Download Electronic Commerce - Purdue University :: Computer Science

Electronic Commerce –
Lessons Learned and a
Look to the Future
Dr. H. E. (Buster) Dunsmore
Purdue University
Department of Computer Sciences
Electronic Commerce
• Commerce = negotiated exchange of
products and/or service between buyer and
seller
• New developments have become part of
commerce through centuries – cargo ships,
printing press, railroad, telephone
• Internet and World-Wide Web began to be
used in commerce in 1990s – birth of
Electronic Commerce (e-commerce)
Result of:
• Invention of Web
• Proliferation of fast PCs with audio and
video capabilities
• Internet access through fast modems and
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
What Went Right?
• Easy Internet connectivity
• Web advances in presenting information
and interactivity
• Websites to learn about businesses,
organizations, products, services, FAQs,
customer support, telephone and email
contact information
• Email and chat correspondence
What Went Right?
• Web-based ordering, status checking, tracking
• 24-hour availability, global reach, multimedia,
always up-to-date
• Web access to bank accounts, credit card accounts,
investment portfolios
• Payment via credit card and bank account
• New businesses based entirely on Web invented
(for example, auctions)
What Went Wrong?
• Organizations not ready for volume of
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traffic on Websites
Poor navigation, difficulty getting around
Website
Poor reliability – lost and faulty orders,
disconnection from Website
Lack of human contact in case of trouble
Lack of privacy and security
What Went Wrong?
• Junk mail and spam – email containing unsolicited
ads to consumers and other business prospects
• Companies did not develop good business models
for Web
• Some businesses based entirely on Web sales have
vanished
• No viable model has yet been developed for
distance learning
What does the future hold for
electronic commerce?
• Organizations learn how to integrate Internet/Web
with everything else …including educational
organizations incorporating distance learning
• Customers expect organization to have Web access
for information and transactions
• Customers will have access to Web wherever they
are
• Connectivity speeds will continue to increase
• Reliability will get better – greatly decreasing lost
and faulty orders, disconnection from Website
• Organizations gather data about prospects and
customers in unprecedented amounts – through
site registration, questionnaires, and as part of
taking orders
• Online stores can tell:
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Who comes to their Website
What products they look at
How long they stay
Which promotions they respond to
What they buy
How many leave without making a purchase
• Better use of ads – “Neilsen” ratings for Websites,
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targeted ads, visit-specific ads
Better privacy and security
Electronic payment systems – credit card, bank
funds transfer, ecash
Opt-in email – customers voluntarily sign up to
receive email about product categories or other
subjects they are interested in
Lower transaction costs – if an e-commerce site is
implemented well, the Web can significantly lower
both order-taking costs up front and customer
service costs after the sale
• Larger purchases per transaction – Customer can
be presented “what other people who ordered this
product/service also purchased”
• Larger catalogs – A company can present a catalog
on the web that would never fit in an ordinary
mailbox (for example, Amazon’s 3,000,000
books)
• Integration into the business cycle – A Website
that is well-integrated into the business cycle can
offer customers more information than previously
available. For example, manufacturing, shipping,
tracking like Dell and FedEx do now.
• Improved customer interactions – With
automated tools it is possible to interact
with a customer in richer ways at virtually
no cost. For example, the customer might
get an email when the order is confirmed,
when the order is shipped, and after the
order arrives.
• Electronic commerce will become an
integral part of commerce
What does the Future Hold for
Internet and Computing
Technology?
Networking Technology
Power-Line Networking
Way to connect
computers in home
or office using
electrical wiring
Power-Line Networking
• More convenient than phone lines
• Connect computer to network through the
outlet that provides power
• Data travels through electrical wiring
• Requires no new wiring and adds no cost
to electric bill
• Power-line networking is inexpensive
method for connecting computers in
different places in home or office
Wireless Networking
• Creates network by sending infrared or radio
signals between computers
• Better than Power-line networking; some
computers are not “plugged in” to electrical
outlet
• Laptop with wireless network card is
completely portable throughout home or
office
• IrDA (Infrared Direct Access) is standard for
devices to communicate using infrared light
pulses
Wireless Networking
• Infrared devices must be in direct line of
sight with each other (like TV remote…
which uses same infrared technology)
• Infrared is almost always “one to one”
technology
• Radio signals better because no line of
sight requirement and ability to broadcast
to multiple recipients
Bluetooth
• Bluetooth is new standard being developed
by a group of electronics manufacturers
• Will allow any sort of electronic equipment to
communicate with each other
• Can be used among computers, keyboard,
mouse, printer, headphone, cell phone
• Bluetooth-like radio communications should
take place of wires or infrared signals for
connecting devices
Bluetooth
• Very small radio module to be built into
each device
• Wireless: No need for cables or cords to
any device
Bluetooth
• Inexpensive: Should add only about $5-10
to price of product
• Simple: Devices find one another and
strike up conversation without any work
on your part
• Why is it called Bluetooth?
• Harald Bluetooth was king of Denmark
around the turn of the last millenium
• He united Denmark and part of Norway
into a single kingdom
The Next Generation Internet
About 120 universities and 25 corporate
sponsors are working on better Internet
infrastructure “Internet 2”
The Next Generation Internet
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Larger bandwidth
Faster speeds
Better reliability
Better security
Better compression techniques (smaller files
to be transmitted)
• Caching – leaving copies around closer to the
point of need
• All developments will eventually become part
of standard internet
Internet Protocol Version 6
(IPv6)
Today’s Internet uses
Internet Protocol
Version 4 (IPv4) –
approximately 20
years old
Internet Protocol
Version 6 (IPv6)
(also called IPng)
will eventually
replace IPv4
Internet Protocol Version 6
(IPv6)
• IPv6 fixes a number of problems in IPv4, such as
limited number of available IPv4 addresses
• IPv6 goes from 32 to 128 bits per address
• If whole Earth was a beach, more than enough IP
addresses for every grain of sand ... hope that
will be enough
• IPv6 also routes messages better, auto-configures
for missing computers, and includes security
components for encryption and authentication
Consumer Computer Technology
Plastic Displays
• Researchers have recently made breakthroughs in
developing displays out of polyethylene
terephthalate (PET)
• Thin, flexible, rugged plastic that you can bend, roll
up, fold, or form into practically any shape
Plastic Displays
• Mass production of plastic displays is
approximately five years away
• Applications could include notebook and
desktop displays, hand-held appliances
• Also, wearable displays sewn into clothing,
and paper thin electronic books and
newspapers
Wearable Computers
• Obvious applications like
hearing aids with sound
enhancement software
• “Glasses” with multiinformational display
about what is being
seen, where you are
• Wrist computers, PDAs,
cell phones
• Next step is computerized clothing
• Including computers in standard clothing items
like shoes, pants, shirts, jackets, belts…even
underwear
Wearable Computers
Uses include….
• Health related – monitor blood pressure,
pulse rate, blood sugar, useful for life
threatening conditions that need continual
monitoring
• Navigation – directions, maps, airline
information, restaurant and hotel information
• Safety and security – connections to
police, fire, medical, auto towing and repair
• Entertainment – music, news, video,
sporting events
Wearable Computers
• Some of these devices already making their
way into consumer market
• Working to integrate computers and related
devices directly into clothing, so that they are
virtually invisible
• Interaction via sensors, all fabric keypads,
speakers, voice recognition receivers, thin
light-emitting diode (LED) monitors, flat
screen (plastic) displays, holographic
projectors
• Another step in making computers and
devices portable without having to carry and
manipulate plethora of gadgets