Chapter 6 Intra-Business E-Commerce

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Internal Communication Historically, paper Updating a paper procedures manual Outdated material Numerous misunderstandings Some legal actions B2E e-commerce Maintain online – Web site Intra-business e-commerce more general (commonly known as an Intranet)

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.1 Miami University’s online publications and policies.

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley B2C vs. Intra-business E-commerce Consumer oriented B2C Revolutionary Aggressive and risky First movers Intra-business and B2B Evolutionary Methodical In business context

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.3 The value chain. The key to intra-business e-commerce is improving value chain efficiency.

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Efficiency and Effectiveness Objective: reduce operating costs Efficiency gains Within individual processes Across the value chain Efficiency-based competitive advantage Hidden from public view Relatively easy to sustain

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.6 The organizational pyramid. Before computers, companies organized along functional lines. Functional groups exchanged paperwork. Early computer applications supported a single function.

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.7 A manual payroll system. Payroll was done manually until at least the late 1950s.

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.8 Automating selected processes made payroll more efficient. Automate expensive processes first Compile payroll Prepare (print) paychecks Automate remaining manual processes next Record timesheets Objective—process optimization.

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.9 Islands of automation. Other functional groups Sales Accounting Purchasing Inventory Production Independent fiefdoms Office political base Sub-optimization

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Incompatibilities Hardware, software, and data Data redundancy was a major problem Same data stored in multiple files Independently maintained Values differed Data formats differed Solution – central database

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley New Approaches to System Development Information system planning Elevated to strategic level Information technology infrastructure Basic blueprint for technology integration Enterprise data model (EDM) Business process reengineering Process improvements in context Problem – legacy applications

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.13 The three types of web information system logic. What is the best computer for each logical step? The client The server

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.14 Options for partitioning client/server application logic. An application can be partitioned in any of these ways.

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.15 The logic necessary to perform two different tasks.

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Partitioning Order Entry

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Partitioning Order Entry Client Display online order form Display order acknowledgement Error-check form data Server Record order Read quantity on hand Access A/R Validate stock Check credit Either – Calculate taxes and total

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Fat and Thin Clients Thin client application Server does most of the work Web surfing Fat client application Client does more of the work Administrative costs Fat clients mean multiple copies Fat clients mean multiple versions

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.16 A comparison of fat and thin clients. IssueFat clientsThin clients Client sizeLarge (to handle workload).Smaller. Often, browser only. Server sizeSmall. Limited workload. Must be flexible for two-tier. Larger. Bulk of workload. Specialized servers in N-tier. Network trafficHeavy. Pass information to support business logic. Light. Pass results of business logic. Application complexity Light. Canned middleware.Complex because of additional middleware. Application maintenance Heavy. Code installed and maintained on each client. Limited software on client. Most application code on server. Ease of useDifficult. Each application has own user interface. Better. Common user interface.

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.17 A two-tier client/server application. Maintenance problem Multiple copies of software on multiple clients Development problem Multiple client platforms

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.19 Enterprise application integration. Objective: coordinate all applications, databases, and info technologies. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) Means of implementing the EAI principle

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Web Information System Services Application server software A server for middleware Scalable platform Application service provider (ASP) Intermediary that supplies applications Including mission-critical applications Management service provider (MSP) Intermediary that manages IT services

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Corporate Intranets Private corporate network Uses standard Internet protocols TCP/IP HTML and HTTP Browser and Web server Internet and intranet differences Intranet is smaller in scope Intranet limited to organization’s employees

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.20 A first generation intranet. First generation—static content Policy and procedure manuals Corporate phone directories Benefits information Corporate newsletters Job postings Product information Corporate expertise Meeting minutes Project status Content management Centralized Technical expert Decentralized Content expert Hybrid approach Software available

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.21 A second generation intranet. Second generation— interactive applications Benefits selection Expense reporting Project administration Inventory levels Production scheduling Online training Groupware (collaborative support) Legacy front ends Database access Customer support Web information systems Thin client, N-tier applications Legacy systems linked via middleware Mission critical apps Intranet is mission critical Groupware Platform for enterprise application integration

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.22 Encasing a legacy message in a TCP/IP wrapper allows a legacy application to communicate with the intranet. Company intranet

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Figure 6.23 Some examples of groupware. Scheduling and calendars Whiteboarding Chat rooms and bulletin boards Video conferencing Electronic meetings Document management Workflow management Collaborative writing Group decision support systems

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Security and Recovery Services Intranet access control essential Mission-critical applications Confidential information Security a necessary element Disaster recovery Backup Database replication Workload distribution

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley Geographically Dispersed Value Chains Value chain more complex Options Secure private network Value added network Public network (e.g., Internet) Virtual private network Security Firewalls User identification Authentication