E-Commerce Year — May 2016 [Time : Three Hours} Note: Attempt all the Sections as per instructions. BCA-603 [Maximum Marks : 751 ‘This solution is provided by Mrs. Parul Marwah Section-A (Very Short Answer Questions) Attempt all five questions. Each question carries 3 marks. Very short answer is required not exceeding 75 words. Q1. What do you mean by ‘Electronic Markets’? Ans. Electronic Markets : Electronic markets are the foundation of electronic commerce. They potentially integrate advertising, product ordering, delivery of digital products, and payment systems. E-markets provide an electronic, or on-line method to facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers that potentially provide support for all of the steps in the entire order fulfillment process. There are a number of electronic markets are available to consumers to buy products ranging from Music, Water Bottles to Automobiles. Electronic markets affect the consumer purchase process, they set a marketplace where the customer can perform comparative analysis and refer to the product as per their convenience and comfortability Jevel. In current scenario, electronic markets are witnessing a strong presence and are giving high ‘competition to the traditional markets due to building, trust of people on this market platform and approachable module of clectronic markets. Q2. What is E-Commerce evaluation ? ‘Ans. E-Commerce evaluation : Selecting the right e-commerce application forthe Jong term can be a difficult exercise. It's not easy tobase a decision on both current requirements and ‘vague, undetermined set of future needs that have not yet even hit the planning stages. ‘Appraising any platform is a difficult tasks and e- commerce is not an excuse in that. Appraisal of e~ commerce depends on its competitive positioning with traditional commercial business also. Evaluation of e-commerce is a crucial issue, To evaluate the websites on e-commerce, many aspects are taken into considerations which are scaling the efficiency and profitability standards of any e-commerce business. E-commerce evaluation has following elements to be taken into consideration : Scalability Product catalog, Standards Q3. Explain the characteristics of B2B EC. ‘Ans. Characteristics of B2B E-Commerce = B2B refers to Business-to-business commerce: is a situ n where one business house makes a commercial transaction with another business house. B2B covers large number of applications which enables business to form relationships with their distributors, resellers, suppliers ete. Following are the main characteristics of B2B E- Commerce : 1. Multiple decision makers : In B2B, there are often four or more decision makers involved in the purchase process. In practise, this may require multiple user roles in the checkout /cart process with multiple stages taking many days (or weeks). 2. Longer decision cycle : The B2B buying cycle is much longer than for B2C ~ so the lead time between initial contact and receiving any payment are longer. But also, customer expectation is different - wanting to change exact details of the order through the process. 3. Conflict with direct sales channels : Many B2B businesses have an established sales team who will be unhappy with online competition that can be seen to decrease their performance bonus. Careful thought must be given to how this is introduced. 4. International markets : B2B ecommerce is often used as a way of reaching international markets, maybe in small numbers, Regulations, legal @ Scanned with OKEN ScannerBCA Vith Semester / E-Commerce / 2016 / m 138 and cultural issues can cause more of an impact than for B2B ecommerce and this impact is exaggerated if products are small in number and high in value 5. Increase Operational Efficiency and Reduce Costs : B2B e-commerce helps improve efficiency and reduce costs by automating previously manual, labor intensive processes, and Providing customer self-service options 6. Improve Customer Retention : Providing an excellent customer experience plays a key role in customer retention. Modern B2B e-commerce platforms help B2B companies improve the customer experience by making it easier for customers to do business with them, improving their responsiveness and service, and helping build their brand 7. Grow the Business : The top goal for many B2B companies has shifted from cutting costs to growing revenue. Indeed, a recent survey by B2B Online found that 61 percent of respondents listed customer acquisition as their top goal, Yet many organizations find that their ability to reach new customers or enter new markets is limited because of the high costs of maintaining and supporting a direct sales force. 