Lesson 2 | An introduction to basic e-Commerce concepts |
Objective | An overview of e-Commerce "tools" |
Define types of tools used in e-Commerce Architectures and Solutions.
E-Commerce architects have a rather extensive set of tools at their disposal. This course explains the tools from which e-Commerce architectures can be built.
Elements of an e-Commerce solution
All of the elements of an e-Commerce solution are all equally important. In other words, web page authoring tools, browsers, server hardware, networks, web-based services, and databases are critical to the success of an e-Commerce architecture.
All these elements have their place in an overall solution.
Each of these elements is best at providing a certain function for a given solution. For instance, the web page authoring tool allows the designer to create the Web site, the server hardware enables the created site to be broadcast
over the Internet, and the database allows each transaction to be recorded.
Each of these elements needs to:
- Work reliably
- Scale appropriately
- Be easy to use, manage, and modify
- Work well with the other elements
Since all of these elements are part of the e-Commerce universal solution set, in a sense these elements are all tools for the e-Commerce architect.
The following table provides an overview for each of the e-Commerce categories we will be discussing in this course.
Category | Definition | Example |
Networking | The technologies that enable physically separate computing devices to share information | Router |
Middleware | Allows developers to tie together disparate solutions and architectures | Message Broker |
Baseline technologies for e-Commerce | The foundation technologies that allow a business to compete in the e-Commerce arena | Operating system |
Enabling technologies for e-Commerce | Allow e-Businesses to increase the functionality of their site | Application server |
Business components services | Web-based information services used by e-Commerce applications | Workflow services |
Business suites for e-Commerce | Offer specific functionality for e-Commerce solutions | Content management |
Customer relationship management | E-Commerce applications that automate workflow | Sales automation |