Dr.

Ankit Mehrotra

Summary Points on Web Information Systems

The Internet is a powerful channel that presents new opportunities for an organization to:
Touch customers
Enrich products and services with information
Reduce costs
E-commerce
E-business
the buying and selling of goods and services the conducting of business on the Internet, not only
over the Internet.
buying and selling, but also serving customers and
collaborating with business partners
Commerce accelerated and enhanced by IT,
in particular the Internet.
the use of Internet technologies to internetwork and
empower business processes, electronic commerce,
It enables customers, consumers, and
and enterprise communication and collaboration
companies to form powerful new
within a company and with its customers, suppliers,
relationships that would not be possible
and other business stakeholders.
without the enabling technologies.
E-commerce involves
E-business involves
Digitally enabled commercial transactions
Digital enablement of transactions and processes
between organizations and individuals
within a firm, involving information systems under the
which include all transactions mediated by
control of the firm
digital technology
E-business does not involve commercial transactions
Commercial transactions involve the
across organizational boundaries where value is
exchange of value across organizational or
exchanged
individual boundaries in return for products
or services

Benefits of E-Commerce
Organizational benefits
Global reach
Cost reduction
Supply chain improvement
Extended hours
Customization
New business models

Societal benefits
Telecommuting: more people work and shop at home.
Higher standard of living: competetive prices allow lower income
earners to shop more
Hope for the poor: great opportunity for the poor to sell, buy and
learn new skills
Availability of public services: health care, education, and distribution
of government social services acan be done at a reduced cost to a
large numebr of people.

Consumer benefits
Ubiquity: EC allows shopping 24/7/365 from almost any location.
More products and services: EC gives more choices.
Cheaper products and services: EC provides price varity for goods and services.
Instant delivery: In certain cases EC provides instant delivery, e.g. digitized product.
Information availability: relevant and detailed information in seconds.
Particpation in auctions: virtual auctions
Electronic community: consumers can interact with other consumers.
Get it your way: customization and personalization of products and services

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Eight unique features of e-commerce include:
E-commerce technology is ubiquitous, meaning that it is available just about everywhere
a computer can connect to the Internet.
It has global reach, permitting commercial transactions to cross cultural and national
boundaries far more conveniently and cost effectively than is true in traditional
commerce.
It operates according to universal standards shared by all nations around the world,
whereas most traditional commerce technologies differ from one nation to the next.
It provides information richness, enabling an online merchant to deliver to an audience of
millions complex and rich marketing messages with text, video, and audio in a way not
possible with traditional commerce technologies, such as radio, television, or magazines.
It is interactive, meaning it allows for two-way communication between merchant and
consumer and enables the merchant to engage a consumer in ways similar to a face-toface experience but on a much more massive, global scale.
It increases information density (the total amount and quality of information available to
all market participants).
It permits personalization and customization: Merchants can target their marketing
messages to specific individuals by adjusting the message to a persons name, interests,
and past purchases.
Social technology enables user content creation and distribution and supports social
networks.
Digital market and digital goods
Digital markets are said to be more transparent than traditional markets. The Internet has
created a digital marketplace where millions of people are able to exchange massive amounts of
information directly, instantly, and for free. Information asymmetry is reduced. Digital markets
are very flexible and efficient, with reduced search and transaction costs, lower menu prices, and
the ability to change prices dynamically based on market conditions. Digital markets provide
many opportunities to sell directly to the consumer, bypassing intermediaries, such as distributors
or retail outlets. Other features include delayed gratification, price discrimination, market
segmentation, switching costs, and network effects.
Digital goods are goods that can be delivered over a digital network and include music, video,
software, newspapers, magazines, and books. Once a digital product has been produced, the cost
of delivering that product digitally is extremely low. New business models based on delivering
digital goods are challenging bookstores, publishers, music labels, and film studios that depend
on delivery of traditional goods.
The principal e-commerce business models
1. E-tailer: Sells physical products directly to consumers or individual businesses.
2. Transaction broker: Saves users money and time by processing online sale transactions
and generates a fee each time.

