Ecommerce And Its Applications Information Technology Essay

We are in the age of Knowledge and consequently in the midst of an electronic revolution. The impact of which on the economy is much more powerful than caused by industrial revolution.

With the inception of the web, organizations and individuals are more and more making use of E-Commerce to create new business ventures. The www is not only a source of information, but an astounding business opportunity as well. Online business is thriving and more and more corporate companies are joining the fray of electronic transaction. The era of ‘E-Commerce’ has established a significant synergy between the use of digital info and computerized business.

Introduction

The Internet’s impact on people has been profound; particularly with respect to consumers, who are starting to use the Internet as a new medium to trade and purchase goods and services.

It is a general concept covering any form of business transaction or information exchange executed using information and communication technologies.

Electronic commerce is the most recent step in the evolution of business transactions. It replaces the swapping of money for goods or bartering (the swapping of goods for goods) with the exchange of information from computer to computer.

Electronic commerce, or e-commerce as it is otherwise known, is a very broad terminology. E-commerce enables organizations of all sizes and in all market sectors to improve their competitiveness. It cuts across geographical boundaries and time zones to save time and costs, to open up new market opportunities and enable even the smallest of companies to compete globally. E-commerce spans established processes such as bar code scanning and electronic data interchange (EDI), as well as newer arrivals, electronic mail, the Internet, the World Wide Web and mobile electronic commerce.

E-commerce is attractive because it reduces the cost of doing business. Sending a few bytes of data over a network is cheaper, faster and more convenient than sending a messenger or even making a phone call. E-commerce covers any form of business or administrative transactions or information exchange that is executed using any information and communications technology (ICT).

Classification of E-Commerce by application:

Electronic Markets

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

Internet Commerce

Electronic Markets

Present a range of offerings available in a market segment so that the purchaser can compare the prices of the offerings and make a purchase decision.

Example: Airline Booking System.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

It provides a standardized system, Communicated from one computer to another without the need for printed orders and invoices & delays & errors in paper handling.

Example: EDI is used in the large market chains for transactions with their suppliers

Internet Commerce

It is use to advertise & make sales of wide range of goods & services.This application is for both business to business & business to consumer transactions.

Example: The purchase of goods that are then delivered by post or the booking of tickets that can be picked up by the clients when they arrive at the event

Types of E-commerce:

· business to business

· business to consumer

· consumer to business

· consumer to consumer

Business to Business:

The really big business on the Internet and the World Wide Web isn’t books and CDs but ball bearings, electronic components and other materials that businesses buy, sell and distribute to and from each other. Although this type of business to business trading may be new and attracting plenty of media and public attention, business to business has been trading by electronic means for nearly twenty-five years. The most famous method of business to business trading has to be the electronic data interchange (EDI) established for exchanging business information between companies that regularly did business with each other.

Business to Consumer:

Businesses selling to the general public typically through catalogs utilizing shopping cart software. By dollar volume, B2B takes the prize, however B2C is really what the average Joe has in mind with regards to ecommerce as a whole.

Having a hard time finding a book? Need to purchase a custom, high-end computer system? How about a first class, all-inclusive trip to a tropical island? With the advent ecommerce, all three things can be purchased literally in minutes without human interaction.

Consumer to Business:

A consumer posts his project with a set budget online and within hours companies review the consumer’s requirements and bid on the project. The consumer reviews the bids and selects the company that will complete the project. Elance empowers consumers around the world by providing the meeting ground and platform for such transactions.

Consumer to Consumer:

It facilitates the online transaction of goods or services between two people. Though there is no visible intermediary involved but the parties cannot carry out the transactions without the platform which is provided by the online market maker such as eBay.

There are many sites offering free classifieds, auctions, and forums where individuals can buy and sell thanks to online payment systems like PayPal where people can send and receive money online with ease. eBay’s auction service is a great example of where person-to-person transactions take place every day since 1995.

E-Commerce applications

Multimedia Content for E-Commerce Applications

Multimedia Storage Servers & E-Commerce Applications

i. Client-Server Architecture in Electronic Commerce

ii. Internal Processes of Multimedia Servers

iii. Video Servers & E-Commerce

Information Delivery/Transport & E-Commerce Applications

Consumer Access Devices

SCAN002

Conclusion

The Web plays an expanding role just as it does in a consumer e-commerce. Business to business activity is still, and we believe will remain, the main area of electronic commerce activity. This covers everything from established communications between retailers and their suppliers, the electronic banking payment systems through to the new Internet based catalogue systems. In the future, all of us will conduct an ever-increasing number of business transactions on-line. Companies who implement solutions to conduct business on-line will stay competitive and responsive in this evolving market place.