E-commerce and Contemporary Technology

 

E-Commerce

E-Commerce -In the present time, E-Commerce is an emerging concept which describes the process of buying and selling or exchanging of products, services and information through electronic transactions over the Internet.

It is a modern business methodology that addresses the different drawbacks of traditional commerce. So, E-Commerce refers to the paperless exchange of business information using different information systems.

 

Technology used in E-Commerce

E-commerce is driven by Internet Technology. It’s a modern business concept and uses many different technologies. Some of them include:

a)    E-mail

b)    Fax

c)    Online catalogues and shopping carts

d)    Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Online Payment Gateway

e)    Online Security Tools  and different Web services

 

Traditional Commerce vs. E-Commerce

E-commerce is completely worked in a digital and an online mode whereas traditional commerce is done offline and through in person or face to face dealings

Similarities

a) Both want to make profit.

b) Both aim to deliver product or service.

c) Both want to serve a large number of customer.

d) Both try to quickly deliver products and services.

 

Differences

a) E-commerce customers expect shorter fulfilment time.

b) E-commerce customers must understand web-based technologies.

c) E-commerce provides a global audience.

d) Orders in E-commerce are processed without human interaction or travel to a store location

 

Advantages of E-Commerce

a)Faster buying/selling procedure, as well as easy to find products.

b) As there are no geographical limitations, can deliver service globally

c) Does not require physical stores

d) Low operational costs and better quality of services

e) Customers can review the comments and compare in different sites without moving around physically

 

Limitations of E-Commerce - Though E-Commerce has many benefits, it also has some limitations which are listed below:

a)    Lack of personal touch. We cannot touch the goods physically

b)    We cannot do any transaction without Internet access device. So, it is heavily dependent on Internet technologies

c)    Not all goods can be purchased online

d)    We need to be careful about the quality of product and service delivery

e)    Security issues of customer’s information

f)     Technical failures can cause unpredictable effects on the total processes

 

Types of E-Commerce

E-commerce can be run in different models.  The three basic types of E-Commerce.

a)    Business-to-Consumer (B2C)-In B2C model, business E-Commerce website is the main platform where all the business transactions take place between a business organization and consumer directly. Amazon. com is a good example of B2C e-commerce.

b)    Business-to-Business (B2B)- Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce is conducted between companies. Individual customer cannot buy from this type of e-commerce. In this model, the product is first sold to wholesaler who then sells the product to the final customer. Alibaba.com is a good example of B2B e-commerce.

 

c)    Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)- Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) type of e-commerce is conducted between consumers. Generally, these transactions are conducted through a third party, which provides the online platform where the transactions are actually carried out. Hamrobazaar.com is a good example of C2C website in Nepal. Website following C2C business model helps consumer to sell their assets like residential property, cars, motorcycles etc.

 

M-Commerce- M-Commerce refers to the process of buying and selling of goods and services through smartphones, tablets or personal digital assistants (PDAs). It is also known as next-generation e-commerce.

 

Typical examples of M-commerce are

a) Purchasing airline tickets

b) Purchasing movie tickets

c) Restaurant/Hotel booking and reservation

d) Top-Up Charges and balance enquiry

f) Utility Payment and Fund Transfer etc.

 

Online Payment-Online payment refers to the payment for buying goods or services through the Internet using different online payment gateway.

Different modes of Electronic Payments

a) Credit Card

b) Debit Card

c) Smart Card

d) E-Money

e) Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT)

f) E-Cheque

Likewise, different forms of e-payment in Nepal include

a) Credit Cards (introduced by Nabil Bank in 1990)

b) Debit Cards (all commercial banks)

c) Automated teller machines (introduced by Himalayan Bank Ltd. in 1995)

d) Electronic fund transfers at points of sale (EFTPOS)

e) Internet banking (introduced by Kumari Bank Ltd. in 2002)

f) Mobile banking; (introduced by Laxmi Bank Ltd. in 2004).

g) Digital Wallet such as e-sewa, Khalti etc.

h) Cash on Delivery (CoD) – if you don’t have any online payment system then you can pay cash when you receive the product from delivery person.

 

Answer the following questions.

a)    Define E-Commerce. Mention three basic types of E-commerce.

b)    What is business to consumer (B2C)?

c)    Explain business to business (B2B)?

d)    What is consumer to consumer (C2C)?

e)    What is the business done through the internet?

f)     Mention the technologies used in E-commerce.

g)    Write the points of similarities and differences between traditional commerce and E-commerce.

h)    Mention the benefits/advantages of E-commerce

i)      What are the limitations of E-commerce?

j)      What is M-Commerce? Give some examples.

k)    What is Online Payment? Write the different forms of e-payment in Nepal

 Give Technical Terms

Buying and Selling online

Commercial transaction through mobile devices

Paperless payment through Internet

Online purchases between a business and a consumer

Online purchases between business

Online purchases between consumers

 

 

Write 'True' for the correct and 'False' for the incorrect statement.

a) Alibaba.com is an example of C2C e-commerce.

b) Cash on Delivery is one of the options of online payment.

 c) There are basically four types of e-commerce model.

d) E-commerce is driven by internet technology.

e) E-commerce provides a global audience. 72 Computer Science : Grade 10

f) Sometimes, e-commerce can be conducted offline if there is no Internet facility.

 g) It is very difficult to set up an e-commerce site.

h) Individual customer can purchase in B2B e-commerce.

i) Credit Card is an example of online payment.

3. Write the full form of. a) EDI          b) B2C   c) B2B d) C2C   e) M-Commerce               f) PDA     g) EFT        h) CoD                 i) EFTPO

 

Contemporary technology

Contemporary technology refers to the modern technologies that have revolutionized our world as well as life of people by providing easy access to data, information and different services.

