Excerpts

INTRODUCTION The New Paradigm Over the last few years the Internet has evolved from a scientific network into a platform that is enabling a new generation of businesses. The first wave of electronic business was fundamentally the exchange of information. But, with time, more and more types of businesses have become available electronically. Nowadays we can buy goods online, book vacations or have texts translated over the Internet in an instant. Home banking, for example, is one application that is already provided by most banks around the world. Looking up an ac-count balance, transferring money and performing other transactions are done every day by millions of people. Public administration has discovered the Internet as a means to talk to the general public at election times. And it will not be long before we see general elections decided on the Internet. The reason I have called this book The E-business (R)evolution is twofold. Technology has revolutionized the way we can do business, but business itself is only slowly adapting to the new possibilities. The New Economy needs a new paradigm, but the process of conversion will take some time to complete. The necessary technology is ready and waiting. The e-business in the title is not the same as IBM uses it; it is much more, as you will discover by reading this book. There is a reason why the "B" in e-business is not written in capital letters, as in IBM's case. The Internet is changing the concept of programming applications. We are moving toward pervasive computing and electronic services. Jini technology is one of the first implementations of what one could call "one world, one com-puter." Jini allows every device to talk to every other device in a common language (a device in this case can be anything with a silicon chip inside it and an Internet connection). Other companies have started to develop similar paradigms, technologies and visions, such as IBM's T Spaces technology and Hewlett-Packard's E-Services strategy. You have probably already heard of the empty refrigerator that sends an e-mail to the grocery with a request for fresh milk to be delivered to the doorstep before breakfast in the morning. Prototypes have already been built. A bar-code reader is able to detect which products are put into the fridge and taken out afterward. For many people, this may not be a necessity. The grocery store is more than just a place where people can buy food. It is a social place where people meet, which cannot be simply replaced by two chips. But for those who do not have the time to do the shopping, or are not able to walk to the store, this may become a valuable option. New technologies are emerging slowly. In Helsinki, for example, it is already possible to pay for a soft drink with a cellular phone. Instead of inserting coins into the vending machine it is possible to call the machine with a cell phone, using a special number that in turn releases a can of soda. In Europe more people have cellular phones than computers, therefore the crossover of communication technology and information technology is on the verge of happening. Through cell-broadcast people with GSM cellular phones are able to receive news flashes, which can keep them up-to-date on the latest political and financial developments. The future of computing lies in devices-not stand-alone personal computers. Other applications may be more useful to all of us, but the Internet is generally not designed to be a mass medium such as television or radio. The Internet is an infrastructure for many mass and niche markets. Two applications, which may be suitable for many car owners, are the following: Cost Saving--Imagine your car sending a request to all gas stations within ten miles to find out which one is the cheapest. The navigational system of the car will then direct the driver to that gas station. Life Saving--After an accident the car is able to detect how severe the crash was and will call an ambulance and the police, if appropriate. Pervasive Computing Pervasive computing is therefore the next logical step in the evolution of computers. The Internet has enabled the connection of computers and allowed them to exchange information. Connecting all types of devices will create a network that is thousands of times larger than the current Internet, offering more than a simple exchange of information. It will enable businesses to offer services, which can be as basic as, "print something onto the nearest printer" or as complex as, "create a short document on the financial situation within the company." In such