8. Deliver the Right Information to Customers: The number and complexity of products has been exploding due to tight competition, increasing product variations based on customer requirements, and the need to comply with safety and environmental regulations. Q4. What do you understand by ‘Free Speech’? ‘Ans. Free Speech : “Free speech’ refers to “freedom to saying in public’. In e-commerce module, freedom is much jore as compared to traditional commercial business. In case if any customer is having grievances then through open communicational network that can be registered with the commercial venture, Electronic commerce platform leads to provide open space of giving feedbacks, showing grudges and marking the efficiency of the e-commerce module publically. This will lead to provide an efficient framework to other business houses and customers about the real status of the business house and with effective speech on virtual platform, the efficacy of the whole system can be maintained. Q5. What is Streaming multimedia delivery ? ‘Ans. Multimedia Delivery + In addition to delivering Web pages with text and images, Web servers can also be used to download audio and video files of various formats (¢.g.. -mov, avi, and mpeg files) to hard disk. These files require a standalone player or browser add-in to hear and/ or view them, Amongst the most popular multimedia players are RealNetwork's RealMedia Player, Microsoft’s Windows Media Player, Apple's QuickTime, and Macromedia's Flash Player. Web servers can also be used to deliver audio and/or video in real time, assuming that the content isrelatively small, that the quality of the transmission is not an issue, or that the content is not being broadcast live. Streaming is a term used to refer to the delivery of content in real time. It is distinguished by three characteristics : > Streaming provides live or on-demand access toaudio, video, and multimedia content via the Intemet or an intranet. > Streaming content is transmitted by a special media server and is processed and played back by a client player as itis received. > Aresidual copy of the streaming content does not remain on the receiving device after the content has been processed and played, Obviously, ifthe content is delivered on demand, then the content must exist ahead of time in a file. On-demand streaming is also called progressive streaming. With on-demand streaming, if an end user clicks @ Web puge link to an audio and/or video file, the file is progressively downloaded to the end user's desktop. When enough of the file has been downloaded, the associated media player will begin playing the downloaded segment. If he media player finishes the downloaded segment before the next segment arrives, playback will pause until the next segment arrives, The streaming of live broadcasts is called true streaming. Truc streaming is being used with online training, distance leaming, live corporate broadcasts, videoconferencing, sports shows, radio programs, TV programs, and other forms of live education and entertainment. The quality of the audio that is delivered with (rue streaming can range from voice quality to AM/FM radio quality to near-CD quality. In the same vein, specialized True streaming requires Streaming servers, such as @ Scanned with OKEN ScannerBCA Vith Semester / E-Commerce / 2016 / m 139 RealNetworks’ RealServer Microsoft's Windows Media Server, to deliver the live content. Streaming servers use different communication protocols than regular Web servers. More specifically, they employ a transport protocol called User Datagram Protocol (UDP) rather than TCP, along with two streaming protocols—Real Time Protocol and Real-Time Streaming Section - B (Short Answer Questions) Attempt any two questions out of the following three questions. Each question carries 7.5 marks. Short answer is required not exceeding 200 words. Q6. Write a note on ‘Infrastructure for E-Commercs Ans. Infrastructure for E-Commerce : “ommerce Infrastructure identifies the functionalities of the hardware and software components, specifies the corresponding service level requirements, and describes the management and operations of the whole system. It may comprise briefly of the following components at a very abstract level * Software components used : # Content management systems Text analytics * Application Programming Interface (API) * Database server # Middlewares etc. © Object oriented (e.g. CORBA) ‘¢ Transaction processing © Communication (https, messaging) * Database (e.g. ODBC) * Application middleware (CGI) + Hardware components used : # Servers * Proxy servers * Load balancing systems. * Firewalls « Encryption devices and interactive voice response units etc. * Web analytics Tommerce Infrastructure Overview E. Software Component Used Hardware Component Used —— ro. Taformation Tnformation| Gen] [amiss] (seine | (HOURS) (EE Content Web Object oriented ‘management analytics (eg. COBRA) Servers Firewalls systems ; [Communication] Application’ protocols 5 een Tox Ce Proxy Ene ton Interne (APH analyties meg servers, devices Database Database l Management Big Data (ex, ODBC) baalancin Totcractive Systems system | voice ‘Application response Middlewares Specific (CGI) wu) @ Scanned with OKEN ScannerBCA Vith Semester / E-Commerce / 2016 /m 140 Some of the major components, echno-functional professional in th are as follow: * Middleware: Systems that resides between the client (user) and the server (database and application resources). These could be data ‘access components, communication protocols, specialized servers, or a mix of all, Directory services: which a e domain ‘mail Directory Services enables users to locate other users for sending emails. LAN Directory Services facilitates functions like connecting to the web, sharing Printers, LAN chats, LAN based KMS. * Lookup Database: This is the database that stores information about network resources and user profiles. Enables usage of network resources based on entitlements, Meta-Directories: Facilitates the flow of data between one or more directory services and databases. Enables synchronization of data across databases or data