History of E-Commerce - Research Paper Example

History of E-Commerce Ecommerce is the ability to purchase various goods through the Internet using secure protocols and electronic payment services. History of E-commerce details explanations regarding different important phases and stages through which Electronic Commerce has actually evolved. Important details were provided about how electronic commerce was began to be used as a popular online means of economic exchange. It refers to the online transaction of goods. The development of EDI, the popular name of Electronic Data Interchange, is concerned. Big business firms were able to indulge in a sort of beneficial electronic transactions through the EDI which was invented in the 1960’s and was provided with a set of standards. The interchange of vital business oriented information was also facilitated. Then Mosaic web-browser was developed in 1992. It was named Netscape and given the form of a browser which could be downloaded. The scope and possibility of electronic commercial transaction was further broadened. The process of online business transaction was again benefited by the development and adaptation of DSL and Red Hat Linux respectively. The major merger between AOL and Time Warner in the year 2000 marked another important step towards the development of E-Commerce which proved to be very economically beneficial. E-Commerce was overwhelmingly accepted and had a stable development because of the world wide popularity of the Internet. A rich online transaction experience was also provided by E-Commerce. The largest E-Commerce in the present time is the Business-to-Business. Two important types of E-Commerce are the Peer-to-Peer and Consumer-to-Consumer. To understand Internet History better, it is important to know the history of E-Commerce (Mapsofworld). Electronic Commerce is commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, or e-business. The Internet or other computer networks are electronic systems which are being used in buying and selling of products or services. Because of widespread Internet usage, the amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily. The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange- EDI-, inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. The World Wide Web is typically being used by modern electronic commerce at least at some point in the transaction’s life cycle, although a wider range of technologies such as e-mail can be used as well. Virtual items such as access to premium content in a website are conducted entirely by a large percentage of electronic commerce. The transportation of physical items is mostly through electronic commerce. Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all big retailers have electronic presence on the World Wide Web. Business-to-business or B2B is the term used for electronic commerce that is conducted between businesses. All interested parties like commodity exchange can avail of B2Bor it will be limited to specific, pre-qualified participants as in private electronic maket Business-to-Consumer or B2C refers to electronic commerce that is conducted between business and consumers. Companies like Amazon.com conduct such type of electronic commerce. When the buyer is directly online to the sellers computer usually through the internet, such form of electronic commerce is called online shopping. It has no intermediary service. When Amazon.com looks for new books, the sale and purchase transaction is completed electronically and interactively in real-time. When the sale and purchase transaction uses an intermediary, it is called electronic commerce such as eBay.com. The sales aspect of e-business is generally considered as electronic commerce. There must be exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of the business transactions. There has been a change in the meaning of electronic commerce over the last 30years. The facilitation of commercial transactions electronically, using technology such as Electronic Data Interchange-EDI and Electronic Funds Transfer-EFT is originally known as electronic commerce. Businesses were allowed to send commercial documents like purchase orders or invoices electronically when EDI and EFT were both introduced in the late 1970’s. Other forms of electronic commerce were the growth and acceptance of credit cards, automated teller machines-ATM and telephone banking in the 1980’s. The airline reservation system typified by Sabre in the USA and Travicom in the UK was another form of e-commerce. Enterprise resource planning systems – ERP, data mining and data ware housing were included in electronic commerce from the 1990’s on wards. More and more commercial organization world-wide are selling their products/services over the Internet since the beginning of this century. To research the market, obtain quotes, make comparisons and conduct purchases online, while sitting in the comfort of their homes and without having to physically visit the market place are things people can do through e-Commerce. Any one can shop at any time of one’s choice without bothering to know whether the shops are open or close. This is also an advantage being enjoyed by people because of e-commerce. We can finally say that e-Commerce is very advantageous to all commercial establishments as well as to the buying community. All enterprises must become sensitive to customer’s privacy concerns and fool proof methods must be devised so the customers can shop with mental ease. Newer ways and means of e-Commerce are expected to offer buyers a still wider choice and also contribute to further strengthening of the economy with the continued development of technology (Kaushik, 2010). Through computer telecommunications networks, e-commerce enables maintenance of business relationships and sale of information, services and