Assignment 1: E-commerce

Assignment 1: E-commerce
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Institution.
Assignment 1: E-commerce
Part A
The foreseeable future of e-commerce is dependent on three key factors: information technology, business models, and the perception of the society toward e-commerce (Laudon & Traver, 2016). E-commerce entails business transactions via an electronic medium with an underlying IT infrastructure to compliment the business model. The future viability of e-commerce is in the hands of fourth industrial revolution technologies, networking, databases, enterprise management systems, web scripting, mobile computing, among other technological concepts that support e-commerce. Technology bears the digital infrastructure to support and run a business. The successful implementation of e-commerce relies on the translation of traditional business concepts such as business model, accounting and finance, value chain management, among others to the digital world. Lastly, e-commerce needs to be modeled in such a way that it conforms to the values and beliefs of the society and does not compromise things such as privacy, property rights, and commerce policies in different jurisdictions.
E-commerce infrastructure is composed of numerous application servers that serve different purposes. The main functionalities in an e-commerce server that are necessary for online transactions are composed of an online catalog for product and service display, a shopping cart for order management, and a payment gateway for credit processing (Laudon & Traver, 2016). Other than the basic functionalities, critical factors to consider when choosing an e-commerce server include scalability, security, compatibility with existing business models, compliance with standards and policies, mobility, report generation, integration with logistics services, and communication capabilities (Laudon & Traver, 2016).
Business to Business (B2B) exchanges bring together a wide range of suppliers and vendees to exchange goods and services via electronic mediums. General Electric (GE) is a perfect example of a B2B marketplace that exists in the contemporary world. Electronic marketplaces lower business costs both for the buyer and seller while increasing their reach. The direct interaction eliminates the need for middle-men and brokers. Security, confidentiality, and integrity pose a challenge to B2B exchanges because many people find it hard to trust a virtual seller or buyer.
The competitive forces best describe what a business structure is. E-commerce has the potential to transform a business model entirely into a new model, thus providing a new way of carrying out business operations. Through e-commerce platforms, the prices are readily made available to the buyer, granting them the bargaining power while substituting the middlemen and brokers with automated systems for suppliers. Other notable changes of e-commerce on competitiveness is on the value chain and product costs. The internet, on the other hand, facilitates web technologies that directly link the customers, suppliers, and the firm seamlessly.
Through the different cloud service models (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS), business enterprises need not worry about the underlying information technology infrastructure. In that matter, the cost is also reduced (Almarabeh & Majdalawi, 2019). Also, the enterprise benefits immensely with the typical attributes of a cloud computing model as it allows for scalability, availability, mobility, and efficiency (Almarabeh & Majdalawi, 2019). Besides, much work related to hardware and software management is dedicated to the cloud service provider, allowing the enterprise to focus on other pressing matters. Security, privacy, connectivity, and storage issues are the few of the negative implications of cloud computing in e-commerce.
Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the disruptive technologies of the current time that can equip both living and non-living with sensor technologies and the capabilities to collect and transmit meaningful information via the internet for analysis. The obvious challenges facing IoT include privacy and security issues. The technology is still at its initial stage, and different companies are approaching it differently, thus the challenge of interoperability becomes imminent as there are no laid down standards (Laudon & Traver, 2016). Nonetheless, IoT remains a promising technology of the future with its application in e-commerce at the forefront.
Part B
Case1: Amazon
Amazon generates its revenue through various means, making it an ideal example of a hybrid business model. Retail is the primary source of income for Amazon, and the commodities of the trade include both manufactured and products purchased from other vendors. Amazon Web Server (AWS) is the service segment of the business that offers soft...