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Differences between e-commerce and traditional commerce

Definition of Traditional Commerce

Traditional Commerce or Commerce is a part of business, which encompasses all those activities that
facilitate exchange. Two kinds of activities are included in commerce, i.e. trade and auxiliaries to trade.
The term trade refers to the buying and selling of goods and services for cash or kind and auxiliaries to
trade, implies all those activities like banking, insurance, transportation, advertisement, insurance,
packaging, and so on, that helps in the successful completion of exchange between parties.

Definition of e-Commerce

e-Commerce or electronic commerce refers to the exchange of goods and services, funds or information,
between businesses and consumers using the electronic network, i.e. internet or online social network. e-
Commerce means trading and providing assistance to trading activities, through the use of the electronic
medium, i.e. all the activities like purchasing, selling, ordering and paying are performed over the internet.
The scope of e-commerce is discussed in the following points:

B2B commerce: When the business transaction takes place between two business houses, through

the electronic channel, it is called B2B commerce.

B2C commerce: When the exchange of goods and service takes place between the business entity

and the customer, over the internet, then it is known as B2C commerce.

C2C commerce: When the buying and selling of goods and services take place between customers

using electronic medium, then it is called C2C commerce

Intra-B commerce: When the exchange occurs within the firm or business house, with the use of

electronic media, it is called as Intra B-commerce.

Electronic commerce is very much like traditional commerce. It also involves and exchange of goods. But
the exchange of goods is conducted online. Technologies such as email, electronic data interchange and
electronic fund transfer are used to track transactions and receive payments. Some of the differences
between electronic commerce and traditional commerce are explained briefly below.

1. Cost effective
E-commerce is very cost effective when compared to traditional commerce. In traditional commerce, cost has
to be incurred for the role of middlemen to sell the company’s product. The cost incurred on middlemen is
eliminated in e-commerce as there is a direct link between the business and the customer. The total
overhead cost required to run e-business is comparatively less, compared to traditional business.
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For example, in running an e-business, only a head office is required. Whereas in traditional method, a head
office with several branches are required to cater to the needs of customers situated in different places. The
cost incurred on labour, maintenance, office rent can be substituted by hosting a website in e-business method.

2. Time saving

It takes a lot of time to complete a transaction in traditional commerce. E-commerce saves a lot of valuable
time for both the consumers and business. A product can be ordered and the transaction can be
completed in few minutes through internet.
3. Convenience

E-commerce provides convenience to both the customers and the business. Customers can browse
through a whole directories of catalogues, compare prices between products and choose a desired
product any time and anywhere in the world without any necessity to move away from their home or work
place.

E-commerce provides better connectivity for its prospective and potential customers as the organization’s
website can be accessed virtually from anywhere, any time through internet. It is not necessary to move
away from their work place or home to locate and purchase a desired product.
4. Geographical accessibility

In traditional commerce, it may be easy to expand the size of the market from regional to national level.
Business organizations have to incur a lot of expenses on investment to enter international market. In e-
commerce it is easy to expand the size of the market from regional to international level.

By hosting a website, by placing advertisements on the internet and satisfying certain legal norms, a business
can penetrate into global market. It is quite easy to attract customers from global markets at a marginal cost.

5. Introduction of new products

In traditional commerce, it takes a lot of time and money to introduce a new product and analyze the response of the

customers. Initially, cost has to be incurred to carry out pilot surveys to understand the taste of the customers.

In e-commerce, it is easy to introduce a product on the website and get the immediate feedback of the customers.

Based on the response, the products can be redefined and modified for a successful launch.

6. Profit

E-commerce helps to increase the sales of the organization. It helps the organization to enjoy
greater profits by increasing sales, cutting cost and streamlining operating processes.

The cost incurred on the middlemen, overhead, inventory and limited sales pulls down the profit of the
organization in traditional commerce.
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7. Physical inspection

E-commerce does not allow physical inspection of goods. In purchasing goods in e-commerce, customers
have to rely on electronic images whereas in traditional commerce, it is possible to physically inspect the
goods before the purchase.
8. Time accessibility

Business is open only for a limited time in traditional commerce. Round the clock (24 x 7) service is
available in e-commerce.
9. Product suitability

E-commerce is not suitable for perishable goods and high valuable items such as jewellery and antiques. It is mostly

suitable for purchasing tickets, books, music and software. Traditional commerce is suitable for perishables and

touch and feel items. Purchasing software, music in traditional commerce may appear expensive,

10. Human resource

To operate in electronic environment, an organization requires technically qualified staff with an aptitude to update

themselves in the ever changing world. E-business has difficulty in recruiting and retaining talented people.

Traditional commerce does not have such problems associated with human resource in non electronic environment.

11. Customer interaction

In traditional commerce, the interaction between the business and the consumer is a “face-to-face”.

In electronic commerce, the interaction between the business and the consumer is “screen-to-face”. Since there is no

personal touch in e-business, companies need to have intimate relationship with customers to win over their loyalty.

12. Process

There is an automated processing of business transactions in electronic commerce. It helps to minimize

the clerical errors.

There is manual processing of business transactions in traditional commerce. There are chances of
clerical errors to occur as human intervention takes place.
13. Business relationship

The business relationship in traditional commerce is vertical or linear, whereas in electronic commerce the
business relationship is characterized by end-to-end.

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14. Fraud

Lot of cyber frauds take place in electronic commerce transactions. People generally fear to give credit
card information. Lack of physical presence in markets and unclear legal issues give loopholes for frauds
to take place in e-business transactions.

Fraud in traditional commerce is comparatively less as there is personal interaction between the buyer

and the seller. ******

Key Differences Between Traditional Commerce and e-Commerce

The following points are noteworthy so far as the difference between traditional commerce and e-
commerce is concerned:

1. A part of business, that focuses on the exchange of products and services, and includes all those activities

which encourage exchange, in some way or the other, is called traditional commerce. e-Commerce means

carrying out commercial transactions or exchange of information, electronically on the internet.

2. In traditional commerce, the transactions are processed manually whereas, in the case of e-commerce,

there is automatic processing of transactions.

3. In traditional commerce, the exchange of goods and services, for money can take place, only during

working hours. On the other hand, in e-commerce, the buying and selling of goods can occur anytime.

4. One of the major drawbacks of e-commerce is that the customers cannot physically inspect the goods

before purchase, however, if customers do not like the goods after delivery they can return it within the

stipulated time. Conversely, in traditional commerce physical inspection of goods is possible.

5. In traditional commerce, the interaction between buyers and sellers is direct, i.e. face to face. As

against this, there is indirect customer interaction, in the case of e-commerce, because it may be

possible that the customer is miles away from where they place an order for the purchase of goods.

6. The scope of business in traditional commerce is limited to a particular area, i.e. the reach of business

is limited to the nearby places where it operates. On the contrary, the business has worldwide reach in

case of e-commerce, due to its ease of access.

