Slides that address some of the e- commerce and its importance for the development of business in a time of great competitiveness.It is cited as a case study a famous real company's e- commerce area. The same is cited to illustrate a work that is only for educational purposes .

1. E-COMMERCE
ITS IMPORTANCE FOR
DEVELOPMENT OF
BUSINESS IN THE DIGITAL
AGE

2. Definition :
Electronic commerce, commonly written
as e-commerce, is the trading or facilitation
of trading in products or services using
computer networks, such as the Internet.

3. Definition :
Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as mobile
commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain
management, Internet marketing, online transaction
processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory
management systems, and automated data collection systems.
Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide
Web for at least one part of the transaction's life-cycle, although
it may also use other technologies such as e-mail.

4. Origins:
In the late 1960s the U.S. Defense Department developed a secure and
robust communications network (ARPANET) linking organisations engaged
in defence research, which was designed to be able to continue functioning
even if part of it was damaged, e.g. by nuclear attack. During the 1970s
ARPANET became increasingly used by academics for sharing research
material and eventually evolved into the worldwide network of inter-
connected networks known as the Internet (or simply the 'net)

5. Origins:
In 1989 Tim Berners Lee proposed the World Wide Web (WWW or
web) while working at CERN, the Swiss based scientific
organisation for research into subnuclear physics. Berners Lee
initially envisaged a text based global hypertext system enabling
fast and efficient communication between scientists located around
the world and released the first text based browser in January
1992.

6. Origins:
The 1990s saw the advent of affordable desktop computers
together with the emergence of Microsoft's Windows as the
dominant personal computer (PC) operating system. Its point-
and-click graphical interface utilised a set of (supposedly)
universally understandable icons to represent tasks such as file
management and printing.

7. Origins:
September 1992 saw the release of Mosaic. Developed by
Marc Andreesen and others at the National Center for
Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois, Mosaic
was the first web browser with a graphical interface. The web
started to become the familiar face of the Internet providing
easy access to a wealth of text, images, animation, sound and
video.

8. Growth and Evolution:
Matthew Gray, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, estimated
there were a mere 130 web sites in June 1993, which had risen to 650,000
by January 1997. Leading search engine Google now claims to index
1,346,966,000 web pages. Global Reach placed the worldwide number of
Internet users at 369,400,000 in Sept 2000. The Electronic Telegraph
quoted a survey by MMXI Europe in July 2000, which found that nearly
one in five people in Britain uses the Internet from home. Many more have
access to the 'net at work or school, or from public libraries and
Cybercafes

9. Growth and Evolution:
The largely academic roots of Cyberspace meant the
commercial exploitation of the 'net was initially viewed with
hostility. In 1994 two Arizona lawyers, Laurence Canter and
Martha Siegal, posted advertisements to a large number of
newsgroups offering legal help to foreigners seeking U.S.
work permits. Their act caused outrage, resulting in
thousands of complaints including death threats.

10. Growth and Evolution:
Since then attitudes have changed with most users accepting most
forms of 'net advertising as a means of paying for the huge amount
of valuable free content available, just as television advertising pays
for the programmes. However, the non-commercial ethos of the web
remains evident in the vast quantity of valuable content which is still
freely available, including daily newspapers such as the Times and
the entire contents of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. This is
significant for the contemporary e-commerce enterprise.

11. Security:
E-commerce currently offers secure server and encryption
technology as a solution to the security risks associated with
transmitting data through Cyberspace. Encryption involves
encoding information into a form that only the intended
recipient can interpret. The commonly used public key
encryption involves two keys for each user; a public one,
made freely available, and a private one known only to the
user.

12. Security:
Sensitive information (e.g. a credit card number) is encoded
using the intended recipient's public key before transmission,
even if intercepted by a hacker it is thus useless without the
corresponding private key (Whittle, pp 99-103]). In addition to
utilizing secure technology for processing transactions and
storing user data it is also necessary to inform users that such
measures have been implemented, for further discussion.

13. Security:
The ease with which individuals may represent themselves
misleadingly also gives cause for concern. Before entering a
credit card number consumers demand reassurance they are
dealing with a legitimate supplier that will meet its side of the
bargain rather than a confidence trickster operating an online
fraud. Digital certificates, issued by a trusted third party, may
provide authentication of an online trader's identity.

14. Case Study: Amazon.com:
Amazon, one of the best-known e-commerce successes, was
founded in 1995 by Jeff Bezos as an on-line bookstore. Amazon
has since diversified into areas including videos, software and
toys. In addition to the usual search options Amazon
encourages visitors to submit their own reviews of its offerings,
allowing potential buyers to benefit from the findings of others.

15. Case Study: Amazon.com:
Its database makes recommendations based on previous
purchases - the virtual equivalent of your friendly local
bookseller - and its patented "one-click" technology provides a
simple and effective means of ordering.
Amazon backs up its excellent Cyber-presence with a
reputation for fulfilment and delivery. Whilst it is not the
cheapest e-tailer, according to the Economist 66% of its sales
go to repeat customers.

16. Case Study: Amazon.com:
Despite its apparent success Amazon has yet to
record a profit. According to the E-commerce Times
the company has debts of more than $2 billion and a
second quarter loss of $58 million announced in July
2001 was reported as good news by BBC Business.

17. The Future:
E-commerce has experienced phenomenal growth in the last five
years both in terms of the number of participants and the variety and
sophistication of features which e-tailers can use to promote their
product. Continuing improvements in communications technology and
access devices coupled with an ever richer array of software tools
which designers can employ to convey their message across the 'net
suggest the impact of e-commerce is set to increase unabated for the
foreseeable future.

18. The Future:
The momentum acquired thus far is likely to inspire
innovative solutions to remaining problems such as
security issues and representational difficulties.
As intelligent agents become more sophisticated and
more widely deployed it would appear that profit
through artificially high prices will cease to be feasible.

19. The Future:
Merchants of near-identical goods and services will
need to provide some form of added value to their
core purpose in order to differentiate themselves from
their competitors and earn a share of the market. For
those that can successfully achieve this the potential
rewards are enormous.

20. The Future:
E-commerce promises to liberate business,
consumers and workers alike but is set to
impact widely on the existing economy forcing
traditional businesses to adapt and creating
numerous opportunities for new entrants.