an interconnected world everything becomes part of one huge system. This may sound like the evil Borgs in the Star Trek saga, who say: "You will be assimilated." The Borgs are a civilization that work and live in a collective; they have only one mind. Without the other members of the collective they are lost. Their mission is to assimilate all other cultures and to incorporate all other technologies into their own. They believe that resistance to change is futile. Hopefully the introduction of new technologies will not be based on pressure, but on agreements, understanding and cooperation. It would be very worrisome if this goal were achieved on propriety standards, and it could be totally superfluous if this goal were achieved by wasting useful resources. But it can also mean a leap into the future if this New World is built on open systems, open sources, open standards and open services. It remains to be seen if Jini will succeed, but the general direction is set, and everybody will have to follow it over the next few years in order not to fall behind. Pervasive computing is only just getting off the ground, but getting to know all about it will give you the edge over your competitors when it comes to implementing it. But before getting into pervasive computing, one should think about one's business idea. In order to be successful on the Internet it is necessary to get that right first, otherwise the best IT infrastructure will not be of any help. Business on the Net Today If you look at the current situation, you can divide the Internet presence of enterprises into six phases: _ Phase 1: "Hello, I'm online, too"--In this phase, the company has set up a Web page. However, no real structure is provided. There is no search engine, there is only some of the product information, and there is no link to the current stock price and no way to communicate with people within the company. _ Phase 2: "Structured Web site"--The Web site now has a decent structure; you can use a search engine to search for keywords, see all the company information, and exchange messages within the company. _ Phase 3: "Trying e-commerce"--The company is trying to sell information, goods, etc., online, but the system is not connected to the real databases on the company intranet. It is slow, costs a lot of money and is not really secure. There is no way to hook up your company's back-end system to the back-end of another company. _ Phase 4: "Doing e-business"--Your Web site has a direct link into the legacy systems of your intranet, allows retrieval of information from internal databases, and uses secure protocols to transmit data between your company and the customer or another business. You are able to save costs and start making a profit from your online business. _ Phase 5: "Pervasive e-business"--Using any device that contains a chip (cellular phone, car, etc.) people are able to connect to your data and transmit or receive the desired information to do e-business. _ Phase 6: "One world, one computer"--All chip-based devices are interconnected and create one huge information resource. The devices are able to interchange any type of information on an object-oriented level. Applications are transparent to these devices. Users won't know where the answerto theirproblemscamefrom. Most companies nowadays are somewhere near or between phase 2 and phase 3. Most of them are moving toward phase 4. One important part of this book is to show what will happen after phase 4. Pervasive computing is the most likely thing to happen. This book will show what such a world could look like and what the alternatives are. It tries to identify the standards and the owners, and tries to find out what the Internet will be like in five years time. Who Should Read This Book This book is intended for the electronic entrepreneur who is either thinking about setting up an e-business or has already set one up. It provides you with a checklist of all the important items in the e-business arena. You can check immediately how much of your business is ready to go online. After having read this book you will be able to build up your own e-business or enhance it dramatically to make it not only yet another Web page, but also a real financial stronghold for your company. This book is the basis for your e-business decisions. The information given in this book is not technological hype that will evaporate next year; it will be the basis for your e-business over the next few years. The book covers all the topics required for a complete and secure e-business solution. It goes into great depth in