 

Cloud computing

Cloud computing is a computing technology that helps users store and access data, programs and information on the Internet instead of their own computer hard drive.

 

The uses of cloud computing :

1. Create new apps and services.

2. Store, back up, and recover data.

3. Host websites and blogs.

4. Stream audio and video.

5. Deliver software on demand.

 

Examples of Services over Cloud

Microsoft Office 365: Internet versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote accessed via your Web browser without installing anything.

Google Drive: This is a pure cloud computing service, with all the storage provided online. It can work with the cloud apps like: Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. In fact, most of Google's services could be considered cloud computing; Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Maps, and so on.

Apple iCloud: Apple's cloud service is primarily used for online storage, backup, and synchronization of your mail, contacts, calendar, and more

 

There are three basic types of cloud computing service

IaaS, PaaS and SaaS are the three most popular types of cloud service offerings. (They are sometimes referred to as cloud service models or cloud computing service models.)

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a type of cloud computing service that offers essential compute, storage and networking resources on demand, on a pay-as-you-go basis. IaaS is one of the four types of cloud services, along with software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and serverless. Example Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Compute Engine

 

SaaS -Software as a service (or SaaS) is a way of delivering applications over the Internet—as a service. Instead of installing and maintaining software, you simply access it via the Internet, freeing yourself from complex software and hardware management. email services such as Gmail and Hotmail are examples of cloud-based SaaS services

PaaS-Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a complete cloud environment that includes everything developers need to build, run, and manage applications—from servers and operating systems to all the networking, storage, middleware, tools, and more. Example  Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Artificial Intelligence- AI (Artificial Intelligence) is the man-made intelligence or the ability given to any system, device or a computer so that that they can behave and act like humans.

Some of the applications of AI are listed below:

a. Entertainment

b. Robotics

c. Expert system

d. Natural language processing

e. Speech and pattern recognition

f. Health and medicine

g. E-commerce

h. Agriculture

i. Automobiles etc.

 

 

Virtual Reality or VR is a computer-generated simulation of an environment or 3-dimensional image where people can interact in a seemingly real or physical way. VR places the user inside the virtual environment to give an immersive experience. People interact in those environments using, for example, VR goggles or other mobile devices

Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (especially video games), education (e.g. medical or military training), and business (e.g., virtual meetings) etc.

 

E-Governance

E-Governance or e-Governance is the government system that uses ICT technology to provide e-services to the citizens. . Through e-governance, government services are made available to citizens in a convenient, efficient and transparent manner.

 

Examples of such services include paying their taxes online, requesting various services from government though governmental websites, providing information to public via government’s websites.

 

The purpose of E-governance is to  enhance the government ability to address the needs of the general public.

 

Benefits of E-governance

 Increased convenience for public and businesses to services of government

 Reduction in overall cost of transaction as services can be rendered anywhere

 Corruption will be reduced as there will be direct interaction with the system and public without any intermediaries

 High transparency

 

 Mobile computing?

Mobile computing is a technology that allows transmission of data with computer or any other wireless enabled device without having to be connected to a fixed physical network.

 

Components of mobile computing

Mobile hardware

Mobile software

Mobile communication

 

Principles of mobile computing

Portability

Connectivity

Interactivity

Individuality

 

Advantages of mobile computing?

The advantages of mobile computing : 

a. Location Flexibility

b. Saves Time.

c. Enhanced Productivity.

d. Ease of Research.

e. Entertainment.

 

Disadvantages of mobile computing?

Ans: The disadvantages of mobile computing are listed below:

a. Availability issues.

b. Battery issue.

c. Security issue.

d. Skills required.

Internet of things (IOT)

IOT-Internet of Things refers to the various physical devices around us that are connected to internet to collect and share data. Examples: Smart watch, Smart home security systems, Biometric cybersecurity scanners, etc.

 

applications of IOT

Ans: The applications of IOT are listed below:

a. Smart Gadgets.

b. Health.

c. Traffic monitoring.

d. Fleet management.

e. Agriculture.

f. Hospitality.

g. Smart grid and energy saving.

 

Multimedia – The combination audio, video, text and various media is termed multimedia

applications of multimedia

 

a. Multimedia in Education

b. Multimedia in Entertainment

c. Multimedia in Business

d. Multimedia in Advertisement

e. Multimedia in Industry

f. Multimedia in Training

 

 

 

Answer the following questions.

a) What is the most futuristic technology?

b) What are the advantages of cloud computing?

c) What are the types of cloud computing services?

 d) List some areas where AI can help us and how?

 e) How is AI software different from other software?

f) How can public get benefited from the e-governance services?

 g) Provide some example of e-governance services that exist in Nepal?

 h) What is IoT? Write any two importance of it.

 i) Give some examples of IoT devices and their applications?

j) How do you think, IoT devices can help in our day to day life?

Fill in the blanks.

 a) ………..clouds are ideal for small and medium-sized businesses.

b) …………. is a pure cloud computing service, with all the storage found online.

c) Customers are billed according to the usages of computing power and …………….

d) ……………. refers to systems or machines that mimic human intelligence to perform tasks.

 e) The various types of ……….. display to experience virtual reality.

f) Mobile communication refers to the exchange of data and ………………

g) …………… is the software program which is developed specifically to be run on mobile hardware.

 

 

Give the full forms

i) e-Com      ii) IaaS iii)   SaaS iv) PasS       v) AI vi) VR        

vii) ICT                 viii) E-Gov ix) WiFi       x) GPS                  xi) W-LAN  xii) QoS      xiii) IoT