E-Commerce

UNIT 8 E-COMMERCE SOFTWARE Software Platform

PLATFORM

Structure

8.0 Objectives
8.1 Introduction
8.2 E-commerce Software Platform
8.3 Types of E-commerce Platform
8.3.1 Shopify- An Online Store Builder

8.3.2 E-Auction Processes The Real-Time Visibility

8.3.3 Paypal Holdings Online Payments

8.3.4 SAP Commerce Cloud
8.4 Functions of E-Commerce software Platforms
8.5 Advanced Functions of E-Commerce Software
8.6 E- Commerce Software for Small & Midsize Companies
8.7 E- Commerce Software for Midsize to Large Business
8.8 E- Commerce Software for Large Business
8.9 Planning Electronic Commerce Initiatives
8.10 Strategies for Developing E- Commerce Websites
8.11 Managing E- Commerce Implementations
8.12 Let Us Sum Up
8.13 Key Words
8.14 Answers to Check Your Progress
8.15 Terminal Question

8.0 OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you should be able to,

● understand basics of e-commerce software;

● know about various types of software platforms;
● know about the functions of e- to understand commerce software;
● understand the uses of e-commerce software for small, midsize, large
business;
● explain strategies for developing e-commerce websites; and
● learn managing the implementation process of e-commerce in business.

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Website Development
and Hosting 8.1 INTRODUCTION

E-commerce software platform is the driving force of an online store, making

it feasible to effortlessly manage inventory, add or remove products, calculate
taxes, and everything else required to manage a website and fulfill orders.

Today’s competitive organizations need to develop a wide range of e-

commerce software that can tap as much data as possible and quickly deploy
that data via the web to managers, employees, partners, suppliers, customers
and constituents everyone they depend on to make decisions. Developing
usable, deployable, and scalable e-commerce software is becoming essential
every day. Finally, a true Web architecture is essential for rapidly providing
these business intelligence applications to unlimited number of people, and
see a quick return on investment. It can use the same Web-based, integrated
Windows development solution to deploy information with speed, quality,
and effectiveness that users of all levels can use to access information in any
format. In addition, it can securely manage and administer the system while
still allowing power users to develop their own application. The unit further
brief on various popular E-commerce software.

8.2 E-COMMERCE SOFTWARE PLATFORM

A platform is basically a position of software and connecting an ecosystem of

resources that helps companies to grow the business. A platform enables
expansion through relation, its value comes not only from its own features,
but from its ability to tie external tools, teams, data, and processes etc. E-
commerce software platform is the engine behind the scenes of an online
store, making it possible to easily handle inventory, add or remove products,
calculate taxes, and everything else required to administer a website and
fulfill orders.

E-commerce software simplifies intricate processes in a friendly user

interface that enables people from non-technical backgrounds to oversee an
entire e-commerce process. Despite the ease of use that e-commerce software
brings to an online business, it is a versatile and complex machine. In the
coming heads we are going to discuss the various functions of software
which would be useful in running a business.

8.3 TYPES OF SOFTWARE PLATFORMS

More or less, every grassroots entrepreneur who starts a setup from scratch or
runs the existing business needs some kind of a ‘platform’. Yet very few will
self-assuredly respond a seemingly simple, but very significant query: What
kind of platform do you build?

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Google Search, Facebook, Android, Uber, AirBnB, Waze, Amazon Web E-Commerce
Software Platform
Services, Amazon Marketplace, WeWork, and even Bitcoin are all platforms.
At the same time, these platforms are very dissimilar in how they generate
network effects, interactions they facilitate.

There are various kinds of E-commerce software which have certain

characteristics and could be used as per the need and requirement. We will
throw light on a few of them on one-to-one basis so that learners are able to
visualize how these types of software platforms work.

Figure 8.1: Types of Software platforms

8.3.1 Shopify- An Online Store Builder

Shopify is an easy-to-use online store builder trusted by over 1,000,000
stores. By entering your email, you agree to receive marketing emails from
Shopify. 100+ Professional Themes. Drop Shipping Integration. Social
Media Integration. Unlimited Bandwidth. SEO Optimized.