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3. Market creator: Provides a digital environment where buyers and sellers meet, search
for and display products, and establishes prices for those products; it can provide online
auctions and reverse auctions.
4. Content provider: Creates revenue by providing digital content, such as digital news,
music, photos, or video over the Web.
5. Community provider: Provides an online meeting place where people with similar
interests can communicate and find useful information.
6. Portal: Provides an initial point of entry to the Web along with specialized content and
other services.
7. Service provider: Provides Web 2.0 applications such as photo sharing, video sharing,
and user-generated content as services. Provides other services such as online data storage
and backup.
The principal e-commerce revenue models
1. Advertising revenue: Generates revenue by attracting a large audience of visitors who
can then be exposed to advertisements. Its the most widely used revenue model in ecommerce.
2. Sales revenue: Companies derive revenue by selling goods, information, or services to
customers.
3. Subscription revenue: A Web site offering content or services charges a subscription fee
for access to some or all of its offerings on an ongoing basis.
4. Free/fremium revenue: Basic services or content are free while advanced or special
features cost extra.
5. Transaction fee revenue: A company receives a fee for enabling or executing a
transaction.
6. Affiliate revenue: Sites that steer customers to an affiliate business receive a referral fee
or percentage of the revenue from any resulting sales.
Social networking and wisdom of crowds
Networking sites sell banner, video, and text ads; sell user preference information to marketers;
and sell products such as music, videos, and e-books. Corporations set up their own social
networking profiles to interact with potential customers and listen to what social networkers
are saying about their products, and obtain valuable feedback from consumers. At user-generated
content sites, high-quality video content is used to display advertising. Online communities are
ideal venues to employ viral marketing techniques.
Creating sites where thousands, even millions, of people can interact offers business firms new
ways to market and advertise products and services, and to discover who likes or dislikes their
products. In a phenomenon called the wisdom of crowds some argue that large numbers of
people can make better decisions about a wide range of topics or products than a single person or
even a small committee of experts. In marketing, the wisdom of crowds concept suggests that
firms should consult with thousands of their customers first as a way of establishing a
relationship with them, and second, to better understand how their products and services are used

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and appreciated. Actively soliciting customer comments builds trust and sends the message to
customers that the company cares what they are thinking and that customer advice is valuable.
Behavioral targeting
Behavioral targeting refers to tracking the click-streams of individuals for the purpose of
understanding their interests and intentions, and exposing them to advertisements which are
uniquely suited to their behavior. Ultimately, this more precise understanding of the customer
leads to more efficient marketing and larger sales and revenues. Behavioral targeting of millions
of Web users also leads to the invasion of personal privacy without user consent.

Behavioral targeting takes place at two levels: At individual Web sites and on various advertising
networks that track users across thousands of Web sites. Most e-commerce Web sites collect data
on visitor browser activity and store it in a database. They have tools to record the site that users
visited prior to coming to the Web site, where these users go when they leave that site, the type
of operating system they use, browser information, and even some location data. They also
record the specific pages visited on the particular site, the time spent on each page of the site, the
types of pages visited, and what the visitors purchased. Firms analyze this information about
customer interests and behavior to develop precise profiles of existing and potential customers.

Business-to-business electronic commerce

Business-to-business transactions can occur via a company Web site, net marketplace, or private
exchange. Web sites make it easy to sell and buy direct and indirect goods over the Internet,
compare suppliers, products, and prices, and even find out how others feel about the product.
Further, supply chain linkages through intranets and extranets can support JIT, reduce cycle
times, and other practices of continuous improvement. Because of the ease and efficiencies
brought by the Internet, business-to-business participants can save a significant amount of money
and time.
Net marketplaces Vs Private industrial networks (private exchanges).
A net marketplace is a single digital marketplace based on Internet technology linking many
buyers to many sellers. The net marketplace is an important business model for B2B e-commerce
because some net marketplaces serve vertical markets for specific industries and other net
marketplaces serve horizontal markets, selling goods that are available in many different
industries. Also, net marketplaces can sell either direct goods or indirect goods. Net marketplaces
are more transaction-oriented and less relationship-oriented than private industrial networks.