7. As there is no fixed platform for information exchange in traditional commerce, the business has to rely on the

intermediaries for information fully. Unlike e-Commerce, wherein there is a universal platform for information

exchange, i.e. electronic communication channel, which lessen the dependency on persons for information.

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8. Traditional commerce is concerned with the supply side. In contrast, the resource focus of e-commerce

is the demand side.

9. In traditional commerce, the business relationship is vertical or linear, while in the case of e-commerce

there is directness in command leading to a horizontal business relationship.

10.In traditional commerce, due to standardisation, there is mass/one way marketing. However,

customization exists in e-commerce leading to one to one marketing.

11. Payment for transactions can be done by paying cash, cheque or via credit card. On the other hand, payment in

e-commerce transactions can be done through online payment modes like credit card, fund transfer, etc.

12.The delivery of goods is immediate in traditional commerce but in the case of e-commerce, the goods

are delivered at the customer’s place, after some time, usually within a week.

Internet
a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities, consisting
of interconnected networks using standardized communication protocols. "the guide is also available on
the Internet"

Where to Begin? Internet Addresses

Because the Internet is a global network of computers each computer connected to the Internet musthave
a unique address. Internet addresses are in the form nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn where nnn must be a number from
0 - 255. This address is known as an IP address. (IP stands for Internet Protocol; more on this later.)

The picture below illustrates two computers connected to the Internet; your computer with IP address
1.2.3.4 and another computer with IP address 5.6.7.8. The Internet is represented as an abstract object in-
between. (As this paper progresses, the Internet portion of Diagram 1 will be explained and redrawn
several times as the details of the Internet are exposed.)

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If you connect to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP), you are usually assigned a
temporary IP address for the duration of your dial-in session. If you connect to the Internet from a local
area network (LAN) your computer might have a permanent IP address or it might obtain a temporary one
from a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server. In any case, if you are connected to the
Internet, your computer has a unique IP address.

Networking Infrastructure

So now you know how packets travel from one computer to another over the Internet. But what's in-
between? What actually makes up the Internet? Let's look at another diagram:

(A CSU/DSU (Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit) is a digital-interface device used to connect a data
terminal equipment (DTE), such as a router, to a digital circuit, such as a Digital Signal 1 (T1) line. The
CSU/DSU implements two different functions.)
Here we see Diagram 1 redrawn with more detail. The physical connection through the phone network to the
Internet Service Provider might have been easy to guess, but beyond that might bear some explanation.

The ISP maintains a pool of modems for their dial-in customers. This is managed by some form of
computer (usually a dedicated one) which controls data flow from the modem pool to a backbone or
dedicated line router. This setup may be refered to as a port server, as it 'serves' access to the network.
Billing and usage information is usually collected here as well.

After your packets traverse the phone network and your ISP's local equipment, they are routed onto the ISP's backbone
or a backbone the ISP buys bandwidth from. From here the packets will usually journey through several routers and over
several backbones, dedicated lines, and other networks until they find their destination, the computer
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with address 5.6.7.8. But wouldn't it would be nice if we knew the exact route our packets were taking over
the Internet? As it turns out, there is a way...

Check It Out - The Traceroute Program

If you're using Microsoft Windows or a flavor of Unix and have a connection to the Internet, here is another
handy Internet program. This one is called traceroute and it shows the path your packets are taking to a
given Internet destination. Like ping, you must use traceroute from a command prompt. In Windows, use
tracert www.yahoo.com. From a Unix prompt, type traceroute www.yahoo.com. Like ping, you may also
enter IP addresses instead of domain names. Traceroute will print out a list of all the routers, computers,
and any other Internet entities that your packets must travel through to get to their destination.

Here is the list of some common uses of internet

1) Email: By using internet now we can communicate in a fraction of seconds with a person who is sitting
in the other part of the world. Today for better communication, we can avail the facilities of Email. We can
chat for hours with our loved ones. There are plenty messenger services and email services offering this
service for free. With help of such services, it has become very easy to establish a kind of global friendship
where you can share your thoughts, can explore other cultures of different ethnicity.

2) Information(Information, knowledge, and learning)

The biggest advantage that internet offering is information. The internet and the World Wide Web has
made it easy for anyone to access information and it can be of any type, as the internet is flooded with
information. The internet and the World Wide Web has made it easy for anyone to access information and
it can be of any type. Any kind of information on any topic is available on the Internet.

3) Business: World trade has seen a big boom with the help of the internet, as it has become easier for
buyers and sellers to communicate and also to advertise their sites. Now a day's most of the people are
using online classified sites to buy or sell or advertising their products or services. Classified sites save a
lot of money and time so this is chosen as medium by most of people to advertise their products. We have
many classified sites on the web like craigslist, Adsglobe.com, Kijiji etc.

4) Social Networking: Today social networking sites have become an important part of the online community.
Almost all users are members use it for personal and business purposes. It's an awesome place to network
with many entrepreneurs who come here to begin building their own personal and business brand.

5) Shopping: In today's busy life most of us are interested to shop online. Now a day's almost anything can be bought

with the use of the internet. In countries like US most of consumers prefer to shop from home. We have many

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shopping sites on internet like amazon.com, Dealsglobe.com etc. People also use the internet to auction
goods. There are many auction sites online, where anything can be sold.

6) Entertainment: On internet we can find all forms of entertainment from watching films to playing games
online. Almost anyone can find the right kind of entertainment for themselves. When people surf the Web,
there are numerous things that can be found. Music, hobbies, news and more can be found and shared on
the Internet. There are numerous games that may be downloaded from the Internet for free.

7) E-Commerce: Ecommerce is the concept used for any type of commercial maneuvering, or business
deals that involves the transfer of information across the globe via internet. It has become a phenomenon
associated with any kind of shopping, almost anything. It has got a real amazing and range of products
from household needs, technology to entertainment.

8) Services: Many services are now provided on the internet such as online banking, job seeking, purchasing
tickets for your favorite movies, and guidance services on array of topics in the every aspect of life, and hotel
reservations and bills paying. Often these services are not available off-line and can cost you more.

9) Job Search: Internet makes life easy for both employers and job seekers as there are plenty of job
sites which connects employers and job seekers.

10) Dating/Personals: People are connecting with others though internet and finding their life partners.
Internet not only helps to find the right person but also to continue the relationship.

Internet of Things

The Internet helps make devices in your home connected and smarter by giving them access to the
Internet. For example, the Nest thermostat can be connected to the Internet to help control the heating and
cooling in your home. Also, once these devices are connected, they can be controlled remotely using your
computer or smartphone. By connecting IoT (Internet of Things) devices to your home, it can become
smarter and more efficient and help save energy, money, and time.