*Source: https://www.shopify.in
Figure 8.2: Shopify
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Website Development 8.3.2 E-Auction Processes the Real-Time Visibility
and Hosting
E-Auction processes the real-time visibility of the bids happening on any
product. Sellers will have the elasticity to offer products with different prices
and at the same time, buyers will have a translucent bidding process to show
their instant response. Selling Products online with an auction setup helps the
merchants to know the competitive environment of E-Commerce as well as
the auction industry. Bidders who participate in the auction will have an
unlimited reach of the global audience and can easily filter out the products in
high demand.

8.3.3 Paypal Holdings Online Payments

PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American company operating an online payments
system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and
serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods like checks
and money orders. PayPal is one of the largest online payment processors in
the world. Shopping or selling with PayPal, make it faster, safer and easier
for everyone to shop or sell globally with confidence.

*Source: PayPal
Fig 8.3: PayPal

8.3.4 SAP Commerce Cloud

SAP is at the centre of today’s technology revolution. The market leader in
enterprise application software, SAP helps organisations fight the damaging
effects of complexity, generate new opportunities for innovation and growth,
and stay ahead of the competition. SAP Commerce Cloud Helps the business
lead through innovation to deliver exceptional omni-channel buying
experiences with a cloud-native, headless e-commerce solution.SAP India is
the fastest growing subsidiary of SAP SE, the world's leading provider of
business software solutions.

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 E-Commerce
Software Platform

*Source: SAP
Figure 8.4: SAP Commerce Cloud

8.4 FUNCTIONS OF E
E-COMMERCE SOFTWARE
PLATFORMS

E-commerce software is the driving force behind the scenes of an online store
which making it likely to effortlessly administer stock, add or remove
products, compute taxes, and the whole thing else required to handle a
website and accomplish orders. The basic function of ee-commerce software
includes the following three important sections:

Shopping
Catalog Transaction
Cart
Display Processing
Capbilities

Figure 8.5: Function of E

E-Commerce Software

1. Catalog display: To display products offered by an organization they

have to be arranged in a systematic manner including customer
preferences with the help of simple static catalog. The webpage is
written in HTML to display a series of Web pages which can be edited
by companies
mpanies as and when needed. Dynamic catalog stores that are
specifically designed on the basis of customer choice including multiple
photos of each item description of product including search feature that
allows customers easily search product availabilit
availability. A dynamic catalog
stores the information about items in a database, usually on a separate
computer that is accessible to the server that is running the Web site
itself.

2. Shopping cart capabilities: Selected items in the early days of

e-commerce,
commerce, they have to fill a form or a list they want to purchase by
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Website Development filling out online forms. Using text box and list box form controls to
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indicate their choices, users enter the quantity of an item in the quantity
text box, the SKU (stock-keeping unit) or product number in another text
box, and the unit price in yet another text box. This system is full of
hassles especially if your order nature is multiple items at the same time.

3. Transaction processing: Transaction processing includes, checking

in/out process shoppers initiate on website or mobile application. The
electronic software performs necessary calculations such as number of
items, volume, discounts, tax, and shipping cost. When order is placed
and customer checks out; the transaction process enters the next stage
where secure communication caution states from buyer to seller for
necessary transactions. Transaction process is an important and complex
part of online sales. Transaction processing is always a typical part of
online business. Once order is placed, then the responsibility and moral
duty of the seller is towards the customer to provide secure, effective and
in time communication for the delivery of goods and services with
feedback.

8.5 ADVANCED FUNCTIONS OF E-COMMERCE

SOFTWARE

Integrating different components is important for large businesses houses,

because range of products are not limited, their business interest spread over
many products and services. The other operations of e-commerce activities
are as follows:

1. Middleware: Such larger companies need to establish the connections

between their e-commerce software and their existing
business/accounting system by using a type of software called
middleware. Some large companies that have sufficient IT staff write
their own middleware. However, most companies purchase middleware
that is customized for their businesses by the middleware vendor or a
consulting firm. Thus, most of the cost of middleware is not the software
itself, but the consulting fees needed to make the software work in a
given company. Making a company’s information systems work together
is called interoperability and is an important goal of companies when
they install middleware. Middleware cost range from few lakhs to
several millions depending on complexity and existing systems.

