Web-Based Business Applications

The World Wide Web has contributed significantly to the creation of a global marketplace. The Web offers business users a wide range of opportunities for advertising and marketing their goods and services as well as for conducting e-commerce over the Internet. Some of the more commonly used capabilities of the Web include the use of Web sites, business-to-customer e-business applications, and business-to-business e-business applications. In addition, as advances in information technology continue, businesses find new and innovative ways to use the Web to reach customers and partners alike.

Arguably, one of the greatest contributors to the global marketplace in the twenty-first century is the World Wide Web (more commonly referred to as "the web"). However, this means not only that businesses have a larger market in which to sell their products and services: It also means that there is more competition within that same marketplace. Fortunately, the same capabilities of information technology in general and the web in particular that have contributed to the development of a global marketplace enable businesses to be competitive within that marketplace as well.

The web is a set of interconnected Internet sites that use the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Electronic pages on the web can be viewed and retrieved using the Internet. Using browsing software and search engines, users can search the web to find webpages that contain key words. The proliferation of information on the web makes it possible to research and compare similar products and features as well as obtain the best price available in minutes rather than in hours or days. In the comfort of one's own home, one can purchase electronics, furniture, books, and more. It is even possible to point and click one's way to a full pantry using online grocery delivery services that will bring food to one's doorstep. Clothing can be purchased online with easy return policies and even virtual models that allow one to "try on" the clothes before purchase. Many of these technologies are still evolving. However, they are mature enough that more and more people rely on the Internet to conduct at least some of their business.

Not only has technology in many ways improved our lives and the ways that we do business: It also frequently renders those who do not keep up with the times looking backward and ineffectual. Meetings that require one to commute an hour each way are much less likely to make it to our schedules than are similar meetings held for 20 minutes over the web in front of our own computers. The organization demanding the in-person meeting may quickly be left in the dust as increasing numbers of people find that they do not have the time to spend on unnecessary tasks or expense to do business in the 24/7 world of the twenty-first century. The same is true for retail businesses that do not allow customers to purchase items over the web or for almost any business without a presence on the web for advertising and marketing purposes. The increasing number of technology-savvy individuals demands that an increasing amount of business be conducted electronically. The web allows this to be done.

Applications

The web offers business users a wide range of opportunities for advertising and marketing their goods and services as well as for conducting e-commerce over the Internet. Some of the more commonly used capabilities of the web include the use of websites, business-to-customer e-business applications, and business-to-business e-business applications. In addition, as advances in information technology continue, businesses find new and innovative ways to use the web to reach customers and partners alike.

Websites

Typically, the first page that one sees when visiting a company's website is the home page. This page is the electronic equivalent of a brick-and-mortar storefront and is used by a business to identify the site and provide the user with information about the contents of the other electronic documents that are a part of the site. The company's website is accessed through their web address (also called a uniform resource locator, or URL). Within the company's interrelated electronic documents, hyperlinks are used to connect or link documents to one another. These hyperlinks are words or symbols on a website that allow the user to automatically link with another page or document. Hyperlinks are usually identified as being different from regular, unlinked text by being in a different color, underlined, etc. The structure of a hypothetical website with its associated internal hyperlinks is shown in Figure 1. By clicking on the hyperlinks, users can jump from location to location within the website to find the information that they want.

Websites offer companies an opportunity to potentially reach greater numbers of prospective customers more easily than through traditional methods. Websites are typically used to market one's products and services as well as to provide answers to frequently asked questions, such as the physical location and contact information for the company, information about the company's history and vision, news updates about the company's activities, and descriptions of the products and services that the company offers. This can potentially reduce the costs of answering the phone for the company and allows customers round-the-clock access to important information. In addition, some organizations include technical data about the products on the web so that customers can search a database to find answers to their technical questions. This not only gives customers continual access to technical help, but can also reduce costs for the organization by enabling the customer to answer the easy questions for him- or herself.

