Chapter Seven

Virtual super computer

A mainframe computer that is among the largest, fastest, or most powerful of those available at a given time.

Value-added network (VAN)

A private network provider hired by a company to facilitate electronic data interchange (EDI) and/or provide other network services such as message encryption, secure email and management reporting.

Shopping cart software

A shopping cart system for an online store. It provides the cart, checkout forms and the interface to the credit card processor.

Affiliate marketing program

A way for a company to sell its products by signing up individuals or companies ("affiliates") who market the company's products for a commission.

Trading partner

An agreement drawn up by two parties that have agreed to trade certain items or information to each other and are often tailored for electronic transactions.

E-retail

The sale of goods and services through the Internet.

Merchant account

a bank account that enables the holder to accept credit cards for payment.

Chargeback

a demand by a credit-card provider for a retailer to make good the loss on a fraudulent or disputed transaction.

Business model

a design for the successful operation of a business, identifying revenue sources, customer base, products, and details of financing.

Intermediary

a person who acts as a link between people in order to try to bring about an agreement or reconciliation; a mediator.

Infomediary

an Internet company that gathers and links information on particular subjects on behalf of commercial organizations and their potential customers.

E-book

an electronic version of a printed book that can be read on a computer or handheld device designed specifically for this purpose.

Extranet

an intranet that can be partially accessed by authorized outside users, enabling businesses to exchange information over the Internet securely.

Forward auction

are electronic auctions, which can be used by sellers to sell their items to many potential buyers.

Electronic data interchange (EDI)

business information using a standardized format; a process which allows one company to send information to another company electronically rather than with paper. Business entities conducting business electronically are called trading partners.

Web hosting

companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by clients, as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center.

Supply chain

consists of all the entities--raw material providers, manufactures, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and others—involved in creating and distributing products to end users.

Installed storefront software

customizable storefront software resides on an e-retailer's web server, and the e-retailer uses it to create and manage a complex e-retail site.

Shared hosting

is Web hosting in which the service provider serves pages for multiple Web sites, each having its own Internet domain name, from a single Web server.

Online storage service

is a cloud computing service offering in which data can be stored, edited and retrieved from a remote cloud storage server over the Internet under a utility computing model.

Pure-play e-retailer

is a company that invests its resources in only one line of business

Distributed computing

is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems.

Content delivery network (CDN)

is a large distributed system of proxy servers deployed in multiple data centers via the Internet.

Personalization

is a means of meeting the customer's needs more effectively and efficiently, making interactions faster and easier and, consequently, increasing customer satisfaction and the likelihood of repeat visits.

Card not present/card holder not present risk

is a payment card transaction made where the cardholder does not or cannot physically present the card for a merchant's visual examination at the time that an order is given and payment effected.

Grid computing

is a processor architecture that combines computer resources from various domains to reach a main objective.

URL shortener

is a service that translates long URLs into abbreviated alternatives. URL shortening services are based on URL redirection.

Dedicated hosting

is a single computer in a network reserved for serving the needs of the network.

Cost per impression (CPI)

is a term used in traditional advertising media selection, as well as online advertising and marketing related to web traffic.

Reverse auction

is a type of auction in which the roles of buyer and seller are reversed.

Managed Hosting

is an IT provisioning model in which a service provider leases dedicated servers and associated hardware to a single client.

Payment gateways

is an e-commerce application service provider service that authorizes credit card payments for e-businesses, online retailers, bricks and clicks, or traditional brick and mortar.

Hosted storefront software

is an e-commerce solution for merchants who want to host a website that advertises their products or services and for which consumer transactions are generated online.

Automated Clearing House (ACH)

is an electronic network for financial transactions in the United States.

Per-click

is an internet advertising model used to direct traffic to websites, in which advertisers pay the publisher (typically a website owner or a host of website) when the ad is clicked.

Application service provider (ASP)

is defined as an enterprise that delivers application functionality and associated services across a network to multiple customers using a rental or usage-based transaction-pricing model.

Order fulfillment

is the complete process from point of sales inquiry to delivery of a product to the customer.

Network effect

is the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that product to other people.

Electronic funds transfer (EFT)

is the electronic transfer of money from one bank account to another, either within a single financial institution or across multiple institutions, through computer-based systems and without the direct intervention of bank staff.

Discount rate

is the percentage of each transaction that the financial institution will charge the e-business.

Niche market

is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focused.

Tweet

make a posting on the social media website Twitter.

Colocation

often refers to Internet service providers (ISPs) or cloud computing providers that furnish the floor space, electrical power and high-speed links to the Internet for a customer's Web servers.

Disintermediation

reduction in the use of intermediaries between producers and consumers, for example by investing directly in the securities market rather than through a bank.

Click-through

the action or facility of following a hypertext link to a particular website, especially a commercial one.

E-commerce software

the buying and selling of goods and services, or the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network, primarily the Internet.

Storefront software

the buying and selling of goods and services, or the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network, primarily the Internet.

Reintermediation

the transfer or bringing back of borrowing and investments from an outside credit business into the banking system.

Customization

to build, fit, or alter according to individual specifications.