2. Enterprise application integration and databases: A program that is

used to perform specific functions, such as creating and arranging
invoices, calculating payroll, or processing payments received from
customers, is performed by different application software or, more
simply, an application. An application server is a computer that takes the
request messages received by the Web server and runs application
158 programs that perform some kind of action based on the contents of the
 request messages. The actions that the application server software E-Commerce
Software Platform
performs are determined by the rules used in the business. These rules
are called business logic. An example of a business rule is, when a
customer logs in, check the password entered against the password file in
the database. Application servers are usually grouped into two types,
page-based and component-based systems. Page-based application
systems return pages generated by scripts that include the rules for
presenting data on the Web page with the business logic. Larger
businesses often prefer to use a component-based application system that
separates the presentation logic from the business logic. Each component
of logic is created in its own module.

3. Web services: Web server includes all information that can be

communicated across organization in the different applications and
clients. Although a generally accepted definition has not yet evolved,
many IT professionals define Web services as a combination of software
tools that let application software in one organization communicate with
other applications over a network by using a specific set of standard
protocols known by their acronyms as SOAP, UDDI, and WSDL etc.
Another definition of Web services that IT professionals use is a self-
contained, modular unit of application logic that provides some business
functionality to other applications through an Internet connection.

4. Integration with ERP systems: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

connects to existing information available on the basis of B2B websites.
ERP software is a collection of different programs that integrate all facts
of business including accounting, logistics, manufacturing, planning,
project management, and treasury function. The major ERP vendors
include Baan, Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP. A typical installation of ERP
software costs between 10 lakhs to 15 lakhs. Thus, companies that are
already running these systems have made a significant investment in
them and expect their electronic commerce sites to integrate with them.

8.6 E-COMMERCE SOFTWARE FOR SMALL

AND MIDSIZE COMPANIES

Web hosting services can be hired so that in-house burden can be shifted and
dedicated hosting services can be used. Web host CSPs (Compute cycles
Service Providers) have the same advantages as ISP (Internet Service
Provider) hosting services, including spreading the cost of a large Web site
over several “renters” hosted by the service. The biggest single advantage -
low cost - occurs because the host provider has already purchased the server
and configured it.

Mall-style Commerce service providers (CSPs) provide small businesses with

a high speed Internet connection, Website creation tools, and little or no
banner advertising clutter. Web hosts in this group charge a monthly fee that
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Website Development is often higher than that of lower-end providers, and may also charge one-
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time setup fees. Some of these providers also charge a percentage of or fixed
amount for each customer transaction. These Web hosts also provide high
quality tools, storefront templates, an easy-to-use interface, and quick Web
page generation capabilities and page maintenance.

Mall-style CSPs provide shopping cart software or the ability to use another
vendor’s shopping cart software. They also furnish customer payment
processing so that customers can choose to purchase their goods and services
with a credit card or other form of payment. The CSP processes the
acceptance and authorization of credit cards on behalf of the merchant.
Another benefit is that because they are paying a monthly fee to the CSP,
sites do not have to display any Web banners, which can be unattractive and
distracting. The fourth benefit of the mall-style CSPs is that they provide
higher-quality Web store building and maintenance tools than do the basic
CSPs. CSPs that offer mall-style commerce services include eBay Stores and
Yahoo! Store. Another CSP that began as a mall-style service is big step, but
it no longer uses the mall structure. All three of these CSPs offer Web site
construction tools that can be used by small and midsize businesses to take
their businesses online.

8.7 E-COMMERCE SOFTWARE FOR MIDSIZE

TO LARGE COMPANIES

There is a number of E-commerce software available for midsize and large

businesses. These software packages differ on price, capabilities, database
connectivity, software portability, software customization, tools and technical
expertise required to manage the software. Some of them are mentioned
below:

1. Website development tools: Although they are more often used for
creating small business sites, it is possible to construct the elements of a
midrange e-commerce Web site using Web page creation and site
management tools. For example, recent versions of Macromedia
Dreamweaver include all integrated development environments.