Business-to-Customer E-Business Applications Online Retailing & Electronic Storefronts

One of the most common applications of business-to-consumer e-business applications is online retailing and electronic storefronts. Traditionally, shopping meant physically going to a store, searching aisles or displays for products of interest, comparing product features, and purchasing. With the advent of information technology, customers frequently have the opportunity to do these tasks electronically by shopping online. In online retailing, on the other hand, customers are able to visit a business's website and examine product pictures and information, compare different products, fill an electronic shopping cart, and checkout and pay for their purchases. The electronic equivalent of the storefront is the home page of the company's website, with the various webpages being the electronic equivalent of the aisles or departments of a traditional store. Rather than going to a brick-and-mortar storefront, customers can visit the company's website and look for the items that they need. Most businesses engaging in e-business allow customers to "stroll the aisles" by having links to various categories of products. For example, Wal-Mart, allows customers to go directly to apparel, baby, electronics, entertainment, home, jewelry, pharmacy, photo, sports, and toys. Similarly, Peapod, the online grocery store, allows customers various shopping options including browsing the aisles (e.g., going directly to the baking "aisle" and browsing the items there), express shop (which allows the customer to input a grocery list that the application software uses as key words to search the database so that it can present a list of options from which the customer can choose), and browse the current specials. Most businesses also give customers the ability to search for specific items within their website by various characteristics such as key words, title, product name, item number, or model number so that they can go directly to a specific product.

Electronic Markets

Another business-to-customer e-business application is the electronic market, a collection of individual shops that can be accessed through a single location on the web. Electronic markets (also referred to as cybermalls or electronic malls) are the virtual equivalent of shopping malls. Just as in brick-and-mortar malls, shops band together to offer convenience to the customer. This service can be helpful to customers who need a product or service but do not know where to find it. One electronic market is Choice-mall.com. This site offers shoppers products in a wide variety of areas ranging from arts and entertainment, beauty and fashion, and travel to home and family, professional services, and real estate. Within each of these general categories are hyperlinks to more specific categories that may be of interest to the user. For example, under the "Travel Center" are listed agencies, cruise packages, discounts, tours, and vacation resorts. If a user wants to find a travel agency, for example, she would click on the "Agencies" hyperlink. This would bring up another webpage that lists travel agencies participating in the e-market along with a brief description of each and a hyperlink to its home page on the web.

Additional Online Services

The web offers not only shopping opportunities to customers, but other services as well. Electronic banking enables customers can access their accounts via secure connection and conduct various banking transactions over the web without physically going to the bank. For example, one can check to see if an electronic paycheck has been deposited, find out the balance in one's account, transfer money between savings and checking, and many of the other activities that one does in a bank. Electronic bank statements and scans of the front and back of checks are also commonly available online and can be used in place of paper documents, thereby saving money for both the bank and the customer. Other personal financial services available on the web include electronic bill paying for an increasing number of businesses. Customers can pay their bills through electronic forms online instead of writing checks or, in some cases, have the money automatically withdrawn from their bank account so that they do not have to be involved in the bill-paying process at all (except, of course, to make sure that their bank account balances will cover the bills). Other conveniences offered to customers include the ability to invest, buy transit or event tickets, place restaurant reservations or take-out orders, and book accommodations over the web.

Business-to-Business E-Business Applications

Information technology not only enables businesses to more easily sell to customers; it also enables businesses to do many traditional activities related to dealing with other business electronically. Information technology can enable businesses to procure supplies and services electronically through the use of electronic procurement systems and electronic exchanges.

E-Procurement Systems

Electronic procurement systems give employees access to the electronic equivalent of catalogs from multiple suppliers -- with whom the organization has often negotiated preapproved prices. Through the use of e-procurement systems, organizations can reduce purchasing costs, provide employee self-service, and increase their leverage with suppliers. Palmer and Gupta (2012a; 2012b) found that for traditional purchase orders (POs), costs are typically about $90 per transaction, including the costs associated with preparing and processing a PO, as compared to $17 per transaction for purchase card transactions, of which e-procurement orders are a subset. The use of e-procurement typically reduces costs as well as saves time by allowing employees to review catalogs and other product information online in order to determine which vendor or product to use as well as to prepare and submit purchase orders electronically. In addition, enterprise-wide e-procurement often allows organizations to aggregate their purchases from a single vendor, thereby increasing their purchasing volume and allowing them to negotiate better rates for goods and services. The basic paradigm for e-procurement is shown in Figure 2.