warehouses. Groupware: Facilitate the automation and streamlining of business processes not implemented in legacy/ERP systems. Group communications and information sharing enabling collaboration between teams and individuals, + Internet Domain Name Service (DNS): DNS facilitates the unique identification of an organization or entity on the Internet. DNS maps the domain name of an organization to its IP address. ‘It would be pertinent to focus on the following aspects of E-Commerce Infrastructure: ‘* Monitoring and Reporting on Web and other e- Business Applications, and the Response Times for Web transactions * TCP/IP Performance focusing on End-to-End network response times and the Effects of operational performance control # Network Routes and Equipment focusing on the End-to-End route response times, Identify route patterns and defects and Jdentify and minimize loss of data in the network oe in yrtant dimensions include adequé . eae Scalability and Fault-tolerance. ean by Security 's briefly the leading process of Q7. What do ee tocols ? Discuss | Trtceole for securing the online transactions, 7 Ans. Security Protocols : : aaa aad (cryptographic protocol or is an abstract or concrete encryption protocol) is an abi alates protocol tha performs asecurity related function and applies Le asin ad ae tographic be used. A sufficiently detailed protocol includes details about data structures and representations, at which point it can be used to implement multiple, interoperable versions of a program. Network security protocols are a type network protocol that ensures the security and integrity of data in transit over a network connection. Network security protocols define the processes and methodology to secure network data from any illegitimate attempt to review or extract the contents of data, They are primarily designed to prevent any unauthorized user, application, service or device from accessing network data. This applies to virtually all data types regardless of the network medium used. Some of the popular network security protocols include: * Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) * Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS) * Secure Socket Layer (SSL). Leading protocols for securing the process of online transactions: 1, Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP): + Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) is a secure version of File Transfer Protocol (FTP), which facilitates data access and data transfer over a Secure Shell (SSH) data stream. It is part of the SSH Protocol, This term is also known as SSH File Transfer Protocol, SFTP was designed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as an extended version of SSH 2.0, allowing file transfer over SSH and use with Transport Layer Security (TLS) and VPN applications. Both the commands and data are encrypted ia order to prevent passwords and other sensitive informa transferred over the network. * The functionality of SFTP is similar to that of FTP. However, SFTP uses SSH to transfer files, tion from being @ Scanned with OKEN ScannerBCA Vith Semester / E-Commerce / 2016 / 141 SFTP requires that the client user must be authenticated by the server and the data transfer must take place over a secure channel (SSH). It allows a wide range of operations to be performed on remote files, acting somewhat like a remote file system protocol. «SFTP allows operations such as resuming from halted transfers, directory listings and remote file removal. There are some additional capabilities that SFTP offers when compared to the earlier Secure Copy Protocol (SCP). SFTP is designed to be more platform- independent and is available on most platforms. ‘© Although both SCP and SFTP use the same SSH encryption during file transfer, the file transfer speed of SFTP is slower than SCP due to the back and forth nature of the SFTP protocol. * All data is encrypted before being sent across the network. File transfer can be cancelled without terminating the session. 2. Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS): © Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a variant of the standard web transfer protocol (HTTP) that adds a layer of security on the data in transit through a secure socket, layer (SSL) or transport layer security (TLS) protocol connection. « HTTPS enables encrypted communication and secure connection between a remote user and the primary web server. « HTTPS is primarily designed to provide enhanced security layer over the unsecured HTTP protocol for sensitive data and transactions such as billing details, credit card transactions and user login etc. HTTPS encrypts every data packet in transition using SSL or TLS encryption technique to avoid intermediary hackers and attackers to extract the content of the data; even if the connection is compromised. ‘* HTTPS is configured and supported by default in most web browsers and initiates a secure connection automatically if the accessed web servers requests secure connection. HTTPS works in collaboration with certificate authorities that evaluates the security certificate of the accessed website. 