2. Inter shop enfinity: It Provides search and catalog capabilities,

electronic shopping carts, online credit card transaction processing, and
the ability to connect to existing back-end business systems and
databases.

3. IBM Web Sphere commerce professional edition: It is a set of

software components that provide software suitable for midsize to large
businesses to sell goods and services on the Internet It includes catalog
templates, setup wizards, and advance catalog tools to help companies
create attractive and efficient electronic commerce sites.

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4. Microsoft commerce server 2002: It allows businesses to sell products E-Commerce
Software Platform
or services on the Web using tools such as user profiling and
management, transaction processing, product and service management,
and target audience marketing.

Check Your Progress A:

1) What is a shopping cart?

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2) What are the advantages of mall-style CSPs?
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3) What is the usage of E-commerce software Inter shop enfinity?
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4) What is a middleware?
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Website Development
and Hosting 8.8 E-COMMERCE SOFTWARE FOR LARGE
COMPANIES

Large e-commerce sites deal with transactions of higher volume and

therefore needs dedicated software to handle specific elements of their online
business such as customer relationship management, supply chain
management, content management and knowledge management. So, the
prices as well as support cost are high for large-scale e-commerce software.
Large scale e-commerce software is also called enterprise E-commerce
software. Enterprise e-commerce software provides tools for both B2B and
B2C commerce and can interact with a wide variety of existing systems,
including database, accounting, and ERP systems. The enterprise software is
also capable of making changes in the system automatically (e.g., inventory
checking and order placement for items needed). In contrast, both basic and
midrange E-commerce software usually require an administrator to manually
make such changes. Enterprise E-commerce software usually requires several
dedicated computers. IBM Websphere Commerce Business Edition, Oracle
E-Business Suite, and Broad vision Commerce Agility Suite are few
examples of E-commerce software. Various e-commerce software for large
sized companies are stated below:

1. Enterprise-class electronic commerce software: Enterprise-class

e-commerce software running large online organizations usually requires
several dedicated computers - in addition to the Web server system and
any necessary firewalls. Examples of enterprise-class products that can
be used to run a large online business with high transaction rates include
IBM Websphere Commerce Business Edition, Oracle E-Business Suite,
and Broad vision One-To-One Commerce.

2. Customer relationship management software: This software obtains

the data from operations software that conducts activities such as sales
automation, customer service center operations, and marketing
campaigns. The software must also gather data about customer activities
on the company’s Web site and any other points of contact the company
has with its existing and potential customers.

3. Supply chain management software: This software helps companies to

coordinate planning and operations with their partners in the industry
supply chains of which they are members. SCM software performs two
general types of functions: planning and execution.

4. Content management software: These software help in arrangement of

data in such a manner that can be accessed easily for business decision
making. Helps companies control the large amounts of text, graphics,
and media files that have become a key part of doing business. With the
rise of wireless devices, such as mobile phones, handheld computers, and
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 personal digital assistants (PDAs), content management has become even E-Commerce
Software Platform
more important.

5. Knowledge management software: This software is used by different

companies to do four main things: collect and organize information,
share the information among users, enhance the ability of users to
collaborate, and preserve the knowledge gained through the use of
information so that future users can benefit from the learning of current
users. KM software includes tools that read electronic documents (in
formats such as Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF), scanned paper
documents, e-mail messages, and Web pages processing.

8.9 PLANNING E-COMMERCE INITIATIVES

The ability of the businesses to plan, design and implement cohesive

electronic commerce strategies will make the difference between success and
failure for the majority of them. The tremendous leverage that a firm can gain
by being the first to do businesses a new way on the web has caught the
attention of top executives in many industries. The key to successful
implementation of any information technology project are planning and
execution. A successful business plan for an electronic commerce initiative
should include activities that identify the initiative’s specific objectives and
link those objectives to business strategies. In setting the objective for an
electronic commerce initiative, managers should consider the strategic role of
the project, its intended scope, and resources available for executing it. Thus,
four major steps in planning electronic commerce initiatives are as follows:

1. Identify potential e-commerce initiatives: Electronic-commerce can

provide two benefits to companies: first, value creation or value
enhancement for one or more of a company’s stakeholder groups; and
second, lower costs.

