What E-commerce is
Put simply, it means conducting business online. Selling goods, in the traditional sense, is possible to do electronically because of certain software programs that run the main functions of an e-commerce Web site, including product display, online ordering, and inventory management. The software resides on a commerce server and works in conjunction with online payment systems to process payments. Since these servers and data lines make up the backbone of the Internet, in a broad sense, e-commerce means doing business over interconnected networks.
The definition of e-commerce includes business activities that are business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), extended enterprise computing (also known as "newly emerging value chains"), d-commerce, and m-commerce. E-commerce is a major factor in the U.S. economy because it assists companies with many levels of current business transactions, as well as creating new online business opportunities that are global in nature.
A few examples of e-commerce:
- accepting credit cards for commercial online sales
- generating online advertising revenue
- trading stock in an online brokerage account
- driving information through a company via its intranet
- driving manufacturing and distribution through a value chain with partners on an extranet
- selling to consumers on a pay-per-download basis, through a Web site
In the public sector, e-commerce is a hot topic and a complex issue, especially concerning privacy rights and fraud. In private business, B2B e-commerce is projected by Internet analysts to be the biggest sector on the Web. Even though the Nasdaq crash of April 14, 2000, had a negative impact on much of the industry, e-commerce, because of its nature and the robustness of the Net, is here to stay.
The meaning of E-business
Any business that is deriving revenue at least in part from something "electronic," usually on the Internet. It also refers to a strategy or service that enables a business to do more business because of Internet-related technology (see: Cisco, for example). The tendency for companies to put an "e" in front of a new product or service primarily comes from marketing departments that are trying to convince consumers they have an online strategy. The traditional brick-and-mortar firms that are starting an online component will use this marketing term to announce they are now online.
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