Education & research

Information, knowledge, and learning

Cloud computing and cloud storage

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 E-COMMERCE AND VALUE CHAIN MODEL
VALUE CHAIN MODEL
A value chain for a product is the chain of actions that are performed by the business to add value in
creating and delivering the product. For example, when you buy a product in a store or from the web, the
value chain includes the business selecting products to be sold, purchasing the components or tools
necessary to build them from a wholesaler or manufacturer, arranging the display, marketing and
advertising the product, and delivering the product to the client.

The value chain model, as originally demonstrated by Porter (1985), identifies nine strategically
relevant activities that create value and reduce cost in a specific business. These nine value-creating
activities consist of five primary activities and four support activities. The primary activities represent the
sequence of bringing materials into the business (inbound logistics), converting them into final products
(operations), shipping out final products (outbound logistics), marketing, and service. The support activities
include procurement, technology development, human resource management, and firm infrastructure.

Primary activities of Porter’s value chain are as follows

1) Inbound logistics

Bring raw material from source to the company. The value chain can be enhanced in this step by improving
the quality of raw material as well as optimizing the cost of inbound logistics.

Inbound logistics refers to the terms with the suppliers and includes all of the activities needed to receive,
store, and disseminate inputs.

2) Operations
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Operations refer to the entire activities needed to transform the various inputs into outputs (the products
and services).

Converting the raw material to finished goods is the job of Operations. The customer value is increased
majorly in this step if the operations are up to mark and the product is manufactured in the right manner
and meets quality standards. You can take example of Television or Air conditioners to understand the
importance of Operations and manufacturing in the Value chain.

3) Outbound logistics

Sending finished goods from manufacturing point to distributors and retailers. The value chain receives a boost
if the out bound logistic activities are carried out in time with optimal costs and the product is delivered to end
customers with minimum affect to the quality of the product. Food products can be an example of how value
can be added during outbound logistics by delivering product on time with best quality.

4) Marketing and sales

The marketing and sales apply push as well as pull strategy to increase the sales of the product. The company exists to

make profits and if profits can be increased by marketing and sales, than the company has to use these tools. However,

marketing needs to be done in the right manner to build brand equity and sales should be done in the proper channel

without any false commitments given to customers to add value to the end product and the brand.

5) Service

The post sales service is the most important because it directly affects the word of mouth publicity of the
product. If the service is not upto mark, no one will buy the product and the brand will lose market share
and may be taken out of the market eventually. Thus service is very important in the Porter’s value chain.

6) Procurement

The management of vendors and the procurement of the raw material on a timely basis is where
procurement comes in. The inheritance of inputs or the various resources for the firm.

7) Technology development

No product can survive if the company does not keep it updated as per the latest technology.

8) Human resource management: The right people in the right place can make all the difference for the
company and hence the HR department is a support activity most important for the firm.

9) Firm infrastructure

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Without a proper infrastructure, and lack of government handling or legal support, a firm might face a big hurdle.
Similarly, administration department will help in maintenance of the facilities in a firm.

The secondary activities like Technology and the right people are the elements which add differentiation for
the company. Samsung proved that Technology can destroy a big competitor like Nokia. Similarly,
Southeast airlines proves that people are important to a company and that you can be the most favored
airline because of the people in your organization.

Inbound Logistics − Inbound logistics refers to the terms with the suppliers and includes all of the
activities needed to receive, store, and disseminate inputs.
Operations − Operations refer to the entire activities needed to transform the various inputs into
outputs (the products and services).
Outbound Logistics − Outbound logistics include all sets of activities needed to collect, store, and
distribute the output.
Marketing and Sales − Marketing and sales include the activities to inform buyers regarding the
products and services, induce the buyers to purchase them, and enable their purchase.
Service − Service refers to those activities needed to keep the product or service functioning
effectively after it is sold and delivered.

Secondary activities include the following −

Procurement − The inheritance of inputs or the various resources for the firm.

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Human Resource Management − The activities involved in recruiting, training, improving,
compensating and also dismissing personnel.
Technological Development − The equipment, hardware and software, processes and technical
knowledge involved in the transformation of inputs into outputs.
Infrastructure − The functions or departments such as accounts, legal and regulative, finance,
planning and executing, public affairs and public relations, government relations, quality
management and general management.

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In the Internet Protocol Suite, the Internet Protocol performs two basic functions:
Host addressing and identification: This is accomplished with a hierarchical addressing system (see IP address).

Packet routing: This is the basic task of getting packets of data (datagrams) from source to destination
by sending them to the next network node (router) closer to the final destination.

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The major duties of transport layer are following:
Segmentation and reassembly: A message received from the application layer is divided into
segments and each segment has a sequence number. This number enables the transport layer to
reassemble the message correctly and replace the packet that was lost in transmission.
Port addressing: Addressing at layer two deals with hardware devices on a local network, and layer three addressing

identifies devices on a logical internetwork. Addressing is also performed at the transport layer, where it is used to

differentiate between software programs.On computers several processes run at the same time. The transport layer,

therefore, must add a header with port address, to transfer the packet to the correct process on the computer.

Connection control: The transport layer can be connectionless or connection oriented. A connection
oriented transport layer first makes a connection with the transport layer at the
destination and then deliver packets while a connectionless network layer deliver packets without making
any connection.
Reliability: The transport layer provides reliability for the application program that uses its services.
Reliability, involves error and flow control which are performed end to end. The sending transport layer
makes sure that the entire message arrives at the receiving transport layer without any error. Error
correction is usually achieved by retransmission. The flow control feature is used to control the rate at
which the sender is sending the data, in order to avoid bogging down the receiver with data.

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The Application Layer refers to the higher-level protocols used by most applications for network
communication. Examples of application layer protocols include the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and the
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

Packet Switched Networks

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In circuit switching a dedicated physical link exists between a source and a destination, in this case data
is sent as stream of bits.

Packet switching can be used as an alternate to circuit switching. In the packet switched networks, data is sent
in discrete units that have variable length. They are called as packets. There is a strict upper bound limit on the
size of packets in a packet switch network. The packet contains data and various control information.

The packet switched networks allow any host to send data to any other host without reserving the circuit.
Multiple paths between a pair of sender and receiver may exist in a packet switched network.

One path is selected between source and destination. Whenever the sender has data to send, it converts them into

packets and forwards them to next computeror router. The router stores this packet till the output line is free.

Then, this packet is transferred to next computer or router (called as hop). This way, it moves to the
destination hop by hop. All the packets belonging to a transmission may or may not take the same route.
The route of a packet is decided by network layer protocols.

Advantages of packet Switching

Efficient use of Network.

Easily get around broken bits or packets.
Circuit Switching charges user on the distance and duration of connection but Packet Switching
charges users only on the basis of duration of connectivity.
High Data Transmission in a Packet Switching is very easy.
All the packets not follow same route in Packet Switching

Packet Switching use digital network and enables digital data to be directly transmitted toward destination.