3. Secure Socket Layer (SSL): ‘© Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a standard protocol used for the secure transmission of documents over a network, Developed by Netscape, SSL technology creates a secure link between a Web server and browser to ensure private and integral data transmission. SSL uses Transport Control Protocol (TCP) for communication «In SSL, the word socket refers to the mechanism of transferring data between a client and server over a network. When using SSL for secure Internet transactions, a Web server needs an SSL certificate to establish a secure SSL connection. SSL encrypts network connection segments above the transport layer, which is a network connection component above the program layer. « SSL follows an asymmetric cryptographic mechanism, in which a Web browser creates a public key and a private (secret) key. The public ey is placed in adata file known asa certificate signing request (CSR). The private key is issued to the recipient only. # The objectives of SSL are : « Data integrity: Data is protected from tampering. * Data privacy: Data privacy is ensured through a series of protocols, including the SSL Record Protocol, SSL Handshake Protocol, SSL Change CipherSpec Protocol and SSL Alert Protocol. © Client-server authentication: The SSL protocol uses standard cryptographic techniques to authenticate the client and server. ‘¢ SSL is the predecessor of Transport Layer Security (TLS), which is a cryptographic protocol for secure Internet data transmission Q8. What are the prospects of Electronic Payment System ? ‘Ans, Electronic Payment System : The success of electronic commerce depends upon effective electronic payment systems. The Internet and on-line businesses are growing exponentially. Due to this explosive growth, electronic commerce on the Internet uses various electronic payment mechanisms that can cater for much diversity of applications. Electronic payment is defined as a payment @ Scanned with OKEN ScannerBCA Vith Semester / E-Commerce / 2016/ m 142 services that utilize information and communications technologies including integrated circuit (IC) card, cryptography, and telecommunications networks The need for electronic payment technologies isto respond to fundamental changes in socio-economic trends. The payment system is the infrastructure which comprised of institutions, instruments, rules, procedures, standards, and technical, established te affect the transfer of monetary value between all the parties. An efficient payment system reduces the cost of exchanging goods and services, and is indispensable to the functioning of the inter-bank, money, and capital markets. Prospects of Electronic Payments : The prospective of electronic payment is high in today’s world. Where maximum business is converting into full fledge online mode or is having ablend of offline and online presence, the payments through electronic media is both: effective and convenient, A large number of corporate houses accepts that they would be converting their payment system to online mode for safety and record purposes. Corporate houses which are dealing in B2B business are showing more interest in online payment as there is no problem related to the safety of the amount and at the same time the payment is high efficient & speed and in addition to this the legal laws also supports online payment mechanism. Large number of organizations is planning to induce the system of full online transaction in every sphere of business and centralize the payment control module especially for higher payment capital goods and heavy amount transactions. After the scheme of demonetization on 8 Nov. 2016 by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and his Cabinet, the demand for Electronic Payment System has increased a lot. ‘One benefit of the electronic payment is less documentation and waiting period in financial institutions. Electronic payment leads to easy transactions with easy policy and no waiting forany approval from intermediate partners, The prospective growth of electronic payment is appreciative for every nation and its eco scenario. Section - C (Long Answer Questions) aa Attempt any three questions out o' cS following five questions. Each question carries 15 marks. Answer is required in detailed. Q9. Describe the ethical and legal issues -commerce. fns-The vastness of Interne! advertising ofes a platform for Electronic Commerce (or €- commerce) to explode. E-Commerce has the ability to provide secure shopping transactions coupled with instant verification and validation of credit card transactions. E-Commerce is not about the technology itself, it is about doing business leveraging the technology. technological innovation is followed by frequent ‘incorporation of ethical standards into law. New forms of E-Commerce that enables new business practices have many advantages but also bring ‘numerous risks. Let’s discuss about the ethical and legal issues related to e-business. Ethical Issues : In general, many ethical and global issues of Information Technology apply to e-business. Issues, particularly related to e-commerce are as following: 1. Web tracking : + E-businesses draw information on how visitors use a site through log files. Analysis of log file means turning log data into application service or installing software that can pluck relevant information from files in-house. Companies track individual's movement through tracking software and cookie analysis. Programs such a5 cookies raise @ batch of privacy concems. The tracking history is stored on PC's hard disk, and any time one revisit a website the computer knows it, Many smart end users install programs such as Cookie cutters, Spam Butcher, ete