traffic to your Web site, you should register a
domain name that is relevant to your business, make your site
search-engine friendly by including a meta tag in your home
page, use Web site traffic data analysis software to attract
additional customers, and modify your Web site so that it sup-
ports global commerce. Web site operators must constantly
monitor the traffic and response times associated with their
site and adjust software, databases, and hardware to ensure
that visitors have a good experience when they visit the site.
CHAPTER 8: SELF-ASSESSMENT TEST
Electronic commerce and mobile commerce are evolving,
providing new ways of conducting business that present both
opportunities for improvement and potential problems.
a.
B2B
b.
B2C
c.
C2C
d.
G2C
1.
Successful implementation of e-business requires
________ and ________.
a.
3.
Which form of e-commerce is the largest?
changes to existing business processes; substantial
investment in IS technology
4.
What is the elimination of intermediate organizations
between the producer and the consumer called?
b.
conversion to XML software standards; Java pro-
gramming scripts
5.
The sole objective of e-Government is to improve com-
munications between citizens and the federal government.
True or False?
c.
implementation of tight security standards; Web
site personalization
d.
market segmentation; Web site globalization
6.
The market for m-commerce in North America is far
advanced relative to Western Europe and Japan. True or
False?
2.
Covisint is an example of which of the following forms of
e-commerce?