2. Analyse the functional scope of e-initiatives: Electronic initiatives

decided on the basis of e-commerce network and Functional scope
between them. Managers should keep in mind about the architecture
needed for e-commerce and its functional scope. Services and
capabilities are the basis of the e-commerce network layer which include
basic communication services and infrastructure components like
security and reliability. These do not add value but are necessary for
further process. Decision process ameliorates management’s ability to
make decisions. Integration process permits the automation of processes
between a company and its customers or suppliers. Trade processes
support buying and selling online. They can both add value and save
costs for business transactions.

3. Analyse the sustainability of benefits from e-commerce initiatives: E-

commerce is coordinated use of software and system that enables
external parties in business which includes competitors to obtain insight 163
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and Hosting
commerce interactions can be easily copied and even ameliorated upon
by competitors, often at lower cost. So, it is important to examine the
sustainability of any competitive advantage that might be derived from
an e-commerce project. For the most part, sustainability is acquired from
two key factors i.e. barriers to entry and early mover advantages.

4. Prioritize e-commerce initiatives: The outcome of planning is planned

since several e-commerce plans may well be under analysis at the same
time, perhaps by different groups or units within the same organization.
Mangers (executives) must be able to choose among them. Decision
making is based upon the alternatives available according to plan; the
traditional cost-benefit analysis can be applied to electronic commerce
initiatives and combined with a portfolio drafting approach for
prioritizing and scheduling projects for effective e-commerce houses.

8.10 STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING E-

COMMERCE WEBSITES

The commerce industry is growing with rapid speed as growth rate is

continuously increasing. The process of e-commerce website development
project are categories into seven major steps which are as follows:

1. Identify the product/service, and the customer: The first step for e-
commerce website development is to identify the products/services
which the company wants to sell in the market to the target population.
As it is essential to identify which products are to be sold and to whom.

2. Know your e-commerce customer: KYeC is vital for any business to

understand who their customer is for success in the long run. So, they
can allure them in the best possible way. One way to obtain this is by
evaluating the customers of the competitors.

3. Choose the right e-commerce website development platform:

Appropriate e-commerce platform is a software suite that aids build the
e-commerce store where marketers make their products available, and
customers can process transactions. Choosing the right e-commerce
platform is vital to any online business as it is the very foundation of the
business.

4. Choose the right e-commerce website hosting platform: Business

success and failure choice of server and hosting are a crucial factor. It
determines the website’s accessibility and performance efficiency. Costs
cutting are an important factor while deciding about website hosting and
support; outsourcing can be exercised.

5. Choose the right e-commerce development partner: Choosing for

e-commerce technology development partners or e-commerce vendors
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 can be very difficult. The market is very crowded with service providers E-Commerce
Software Platform
and with each one claiming to offer the services which suit best to
company needs.

6. E-commerce website testing: After completion of the website

development, the next crucial step is e-commerce website testing.
Testing checks usability, customer convenience, checks for bugs, and is
important to providing a good shopping experience. Testing is usually
implemented in various browsers, across platforms, and across devices.
Websites can be tested manually, or automatically, or a combination of
the two followed by feedback.

7. Effective marketing: E- marketing plays a crucial role at this stage, it is

important to advertise it to people. For advertising the website, marketers
need to have a promotional plan drafted out including all means of
advertising. In a crowded market of business owners competing for
customers’ attention, it is hard to get new customers or sustain existing
ones without proper marketing.

8.11 MANAGING E-COMMERCE

IMPLEMENTATIONS

E-commerce business depends upon implementation and adoption in process;

successful systems have seven key steps such as

1. Strategic business planning and roadmaps: Strategy is about making

the right choices that will help reach the stated e-commerce business
objectives. There should be an articulated vision, mission and objective
about what will be achieved, time limit for it, financial budget,
identification of the right resources for and constraints in the face of
implementing the strategy mentioned in the business plan, and what
elements will be considered for future.