which can provide users some control over the cookies. * The battle between computer end users and web trackers is always going on with s wee of application programs. ° * For example, software such as Privacy Guardian, My Privacy, ete can protect vest’ online privacy by erasing browser's cane surfing history and cookies. ‘To detect wal Femove spyware specially desi like Ad-Aware are prevene @ Scanned with OKEN ScannerBCA Vith Semester / E-Commerce / 2016 application, Sh Agent collects and combines Internet browsing history of users and sends it to servers. The battle goes on! 2. Privacy : ‘+ Most Electronic Payment Systems knows the identity of the buyer. So itis necessary to protect the identity of a buyer who uses Electronic Poy ment System. © A privacy issue related to the employees of company is tracking. Monitoring systems are installed in many companies to monitor e-mail and other web activities in order to identify employees who extensively use business hours for non-bus ities. The e-commerce activities performed by a buyer can be tracked by organizations. «For example, reserving railway tickets for their personal journey purpose can be tracked. Many employees don't want to be under the monitoring system even while at work. « As far as brokers and some of the company employees are concerned, E-Commerce puts them in danger zone and results in elimination from their jobs. The manner in which employees are treated may raise ethical issues, such as how to handle displacement and whether to offer retraining programs. Reintermediation = 3. Disintermediation and interesting e-commerce jobs. The services provided by intermediaries are (i) Matching and providing information. (ii) Value added services such as consulting «The first type of service (matching and providing information) can be fully automated, and this service is likely to be in e-marketplaces and portals that provide free services. «The value added service requires expertise and this can only be partially automated. The phenomenon by which Intermediaries, who provide mainly matching and providing information services, are eliminated is called Disintermediation. « The brokers who provide value added services or who manage electronic intermediation, are notonly surviving but may actually prosper, this phenomenon is called Reintermediation. « The traditional sales channel will be negatively 143 affected by disintermediation. The services required to support or complement e-commerce are provided by the web as new opportunities for reintermediation 4 The factors that should be considered here are the enormous number of participants. extensive information processing, delicate negotiations. etc. They need a computer mediator to be more predictable Legal Issues = There is a chance of a crime over the internet when buyers and sellers do not know each other and cannot even sce cach other. During the first few years of e-commerce, the public witnessed many frauds committed over the internet, Legal issues specific to e-commerce can be stated as following 1. Fraud on the Internet = © E-commerce fraud popped out with the rapid increase in popularity of websites. It is a hot issue for both cyber and click-and-mortar merchants. « The swindlers are active mainly in the area of stocks. «¢ The small investors are lured by the promise of false profits by the stock promoters. Auctions are also conductive to fraud, by both sellers and buyers. «e The availability of e-mails and pop up ads has paved the way for financial criminals to have access to many people. « Other areas of potential fraud include phantom business opportunities and bogus investments. 2. Copyright : *. The copyright laws protect Intellectual property in its various forms, and cannot be used freely. «itis very difficult to protect Intellectual property in E-Commerce. «For example, if someone buys software, he has the right to use it and not the right to distribute it © The distribution rights are with the copyright holder. Also, copying contents from the website also violates copy right laws, Domain Name 's ‘The competition over domain names is another legal issue. Internet addresses are known as domain names and they appear in levels @ Scanned with OKEN ScannerBCA Vith Somester/ E-Commerce / 2016/ m 144 * Top level domain names are assigned bya Spatral Aon-profit organization which also checks for conflicts or possibl possible infringement o trademarks, al Problems arise when sever similar names competing name, * The problem of domain names was alleviated somewhat in 2001 after several upper level ames were added to com, Security features such a Tepudiation and escrow ral companies having over the same domain S authentication, non- services can protect the sellers in e-commerce. One needs to be careful while doing e-commerce activities. The need to educate the public about the ethical and legal issues related to e-commerce is highly important from a buyer as well as seller perspective. 