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Information Exchange History

History of e-business

  1. The 1970s and 1980s: e-business begins as businesses and governments attempt to improve information exchange and security.
  2. Late 1980s and early 1990s: Online services emerge, using first-generation news, email, and chat capabilities.
  3. Mid-1990s: The browser and its key associated protocol, HTTP, are commercialized, making the home page a business component.
  4. Late 1990s: Dot-coms, which use the Web as their primary channel for product distribution, increase in number.
  5. Late 2000s: Web 2.0 and social networking.

Three Waves Information Technology
Three Waves Information Technology

Electronic business, or e-business, is the application of information and communication technologies (ICT) in support of all the activities of business. Commerce constitutes the exchange of products and services between businesses, groups and individuals and can be seen as one of the essential activities of any business. Electronic commerce focuses on the use of ICT to enable the external activities and relationships of the business with individuals, groups and other businesses or e business refers to business with help of internet, i.e. doing business with the help of internet network. The term "e-business" was coined by IBM's marketing and Internet team in 1996.
In 1997, IBM began to use its foundation in IT solutions and expertise to market itself as a leader of conducting business on the Internet through the term "e-business."
After conducting worldwide market research in October 1997, IBM began with an eight-page piece in the Wall Street Journal that would introduce the concept of "e-business" and advertise IBM's expertise in the new field. IBM decided not to trademark the term "e-business" in the hopes that other companies would use the term and create an entire new industry. However, this proved to be too successful and by 2000, to differentiate itself, IBM launched a $300 million campaign about its "e-business infrastructure" capabilities. Since that time, the terms, e-business and e-commerce have been loosely interchangeable and have become a part of the common vernacular.