Electronic-commerceBusiness was once conducted by barter. Money was invented to make it easier but business was still conducted face-to-face. Then along came the telephone and buying and selling could be carried out at the end of a cable. People no longer had to actually go to the market. E-commerce is an extension of that cable. These days you can conduct business without in reality handling goods or cash.
But e-commerce is much more that merely a substitute for traditional shopping. E-commerce operates from business to consumer and business to business. Business-to-business e-commerce goes further and includes electronic data exchange or interchange (EDI), a speedy, automated system of information exchange between companies who work closely together. Another example is standardization of specifications within a given field, for ease of price calculations in a competitive market.
E-commerce is an ideal medium. Sending data over a network is more efficient and much faster than “traditional” methods and thus, far more cost effective.
E-businessThis is really nothing more than using the Internet and its related technologies to conduct normal business operations. Whether in advertising, sales, purchasing, human resources, marketing or management, the Internet can be used to increase productivity, reduce costs and thus increase turnover. In other words it’s a management tool. And what’s more, it’s a management tool that is accessible to all businesses, whether a one-man-operation or a large corporation.
E-banking or net bankingThis is one of the management tools of e-business. It provides efficiency for banks and businesses and convenience for individual customers. All banking functions can be carried out via the Internet: checking the status of accounts, transferral of funds between accounts, carrying out financial transactions, even using the account for online purchases.