Disadvantages of Packet Switching

The various disadvantage of Packet switching

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1. Packets may be lost on their route, so sequence numbers are required to identify missing packets.

2. Switching nodes requires more processing power as the packet switching protocols are more complex.

3. Switching nodes for packet switching require large amount of RAM to handle large quantities of packets.

4. A significant data transmission delay occurs - Use of store and forward method causes a significant
data transmission.

Types of Packet Switching

The packet switching has two approaches: Virtual Circuit approach and Datagram approach. WAN, ATM,
frame relay and telephone networks use connection oriented virtual circuit approach; whereas internet
relies on connectionless datagram based packet switching.

The following paradigms are available for packet switching

o Virtual Circuit Switching: A connection is setup before the packets are transmitted. All the packets
follow the same path. The connection could either be permanent (manually setup by network
administrator) or switched (dynamically setup through control signals).
o Datagram Switching: No connection is setup each packet is forwarded independent of the other.

(i) Virtual Circuit Packet Switching: In virtual circuit packet switching, a single route is chosen between
the sender and receiver and all the packets are sent through this route. Every packet contains the virtual
circuit number. As in circuit switching, virtual circuit needs call setup before actual transmission can be
started. He routing is based on the virtual circuit number.

This approach preserves the relationship between all the packets belonging to a message. Just like circuit
switching, virtual circuit approach has a set up, data transfer and tear down phases. Resources can be
allocated during the set up phase, as in circuit switched networks or on demand, as in a datagram network.
All the packets of a message follow the same path established during the connection. A virtual circuit
network is normally implemented in the data link layer, while a circuit switched network is implemented in
the physical layer and a datagram network in the network layer.

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ii) Datagram Packet Switching: In datagram packet switching each packet is transmitted without any
regard to other packets. Every packet contain full packet of source and destination. Every packet is treated
as individual, independent transmission.

Even if a packet is a part of multi-packet transmission the network treats it as though it existed alone. Packets
in this approach are called datagrams. Datagram switching is done at the network layer. Figure show how a
datagram approach is used to deliver four packets from station A to station D. All the four packets belong to
same message but they may travel via different paths to reach the destination i.e. station D.

Datagram approach can cause the datagrams to arrive at their destination out of order with different delays
between the packets. Packets may also be lost or dropped because of lack of resources. The datagram
networks are also referred as connectionless networks. Here connectionless means that the switch does
not keep information about connection state. There are no connection establishment or tear down phases.

The datagram can arrive at the destination with a different order from the order in which they where sent.
The source and destination address are used by the routers to decide the route for packets. Internet use
datagram approach at the network layer.

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Intranet And Extranets
An intranet is a network where employees can create content, communicate, collaborate, get stuff done,
and develop the company culture. An extranet is like an intranet, but also provides controlled access to
authorized customers, vendors, partners, or others outside the company.

Intranets and extranets are two different things, and both can be beneficial to businesses in any industry.
Once integrated into a business model, these portals can make day to day activities more efficient, more
streamlined, better connected, and more productive. "Extra," for example, refers to anything that is crucial
to your business, yet exists outside of it — such as clients, vendors, and suppliers.

An extranet is basically a private network designed specifically to allow these individuals (clients, vendors,
suppliers, partners, etc.) to communicate with you and your employees in a closed virtual space. Extranets
serve an extremely important role, as they allow for private communication, collaboration, knowledge
sharing, document sharing, and data transfer between organizations.

An extranet can be used to meet a variety of different needs. Large volumes of data can be exchanged between
parties via extranets, for example, and they can also be used to create collaboration. The latter is especially useful
for companies that need to brainstorm or work back and forth with clients and customers, and it can save hours of
time in comparison to using email and/or telephone. Extranets are also used to help monitor and fix any potential
bugs or issues that can occur with a company's products or services — almost like built-in quality control.

The Benefits of Implementing an Extranet.

There are a great deal of reasons why it might be beneficial for your business to implement an extranet.

1. An extranet can streamline repetitive business processes: Let's say you order from a particular vendor
on a regular basis, often using email or phone as a conduit. With a well-designed extranet, all of your
ordering can take place via your secured private network in a virtual space. Any interactions with vendors
occur in real time, and you can store invoices along with any other pertinent information in one place. This
makes it easy to refer back to purchases you've made in the past. Keeping everything in the same virtual
space not only cuts down on wasted time, but comes along with a wealth of organizational benefits.
2. It can increase customer satisfaction: One of the key benefits of an extranet is that it can be accessed from any
computer at any time of the day or night. 24/7 access means that your clients and customers can upload documents,
ask questions, or approve designs/concepts whenever they have the time to do so, thus breaking

down the barriers often caused by a more rigid work schedule.

3. Extranets are beneficial because they are highly secure when properly designed.
In some industries (medical, insurance, etc.), security is of the utmost importance, and a breach could end in

disaster. In many ways, email and other tools that are often used to transfer documents lack the type of security

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 necessary to avoid a potential breach. When care is taken in designing an extranet, these concerns
are no longer an issue.

Benefits of Extranet

• Improved quality.
• lower travel costs.
• lower administrative & other overhead costs.
• reduction in paperwork.
• delivery of accurate information on time.
• improved customer service.
• better communication.
• overall improvement in business effectiveness.

Disadvantages
• The suppliers & customer who don’t have technical knowledge feel problem.
• Faceless contact.
• Information can be misused by other competitors.
• Fraud may be possible.
• Technical Employees are required.

What is an Intranet?

Much like an extranet, an intranet is a private, secured network designed to facilitate collaboration and make it easier to

communicate and share documents in real time. The major difference between the two, however, is that an intranet is

typically used internally. While an extranet allows businesses to communicate with clients and vendors, an intranet allows

employees and colleagues to work with each other in a virtual space — no outside parties are involved.

Does Every Company Need an Intranet?

- A company needs an intranet for the following reasons:

– When it has a large pool of information to share among hundreds of employees

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– Intranets are cheap, robust, and fast. Any employee with access to an intranet can disseminate
and publish information

– Intranets operate across platforms

– Information is available 24/7 to all employees at the click of a mouse

– Information available on an intranet can be updated quickly

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Web Application Architechture – Client / Server Architecture
What is Architecture?
Architecture is the structure of software systems which is divided into different perspectives, allowing us to
manage the complexity of software systems in a better and easier way.

