Week Four - eBusiness

Why has the web grown so dramatically?

The Internet puts a new set of tools in the hands of individuals, which were virtually impossible before, so now anyone can become not just a consumer of information, but a producer, publisher, or broadcaster as well. When you create a page on the World Wide Web, for example, it can be seen by potentially millions of people around the world. This allows more interactive communication with other people simultaneously, combining different media, like words, sounds, pictures and video, all in a single message, etc. This has prompted for the web to grow so dramatically.

What is Web 2.0, how does it differ from 1.0?

Web 2.0 is the second generation of the World Wide Web, especially the movement away from static web pages to dynamic and shareable content and social networking. Examples of Web 2.0 include social networking sites, blogs, wiki, mashups, etc.

Figure 3.3: The Difference from web 1.0 and web 2.0 pg 111

How could a web 2.0 technology be used in business?

Business are using  Web 2.0 to enable access to critical business application for employees and customers.

What is e-Business, how does it differ from e-Commerce?

E-business is the conducting of business on the Internet including, not only buying and selling, but also serving customers and collaborating with business partners. While e-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services over the Internet.

What is pure and partial eCommerce

" Pure E-Commerce concerns business whose transactions are largely carried out on the Internet. For instance, SibeliusMusic publishes music written by members of the public. You can peruse the music, listen to it on line, then pay for it using your credit card and download it for yourself - All done on the Internet. 

"Partial E-Commerce on the other hand concerns business in which a large part of the transaction takes place in the off-line real world. Amazon, for instance, will sell you books online, but these must be stored in large warehouses and physically delivered through the post."

http://richardbowles.tripod.com/ecommerce/lesson1/lesson1.htm#pure

List and describe the various eBusiness models?

e-Business model- an approach to conducting electronic business on the Internet

Figure 3.9: e-business models pg 123

List and describe the major B2B models?

Business -to- Business (B2B) is the business  buying and/or selling of goods and services to each other electronically over the internet.
  

 Outline 2 opportunities and 2 challenges faced by companies doing business online?

Business online maybe contain benefits that are enticing, developing, deploying and managing those systems is not always easy. E- business cannot just go out and buy.

Benefits include:

- Improved information content: in the past, customers has to order catalogues or travel to physical places before they could compare prices and product attributes. Electronic catalogues on web pages present customers with updated info in real-time about goods, service and prince

- Decreased cost: the cost of conducting business on the internet is cheaper than traditional forms of business communication.

Challenges include:

-Protecting consumers: consumers must be protected against unsolicited goods and communication, illegal or harmful goods, insufficient information about goods or their suppliers, invasion of privacy and cyber fraud.

-Providing security: The internet provides universal access, but companies must protect their assets against accidental or malicious misuse. Customers information also needs to be protected from internal and external misuse