E-Commerce Exam 1
Incubators
(sometimes also referred to as accelerators) typically provide a small amount of funding, but more importantly, also provide an array of services to start-up companies that they select to participate in their programs, such as business, technical, and marketing assistance, as well as introductions to other sources of capital.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
-Address used by Web browser to identify location of content on the Web
Domain Name System (DNS)
-Allows numeric I P addresses to be expressed in natural language
Business Plan
-Describes a firm's business model •E-commerce business model -Uses/leverages unique qualities of Internet and We
E-Business
-Digital enabling of transactions and processes within a firm, involving information systems under firm's control -Does not include commercial transactions involving an exchange of value across organizational boundaries
4 Layers of the Internet
-Hourglass, layered architecture ▪Network Technology Substrate ▪Transport Services and Representation Standards ▪Middleware Services ▪Applications
Internet
-Interconnected network of thousands of networks and millions of computers -Links businesses, educational institutions, government agencies, and individuals
Native App
-Native app ▪Can use device hardware, available offline
4 Layers of TCP/IP
-Network interface layer -Internet layer -Transport layer Application layer
The Web
-One of the Internet's most popular services -Provides access to billions, possibly trillions, of web pages •1989-1991: Web invented -Tim Berners-Lee at C E R N -H T M L, H T T P, web server, web browser •1993: Mosaic web browser w/G U I -Andreessen and others at N C S A -Runs on Windows, Macintosh, or Unix •1994: Netscape Navigator, first commercial web browser •1995: Microsoft Internet Explorer
Transaction Broker
•Process online transactions for consumers -Primary value proposition—saving time and money •Revenue model: -Transaction fees •Industries using this model: -Financial services -Travel services Job placement services
Internet Exchange Point (IXP)
•Regional hubs where Tier 1 I S P s physically connect with one another and with regional Tier 2 I S P s. •Tier 2 I S P s provide Tier 3 I S P s with Internet access. •Originally called Network Access Points (N A P s) or Metropolitan Area Exchanges (M A E s).
Packet Switching
•Slices digital messages into packets •Sends packets along different communication paths as they become available •Reassembles packets once they arrive at destination •Uses routers •Less expensive, wasteful than circuit-switching
HTTP
•Text formatted with embedded links -Links connect documents to one another, and to other objects such as sound, video, or animation files •Uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol (H T T P) and U R L s to locate resources on the Web
Internet Backbone
•Tier 1 Internet Service Providers (Tier 1 I S P s) or transit I S P s •Numerous private networks physically connected to each other •Undersea fiber optics, satellite links
TCP/IP
•Transmission Control Protocol (T C P) -Establishes connections among sending and receiving Web computers -Handles assembly of packets at point of transmission, and reassembly at receiving end •Internet Protocol (I P) •I P v4 -32-bit number -Four sets of numbers marked off by periods: 201.61.186.227 ▪Class C address: Network identified by first three sets, computer identified by last set •I P v6 -128-bit addresses, able to handle up to 1 quadrillion addresses (I P v4 can handle only 4 billion)
E-Commerce
•Use of Internet to transact business -Includes Web, mobile browsers and apps •More formally: -Digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals
Web Server Software
•Web server software -Enables a computer to deliver web pages to clients on a network that request this service by sending an H T T P request -Basic capabilities: Security services, F T P, search engine, data capture
XML
•eXtensible Markup Language (X M L) -Designed to describe data and information -Tags used are defined by user
Business Model
-Set of planned activities designed to result in a profit in a marketplace Key Elements: 1.Value proposition 2.Revenue model 3.Market opportunity 4.Competitive environment 5.Competitive advantage 6.Market strategy 7.Organizational development 8.Management team
Revenue Model Types
-Typically hybrid, combining advertising, subscriptions, sales, transaction fees, and so on
Vertical Scaling vs. Horizontal Scaling
-Vertically ▪Increase processing power of individual components -Horizontally ▪Employ multiple computers to share workload
ICANN
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
E-Commerce Server Suite
Offers an integrated environment that provides most or all of the functionality and capabilities needed to develop a sophisticated, customer-centric site.
Content Management System (CMS)
a database software program specifically designed to manage structured and unstructured data and objects in a website environment. A CMS provides web managers and designers with a centralized control structure to manage website content. organizes, stores, and processes website content
ActiveX
a programming language created by Microsoft to compete with Java
Active Server Pages (ASP)
a proprietary software development tool that enables programmers using Microsoft's IIS package to build dynamic pages
Web 2.0
a set of applications and technologies that enable user-generated content, such as online social networks, blogs, video and photo sharing sites, and wikis
Common Gateway Interface (CGI)
a set of standards for communication between a browser and a program running on a server that allows for interaction between the user and the server. CGI permits an executable program to access all the information within incoming requests from clients.
Widget
a small, prebuilt chunk of code that executes automatically in your HTML web page; capable of performing a wide variety of tasks
Industry Structural Analysis
an effort to understand and describe the nature of competition in an industry, the nature of substitute products, the barriers to entry, and the relative strength of consumers and suppliers
Scale Economies
are efficiencies that result from increasing the size of a business, for instance, when large, fixed-cost production systems (such as factories or software systems) can be operated at full capacity with no idle time.