2. Technology selection/ website audit and analysis: To provide the

maximum benefit to or creating value for the end customer, selection of
e-commerce technology should have the capability of adapting according
to customers’ needs, and be able to complement the business model, and
ensure the alignment with the existing best practices in offline retail.

3. Customer acquisition: Online or popular digital marketing consists

multiple tools for contact to the new generation of customers, who access
online content through multiple devices, through search engine
optimization, search engine marketing (paid advertisement), social media
marketing ( both cost per click and cost per thousand impressions), email
campaigns, display advertisements through various ad networks, referral
programs and retargeting campaigns.

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Website Development 4. Customer engagement: Engaging customers through various social
and Hosting
media channels also instills superior trust in the minds of customers.
Nowadays, customers seek to analyse the brands to understand the core
benefits and unique value proposition provided by the brand, they look
for offers, discounts and offers during special seasons, a mechanism for
queries/clarifications relating with the products displayed and interaction
with customer support executives etc.

5. Customer retention: It should be noted that to fully leverage best

technology, there should be a constant effort to pay attention for features
and functionalities that will strengthen the customer experience. With the
arrival of sophisticated electronic-commerce technologies, one-to-one
customer experience is becoming a reality in business and new age
retailers will be able to retain by providing customized services and
products and that’s the best a customer can really expect.

6. Optimization based on key metrics: Some of the key elements to

measure the health of an e-commerce venture are the total revenue
generated, customer acquisition cost, percentage of customers converted,
and percentage of customers entering the website by using various
channels. However, these elements may vary based on the business
objectives and so every electronic business needs a fully customized
approach for defining the key elements and further analysis. After that, a
deeper level of optimization is needed at 2 levels – on the technology and
the business front.

7. Business analysis and customer insights: The last step of this process
is about knowing the product group that has performed well in
comparison to other products in the webstore. Assessing this is crucial
for a company to survive in the market as those categories occupy the
prime real estate in the online world – the web store. It should consist of
understanding the customer segments, demographics, profitable
customers, source of channels, per customer contribution in profit of the
company in percentage and the marketing spends that has gone into
acquiring these customers.

Check Your Progress B:

Part A: State which of the following statements is true and which are
false.

i) Websites are effective tools for E-business.

ii) E-commerce software is a tool that drives online processes.
iii) There is no role of the Internet for dramatic transformation of companies.
iv) E-commerce strategies are a group of E-business plan.
v) Future of business is E-commerce prioritization.

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Part B: Fill in the blanks. E-Commerce
Software Platform
i) _____________ is a collection of web pages.
ii) Web hosts can _____________ in the world.
iii) Language to write web pages is __________.

8.12 LET US SUM UP

Websites are an important component of business these days, hosting of

websites may not be feasible due to technology, budget, infrastructure, and
continuous updating. Web hosting referred to as service providers where the
website has to be stored on some server, that server is your host. The host can
be anywhere in the world but it has power, internet connections and dedicated
IP addresses.

More or less every grassroots entrepreneur who started a setup from scratch
or runs the existing business currently fabricates some kind of a ‘platform’.
Google Search, Facebook, Android, Uber, AirBnB, Waze, Amazon Web
Services, Amazon Marketplace, WeWork, and even Bitcoin are all platforms.
At the same time, these platforms are very dissimilar in how they generate
network effects, interactions they facilitate.There are various kinds of E-
commerce software which have certain characteristics and could be used as
per the need and requirement.

The basic function of e-commerce software includes catalog display,

Shopping cart capabilities and Transaction processing. Integrating different
components is important for large businesses houses, because range of
products are not limited, their business interest spread over many products
and services. The other operations of electronic commerce activities are
Middleware, Enterprise Application Integration and Databases, Web
Services, and Integration with ERP Systems. Web hosting services can be
hired so that in-house burden can be shifted and dedicated hosting services
can be used. Web host CSPs (Compute cycles Service Providers) have the
same advantages as ISP (Internet Service Provider) hosting services,
including spreading the cost of a large Web site over several “renters” hosted
by the service. The biggest single advantage - low cost - occurs because the
host provider has already purchased the server and configured it.