each topic, so that you will be competent enough to decide which of the solutions described fits your needs best. The major question for all technologies in this book is: "Why should I use it?" There are enough books on how to use a technology and many people know how to do it, but many people forget to ask why. Sometimes it makes sense to avoid new technologies, as it may only add extra overhead to the work that needs to be done. So, whenever people come up to you and explain a new technology, do not ask how it can be done, but why it should be done. This book contains many examples and links to Web pages. As the Internet is changing every day, it cannot be guaranteed that every link will be available at the time of reading. As a convenience to the readers, a Web site has been set up that contains a list of all examples used in the book. The list on the Web site will be updated at regular intervals. In addition, the Web site will contain links to other e-business sites and more information on the topics in the book. How This Book Is Organized The book is divided into four parts. The first part is the foundation for online activities. It introduces the reader to the basic concepts of the Internet and how to do business via the Internet. It takes both technology and business into consideration, and does not forget to talk about the legal aspects of doing business via the Internet. Finally, it explains how marketing on the Web should be done in order to be successful. Without marketing, your online business will lack the visibility it requires to succeed. The second part talks about how e-business applications are used for Internet-, intranet- or extranet-based applications. It looks at the questions from all perspectives: client software, middleware, and back-end systems. Its focus is on search engines, portals, shopping and ORM sites. Customer relationship management, content management and knowledge management are such important parts of an e-business solution that I created an extra chapter for these topics. Last but not least, one chapter is dedicated to communication possibilities via the Internet. Using this information you are prepared to go online and discover other businesses, what they offer and how they did it. The third part explains the technologies that are below your applications. This is done from the technical and business points of view, to show you the business cases that are viable right now. Each chapter contains a set of business cases that are evaluated, and it is explained how Internet technologies help to resolve issues with the business cases and how to extend one's business through new technology. The fourth part is an outlook into the future of electronic business, and gets into more detail on how software and hardware will be developed in the future. The Open Source model is explained, as well as how pervasive computing has been implemented. The last chapter of the book explores future possibilities. Appendix A offers a glossary of e-business terms used throughout the book. In case you do not understand a certain term, look here. Appendix B describes how a business can be moved to the Internet, and what is required to do so. It not only lists the ideas, and the required hardware and software, but also goes into detail regarding costs and the benefits. Appendix C is a short list of my favorite Web sites, ordered by subject areas. Appendix D enters the world of localization and internationalization of Web sites and Appendix E offers some insight on the death of dot.coms. Excerpted from The E-Business (R)evolution: Living and Working in an Interconnected World by Daniel Amor All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Paolo Glisenti

Foreword	p. xxix
Introduction	p. xxxiii
I The Foundation	p. 1
1 Introduction to Internet Business	p. 3
1.1 Being Online	p. 3
1.2 Defining E-Business	p. 8
1.3 Reasons for Going Online	p. 18
1.4 Differentiating between E-business Categories	p. 27
1.5 Using the New Paradigm of E-Business	p. 38
2 Preparing the Online Business	p. 45
2.1 Competitor Analysis on the Internet	p. 45
2.2 The Fourth Channel	p. 47
2.3 Paradigms in the New Economy	p. 54
2.4 Return on Investment	p. 57
2.5 Driving Business Process Reengineering	p. 60
2.6 Designing, Developing, and Deploying the System	p. 65
3 Selecting the Technology	p. 79
3.1 Internet Networking	p. 79
3.2 Exploring the IT Infrastructure	p. 89
3.3 Deciding on the Enterprise Middleware	p. 95
3.4 Choosing the Right Enterprise Applications	p. 111
3.5 Building the E-Business Applications	p. 129
3.6 Speeding up the Internet	p. 137
