11/12: The Internet: E-Commerce & E-Business What is the Internet? –Parts of the Internet –Internet & WWW basics –Searching the WWW Benefits of the Internet in Business –B2C & B2B Internet business models –E-Commerce support systems Intranets & Extranets

The Internet Where did it come from? –History: ARPA networkARPA Largest computer network in the world: a network of networks –network: two things connected for communication Many parts: –WWW, gopher, telnet, ftp, Usenet, , chat roomsWWWgophertelnetftp Who owns it? No one.

Parts of the Internet: Capabilities WWW: World Wide Web GOPHERS: Use menus to locate text material TELNET: Log on one computer, work on another FTP: Transfer files from computer to computer USENET NEWSGROUPS: Electronic bulletin boards for discussion groups E -MAIL: Person -to-person messaging; document sharing CHAT ROOMS: Interactive conversations

The World Wide Web A part of the Internet –history: CERNCERN Getting access –Service providers: AOL, SLU, Primary Network, Southwestern Bell, Charter Communications, etc. Look at a browserbrowser “Browsing” vs. “surfing”

Internet & WWW basics Location bar: name of file viewed –URL: Uniform Resource Locator protocol domain folder(directory) file fragment Hypertext Transfer Protocol (http): communication standard for sending web pages. Hypertext Markup Language (html): most common language for creating web pages. Website: file displayed in the browser

Internet & WWW basics Common browsers: Netscape Navigator, MS Internet Explorer Home page: Organization’s main page Portal: Point of entry for the WWW “Push” technology: Server automatically delivers content to browser; user does nothing to get it.

Searching the WWW search engines look through their own databases of web pages index: a list of web pages, either directory-style or searchabledirectory-stylesearchable keywords: important words in a web page spiders: programs that wander the web, collecting informationspiders

Common Search Engines Yahoo Excite Hotbot Ask Jeeves Altavista Lycos Google Your browser

Searching the WWW: Better results Use phrases in quotes –“Saint Louis restaurants”, not Saint Louis restaurants Use Boolean operatorsBoolean operators –AND, OR, NOT look at “Advanced Search” tips on search sites Don’t know what it’s called? –Yahoo – wander through categoriesYahoo

Benefits of the Internet to Business Global connectivity Reduced communications cost Lower transaction costs Reduced agency costs Interactivity, flexibility, customization Accelerated knowledge

Internet & E-Commerce: Benefits Easy to link with other businesses, customers Can update product information, ordering, customer support Customer-centered retailing On-line storefronts Enhanced business forms Dynamic pricing Interest tracking: hits

B2C Internet Business Models Virtual storefront –Sells goods, services on-line Marketplace concentrator –Concentrates information from several providers On-line exchange –Bid-ask system, multiple buyers, sellers Aggregator –Groups of people who band together for volume discounts

B2C Internet Business Models Reverse auction –Buyer sets price, submits to multiple sellers Digital product delivery –Sell, download software, other digital products Content provider –Creates revenue by providing information for a fee & advertising On-line service provider –Provides service, support for hardware, software products

B2B Internet & E-Commerce Automation of B2B purchase, sale transactions Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) –being replaced by internet, intranet Exchanges –Commercial on-line markets, many buyers, sellers

E-Commerce Support Systems Web hosting services –Provides large servers for web sites of fee-paying customer Electronic payment systems –Uses web for electronic funds transfers (EFTs), credit, & debit cards

Intranets: What are they? An internal network that works on the same platform and protocols as the Internet & WWW. Uses a firewall: security system to prevent invasion of private networks Overcomes computer platform differences Often installed on existing network infrastructure

Extranets: What are they? Like an intranet, but expanded to allow access to –Specified customers, –Specified suppliers, and/or –Specified business partners.

Benefits of Intranets Can be tied to legacy system & transaction processing Interactive applications with text, audio, video Scalable to larger or smaller systems as required Easy to use browser interface Low start-up costs Reduced information distribution costs

Applications of Intranets: By Dept. Functional Applications of: –Finance & Accounting –Human Resources –Sales & Marketing –Manufacturing & Production

Finance & Accounting General ledger reporting Project costing Annual reports Budgeting

Human Resources Corporate policies Employee savings plans Benefits enrollment On-line training Job posting

Sales & Marketing Competitor analysis Price updates Promotional campaigns Sales presentations Sales contracts

Manufacturing & Production Quality measurements Maintenance schedules Design specifications Machine output Order tracking

Supply Chain Management

Wednesday: Quiz #2 Covers all material since 10/10 (Data Management). Includes: –Data Management (ch. 6) –MS Excel –MS Access –Telecommunications & Networking –The Internet & E-Commerce Roughly 35 multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank questions.