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E-business
Key Issues, Applications and
Technologies
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E-business:
Key Issues, Applications and Technologies
Edited
by Brian Stanford-Smith
and
Paul T. Kidd
2000, ISBN 1-58603-089-2
Preface
- Every business, it is frequently
claimed, can expect to be radically changed by Internet and World
Wide Web technologies. Reality, however, is very different. The
adoption of these technologies will take time and then not all
Internet applications will be suitable for every company. Consequently,
there are many unrealistic expectations surrounding the Internet.
The topic is certainly of great significance but what really
matters for each business is the often forgotten question ¾
how can the Internet and associated technologies improve my long-term
competitive advantage?
To answer this question, businesses need to better understand
the technologies, their potential applications and ways they
can be used to add value for customers, support new strategies,
and improve existing operations. This book deals with these points
but it is not just about electronic commerce (e-commerce), in
the narrow sense of buying and selling products over the Internet,
but the broader theme of electronic business (e-business) which
affects products, business processes, strategies, and relationships
with customers, suppliers, distributors and competitors.
Progress is rapid and so we did not wish to record what is available
now but to indicate what is coming. For this reason, we contacted
authors operating at the frontiers of the developments so the
reader can more appreciate the directions in which these technologies
are heading. The resulting papers, of which there are over 150,
have been collated into ten sections, which have been grouped
in three parts: Key Issues, Applications Areas, and Applications,
Tools and Technologies:
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- Part I: Key Issues
- The first section deals with
Business, Strategy and Policy and gives an overview of the emerging
technologies and the technical, legal and organisational barriers
that still need to be removed. It considers the requirement to
use information and communication technologies within the context
of a broader strategy and to manage technical change in an effective
manner.
- The second section in the
first part examines some Legal, Regulatory, Security, Trust and
Confidence aspects. The problems addressed in this section include
new legal liability that might arise from the use of the World
Wide Web and the legislative developments needed to support e-Business
while protecting citizens' rights and helping to prevent criminal
activities. It considers also the importance of using tools such
as cryptography to ensure safe and secure electronic transactions.
- Training, Innovation and Regional
Development form the topics for this section whose papers address
three important side issues of the World Wide Web. The papers
examine it as means of delivering education, the importance of
innovative projects and its potential for development in the
regions.
- Part II: Application Areas
- The Knowledge Based Enterprise,
in all its forms, has been foreseen as an important source of
sustainable competitive advantage since the early 1980s. This
section describes actions being taken to exploit and share knowledge
both within the enterprise and between partners in extended enterprises.
Also addressed is the question of valuing knowledge assets.
- Section five looks at Procurement,
Logistics and Supply Chain Management. Topics covered include
improvements to supply chains, order fulfillment, as well as
tendering and contract bidding.
- The issue of The Virtual and
Extended Enterprise is dealt with in section six. The papers
in this section deal with ways in which companies are using technologies
to operate in partnership with other enterprises, as well as
working across both distance and different time zones.
- Section seven, in Part II,
deals with E-business for Manufacturing Industry and covers a
wide range of topics as well as some projects being undertaken
as part of the global Intelligent Manufacturing Systems initiative.
- Part III: Applications,
Tools and Technologies
- The first section in Part
III addresses the familiar subject of Selling over the Internet
and the World Wide Web to end consumers. Topics covered include
product presentation, data mining, personalisation of services,
and intelligent searching.
- A large number of Applications
are presented in section nine. These cover the food industry,
energy markets, banking, on-line government, and health care,
to mention just a few.
- The final section of the book
describes the Tools and Technologies that will support applications
and use of the Internet and the World Wide Wed: speech activated
interfaces, content development, research and development needs,
support of tele-work and working across distances.
- At the heart of e-business
are moves away from analogue towards low-cost digital technology
and the linking of individual pieces of technology (PCs, set-top
boxes, personal mobile devices) via networks such as the Internet.
Digital networks will enable functionality, better ways of operating,
and opportunities that are either new or which hitherto have
been uneconomic or too difficult to achieve. E-business will
blur the boundaries between traditional industries and create
new ones.
A business rarely makes radical changes but is constantly making
adjustments to circumstances. It must now adapt to the global
implications of the Internet and World Wide Web. We hope that
this book will aid awareness of the implications so that the
changes are managed wisely.
In producing this book the editors were grateful for financial
help from Key Action II: New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce
which is part of the European Commission's Programme for Information
Society Technologies.
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- Brian Stanford-Smith, Stanford
Taylor Matchett Ltd
Paul T. Kidd, Cheshire Henbury
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- Copyright
© 2001, Cheshire Henbury, Created by Paul T. Kidd, Revised
October 2001
http://www.CheshireHenbury.com
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