E-procurement software can also post vendors' catalogs on the web for employees to use in choosing products and services. E-procurement application software can allow employees to electronically submit purchase orders, automatically route purchase orders for approval when necessary, and eliminate the need for hard copy documentation by using the web. This software can also be used to generate monthly, quarterly, or yearly statements that allow the organization to track its spending and enable it to streamline its purchasing and procurement activities.

Electronic Exchanges

Another web application used by organizations in business-to-business e-business is electronic exchanges (also known as electronic markets or B2B hubs). These are sites on the web where buyers and sellers can come together to exchange information and buy and sell products and services. As shown in Figure 3, there are three common structures for electronic interchanges.

Public exchanges (also known as independent exchanges) are operated by third parties who display in the content and provide electronic tools for conducting business. Independent exchanges may be vertical (i.e., serving members of a specific industry) or horizontal (i.e., simultaneously serving businesses in different industries).

Consortia-backed exchanges are e-markets created by consortia of traditional firms within an industry. These firms band together to create a common forum for business-to-business transactions of goods and services. One of the typical goals of consortia-backed exchanges is to drive down costs for all participants.

Another electronic exchange structure that is commonly seen is the private exchange. These exchanges are structured around the needs of a specific sponsoring business and its trading partners. Membership in private exchanges is by invitation only. Private exchanges have several advantages over other types of electronic exchanges. First, access to both buyers and sellers and the ability to exclude competitors and their suppliers from the exchange can be easily regulated by the owners of the exchanges. In addition, private exchange can offer pricing incentives or alternatives to streamline business processes and benefit participants. Further, most private exchanges can be tailored to serve specific products.

Emerging Uses of the Web Web 2.0

In addition to the standard capabilities of websites to enable companies to do business on a global scale, an emerging set of capabilities often referred to as Web 2.0 offer companies additional ways to keep in touch with their customer base and market their services and products through such tools as RSS feeds, wikis, podcasts, and blogs. Web 2.0 is a notional second generation of web-based communities and hosted services available on the web. In many ways, Web 2.0 represents progress in the way that websites are designed and the way that users interface with them. In fact, a 2007 Booz Allen Hamilton study of 2,400 consumers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany concluded that businesses need to respond to Web 2.0 or run the risk of being left behind (Daniel, 2007). Specifically, the study found that Web 2.0 is not a phenomenon only embraced by 20-somethings but is relevant across gender and age. However, the changes in the web are evolutionary, not revolutionary, and Web 2.0 is not appropriate for every business or market. Whether or not the tools of Web 2.0 work in a business environment depends on many factors, including the image the business is trying to convey, who the business is trying to attract, and what the business is trying to achieve through its interactions with its customers.

Although Web 2.0 offers many exciting new possibilities for marketing products and services, it is important to remember two things about Web 2.0 before either dismissing or embracing it.

• First, Web 2.0 is not a new standard or a new technology: It comprises technology that has been around for some time but that is being bundled together or used in new ways.
• Second, Web 2.0 is not a totally new business model that obviates the need for other models, but comprises a set of tools that can be used to enhance an enterprise's marketing and other activities.

The technology that is used in Web 2.0 sites allows them to be more interactive and user-friendly and less artificial than was previously possible. From a human/computer interaction point-of-view, the technology associated with Web 2.0 can help designers create webpages that allow users to more freely and naturally interact with the organization's website. This can enhance the quality of the webpage and the kinds of data that can be transmitted between the organization and the customer.