Disintermediation
displacement of market middlemen who tradition-ally are intermediaries between producers and consumers by a new direct relationship between producers and consumers
Interactivity
enable two-way communication between merchant and consumer and among consumers. Interactivity allows an online merchant to engage a consumer in ways similar to a face-to-face experience. Traditional television or radio, for instance, cannot ask viewers questions or enter into conversations with them, or request that customer information be entered into a form. Comment features, community forums, and social networks with social sharing functionality such as Like and Share buttons all enable consumers to actively interact with merchants and other users
Crowdfunding
involves using the Internet to enable individuals to collectively contribute money to support a project
Java Server Pages (JSP)
like CGI and ASP, a web page coding standard that allows developers to dynamically generate web pages in response to user requests
Marketspace
marketplace extended beyond traditional boundaries and removed from a temporal and geographic location
Network Effect
occurs where all participants receive value from the fact that everyone else uses the same tool or product (for example, a common operating system, telephone system, or software application such as a proprietary instant messaging standard or an operating system such as Windows), all of which increase in value as more people adopt them.1
System Architecture
refers to the arrangement of software, machinery, and tasks in an information system needed to achieve a specific functionality (much like a home's architecture refers to the arrangement of building materials to achieve a particular functionality).
Open Source Software
software developed by a community of programmers and designers, and is free to use and modify. ADVANTAGES of using open source web building tools is that you get exactly what you want, a truly customized unique website. The DISADVANTAGE is that it will take several months for a single programmer to develop the site and get all the tools to work together seamlessly
Packet
the discrete units into which digital messages are sliced for transmission over the Internet
Value Chain
the set of activities performed in an industry or in a firm that transforms raw inputs into final products and services 1) Industry •Set of activities performed by suppliers, manufacturers, transporters, distributors, and retailers that transform raw inputs into final products and services •Internet reduces cost of information and other transactional costs •Leads to greater operational efficiencies, lowering cost, prices, adding value for customers 2) Firm •Activities that a firm engages in to create final products from raw inputs •Each step adds value •Effect of Internet: -Increases operational efficiency -Enables product differentiation -Enables precise coordination of steps in chain
Information Density
the total amount and quality of information available to all market participants, consumers and merchants alike.
Responsive Web Design
tools and design techniques make it possible to design a website that automatically adjusts its layout and display according to the screen resolu-tion of the device on which it is being viewed, whether a desktop, tablet, or smartphone. include HTML5 and CSS3 and its three key design principles involve using flexible grid-based layouts, flexible images and media, and media queries
Venture Capital Investors
typically invest funds they manage for other investors; usually later-stage investors Venture capital investors invest funds they manage for other investors such as investment banks, pension funds, insurance companies, or other businesses, and usually want to obtain a larger stake in the business and exercise more control over the operation of the business.
Seed Capital
typically, an entrepreneur's personal funds derived from savings, credit card advances, home equity loans, or from family and friends
Site Management Tools
verify that links on pages are still valid and also identify orphan files, or files on the site that are not linked to any pages.
Co-location
when a firm purchases or leases a web server (and has total control over its operation) but locates the server in a vendor's physical facility. The vendor maintains the facility, communications lines, and the machinery
Revenue Model
•"How will you earn money?" •Major types of revenue models: -Advertising revenue model -Subscription revenue model ▪Freemium strategy -Transaction fee revenue model -Sales revenue model Affiliate revenue model
Value Proposition
•"Why should the customer buy from you?" •Successful e-commerce value propositions: -Personalization/customization -Reduction of product search, price discovery costs -Facilitation of transactions by managing product delivery
6 Major Types of E-Commerce
•Business-to-Consumer (B2C) •Business-to-Business (B2B) •Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) •Mobile e-commerce (M-commerce) •Social e-commerce •Local e-commerce
Internet2
•Consortium of 450+ institutions collaborating to facilitate revolutionary Internet technologies •Primary goals: -Provides leading-edge very-high-speed network for national research community -Environment for developing and testing new technologies -Distributed and collaborative computing environments for sciences, health, arts, and humanities initiatives
Dynamic Page Generation
•Dynamic page generation: -Contents stored in database and fetched when needed •Common tools: -CGI, ASP, JSP, ODBC, JDBC •Advantages -Lowers menu costs -Permits easy online market segmentation -Enables cost-free price discrimination -Enables content management system (CMS)
Cloud Computing
•Firms and individuals obtain computing power and software over Internet •Three types of services -Infrastructure as a service (I a a S) -Software as a service (S a a S) -Platform as a service (P a a S) •Public, private, and hybrid clouds •Drawbacks -Security risks -Shifts responsibility for storage and control to providers •Radically reduces costs of: -Building and operating websites -Infrastructure, I T support -Hardware, software
HTML5
•Hypertext Markup Language (H T M L) -Fixed set of pre-defined markup "tags" used to format text -Controls look and feel of web pages -H T M L5 the newest version MARKUP LANGUAGE
Intranet
•Intranet -T C P/I P network located within a single organization for communications and processing -Used by private and government organizations for internal networks -All Internet applications can be used in private intranets
Client/Server Computing
•Powerful personal computers (clients) connected in network with one or more servers •Servers perform common functions for the clients -Storing files -Software applications -Access to printers, and so on
Mobile Platform
•Primary Internet access is now through tablets and smartphones •Tablets supplement P Cs for mobile situations -Over 160 million people in U . S. use Internet with tablets •Smartphones are a disruptive technology -New processors and operating systems -Over 220 million in U.S. access Internet with smartphones