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E-Commerce - EDI
EDI stands for Electronic Data Exchange. EDI is an electronic way of transferring business
documents in an organization internally between its various departments or externally with
suppliers, customers or any subsidiaries etc. In EDI, paper documents are replaced with
electronic documents like word documents, spreadsheets etc.

EDI Documents
Following are few important documents used in EDI
Invoices
Purchase orders
Shipping Requests
Acknowledgement
Business Correspondence letters
Financial information letters
Steps in an EDI System
Following are the steps in an EDI System.
A program generates the file which contains the processed document.
The document is converted into an agreed standard format.
The file containing the document is send electronically on network.
The trading partner receives the file.
An acknowledgement document is generated and sent to the originating organization.
Advantages of an EDI System
Following are the advantages of an EDI System.
Reduction in data entry errors. Chances of errors are much less being use of
computer in data entry.

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Shorter processing life cycle As orders can be processed as soon as they are entered
into the system. This reduced the processing time of the transfer documents.
Electronic form of data It is quite easy to transfer or share data being in electronic
format.
Reduction in paperwork As lot of paper documents are replaced with electronic
documents there is huge reduction in paperwork.
Cost Effective As time is saved and orders are processed very effectively, EDI proves
to be higly cost effective.
Standard Means of communication EDI enforces standards on the content of data and
its format which leads to clearer communication.

RFID and GIS

GIS
A geographic information system (GIS) captures, manages, analyzes and displays multidimensional geographic data, also called geospatial data. GIS can connect location-tracking
devices and apps.
GIS software can link geospatial data where things or people are and where they are going - with
descriptive data what things are like or what customers are doing,
GIS's ability to track customers' movement and behavior in real space enables new strategies for
marketing, retail, and entrepreneurship. Their ability to track products along the supply chain also
offers opportunities in logistics and order fulfilment.
Collecting home and work addresses only paints a static that are organized by locations. Their
movements over time are not tracked. Data geographic organized by zip code only cannot reveal
customers' habits. By integrating geographic information systems, businesses can more
effectively solve problems such as organizing sales territories, pinpointing optimal locations,
finding customers, actions, delivering services. Geospatial data can also map competitors action.
GIS tools have made significant contributions to decision making in finance, accounting,
marketing, and BI. Business applications include the following
Analysts can pinpoint the average income in areas where the highest performing stores
established.
Retailers can learn how store sales are impacted by population or the proximity to
competitors' stores.
A retail chain with plans to open a hundred new stores can use GIS to identify relevant
demographics, proximity to highways, public transportation, and competitors' stores to
select the best location options.
Food and consumer products companies can chart locations of complain calls enabling
product traceability in the event of a crisis or recall.
Sales reps might better target their customer visits by analyzing the geography of sales.
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With current GIS, geospatial, and geocoding technologies and platforms, GISs be easily
incorporated and managed within data analytics and visualization software.
With the GIS moving into the cloud, developers of enterprise applications based
on SAP, Microsoft Office, SharePoint, MicroStrategy, IBM Cognos, and Microsoft Dynamics
CRM are using it to create a wide range of mobile applications.
RFID Radio Frequency Identification Technology
RFID Radio Frequency Identification is a technology that is used for identification in everything
from shop tagging to vehicle tracking and many more applications.
The use of RFID, Radio Frequency Identification technology has become widespread within
many areas of industry. RFID, Radio Frequency Identification provides an ideal technology for
tracking assets and identifying them by using a simple low cost antenna attached to the item in
question.
Alongside RFID provides automatic data collection for which there are now several standards,
and this enables RFID technology to be deployed in an effective and known manner. With RFID
technology standardised, users are able to rely on the technology to provide the results they need.
RFID - the benefits
RFID technology provides many benefits for organisations ho use the system. RFID provide an
easy way in which data can be collected and assets tracked:
RFID technology provides a low cost form of data collection and asset management.
RFID technology is widely used and therefore the economies of scale can be utilised to
advantage.
RFID technology enables data collection in environments that are unsuitable for workers as
RFID tags can provide data in harsh environments.
RFID is able to provide many reads and write functions per second, although it is not a very
high data rate system, it is sufficient for most data monitoring applications.
Data on an RFID tag can be altered repeatedly.
RFID technology can be used with existing systems including bar codes and Wi-Fi
As a result, RFID technology is being used increasingly as organisations need automatic methods
of tracking assets and collecting data.
RFID - the applications
RFID systems can be used in a variety of ways. There are many RFID applications which have
gained popularity over the past years:
Store product identification - RFID technology can be used within shops and stores as a form
of alert for goods that have / have not been paid for.
Asset tracking - RFID systems can monitor when RFID tags pass given points and in this way
track the assets.
Airline baggage identification - airlines need to monitor where baggage is and route it to the
required destination. RFID tags can be attached to the bags to automate baggage routing

