Business Information Technology - Week Four Questions

1.  What is Web 2.0, how does it differ from 1.0?

Web 2.0 is a set of economic, social and technology trends that collectively form the basis for the next generation of the internet – a more mature, distinctive medium characterised by user participation, openness and network effects. 2.0 is a more innovative, faster and modern version of 1.0.

2. How could a web 2.0 technology be used in business?

According to one commentator, ‘Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform. It has been used in business as a transformative force that is propelling companies across all industries towards a new way of doing business

3.  What is eBusiness, how does it differ from eCommerce?

EBusiness, derived from e-commerce, is the conducting of business on the Internet, including buying and selling, serving customers and collaborating with business partners. The primary difference between e-commerce and e-business is that e-business also refers to online exchanges of information, such as manufacturer allowing its suppliers to monitor production schedules or a financial institution allowing its customers to review their banking, credit car and mortgage accounts.

4.  What is pure and partial eCommerce? 

—        Pure vs. Partial EC

            --The product can be physical or digital.

            --The process can be physical or digital.

            --The delivery agent can be physical or digital.

—        Brick-and-mortar organizations are purely physical organizations.

—        Virtual organizations are companies that are engaged only in EC. (Also called pure play)

—        Click-and-mortar organizations are those that conduct some e-commerce activities, yet their business is primarily done in the physical world. i.e. partial EC.

5.  List and describe the various eBusiness models

E-business models are an approach to conducting electronic business on the Internet. These transactions take place between two main entities- businesses and consumers. The e-business models are stated below:

• Business-to-business (B2B) Applies to businesses buying from and selling to each other over the internet.
• Business-to-consumer (B2C) Applies to any business that sells its products or services to consumers over the internet
• Consumer-to-business (C2B) Applies to any consumer that sells a product or service to a business over the internet
• Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) Applies to sites primarily offering goods and services to assist consumers interacting with each other over the internet.

6.  List and describe the major B2B marketplace models? 

Business-to-business (B2B) applies to businesses buying from and selling to each other over the internet. Electronic marketplaces, or e-marketplaces, are interactive business communities providing a central market where multiple buyers and sellers can engage in e-business activities. Each presents structures for conducting commercial exchange, consolidating supply chains, and creating new sales channels. Their primary goal is to increase market efficiency by tightening and automating the relationship between buyers and sellers. Those existing e-marketplaces allow access to various mechanisms in which to buy and sell a range of things, from services to direct materials. These transactions are generally conducted via extranet – (individual companies’ intranets connected together using high levels of network security (often using a virtual private network, or VPN).