Skip to main content

Infrastructure for EC

Introduction

The e-commerce infrastructure is defined here as the supporting capabilities for online trading between multiple companies which include hardware, software, networks, online payment technologies, security and encryption technologies, online trading business models, legal and regulatory framework, and managerial and organisation capabilities. 

Infrastructure is the shared human, informational, and technical resources on which the work system relies in order to operate, even though these resources exist and are managed outside of the work system. 

To evaluate the interdisciplinary aspects of construction e-commerce infrastructure, one proposes using a four pillar approach. Figure 5.1 illustrates the skeleton for the proposed integrated construction e-commerce infrastructure.




The proposed integrated e-business infrastructure can be broken down into the following four groups of components: 
1) Technological Infrastructure: Technology infrastructure is a work system that uses information technology, computer and communication hardware and software.
  • i) Hardware: It refers to the devices and other physical objects involved in processing information, such as computers, workstations, physical networks, and data storage and transmission devices. 
  • ii) Software: It refers to the computer programs that interpret user inputs and tell the hardware what to do. Software includes operating systems, end-user software such as word processors, and application software related to specialised business tasks such as recording credit card transactions or designing automobiles. 
The key point about technology in a work system is that it has no impact whatsoever ever unless it is used within a business process. A business professional's view of technology is concerned primarily with its capability to support the desired work system and with its long- and short-term costs, risks, and other business implications.

Since work systems exist to produce products and services for customers, their participants' efforts should be directed at doing the necessary work rather than figuring out how to use or work around the available technology. 

Minimising effort consumed by technology is one of the most evident advantages of applications based on internet technology. Permitting a user to click on underlined hypertext links is an incredibly simple method for capturing information about what the user wants to see or do next. Transmitting information to and from the user and a website anywhere in the world is also incredibly simple from a user's viewpoint. Simply enter the website's address to get started and the internet's invisible infrastructure takes care of all subsequent information transmission automatically. 

2) Managerial and Organisational Infrastructure: Business models Business-to-Business (B2B), Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Consumer-to- Consumer (C2C), Internet-enabled business processes, supply chain integration capabilities, organisational cultural issues, users training, and Return on Investment (ROI) justification and calculation. 

3) Legal and Regulatory Infrastructure: Legal requirements for e-business, regulations for electronic trading, and electronic signature act.

4) Information Infrastructure: It includes structures to support information liquidity knowledge management, common across-industry taxonomy, and information availability over the trading network. Information infrastructure is codified information that is shared across a company. Ideally a company's information infrastructure should be stored in databases designed for use in different work systems in different parts of the company. Although "enterprise systems" have provided a path in this direction, a high level of information sharing across the company is still rare. Figure 5.2 illustrates an e-commerce marketplace infrastructure model:


It shows buyers and sellers with different connection configurations (single computer access, multiple computer access, and multiple computers, multiple location networked access). Buyers and sellers can connect to the e-business marketplace through the internet. Internet connections could be established by connecting to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) through dial-up connections, Digital Subscriber Lines (DSLS), T1, T4 or other link types. The e-business configuration (e-business marketplace versus single point buyer B2B e-commerce, single point seller B2B or B2C e-commerce) represents the managerial and organisational aspects. The third aspect is represented through the legal and regulatory frameworks within which online trading activities operate, and the fourth aspect represents the market information that flows between different network nodes. 

It Takes More Than Technology 

Work systems use information technology, computer and communication hardware and software: 
1) Hardware 
2) Software 

The key point about technology in a work system is that it has no impact whatsoever unless it is used within a business process. A business professional's analysis of a work system must include technology but should emphasise the way the technology will be used in the work system rather than the internal details of the technology. 

Infrastructure is the shared human, informational, and technical resources on which the work system relies in order to operate, even though these resources exist and are managed outside of the work system. It is useful to compare the IT infrastructure that supports a work system with the public infrastructure that supports a city's residential, commercial, and civic activities. 

Technology is part of the infrastructure if it is viewed as outside a work system, if it is shared among many work systems, if it is owned and managed by a centralised authority in charge of infrastructure and if its details generally are hidden from users and seem inconsequential to them. Technology is not included in infrastructure if it is dedicated to a particular work system, if it is owned and controlled within the work system, if it is managed by whoever manages the work system, and if its hands-on users need to understand its technical details.



Labels:

Comments

  1. Trade Spine10 July 2021 at 04:03

    Tradespine.co.in is here to provide you best and affordable Advertisement Services In India, Create Online Store In India at low cost and advertise your products & services in millions of people and get lots of customer on just one click.

    Best Online Store in India

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Post

Competitive Advantage - Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Sustainable competitive advantage may be realised by adoption of e-commerce strategies and business models. Rather than simply exchanging procurement transactions as with e-commerce practices, leading enterprises are executing e- commerce to share intellectual capital with their trading partners working as a value chain that provides a competitive advantage for the development and distribution of their products. The idea of giving the customer access to tracking information via the internet was a new one that had considerable appeal to the customer. For example , the use of new system also had considerable advantage to FedEx who no longer had to deal with a vast number of calls checking up on progress of consignment; because the customer could now access the system themselves. But e-commerce development and implementation could not be entirely private- customer had to become involved at some stage. The competitor was quick to catch on to the idea and UPS (United Parsal Services) was so...
Post a Comment
Read more

E-Commerce Implementation

The strategy diagram divides implementation into the technical and the business aspects and these are briefly considered below: Technical Implementation : The approach to technical implementation of an E-Commerce system depends on the business objectives, business requirements and technologies that have been selected. It is noted that many internet E-Commerce systems are cobbled(repaired) together rather than designed and that is often apparent. It is important that the design process considers: Is of use of system by intended end-users : Always an important factor in system design but crucial if the end user are to be members of the public with perhaps limited computer literacy and the option to switch to an alternative website if not satisfied. Functionality that users need : This has to be what the users want rather than what the organisation things they need. Uses of e-commerce are not a captive audience that can be interviewed and evaluated like the uses of a traditional IS develo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Electronic commerce introduction

Electronic Commerce ( e-commerce ) generally refers to all forms of transactions relating to commercial activities, involving both organizations and individuals that are based upon the processing and transmission of digitised data, including text, sound and visual images. E-Commerce has created a new environment in business transactions using internet. It deals with providing information to consumers regarding products of their interest. It provides a platform of advertisement of products, allows negotiations, order for raw materials, settlement of financial transactions etc. Electronic commerce is an integrations of communication services, data management and security mechanisms that allows organizations to exchange information about the sale of goods and services, where, Communication services supports the transfer of information from the buyer to the seller electronically. Data management is the exchange and storing of data in a uniform format to facilitate easy exchange of infor...
Post a Comment
Read more