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Parts identification - Data can be written to an RFID tags defining the identity of a part. This
can then be used within a manufacturing, stock holding or other process to identify and locate
parts.
Production control - when items are manufactured they pass through many stages. RFID tags
can be attached to items. These can be updated each time the item passes through a stage in
production. This will enable the manufacturing system to track all items and know what stage
they are at, and any other information such as test failures, etc.
Employee access control - many companies today require intelligent access control systems.
RFID technology is able to provide control as well as tracking, noting when cards pass
particular access points, etc.
Supply chain control - with manufacturing working to much tighter timescales with items
such as Just-In-Time techniques being involved tracking of the items in a supply chain
becomes more critical. RFID tags can be added to items to enable this to be undertaken
accurately and more quickly.
Vehicle tracking - RFID technologycan be used to determine when vehicles have passed
particular points and in this way their location can be approximately determined.
Livestock identification - RFID tags can be injected into animals, under the skin and this
enables accurate determination of which animal is which so that injections, etc can be given
to the correct animal.
These represent some of the more standard applications for RFID technology. Many more
specialised applications are also in use.
What is RFID? - the basics
RFID technology is a simple method of exchanging data between two entities namely a reader/
writer and a tag. This communication allows information about the tag or the element carrying
the tag to be determined and in this way it enables processes to be managed more easily.
An RFID system comprises a number of elements:
RFID reader / writer: The reader write is used to communicate with the tags that may pass
within range. The RFID reader writer will normally be located in a fixed position and will be
used to interrogate an RFID tag. Dependent upon the application and the format of the system
and the RFID reader / writer, data may also be written to the RFID tag
RFID tag: RFID tags may also be called RFID transponders and are typically located on
items that are mobile. They are small and generally cheap so that they can be attached to low
cost (or high cost) items that need to have information associated with them. They are also
generally considered as being disposable. The RFID tag contains data that is relayed to the
reader, and in some systems it may also be possible to update the data within the tag to
indicate that the tag and hence the item has undergone a specific stage in a process, etc.
RFID application software: Like all systems these days, RFID systems need application
software to run the overall system. With many systems there will be a number of different
reader / writers and the data to and from these needs to be coordinated and analysed.
Application software will be required for these.
Although each RFID system will vary according to its requirements, these are the main elements
which can be found.

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RFID technology has become widespread in its use. It offers may advantages and RFID is a
particularly versatile system, being able to be used in many areas from shops, to manufacturing
plants and also for general asset tracking as well as a host of other innovative applications.