Web browser sends a request to Web server and the response to this request is sent back.
Client = User agent. It is controlled by a user to operate the Web application. The client’s functionality can
be expanded by installing plug-ins, add-ons and applets.
Firewall: A software or hardware regulating the communication between insecure networks (e.g., the
Internet) and secure networks (e.g., corporate LANs). This communication is filtered by access rules.
Proxy: A proxy is typically used to temporarily store Web pages in a cache. However, proxies can also
assume other functionalities, e.g., adapting the contents for users (customization), or user tracking.
Web server: A Web server is a software that supports various Web protocols like HTTP, and HTTPS, etc.,
to process client requests.
Example:
Open source Apache Web
Server IIS Web Server
Tomcat Server
Database server: This server normally supplies an organization’s production data in structured form.
Example:
Open source MySQL
MS SQL Server
Oracle database server
Media server: This component is primarily used for content streaming of non-structured bulk data like
audio and video.
24
Content management server: Similar to a database server, a content management server holds contents
to serve an application. These contents are normally available in the form of semi-structured data, e.g.,
XML documents. Application server: An application server holds the functionality required by several
applications, e.g., workflow or customization.
Legacy application: A legacy application is an older system that should be integrated as an internal or
external component.

2-Layer Architectures = Client / Server Architechture

It uses a Web server to provide services to a client.

25
A client request can point directly to static HTML pages, without requiring any processing logic on the server
layer, or it can access a database via the application logic on the Web server (e.g., in the form of CGI scripts).
Dynamic HTML pages include script instructions directly in the HTML code, e.g., when SSI (Server-
Side Include) is used, and they are interpreted either by databases with HTML functionality or by a Web
server. The application logic, or dynamic HTML pages, can use services (e.g., user identification or data
encryption) when the HTML response is generated. This architecture is suitable particularly for simple Web
applications. In contrast, a multilayer architectural approach is required for more demanding applications
which are accessed by a large number of concurrent clients or which provide complex business processes
requiring the access to legacy systems, amongst others.

SGML, HTML And XML

When you look at SGML, HTML and XML, you could consider this a family grouping. SMGL, HTML and XML are all
markup languages. The term markup gets its root from editors making revisions to writer‚s manuscripts. An editor,
when reviewing the content, will ’mark up‚ the manuscript to highlight certain fields. In computer technology, a
markup language is a set of words and symbols that highlight text to define it for a web document.

For example, when creating an Internet page, you want to be able the separate paragraphs and put letters in a bold-
face type. This is accomplished through a markup language. Once you understand the roles SGML, HTML and XML
play in web page design, you will see the kinship these distinct languages have to each other. The relationship
between SGML, HTML and XML is a family bond that helps make websites work and web design dynamic.

26
SGML

In this family of markup languages, Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is the parent. SGML provides
a way to define markup languages and sets the standard for their form. In other words, SGML states what some
languages can or cannot do, what elements must be included, such as tags, and the basic structure of the language.
As a parent passes on genetic traits to a child, SGML passes structure and format rules to markup languages.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is a child, or application, of SGML.

It is HTML that usually designs the page for an Internet browser. Using HTML, you can embed images,
create page sections, establish fonts and direct the flow of the page. HTML is the markup language that
creates the form and appearance of the web page. Additionally, using HTML, you can add other functions
to a website via scripting languages, such as JavaScript.

HTML is the predominant language used for website design.

HTML Tags An HTML document contains document text and elements. The tags in an HTML document are
interpreted by the Web browser and used by it to format the display of the text enclosed by the tags. In HTML, the
tags are enclosed in angle brackets (<>). Most HTML tags have an opening tag and a closing tag that format the text
between them. The closing tag is preceded by a slash within the angle brackets. The general form of an HTML
element is: <tagname properties> Displayed information affected by tag </tagname> Two good examples of
HTML tag pairs are the boldface character-formatting tags and the italic character-formatting tags. For example, a
Web browser reading the following line of text: <B>A Review of the Book <I>HTML Is Easy!</I></B>

<HTML>
<BODY>
<H1>MY FIRST HEADING</H1>

<P>MY FIRST PARAGRAPH.</P>

</BODY>
</HTML>

XML

27
XML, or Extensible Markup Language, is a markup language that you can use to create your own tags. It was created

by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to overcome the limitations of HTML, the Hypertext Markup
Language that is the basis for all Web pages. Like HTML, XML is based on SGML -- Standard Generalized
Markup Language. Although SGML has been used in the publishing industry for decades, its perceived
complexity intimidated many people that otherwise might have used it (SGML also stands for "Sounds
great, maybe later"). XML was designed with the Web in mind.

What is XML?

XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language

XML is a markup language much like HTML
XML was designed to store and transport
data XML was designed to be self-descriptive
XML is a W3C Recommendation

XML Does Not DO Anything

28
Maybe it is a little hard to understand, but XML does not DO anything.

This note is a note to Tove from Jani, stored as XML:

<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body>
</note>

Output:

Note

To: Tove

From: Jani

Reminder

Don't forget me this weekend!

The Difference Between XML and HTML

XML and HTML were designed with different goals:

XML was designed to carry data - with focus on what data is

HTML was designed to display data - with focus on how data
looks XML tags are not predefined like HTML tags are

XML Does Not Use Predefined Tags

The XML language has no predefined tags.

The tags in the example above (like <to> and <from>) are not defined in any XML standard.
These tags are "invented" by the author of the XML document.

HTML works with predefined tags like <p>, <h1>, <table>, etc.

With XML, the author must define both the tags and the document structure.

Example 2
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<note>
29
 <to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body>
</note>

Output:

Note

To: Tove

From: Jani

Heading: Reminder

Body: Don't forget me this weekend!

Web-Based Tools for Electronic Commerce

Web Server Software and Tools

There are many Web server software available in the market, but only a few of them are leading in the total
market share. Some of them run on only one operating system while others run on several operating systems.

Netcraft, a networking consulting company, periodically surveys on the number and type of Web servers
used by various organizations. The four most popular Web servers are:

· Apache HTTP Server

· Microsoft Internet Information Server
· Netscape Enterprise Server, and
· O’Reilly WebSite Professional

Of these, the Apache and Microsoft Web servers are leading in the market. These servers account for
about 75% of the intranet Web servers. Visit http://netcraft.com for the latest survey results.
Apache HTTP server

30
Apache runs on a wide variety of operating system such as Microsoft NT, Sun Solaris, HP-UX, and Linux.
It has a built-in search engine, an HTML authoring tool, and it supports FTP.
Apache can be managed either from the server console or remotely using a Web browser. It supports CGI
(Common Gateway Interface) and API (Application Programming Interface) programming interface.
Apache also supports ASP (active server pages) and Java servlets (Java scripts), both of which are server-side
scripting programs. It also supports Java applets (or client-side scripting) that runs in the browser.
Apache supports the ODBC standard and can access databases in Microsoft SQL Server, IBM Db2,
Oracle, and Sybase SQL Server.