There are a number of E-commerce software available for midsize and large
businesses. These software packages differ on price, capabilities, database
connectivity, software portability, software customization, tools and technical
expertise required to manage the software. Some of them are Web site
development tools, Inter shop enfinity, IBM WebSphere Commerce
Professional Edition and Microsoft Commerce Server 2002. Large e-
commerce sites deal with transactions of higher volume and therefore needed
dedicated software to handle specific elements of their online business such
as customer relationship management, supply chain management, content
167
Website Development management and knowledge management. The enterprise software is also
and Hosting
capable of making changes in the system automatically (e.g., inventory
checking and order placement for items needed). In contrast, both basic and
midrange E-commerce software usually require an administrator to manually
make such changes. Enterprise E-commerce software usually requires several
dedicated computers.

The ability of the businesses to plan, design and implement cohesive

electronic commerce strategies will make the difference between success and
failure for the majority of them. The key to successful implementation of any
information technology project are planning and execution. four major steps
in planning electronic commerce initiatives are Identify Potential e-
Commerce Initiatives, Analyse the Functional Scope of Electronic Initiatives,
Analyse the Sustainability of Benefits from e-commerce Initiatives and
Prioritize e-Commerce Initiatives.

The commerce industry is growing with rapid speed as growth rate is

continuously increasing. The process of e-commerce website development
project are categories into seven major steps which are identify the
product/service, and the customer, Know your e-commerce customer, Choose
the right electronic commerce website development platform, Choose the
right electronic commerce website hosting platform, Choose the right
electronic commerce development partner, Electronic commerce website
testing and effective marketing. E-commerce business depends upon
implementation and adoption in process; successful systems have seven key
steps such as Strategic business planning and roadmaps, Technology
selection/ website audit and analysis, Customer acquisition, Customer
engagement, Customer retention, Optimization based on key metrics and
Business analysis and customer insights.

8.13 KEYWORDS

Enterprise resource planning (ERP): ERP is a process used by companies

to manage and integrate the important parts of their businesses. Many ERP
software applications are important to companies because they help them
implement resource planning by integrating all of the processes needed to run
their companies with a single system.

Middleware: Middleware is software which lies between an operating

system and the applications running on it. It establishes connection between
e-commerce software and existing business and enables communication and
data management for distributed applications

Online Business: Online Business or e-business is any kind of business or

commercial transaction that includes sharing information across the internet.
Online business does not only deal with online transactions of selling and
buying of a product and/or service but also enables to conduct business
168 processes within the value chain through internal or external networks.
Shopping Cart: A shopping cart is a piece of software that keeps the record E-Commerce
Software Platform
of the items a buyer has ‘picked up’ from the onlionline store. Shopping cart
enables consumers to select products, review what they selected, make
modifications or add extra items if needed, and purchase the products.

Web Hosting: Web hosting makes the files that ccomprise a website (code,
images etc.) available
ble for viewing online. Every website you've ever visited
is hosted on a server. When a hosting provider allocates space on a web
server for a website to store its files, they are hosting a website.

Website:: A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages

and related content that is identified by a common domain name and
published on at least one web server. Notable examples are wikipedia.org,
google.com, and amazon.com etc.

8.14 ANSWER TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress B

Part A:
(i) True ii) True iii) False iv) True v) False
Part B:
(i) website ii) anywhere iii) HTML

8.15 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1) What is web hosting software? Why are they important in online

business?
2) Describe various types of software platforms.
3) Name commonly used e-commerce
commerce software for small & midsize
companies.
commerce initiatives?
4) How do we plan e-commerce
5) What are the most advanced functions of ee-commerce software?
6) “Web site development is a creative process” comment.
7) Why is customer engagement and retention an important tool for an ee-
commerce business?

These questions are helpful to understand this unit.

Do efforts for writing the answer of these questions
but do not send your answer to university. It is only
Note for your practice.

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