M-Commerce services and applications

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-commerce enables users to access the Internet without
needing to find a place to plug in.
The most popular categories of m-commerce services and applications for mobile computing
include:
Location-based services: Users are able to locate restaurants, gasoline stations, local
entertainment, or call a cab.
Banking and financial services: Users can manage their bank accounts, checking 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.
Personalized services: Services that anticipate what a customer wants based on that
persons location or data profile, such as updated airline flight information or beaming
coupons for nearby restaurants.
Barriers to m-commerce
M-commerce represents a tiny fraction of all online purchases because wireless mobile devices
cant display merchandise very well. Mobile phones have tiny keyboards, small screens, and
slow data transfer speeds. Many merchants don't yet offer m-commerce specialties like in-store,
immediate coupons or discounts. Therefore, m-commerce lacks the ubiquity, richness, and reach
of traditional online e-commerce. M-commerce will benefit from interoperable payment systems
for wireless devices and faster wireless networks to support more data-rich communications.

Cloud computing
Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing resources as a service. This term generally
makes reference to a three tiered architectural computing model or cloud stack that is inclusive of
SaaS (software as a service), PaaS (platform as a service) and IaaS (infrastructure as a service)
delivery that may be obtained from a variety of cloud solution providers or hosted internally via a
private cloud. Cloud computing may also include the delivery of other types of IT assets as a
service; including: storage as a service, databases as a service, security as a service and backend
as a service offerings.

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Benefits
The adoption of cloud computing by organizations has increased exponentially in recent years,
due to the efficiency and cost saving benefits that this computing model promises to deliver,
which is especially appealing to organizations with limited IT staff and/or limited IT budgets.
Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) in particular, can also substantially benefit from the cloud
computing model for the delivery of software applications as a service, which offers many
operational and administrative cost saving advantages over the traditional model of on premise
software delivery for software providers.
Drawbacks
There are very few disadvantages that apply to cloud computing, with one key exception: the risk
of low quality service delivery from a cloud provider. Choosing the wrong cloud computing
service provider can be extremely detrimental for any organization, as their reliance on cloud
SaaS, PaaS and/or IaaS solutions from a single vendor may place all of the responsibility for IT
service delivery within their business on the shoulders of a third party. Likewise, any enterprise
that is considering the use of cloud computing services needs to ensure that they have properly
assessed the scalability, availability and flexibility of the cloud solutions they plan to adopt and
they also need to investigate the reliability of the cloud solution provider(s) that their
organization plans to engage.
Types
Cloud computing broadly breaks down into 3 different models - choosing the right one starts
with understanding business objectives and how best they align with the values each model
delivers.
When weighing up which Cloud platform to use, businesses need to consider first and foremost
how critical the applications they wish to move into the cloud are to their business. Also consider
any regulatory or data protection requirements, as well as application workloads, and how
integrated applications need to be with the other enterprise functions. All of these factors help
determine whether a Public, Private or Hybrid Cloud solution is best suited.
Public Cloud
A Public Cloud is one thats based on the standard cloud computing model where services,
applications and storage are made available to users over the Internet as a service typically on
a Pay Per Use model. While Public Clouds are appealing to many businesses as they reduce
complexity and lead times, because the underlying architecture is fixed, there is less scope for
customization for security and performance. There are many types of Public Cloud, the most
common being Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), Platform as a service (PaaS), Software as a
service (SaaS) and Desktop as a service (DaaS) platforms. The economies of scale afforded by
Public Cloud computing are what make this technology highly attractive.
Suited to Companies that need to bring a service to market quickly, have less
regulatory hurdles to overcome, or are looking to outsource part or all of their
organizational IT requirements. Under this scenario, the business can simply sign-up
for and start using Cloud Computing, online storage and other services immediately.
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Private Cloud
Private Clouds consist of cloud infrastructure that is deployed solely for a single organization,
whether managed internally or hosted by a third-party externally. They require a significant level
of engagement from both management and IT departments to virtualize the business
environment, and also mean evaluating how existing resources should be reallocated in the cloud.
Private Clouds offer scope for advanced security, high availability or fault tolerant solutions that
are not possible in a Public Cloud. However, as they are effectively stand-alone solutions in
their own right, building a Private Cloud still involves significant investment, and does not
therefore deliver the shorter-term economies that Public Cloud can.
Suited to Businesses that must comply with strict regulations or that have highly
critical applications will choose internal Private Clouds. With a private cloud,
businesses install their own server and storage hardware but have the flexibility to
shift workloads among servers as usage spikes or they deploy new applications.
Hybrid Cloud
As the name suggests, a hybrid cloud comprises both private (internal) and public (external)
cloud services. Typically a business might run an application primarily on a private cloud, but
rely on a public cloud to accommodate spikes in usage. Customized rules and policies govern
areas such as security and the underlying infrastructure, with tasks allocated to internal or
external clouds as necessary.
Suited to E-commerce. Because e-commerce sites must respond to fluctuations in
traffic both on a daily and seasonal cycle, the actual work of processing the orders can
benefit from the elastic characteristics of public cloud resources. On the other hand,
legal regulations strictly govern how personal and payment information can be
handled, and this type of sensitive data is more secure if it stays on-premise in the
Private Cloud. This hybrid solution represents the best of both worlds as it places the
order processing and transactional front-end of the shop where it can take advantage
of resource scalability, while it keeps the payment and account management services
strictly private.