Microsoft Internet Information Server

Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) is the second most popular Web server in the public domain and
it is the most popular Web server in the intranetdomain. This is because of the largest share of Windows
NT operating system in the PC market.
IIS runs only on the Windows NT operating system and it comes free with the NT Server. It includes a
search engine and the Microsoft FrontPage HTML authoring tool. It also supports FTP.
It can be managed locally, from a browser, or from a remote computer within the local network using the
Microsoft Management Console (MMC). MMC is a Microsoft network administrative tool that can be used
to administer all servers in the NT network.
Because Windows NT allows many IP addresses to be assigned to a single network interface card, IIS
supports multiple virtual Web hosting.
Security is tightly integrated with the Windows NT operating system. Access control can be limited to a user,
group, directory, or file. IIS allows secured socket layer (SSL) and includes a built-in certificate server.
IIS supports its native Active Server Pages (ASP), ActiveX Servers (equivalent to Java applets), and ISAPI
(equivalent to API). It supports many common databases (Access, SQL server, Oracle, FoxPro) through
appropriate ODBC drivers.

Netscape Enterprise server

Netscape Enterprise Server (NES) is popular Web software, which is a descendant of the original web
server program. It is aimed at sites that service a large number of hits (as high as 100 million per day).
NES runs on both Unix (Solaris, HP-UX, Digital Unix) and NT environment. It has all other features like
Microsoft IIS and some are even better such as file transfer mechanism and administration.

Other Web Server Tools

31
Other web server tools such as portals, search engines, push technologies and intelligent agents are
issues for consideration in the acquisition of a commercial Web site. Web portals are customizable home
bases from which users do their searching, navigating, and other web-based activity.
All search engines contain three components; a spider, an index and a search engine utility program. A
spider searches the web to find pages, or update existing pages. The index is a catalog of everything that
the spider locates. The search engine’s utility program, upon request of the client, searches millions of
pages to identify matches and then ranks them in order of each link’s relevance.
Push technologies allow suppliers to “push” unsolicited information about their product/services down the
distribution channel by automated delivery of specific information from a web server to a customer’s hard
drive. Although pull technologies which involve a proactive request by the customer for information still
predominates, the application of push technologies is increasing especially for intranet users.
Intelligent agent software runs in the background to reduce the workload involved in locating, evaluating,
negotiating and purchasing products/services on the Internet. This software robot performs tasks such as
information gathering, information filtering, or mediation for the users.
Web Portals
o “Cyber door” on the Web
o Serves as a customizable home base
o Successful portals
include Excite
Amazon.com
Yahoo!
Netscape NetCenter
Microsoft Start

Search Engines
A special kind of Web page software that finds other Web pages that match a word or phrase the
user enters Contains three major parts
o Spider, crawler, or bot – searches the Web
o Index – catalogs what is found
o Search engine utility – provides search results

Push Technologies
32
 An automated delivery of specific and current information from a Web server to the user’s
computer’s hard drive

May be used to provide information on

Health benefit updates

Employee awards
Changes in corporate policies
Other relevant information

Intelligent Agents

A program that performs functions such as information gathering, information filtering, or mediation
(running in the background) on behalf of a person or entity

Examples of widely known agents:

Auction Bot, BargainFinder

Firefly, Kasbah

Example Uses for Intelligent Agents

Search for the best price and characteristics of various

products Procurement

o Deciding what, when, and how much to purchase

Stock alert

o Monitors stock and notifies when certain conditions are met (purchase 100 shares if the price
is below $61 per share)

33
 Technologies Of Wireless Business
Wireless technology changes quickly. This matters if you're running a business, as faster Wi-Fi can
improve employee productivity as well as customer service.
Wireless technology is literally all around us. In a corporate setting, there are Wi-Fi signals, fast 4G
LTE(Long Term Evolution) access points on smart phone and Bluetooth running in everything from mobile
printers to security terminals in the front entryway. Because wireless tech is so pervasive( spreading widely
throughout an area or a group of people.), and because businesses rely on wireless tech now more than ever,
it's also constantly improving and evolving. Business value is a complicated equation. Saving money is one
important component, but value can also be measured in terms of productivity, efficiency, job satisfaction and
customer service. Wireless technologies have become a crucial component for small businesses of all kinds.

In the Office

Wired networks are old hat. Wi-Fi wireless technology saves businesses a considerable amount of money
on installation costs. Companies no longer have to physically run wires throughout an office building,
warehouse or store. This is especially handy for businesses that have workers that move throughout the
location, but still need to stay connected to inventory or sales software through portable devices. Bluetooth
is a short-range wireless technology that acts as a complement to Wi-Fi. It is often used to transfer data
between a computer and a cellphone or connect a wireless headset.
Mobilizing Workers

Cell phones, laptops and notebooks combined with GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technologies have
created the potential for a powerful mobile workforce. Small businesses are often in competition with larger
companies and need to maximize the efficiency of workers. They can't afford to have employees out of touch.
Owners often wear many hats and have to keep track of multiple facets of a business, even during nights,
weekends and vacations. Wireless technologies ensure that businesses aren't tied down to a single location.

GPS

GPS devices have gone from expensive premium items to common business accessories. GPS technology has
been a advantage to the transportation industry when it comes to finding efficient routes and tracking vehicles, but it
makes sense for any business with a mobile component. Traveling employees can use GPS devices to get to their
destinations on time, find the best gas prices and avoid traffic tangles. On-time customer service translates into
happy customers. Outfitting company cars with GPS can take a lot of the stress out of business travel.

Smartphones

Smartphones have all the same business benefits of regular cell phones--such as keeping mobile employees in

touch-- and adds in features like powerful business applications and easy Internet access. Mobile invoicing software,

34
calendars and email mean that employees and owners are always up-to-date on business happenings and
can respond quickly to customer requests.
Wireless Computers

Once upon a time, business road warriors had to hook into wired Ethernet connections to get online from the
road. Wi-Fi is now built into new laptops and gives workers the opportunity to connect easily from hotels, coffee
shops, home offices, book stores and client sites. It is a big boost to business efficiency when research,
invoicing, email and project development can be handled without having to return to a desktop computer at the
main office. This approach helps to keep small businesses nimble and competitive.

The devices used for wireless communication are cordless telephones, mobiles, GPS units, ZigBee
technology, wireless computer parts, and satellite television, etc.

Types of Wireless Communication Technologies

Satellite

Satellite communication is one of the wireless technologies, which is widely spread all over the world
allowing users to stay connected virtually anywhere on the Earth. The Satellites used in this mode of
communication, communicate directly with the orbiting satellites via radio signals. Portable satellite phones
and modems have more powerful broadcasting abilities than the cellular devices as they have high range,
apart from being more expensive in terms of cost, than their counterparts.

Wireless Networking: Wireless Networking technologies connect multiple computers, systems and devices
together without requiring wires or cables: a wireless local area network or WLAN comes under Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a form of low-power wireless communication used by many electronic devices such as laptops, systems, smart

phones, etc. In a Wi-Fi setup, a wireless router serves as the communication hub. These networks are extremely limited in

range due to low power of transmissions allowing users to connect only within close proximity to a router or signal

repeater. Wi-Fi is common in home networking applications which provides portability without any need of cables. Wi-Fi

networks need to be secured with passwords for security purposes in order not to be accessed by others.