There are a number of considerations that should be taken into account when deciding whether or not Web 2.0 might enhance an organization's online presence.

• First, just as with any marketing or strategy concept, it is important to first start with a definition of business goals and examining how -- and if -- Web 2.0 can help in meeting these. However, the inclusion of new technology qua new technology is insufficient justification for an investment that will bring no greater return than existing methods.
• Second, the use of Web 2.0 is not an either/or proposition. Traditional methods that work should be kept and augmented by Web 2.0 only as appropriate.

Conclusion

The web is a set of interconnected Internet sites that use the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). It offers business users a wide range of opportunities for advertising and marketing their goods and services as well as for conducting e-commerce over the Internet. Some of the more commonly used capabilities of the web include the use of websites, business-to-customer e-business applications, and business-to-business e-business applications. In addition, as advances in information technology continue, businesses find new and innovative ways to use the web to reach customers and partners alike.

Terms & Concepts

Blog: A journal that is publicly accessible on the web. Blogs include personal thoughts of the author(s) in chronological order, just as in a hard-copy journal. The term "blog" is short for "web log."

Database: A collection of data items used for multiple purposes and stored on a computer.

E-Business: The process of buying and selling goods or services electronically rather than through conventional means along with the support activities and transactions necessary to do these tasks. E-business ("electronic business") is typically conducted over the Internet.

Electronic Exchanges: Sites on the Internet where buyers and sellers can come together to exchange information and buy and sell products and services.

Enterprise: An organization that uses computers. Although this term is often applied to large organizations, the term can be applied to both small and large organizations.

Hyperlinks: Text or symbols on a website that allow the user to automatically link with another page or document. Hyperlinks are usually identified by being different from regular, unlinked text by being in a different color, underlined, etc.

Information Technology: The use of computers, communications networks, and knowledge in the creation, storage, and dispersal of data and information. Information technology comprises a wide range of items and abilities for use in the creation, storage, and distribution of information.

Podcast: A digital audio or video file that is distributed over the Internet and played back on portable media players, personal computers, and other web-enabled devices. The term "podcast" is short for "Pod broadcast."

RSS Feed: RSS ("really simple syndication") is a family of web formats used to publish information that is frequently updated (e.g., blogs, podcasts, news headlines). RSS feeds enable subscribers to automatically download the most recent content from associated websites.

Web 2.0: A notional second generation of web-based communities and hosted services available on the web. The concept originated from the move to the Internet as a platform. There is no updated technical specification associated with Web 2.0.

Wiki: A piece of software on a server that enables users to create and edit the content of webpages using any browser. Most wikis are collaborative websites that allow multiple persons to update web content. The term "wiki" comes from "wiki wiki," which means "quick" in Hawaiian.

World Wide Web: A set of interconnected Internet sites that use the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Electronic pages on the World Wide Web can be viewed and retrieved using the Internet. Also referred to as "the web."

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Suggested Reading

Abingdon, D. (2006). Winning with E-commerce. In D. Abingdon, Out of the box marketing (pp. 110-130). London, England: Thorogood Publishing. Retrieved August 8, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=22383519&site=ehost-live

Bannan, K. J. (2007). Proceed with caution. B to B, 92(9), 17-22. Retrieved October 2, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebsco-host.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=25906708&site=ehost-live

Evans, E. (2014). Smartphone apps in business. Alaska Business Monthly 30(2), 58–59. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=94258306

Graham, C. M., & Jones, N. (2011). Improving business performance with Web 2.0 technologies. Journal of Business Excellence, 2(1), 12-17. Retrieved November 22, 2013 from EBSCO online database Business Source Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=85222230

McCue, C., & Roman, A. V. (2012). E-procurement: Myth or reality?. Journal of Public Procurement, 12(2), 221-248. Retrieved November 22, 2013 from EBSCO online database Business Source Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=78114384

Nguyen, T. N. (2005). Scalable e-business integration. Journal of American Academy of Business, 6(1), 135-142. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=15637421&site=ehost-live