Network Infrastructure For E Commerce Information Technology Essay

 E-commerce or eCommerce is basically Electronic commerce that deals with buying and selling of services and products over electronic systems such as Internet and other Computer networks. E-commerce is commonly known as electronic marketing. With the extensive use of Internet, the amount of trade carried out electronically has developed tremendously.

E-commerce (electronic commerce or EC) is the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. In practice, this term and a newer term, e-business, are often used interchangeably. For online retail selling, the term e-tailing is sometimes used.

Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of the business transactions.

REQUIREMENTS FOR E-COMMERCE:

Authentication

PrivacyMessage

Integrity

Non-repudiation

NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE FOR E-COMMERCE:

Global information distribution networks are the infrastructure that are connecting countries and continents. Extranets, Intranets and the Internet, the above parties are spread over diverse locations, extranets use the internet as a network to reach out to these parties. A company typically has multiple dedicated extranets for different parties depending on information needs and nature of relationship. Extranets can sometimes also be seen as an extension of the company “intranet” or internal network where external parties are brought into the fold of the company’s private network with access to specific areas or information.

Internet

This is the world-wide network of computers accessible to anyone who knows their Internet Protocol (IP) address – the IP address is a unique set of numbers (such as 209.33.27.100) that defines the computer’s location.

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Intranet

This is a network that is not available to the world outside of the Intranet. If the Intranet network is connected to the Internet, the Intranet will reside behind a firewall and, if it allows access from the Internet, will be an Extranet. The firewall helps to control access between the Intranet and Internet to permit access to the Intranet only to people who are members of the same company or organisation. 

Extranet

An Extranet is actually an Intranet that is partially accessible to authorised outsiders. The actual server (the computer that serves up the web pages) will reside behind a firewall. The firewall helps to control access between the Intranet and Internet permitting access to the Intranet only to people who are suitably authorised. 

EXTRANET:

An extranet is a private network that uses Internet protocols and the public telecommunication system to securely share part of a business’s information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses.

An extranet can be viewed as part of a company’s Intranet that is extended to users outside the company.

The same benefits that Web technologies have brought to corporate Intranets are now starting to accelerate business between businesses.

Extranets can be used to exchange large volumes of data, share product catalogues, share news with trading partners, collaborate with other companies on joint development efforts, jointly develop and share training programs with other companies, provide or access applications between companies, and much more.

It may sound like a technology for geeks only. But many people use extranets every day without realizing it–to track packaged goods, order products from their suppliers or access customer assistance from other companies.

An extranet is a mechanism based on Internet and Web technology for communicating both privately and selectively with your customers and business partners.

USES OF EXTRANET:

When done correctly, extranets provide a safe way to allow transactional business-to-business activities and can save your company some serious time and money.

The automotive industry uses extranets to cut down on its redundant ordering processes and keep suppliers up to date on parts and design changes, allowing quicker response times to suppliers’ problems and questions.

Suppliers can receive proposals, submit bids, provide documents, even collect payments through an extranet site.

An extranet has restricted (password-protected) access, so it may be connected directly to each party’s internal systems.

DISADVANTAGES:

The benefits of extranets, such as reduced time to market and cost of doing business, and faster access to partner information, may be outweighed by the costs-security, Web servers and development, legacy systems integration, ongoing support and maintenance.

Extranets require a large amount of IS time and energy, much more than what it takes to get an intranet or Web site up and running, which may place it at the bottom of the IS group’s to-do list.

CONCLUSION:

A mix of each is most likely, Connect to partners, suppliers, customers in the best way that supports your specific business model. “extranet” is helpful conversationally when considering giving external parties access to enterprise systems. The term should engender a deeper level of consideration and concern regarding maintaining security and managing external relationships.