Services of cloud computing

Cloud computing consists of three distinct types of computing services delivered remotely to
clients via the internet. Clients typically pay a monthly or annual service fee to providers, to gain
access to systems that deliver software as a service, platforms as a service and infrastructure as a
service to subscribers. Clients who subscribe to cloud computing services can reap a variety of
benefits, depending on their particular business needs at a given point in time. The days of large
capital investments in software and IT infrastructure are now a thing of the past for any enterprise
that chooses to adopt the cloud computing model for procurement of IT services. The ability to
access powerful IT resources on an incremental basis is leveling the playing field for small and
medium sized organizations, providing them with the necessary tools and technology to compete
in the global marketplace, without the previously requisite investment in on premise IT
resources. Clients who subscribe to computing services delivered via the cloud are able to
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greatly reduce the IT service expenditures for their organizations; and gain access to more agile
and flexible enterprise level computing services, in the process.
SaaS
Saas (Software as a Service) provides clients with the ability to use software applications on a
remote basis via an internet web browser. Software as a service is also referred to as
software on demand.
Clients can access SaaS applications from anywhere via the web because service providers
host applications and their associated data at their location. The primary benefit of SaaS, is a
lower cost of use, since subscriber fees require a much smaller investment than what is
typically encountered under the traditional model of software delivery. Licensing fees,
installation costs, maintenance fees and support fees that are routinely associated with the
traditional model of software delivery can be virtually eliminated by subscribing to the SaaS
model of software delivery.
Examples of SaaS include: Google Applications and internet based email applications like
Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail and Gmail.
PaaS
PaaS (Platform as a Service) provides clients with the ability to develop and publish
customized applications in a hosted environment via the web. It represents a new model for
software development that is rapidly increasing in its popularity.
An example of PaaS is Salesforce.com. PaaS provides a framework for agile software
development, testing, deployment and maintenance in an integrated environment. Like SaaS,
the primary benefit of PaaS, is a lower cost of use, since subscriber fees require a much
smaller investment than what is typically encountered when implementing traditional tools
for software development, testing and deployment. PaaS providers handle platform
maintenance and system upgrades, resulting in a more efficient and cost effective solution for
enterprise software
development.
IaaS
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) allows clients to remotely use IT hardware and resources on
a pay-as-you-go basis. It is also referred to as HaaS (hardware as a service). Major IaaS
players include companies like IBM, Google and Amazon.com. IaaS employs virtualization,
a method of creating and managing infrastructure resources in the cloud. IaaS provides
small start-up firms with a major advantage, since it allows them to gradually expand their IT
infrastructure without the need for large capital investments in hardware and peripheral
systems.

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