What B2B (Business-to-Business) is

An acronym that describes business-to-business relationships or applications. Many Web sites focus on B2B solutions that cater to a vertical market, such as healthcare or automotive. These sites are for businesses (think wholesale), and only other businesses can access them or make purchases. Similarly, a B2B auction is used to liquidate unwanted capital assets, dispose of excess inventory, and buy or sell equipment, parts, other products, and services. One advantage of setting up a B2B Web site is the ability to streamline operations between two businesses that already have a relationship. Internet analysts predict that B2B will be the biggest sector on the Web. NetLingo.com has a B2B component that includes the ability to license online content, such as the NetLingo Pocket Dictionary or the NetLingo Search Portal, to other companies, or to customize this book, NetLingo: The Internet Dictionary, for a company's promotional purposes.

The meaning of E-commerce

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.