Bluetooth Technology

Bluetooth technology allows you to connect a variety of different electronic devices wirelessly to a system for the

transfer and sharing of data and this is the main function of Bluetooth. Cell phones are connected to hands-free
35
earpieces, wireless keyboard, mouse and mike to laptops with the help of Bluetooth as it transmits
information from one device to other device. Bluetooth technology has many functions, and it is used most
commonly in wireless communications’ market.

Bluetooth technology uses radio waves to communicate between devices. Most of these radio
waves have a range of 15-50 feet.
According to the official Bluetooth website, Bluetooth uses a low-power signal with a maximum
range of 50 feet with sufficient speed to enable transmission of data.

ZigBee

ZigBee is a wireless communication standard designed to address the unique needs of low-power, low-
cost wireless sensor, and control networks. ZigBee can be used almost anywhere, as it is easy to
implement and requires little power to operate. Zigbee has been developed looking into the needs of the
communication of data with a simple structure like the data from the sensors.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Wireless Communications

Advantages

Any information can be conveyed or transmitted quickly and with a high speed.
The Internet can be accessed from anywhere and at anytime without the need to carry cables or
wires and it improves easy access and productivity.
Helpful for Doctors, workers and other professionals working in remote areas as they can be in
touch with the medical centers through wireless communication.
Emergency situations can be alerted through wireless communication. The affected regions can be
provided support with the help of these alerts through wireless communication.
Wireless networks cost less for installation and maintenance.

Disadvantages

A Hacker can easily capture the wireless signals that spread through the air.
It is very important to secure the wireless network so that the information cannot be exploited by
unauthorized users, and this also increases the risk of losing data or information.

Advantages of wireless technology used in m-commerce

Ubiquity: The use of wireless device enables the user to receive information and conduct
transactions anywhere, at anytime.
Accessibility: Mobile device enables the user to be contacted at virtually anytime and place. The
user also has the choice to limit their accessibility to particular persons or times.
 Convenience: The portability of the wireless device and its functions from storing data to access to
information or persons.
Localization: The emergence of location-specific based applications will enable the user to receive
relevant information on which to act.
Instant Connectivity (2.5G): Instant connectivity or "always on" is becoming more prevalent will
the emergence of 2.5 G networks, GPRS or EDGE. Users of 2.5 G services will benefit from easier
and faster access to the Internet.
Personalization: The combination of localization and personalization will create a new channel/business
opportunity for reaching and attracting customers. Personalization will take the form of customized
information, meeting the users’ preferences, followed by payment mechanisms that allow for personal
information to be stored, eliminating the need to enter credit card information for each transaction.
Time Sensitivity: Access to real-time information such as a stock quote that can be acted upon immediately .

Limitations of m-commerce:

Lack of Standards: With a host of device operating systems and platforms, middleware solutions
and networks, make application development for the wireless Internet a formidable task, versus the
level operating environment of the wired Web.

Device Constraints:
Weak processors
Limited memory

Tiny screens, poor

resolutions Poor data entry

WAP: While WAP has been a very important in the evolution of the wireless Internet and in turn m-
commerce, there are problems/difficulties with the standard, such as the lack of WAP-enabled
devices and security issues.

37
 Services: M-commerce has flopped in the consumer arena -- or at least has failed to live up to the
hype. There may be compelling reasons for business users to adopt transaction-based services
offered on wireless devices, though -- but the mobile commerce tools used by enterprises are
nothing like the services pitched to consumers.
Smartphone limitation : Mobile has no big screen like desktop or laptops, so sometimes users
tired to navigate more and more to choose just one item from thousands. It affects shopping rates.
Habituate : Every new technology has some problem at the starting phase. Here mCommerce is a
new application, so sometimes people avoid to change which are rapidly change. As they are
habituated to buy products from eCommerce.
Risk factor : Each business has its own risk. Same Moblie commerce is the growing field and a lot
of investment in this field becomes risky. Because technology changes day by day. Moreover, there
less security in the wireless network, so in data transfer hacking chances are more.
Connectivity : Moblie commerce needs high-speed connectivity of 3G. Otherwise, it is become
hectic for the user to go through entire product purchase process.

Benefits of mobile commerce This mCommerce is benefciia for both types of businesses airge sciae ind smiaa
sciae. The mobiae users increise diy by diy, so through mCommerce, your business gets airge ind growing mirket
paice for the wiad ringe of goods ind services.

1. Cover wild distance : Mobile is the only technology which is now become necessary for any person in
social and business life than computers. So, it is easy to reach users through mCommerce.

2. Consumer deals : As more users use mCommerce, there are lots of companies use the mCommerce
site to reach them by giving different and better deals in comparison to their competitor.
3. Savings : Companies try to reach to the consumer directly through mCommerce, so users have no
need to go far to the store physically and at the end it saves user’s time and money.
4. Easy to use : There is no need of the skilled consumer. Buyers can have look thousands of items on
their cell phones and there is no need of online checkout process.
5.Attracts new customers: Another one of the advantages of mobile commerce is that there’s always the

potential to bring in new customers. An optimized site is not just one that retains your current customer

base, but it’s also one that attracts new customers who come across your store and find it appealing.

6. Creates new marketing channel

38
Another of the advantages of mobile commerce is that you create a new marketing channel. iBeacons are
sensors that are placed on shelves, product displays, and signs and interact with nearby mobile devices.
They’re essentially what offer a personalized shopping experience.

Compared to e-commerce communication channels, mobile commerce channels suffer from low bandwidth
and from latency. Hence the mobile page should be lighter than web page created for computers.
If you are interested to shop in some other location, it is difficult in e-commerce. But in mobile commerce, you can be

able to see the offers, discounts and nearest locations. So most of the people use mobile commerce only.

39
 E-commerce M-commerce

Electronic Commerce (or also

called E-commerce) refers to Mobile Commerce (or also called M-commerce) refers
the activities of buying and
to the process of buying and selling products and
Definition
selling products and services services with the use of internet/cellular data via
with the use of electronic wireless handheld devices.
systems such as the internet.

