E-Business

Infrastructure
Definition
• E-business infrastructure: The architecture of hardware, software,
content and data used to deliver e-business services to employees,
customers and partners
• infrastructure can also be considered to include the methods for
publishing data and documents accessed through e-business
applications

A key decision with managing this infrastructure is which elements are

located within the company and which are managed externally as
third-party managed applications, data servers and networks
E-business infrastructure components
Internet technology
• The Internet refers to the physical network that links computers
across the globe. It consists of the infrastructure of network servers
and communication links between them that are used to hold and
transport information between the client computers and web servers
• Client/server : The client/server architecture consists of client
computers, such as PCs, sharing resources such as a database stored
on a more powerful server computer.
 Internet service provider (ISP) A
provider providing home or
business users with a connection
to access the Internet. They can
also host web-based applications.

Backbones High-speed
communications links used to
enable Internet communications
across a country and internationally.

Physical and network infrastructure components of the Internet

Hosting of web sites and e-business
services
• Hosting provider : A service provider that manages the server used to
host an organization web site and its connection to the Internet
backbones.

• For example: Rackspace describe itself as ‘Europe’s fastest growing

hosting company
Intranets Applications
• Intranets are used extensively for supporting sell-side e-commerce
from within the marketing function
• A marketing intranet has the following advantages:
• Reduced product lifecycles – as information on product development and
marketing
• campaigns is rationalized we can get products to market faster
• Reduced costs through higher productivity, and savings on hard copy
• Better customer service – responsive and personalized support with staff
accessing customers over the web
• Distribution of information through remote offices nationally or globally
Intranets are also used for internal marketing communications since they can include the
following types of information:
oStaff phone directories
oStaff procedures or quality manuals
oInformation for agents such as product specifications, current
list and discounted prices, competitor information, factory
schedules, and stocking levels, all of which normally have to be
updated frequently and can be costly
oStaff bulletin or newsletter
oTraining courses
Some less common intranet applications which involve internal communications:
oEmployee incentive scheme
oText messaging
oHoliday booking
oResource booking
oNews screen
oIntegrated external resources
Extranet applications
• Any network connected to another network for the purpose of
sharing information and data
• An extranet is created when two businesses connect their respective
intranets for business communication and transactions
• Business benefits of an extranet:
oInformation sharing in secure environment
oCost reduction
oOrder processing and distribution
oCustomer service
Encouraging use of intranets and extranets

The information made available to third parties

over the Internet and extranet is partitioned by
another firewall using what is referred to as the
‘demilitarized zone’ (DMZ). Corporate data on the
intranet are then mounted on other servers inside
the company
Web technology
• World Wide Web (WWW)  The most common technique for publishing
information on the Internet. It is accessed through web browsers which display
web pages of embedded graphics and HTML/XML-encoded text

• The combination of web browsers and HTML that has proved so successful in
establishing widespread business use of the Internet.
oeasy to use
oInteractivity
oprovide a graphical environment supporting multimedia
ostandardization of tools and growth in demand
oFlexibility in the style of designs and tailoring
Web browsers and servers
• Web browsers
• Browsers such as Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer provide an easy
method of accessing and viewing information stored as web documents on
different servers
• Web servers
• Store and present the web pages accessed by web browsers.
• Web application server
• A collection of software processes which is accessed by a standard programming
interface (API) of a web application framework to serve dynamic website
functionality in response to requests received from browsers. They are designed to
manage multiple requests from multiple users and will provide load-balancing to
support high volumes of usage.
 Transaction log files : A web-
server file that records all page
requests

Web analytics system :

Information on visitor volumes,
sources and pages visited are
analysed through web analytics
systems

Information exchange between a web browser and a web server

Internet-access software
applications
• Applications of different Internet tools:
Applications of different Internet tools:
Applications of different Internet tools:
Networking standards
• TCP/IP : The Transmission Control Protocol is a transport layer
protocol that moves data between applications. The Internet Protocol
is a network layer protocol that moves data between host computers
• HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) : is a standard which defines the
way information is transmitted across the Internet between web
browsers and web servers
• Uniform resource locators (URLs) : A web address used to locate a
web page on a web server
Web presentation and data
exchange standards
• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) : A standard web-page
presentation format used to define the text and layout of web pages.
HTML files usually have the extension .HTML or .HTM

XML or eXtensible Markup Language : Standard for transferring

structured data, unlike HTML which is purely presentational
Assignment
• Make a list of the potential technology problems faced by customers
of an online retailer.
• You should consider problems faced by users of e-business
applications which are either internal or external to the organization.
1. Chatbots and Intelligent virtual
assistants (IVAs)
2. Recommendation systems
3. AI-driven pricing tools
4. Web scraping
5. Mobile apps
6. Supply chain visibility software
7. Warehouse automation
technologies IOT
8. E-Wallets
Features of an e-Market Place
1.Simple signup process
2.Vendor Dashboard
3.Easy Custom Search & Navigation
4.Mobile Friendliness
5.Payment gateways
6.Analytics Dashboard
7.Download/Booking Process
8.Ratings & Reviews
9.Social media sharing
10.Security
Economic Impact of E-Market Places
Facilitating the exchange of information, goods,
services, and payments.
Create economic value for buyers, sellers, market
intermediaries, and for society, at large (Positive
impact on the overall supply chain
Job Creation
Liberalisation of markets
Perfect Competition amongst industry players
 e-Markets facilitate access to foreign
markets, promotes economic growth, and improves
exports and production
Low capital outlay to reach out to global markets
Examples

Class to discuss more businesses of that nature

Electronic Retailing - eTailing
Pure play e-retailers are the types of
business that only offer e-tailing and
do not operate any sort of physical
stores that customers can walk into.
Examples of pure play e-retailers
are businesses such as Amazon, Ali
Express, Ali Baba, and drop-shipping
businesses.
Characteristics of Etailing
 Ease of Use
 Hi-res photos.
 Mobile-formatted site.
Responsive Sites
 Free shipping.
 User reviews
 Secure payment options
E-commerce personalization
• refers to the practice of creating
personal interactions and experiences
for customers online. Personalization can
be based on a customer's previous
purchases, browsing behavior,
geographic location, language and other
personal information.
• Treating each customer like a VIP
• Collecting data from individuals and use
E-Loyalty
• refers to the repeated satisfaction of a
customer with a specific ecommerce
website that keeps them coming back to
purchase products or services.
• E-loyalty can be defined as a consumer's
intention to revisit the website of a specific e-
tailer, in order to repurchase their products
• It is a secret weapon to beat competition
on the web
• Rewarded by discounts and loyalty badges
E-trust. Trust refers to the depth and
assurance of feeling based on
inconclusive evidence. Customers
feel secure around your site
 Accountability
 Honesty
 Integrity
 Consideration