4 Avoiding Legal Issues	p. 147
4.1 Global Contracts	p. 147
4.2 The Web Site	p. 151
4.3 Encryption Algorithms	p. 159
4.4 Developing a Dark Site	p. 165
5 Marketing Strategies on the Web	p. 175
5.1 Internet Marketing Technologies	p. 175
5.2 Web Design	p. 178
5.3 Attracting Visitors to Your Site	p. 186
5.4 Virtual Societies	p. 189
5.5 Localization	p. 193
5.6 Promoting Your E-Business	p. 201
5.7 Banner Ad Campaigning	p. 207
5.8 Online Measurement	p. 211
5.9 One-to-One Marketing	p. 215
5.10 Direct Marketing	p. 223
5.11 Choosing the Right ISP	p. 232
II E-Business Applications	p. 237
6 Search Engines and Portals	p. 239
6.1 Searching the Internet	p. 239
6.2 The Future of Searching	p. 250
6.3 Intelligent Network Agents	p. 257
6.4 Portal Sites	p. 261
7 Shopping and Orm Solutions	p. 275
7.1 Online Shopping	p. 275
7.2 Shopping Solutions	p. 284
7.3 Implications of the New Economy	p. 295
7.4 Electronic Software Distribution	p. 300
7.5 Configurator Tools	p. 306
7.6 Auctioning on the Internet	p. 310
7.7 Operational Resources Management	p. 317
7.8 Joining the Shopping and ORM Solutions	p. 325
8 Supporting E-Business Components	p. 327
8.1 Content Management Systems	p. 327
8.2 Customer Relationship Management	p. 344
8.3 Knowledge Management Systems	p. 356
9 Interactive Communication Experiences	p. 371
9.1 The Basics	p. 371
9.2 Moderating Online Meetings	p. 373
9.3 Internet Chat Solutions	p. 383
9.4 Peer-to-Peer Technologies	p. 391
9.5 Internet-Based Trainings	p. 400
III Internet Technologies	p. 407
10 Comparing Web Technologies	p. 409
10.1 Finding the Right Browser	p. 409
10.2 The Hypertext Markup Language	p. 429
10.3 The Dynamic Web	p. 434
10.4 Dynamic Server Concepts	p. 438
10.5 Web Application Servers	p. 443
10.6 The Extensible Markup Language	p. 450
10.7 Plug-ins	p. 464
10.8 JavaScript	p. 467
11 Security on the Internet	p. 475
11.1 Creating a Security Strategy	p. 475
11.2 Cryptographic Tools	p. 485
11.3 Applications of Cryptology	p. 491
11.4 Privacy on the Internet	p. 496
11.5 Fighting Virus and Hoax Virus Warnings	p. 501
11.6 Conflicts in the Information Age	p. 513
11.7 Client-based Security	p. 520
11.8 Server-based Security	p. 528
12 Dealing with Java	p. 545
12.1 Introducing Java	p. 545
12.2 Java Foundation Classes	p. 552
12.3 Jini	p. 556
12.4 JavaBeans	p. 559
12.5 InfoBus	p. 566
12.6 Resolving Possible Java Issues	p. 569
12.7 Avoiding the Java Wars	p. 576
12.8 The Future of Java Computing	p. 581
13 Imaging on the Internet	p. 585
13.1 Image Business	p. 585
13.2 Image Concepts	p. 588
13.3 The FlashPix Format	p. 594
13.4 QuickTime VR	p. 599
13.5 VRML	p. 603
13.6 Comparing Imaging Technologies	p. 609
13.7 The Future of Imaging	p. 611
14 Paying Via the Net	p. 619
14.1 The Payment Business	p. 619
14.2 Fraud on the Internet	p. 628
14.3 Example Business Cases	p. 630
14.4 Postpaid Payment Systems	p. 631
14.5 Instant-paid Payment Systems	p. 644
14.6 Prepaid Payment Systems	p. 648
14.7 Comparing Payment Technologies	p. 656
14.8 The Future of Payment	p. 658
IV The Present Future	p. 665
15 The Open Source Community	p. 667
15.1 Information Wants to Be Free	p. 667
15.2 Free Software Projects	p. 674
15.3 Open Source Projects	p. 678
15.4 Moving Your Company from Products to Services	p. 687
15.5 Introduction to Open Hardware	p. 690
15.6 Outlook into the Future	p. 696
16 Pervasive Computing	p. 697
16.1 Internet Services	p. 697
16.2 Programming Models	p. 703
16.3 Device-to-device Communication	p. 710
16.4 Information Exchange	p. 719
16.5 Service Broadcasting	p. 723
16.6 The Vision	p. 732
16.7 Comparison of Pervasive Computing Technologies	p. 743
16.8 The Future of Pervasive Computing	p. 746
17 Beyond Pervasive Computing	p. 749
17.1 Technical Outlook on the Future	p. 749
17.2 Looking into the Future of Business	p. 755
17.3 The Societal Impact	p. 761
A Glossary of E-Business Terms	p. 765
B Example Internet Business Architecture	p. 819
B.1 The Business Idea	p. 819
B.2 Marketing on the Web	p. 821
B.3 Implementation of the Service	p. 823
B.4 Outlook into the Future	p. 826
C Useful Web Addresses	p. 829
C.1 Business	p. 829
C.2 Comics	p. 830
C.3 Computers	p. 830
C.4 Fun	p. 831
C.5 Hacking-Related Sites	p. 831
C.6 Internet Organizations	p. 831
C.7 Mailing Lists	p. 832
C.8 News	p. 832
C.9 Search Engines	p. 833
C.10 Software Development	p. 833
D Internationalization of Web Sites	p. 835
D.1 Introduction	p. 835
D.2 Bad Habits	p. 837
D.3 ISO 8859 and Unicode	p. 838
D.4 ISO 639 Language Codes	p. 840
D.5 International URLs	p. 841
E Dot.com Death Analysis	p. 843
E.1 Introduction	p. 843
E.2 Dot.com Failures	p. 845
E.3 Successful Examples	p. 846
E.4 The Future	p. 846
Subject Index	p. 849