History 1970’s 1990’s

Devices Wireless handheld devices such as cell phones,
Computers, laptops…
used iPads, tablets…

Not mandatory(allow the use of offline mode,

The use of Mandatory
might not work properly though)
Internet

Smaller Larger owing to the bigger number of mobile users

Less limited because of lighter weight and
Connectivi Limited
smaller size leading to easier to carry
ty Mobility
Only at the places where
the electricity and the Broader due to its portability
Reach internet are available

Payment Credit cards Caller’s rate, mobile banking or user’s credit card
gateway
Less simple because of
more complicated user Simple because all functions have been simplified
Usage interface and more functions

Web stores (mobile version/web app), hybrid app,

Web stores
Platform used native app

Less costly for the

More costly for the creation of a mobile app and the
creation a web store and
Cost use of cellular data
the use of internet

MOBILE COMMERCE
Introduction
M-commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services through wireless handheld devices

such as cellular telephone and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Known as next-generation e-commerce, m-

40
commerce enables users to access the Internet without needing to find a place to plug in. The emerging
technology behind m-commerce, which is based on the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP).
What is 'Mobile Commerce'
Mobile commerce, also referred as m-commerce, is the use of wireless handheld devices such as cellular
phones and laptops to conduct commercial transactions online. Mobile commerce transactions continue to
grow, and the term includes the purchase and sale of a wide range of products and services, such as
online banking, bill payment and information delivery.
BREAKING DOWN 'Mobile Commerce'
The increasing adoption of electronic commerce has provided a strong foundation for mobile
commerce. The rapid growth of mobile commerce is being driven by a number of positive factors, including
the demand for applications from an increasingly mobile consumer base; the rapid adoption of online
commerce, thanks to the resolution of security issues; and technological advances that have given
wireless handheld devices advanced capabilities and substantial computing power.

The Convenience of Mobile Commerce The range of devices that are enabled for mobile commerce functionality

is growing, having expanded in recent years to include smartphones and tablets. For example, both Apple Pay and

Android Pay allow customers to seamlessly purchase at stores or in mobile commerce applications.

Mobile commerce has also accelerated through social media platforms, allowing users to purchase products
and services. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram launched "buy" bottoms on their mobile platforms in

2015. Mobile commerce sales in the United States are expected to reach $142 billion in 2016 .

Ways to Improve Mobile Commerce It is important that mobile web pages load quickly, as customers like to make

instant purchases, and pages that load promptly are likely to result in higher sale conversions. Mobile checkouts must be

enhanced to allow customers to easily enter payment information. Ideally, the customer could add the payment

information using a mobile wallet that avoids the use of manual entry, reducing human error and facilitating a smooth

checkout experience.

Types Of Mobile Commerce Services

List and describe important types of m-commerce services and applications.The most popular categories
of m-commerce services and applications for mobilecomputing include:
Location-based services: Users are able to locate restaurants, gasoline stations,local entertainment, or call a cab.
location-based services such as:
Local discount offers
Local weather

41
 Tracking and monitoring of people
Banking and financial services: Users can manage their bank accounts, check account balances,
transfer funds, and pay bills using their cell phones.
Wireless advertising: Cell phones provide another avenue for advertisers to reach potential customers.
Cell phone service providers can sell advertising on phones.
Games and entertainment: Users can download video clips, news clips, weather reports, live TV
programs, and short films designed to play on mobile phones
Information services

A wide variety of information services can be delivered to mobile phone users in much the same way as it
is delivered to PCs. These services include:

News
Stock quotes

Sports scores

Financial records

Traffic reporting

Emergency Alerts

M-Commerce is an emerging discipline involving applications, mobile device, middleware, and wireless
networks. While most of existing eCommerce application can be modified to run a wireless environment, M-
Commerce also involves many more new applications that become possible only due to the wireless infrastructure.
These applications include mobile financial services, user and location specific mobile advertising,
mobile inventory management, wireless business re-engineering, and mobile interactive games.

M-Commerce existing and futures possible application include:

Mobile banking service (check account information, money
transfer) Mobile trade service (stock quotes, selling/buying)
Credit card information (account balance)
Life insurance account information (account information, money
transfer) Airline (online reservation, mileage account check)
Travel (online reservation, timetables)
Concert ticket reservation (online or telephone
booking) Sales (online books, CDs)
Entertainment (games)
News/information (headline, sports, weather, horse racing information, business, technology,
regional) Database, application (yellow pages, dictionary, restaurant guide)
42
Location based application (area information and guides)

43
Wireless user infrastructure and middleware

User infrastructure :To support applications that have been described in the previous section we need
mobile devices that provide sufficient memory, display and communication facilities .The limitations of
these user devices may influence the type of applications that may be run on them. Some of the
capabilities that need to be provided for enabling m commerce transactions are

• dynamic, adaptable user interfaces

• ability to accept many forms of input like handwriting and speech recognition

• location awareness

• multiple interface capability

• security

• service discovery mechanisms

Middleware for M commerce

Mobile middleware is defined as “The enabling layer of software that is used by applications developers to connect their
M-commerce applications with different networks and operating systems without introducing mobility awareness in the
applications”[1]. The middleware allows support better response times and greater reliability. Some of the middleware
that are available are ExpressQ from nettech (www.nettechRF.com), which provides message storage and forwarding
when users are disconnected. Middleware for M commerce environments are required to
44
provide push based information transfer to devices since many applications require periodical information
to be sent to the user.

An example middleware for M commerce is the Gold Rush: Mobile Transaction Middleware with Java-
Object Replication. The mobile middleware provides support for a wire-efficient access protocol, object
caching and replication, logging of deferred transactions, and server-side object server to reduce the
frequency and duration of slow-link connections.

Wireless networking infrastructure

In addition to mobile devices middleware, networking support from wireless networks is crucial there are
five general networking requirements. The following table summarizes the wireless infrastructure
requirements for M commerce applications [1].

45
 Wireless network
Specifications Wired network
lower compare to wired networks, But advanced
wireless technologies such as LTE, LTE-A and
Speed of WLAN-11ad will make it possible to achieve speed
operation Higher par equivalent to wired network

System
Bandwidth High Low, as Frequency Spectrum is very scarse resource

Less as cables are not More as wireless subscriber stations, wireless routers,
Cost expensive wireless access points and adapters are expensive

Wired network installation is

cumbersome and it requires Wireless network installation is easy and it
Installation more time requires less time

Limited, as it operates in the

area covered by connected
systems with the wired Not limited, as it operates in the entire wireless
Mobility network network coverage

Transmission copper wires, optical fiber

medium cables, ethernet EM waves or radiowaves or infrared

requires hubs and switches Network

coverage for network coverage limit More area is covered by wireless base stations
extension extension which are connected to one another.

WLAN, WPAN(Zigbee, bluetooth),

Applications LAN (Ethernet), MAN Infrared, Cellular(GSM,CDMA, LTE)

Channel Interference is less as one Interference is higher due to obstacles between

Interference and wired network will not affect wireless transmitter and receiver e.g. weather
signal power loss the other conditions, reflection from walls, etc.

QoS (Quality of Poor due to high value of jitter and delay in

Service) Better connection setup

High compare to wireless

counterpart, as manufactured
cables have higher
performance due to existence
of wired technology since Reasonably high, This is due to failure of router
Reliability years. will affect the entire network.

46