16 Sep 09 E-Commerce and E-Business
E-Business
What is E-Business?
E-Business is the name given to the strategies, processes and methods used by businesses to generate income through the internet. Similar to e-commerce which is a more commonly used term, e-business focuses more on business strategy; business operation, marketing, sales and the business expansion were as e-commerce focuses more on the ‘sales’ aspect of e-business.
Brief History of E-Business
Starting form simple ‘Static Web Page’s (1994) and progressing through to ‘Dynamic Pages’ and on to ‘Web Enabled Applications’ (2009) has allowed e-business to flourish. This is because the internet has evolved from a publication-based tool into a full business based application allowing for transactions and processes to happen over the NET.
In 2000 we saw the mighty ‘Dot-Com Crash’ bringing down household name companies simply because they did not have a solid e-business strategy or model. Most large dot-com companies risked normal business strategies in favour of raising huge investment that were not based on company profit or a proper revenue model. It is important to note however that even the likes of Google and Amazon did not make any real money in their first years.
IBM one of the first true e-business providers employed a solid e-business model that helped keep IBM making money at a time when everybody else was loosing theirs. IBM opened its first e-business centre in Santa Monica in January 2000 with 16 employees
Birth of The E-Business Model
Retailers and businesses watched as the dot-com market crashed with a loud bang causing shockwaves across the world. It was because of this crash that real e-Business came to life (e-businesses with proper revenue models), investors wouldn’t invest unless there was a very solid e-business model behind the venture, businesses started to employ ‘e-business consultants’ to help them achieve their goals using strategically formulated business plans based on realism.
E-Business models started to emerge for the different online markets allowing businesses to either safely expand onto the internet or entrepreneurs start a new e-business from scratch based on a tried and tested e-formulae.
Example e-business models:
Collaboration Platforms – work extranet. Works in a similar way to corporate extranets and Google Cloud allowing users to collaborate together using the standard applications such as calendar, file sharing, contacts etc.
E-shops – online shop, eshop, e-store, internet shop, webshop, webstore. Allows users to purchase products/services through an online platform.
E-commerce – similar to e-shops but also accommodates electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems.
E-Communities – virtual community, e-community. Social network platforms such as FaceBook.com and MySpace.com 1000’s of other more user specific community platforms.
E-Procurement – Web-based ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), e-MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul), e-sourcing, e-tendering, e-reverse auctioning, e-marketsites. Deals mainly with B2B, B2C and B2G and allows for the sale of supplies, services and work (auction bidding, procurement and inventory management).
E-Auctions – reverse auction, procurement auction, e-auction, sourcing event, e-sourcing. Allows service and product suppliers to place their services /products online while buyers bid for them.
Information Brokerage – Research companies, marketing companies, patent search companies. Deals with the sale of information or requires a registration process to access the information.
Third-Party Marketplaces – Similar to Amazon and EBay third party marketplaces allow sellers to sell items along side the main core products on the market place platform. A small payment is usually due to the third party market place for every sale.
Today’s E-Business
Most companies now have an e-business strategy of some kind, and as the internet becomes more dominant in business transactions, processes and sales - any company that does not have one will be left behind by the competition. As the internet continues to evolve in application and reach (2.2 billion regular users by 2010) business survival depends on having a solid e-business model in place.
Video About E-Business:
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Thanks for this piece on e-business, really helped me understand online e-business a bit more. i live in australia and the government offers a great guide for e-business: http://www.e-businessguide.gov.au/
Great article, very informative. Appreciate the insight!
Very interesting thank you!!