commodities. E-commerce includes broader economic activity although it usually refers only to the trading of goods and services over the Internet in the vernacular. It consists of business-to-consumer and business-to-business commerce as well as internal organizational transactions that support these activities. E-commerce originated in a standard for the exchange of business documents, such as orders or invoices, between suppliers and their business customers. This standard had its inception in the 1948-49 Berline blockade and airlift (Zwass). The present day e-Commerce has undergone various development phases to reach its present status, starting from the Electronic Data Interchange-EDI. It was the predecessor to what subsequently came to be practiced as Electronic Commerce-e-Commerce. First introduced in the 1960’s, it consisted of a set of rules that facilitated large business houses to conduct a method of electronic transaction. Business firms were also able to exchange useful information. The advent of Mosaic web-browser in the year 1992 was the next crucial development. It was called Netscape which eventually assumed the role of a browse which was downloadable. Such was a giant step forward in the evolution of e-Commerce. The electronic capability for commercial transactions using technology like EDI referred originally to e-commerce. Organizations found it difficult to interact with one another when business could use various EDI formats during the initial stages. The ASC X12 became standardized for transferring transaction in 1984. Companies were able to send and or receive commercial documents like purchase orders and bills electronically through the help of EDI to Electronic Funds Transfer-EFT. This further gave rise to other forms of electronic money transactions like automatic teller machines-ATM, use of credit cards, and telephonic banking. The history of e-Commerce which had been closely followed by the people will prove to them that the 1990 was a watershed year in the development of e-commerce. Tim Berners-Lee, the computer scientist and MIT professor from the England, wrote the first-ever web browser program and discovered the World Wide Web-WWW in 1990. The internet grew in strength and gained worldwide popularity after this ladmark achievement. Then security protocols enabling continue Internet connection became possible after another four years. The adaptation of DSL and Red Hat Linux gave further incentive to the development of online transactions. The merger of Time Warner and AOL represented a pivotal development in the evolution of e-Commerce in the year 2000. Viewed retrospectively, the merger proves to be an economic blessing. Everything from ordering “digital” content for immediate online consumption, to ordering conventional goods and services, to “meta” services to facilitate other types of electronic commerce are involved in contemporary commerce. E-commerce is mostly conducted on the World Wide Web. Purchase anything from books or groceries, to expensive items like real estate can be possible if an individual can go online. Online banking is another example like online bill payment, buying stocks, transferring funds from one account to another, and initiating wire payment to another country. Just a few strokes of the keyboard is needed for these activities. Big corporations and financial institutions use the internet to exchange financial data to facilitate domestic and international business. Very hot and pressing issues for electronic commerce today are data integrity and security (Wikipedia). Napster was an online application used to share music files for free. This was another major step in e-commerce. The site was used by many consumers dictating what they wanted from th industry. The merger between AOL and Time Warner in early 2000 was another major push for electronic commerce. It was worth $350 million, which brought together a major online company with a traditional company. Some major players of e-commerce including Yahoo, eBay and Amazon were attacked by hackers in February 2000. Because of such attacks, the need for improved security was realized. Christmas of 1998 was another major step in the development of e-commerce. The sale of AOL over the 10 week holiday season from online sales was 1.2 billion. A reliable end open-source platform other than windows was introduced by Linux. Microsoft needed to invest more due to competition (flysyk02). For anyone who has been involved with e-commerce for any length of time, the experience must feel like a roller coaster ride. The slow, clackety, adrenalized journey upward. The heady weightlessness as you reaches the pinnacle. The screaming plunge -- and then, the hope that there is at least one more trip skyward left to go. No doubt, there are plenty of thrills and chills left in the E-Commerce Cyclone. But now is as good a time as any to reflect on the ones that have come so far -- the 10 Key Moments in E-Commerce History (Weisman, 2000). References: History of E-Commerce. Mapsofworld.com. Retrieved from http://www.mapsofworld.com/referrals/internet/internet-history/history-of-e commerce.html. Kaushik, P. (2010, July 11). History of E-Commerce. Suite101.com. Retrieved from http://www.suite101.com/content/history-of-e-commerce-a259972. e-commerce. From the Britannica Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 25,2010 from http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/apa. Electronic commerce. In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 25, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_commerce. “Electronic Commerce.” Retrieved from http://www.flysyk02.netfirms.com/Ecommerce/index.htm. Weisman, J. (2000, August 22). The Making of E-Commerce: 10 Key Moments. ecommercetimes.com. Retrieved from http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/4085.html. Read More