Electronic Commerce Software

Chapter 9Bridgette Batten

Susan Harper

Objectives

Finding and evaluating Web hosting services Basic functions Advanced functions Software for small and midsize businesses Software for midsize to large businesses Software for large businesses that have

existing information technology infrastructure

Web Methods

Software that uses XML Used for B2B Electronic Commerce Over 1200 installations Facilitates exchange of information between

companies

Self-hosting– Run servers in-house– Used by larger companies

Third party hosting– AKA: commerce service providers; managed service

providers (MSPs), application service providers (ASPs), Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

– Smaller to mid-size companies

WEB HOSTING ALTERNATIVES

Third party hosting options

Shared hosting- the client’s Web site is on a server that hosts other Web sites simultaneously and is operated by the service provider at its location.

Dedicated hosting- the service provider makes a Web server available to the client, but the client does not share the server with other clients of the service provider.

Co-location service- service provider rents a physical space to the client to install its own server hardware.

The List

BASIC FUNCTIONS OF ECOMMERCE SOFTWARE

Catalog Display– Catalog

– Static Catalog

– Dynamic Catalog

Small eCommerce Site

Shopping Cart

Forms-based shopping– problems, because confusing and error prone

Shopping Carts are a standard– Keeps tract of items, very easy to use

Information must be stored for shopper to retrieve– Create and Store cookies

Transaction Processing

Occurs when the shopper proceeds to the virtual checkout counter by clicking a checkout button. Then the eCommerce software performs calculations- discounts, tax, shipping costs. The customers Web browser software and the seller’s Web server software both switch into a secure state of communication.

ADVANCED FUNCTIONS OF ECOMMERCE SOFTWARE

Middleware– Type of software that connections ecommerce

software and existing accounting system

Examples– BEA Systems, Broadvision, Digital River

Enterprise Application Integration and Databases

Application software Application server Business logic Application integration Page-based systems Component-based application system Database manager Distribution information systems Distribution database systems Open Source

MySQL- open source software that can be downloaded and used at no cost

Web Services

What Web Services Can Do How Web Services Work SOAP, UDDI, and WSDL

– Simple Object Access Protocol– Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration– Web Services Description Language

The Future of Web Services

Integration with ERP Systems

ECOMMERCE SOFTWARE FOR SMALL AND MIDSIZE COMPANIES

Basic Commerce Service Providers

Mall-Style Commerce Service Providers– Yahoo! Store– Bigstep

Data mining-looking for hidden patterns in data

Estimated Operating Expenses for a Small Web Business

Operating Costs Cost Estimate– Initial site setup fee $200– Annual maintenance fee 1200– Domain name registration 70– Scanner for photo conversion 300– Photo editing software 100– HTML and site design help 400– Merchant credit card setup fee 200Total First-Year Cost $2470

ECOMMERCE SOFTWARE FOR MIDSIZE TO LARGE BUSINESSES

Web Site Development Tools– Microsoft FrontPage– Macromedia Dreamweaver

3 midrange electronic commerce systems– Intershop Enfinity– IBM WebSphere Commerce Professional Edition– Microsoft Commerce Server 2002

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE SOFTWARE FOR LARGE BUSINESSES

Need to handle higher transaction loads Need dedicated software applications to

handle specific elements of their online businesses

Telltale sign is price, also extensive support for b2b commerce

Enterprise-class software

Enterprise-Class Electronic Commerce Software

Customer Relationship Management Software

Obtain data from operations software that conducts activities such as sales automation, customer service center operations, and marketing campaigns.

Examples– Siebel Systems– Oracles CRM

Supply Chain Management Software & Content Management Software

Helps companies to coordinate planning and operations with their partners in the industry supply chains.

Helps companies control the large amounts of text, graphics, and media files.

Knowledge Management

Includes tools that read electronic documents, scanned paper documents, e-mail messages, and Web pages.

IBM Lotus Discovery Server Microsoft SharePoint Technologies

– Total cost $50,000 to $1 million or more