910. What do you mean by Electronic- data interchange ? Discuss the benefits and applications of Electronic-data interchange, Ans. Electronic-data interchange : : EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is the transfer of data from one computer system to another by standardized message formatting, without the need for human intervention. EDI Permits multiple companies - possibly in different countries - to exchange documents electronically. Data can be exchanged through serial links and peer- to-peer networks, though most exchanges currently rely on the Internet for connectivity, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the electronic interchange of business information using a standardized format; a process which allows one company to send information to another company electronically rather than with paper. Business entities conducting business electronically are called trading partners. Many business documents can be exchanged using EDI, but the two most common are purchase orders and invoices. Ata minimum, EDI replaces the mail preparation and handling associated with traditional business communication, However, the real power of EDI is that it standardizes the information communicated in business documents, which makes possible a “paperless” exchange. Most companies create invoices using a computer system print a paper copy ofthe invoice and mail it to the customer. Upon receipt, the custome frequently marks up the invoice and enters it ino its own computer system. The entre process is noth more than the transfer of information from the seller's computer to the customer's computer. EDI nimize or even eliminate the makes it possible tom . ‘manual steps involved in this transfer. The process improvements that EDI offers are significant and can be dramatic. For example, consider the difference between the traditional paper purchase order and its electronic counterpart: Benefits of Electronic-data interchange: * Electronic-data interchange can speed up the business cycles at a very fast pace. It leads to exchange transactions in minutes instead of the days or weeks of wait time * Electronic-data interchange leads to improve the data quality, it eliminates errors from illegible handwriting, lost faxes/mail and keying and re- keying error, the product, this will lead to boost system at a very fast pace. * Using EDI can reduce the order-to-cash cycle time thus improving business partner transactions and relationships. * EDI leads to improve the system efficiency & saves jot of time of the organization which will in turn increases the effectiveness of the productive system. Applications of Electronic-data interchange: EDI, applied to the different business processes, allows more streamlined and efficient operations of commercial, purchasing and administrative departments with companies both supplying and receiving goods. As a working system, “Electronic Data Interchange” is designed to automatically integrate the business documents into ERP or Internal Management System. The higher the number of trading partners (customers, suppliers, majestic operators, ete.) and EDI transactions interchanged with them, the greater the benefits to be obtained through EDI implantation, These benefits translate as important reductions in costs which, depending on the level of rollout, may reach 90% compared with the same process carried out with business documents managed by other means such as post, fax or mail. Various application of EDI can be categorised as follows : * Order Integration : * Creating, sending and follow-up of supply @ Scanned with OKEN ScannerBCA Vith Semester / E-Commerce / 2016/ m 145 orders generated by the purchasing departments involves dedicating important technical and human resources to processing, the orders to suppliers in the right time and format. « For suppliers, the interpretation and typifying of these orders in the internal management system entails a large amount of work to be done by the commercial and administration departments of the vendor companies. © Dispatch advice integration : © The dispatch advice, as a document accompanying the goods in transit to the customer, is a key business transaction to verify that the goods actually received correspond to the purchase order specifications. « The ability to perform these checks prior to issuing the invoice lets one to make adjustments if there are any differences with respect to the initial purchase order, ensuring that final payment or billing documents are correct, whether he is sending or receiving the goods. « Integrating Invoices ‘ Automating the billing process is a strategic element that can achieve savings of up to 90% compared to managing these documents manually. # The volume of payable invoices often handled by accounting department's calls for measures to optimize the operations associated with revision, validation, registration and payment tothe supplier. « These are key tasks for any purchasing department, since management efficiency depends on them. « Likewise, invoice issvers have to devote costly resources to critical aspects of the commercial process such as checking deliveries and periodic billing for clients, as well as the manual tasks of printing, enveloping, stamping and sending. # Other tasks also require regular follow-up to check receipt of the invoice on arrival and its status in the Accounts Payable Department. « Integration of electronic invoices lets to automate almost all of these steps, providing ‘great competitive advantages for senders and receivers that translate as better management efficiency ratios, and consequently in significant cost savings. ia. What do you understand by Extranets” ? Describe the business model of extranet applications. Ans. Extranets = An extranet is a private virtual space to securely collaborate, share information or integrate operations with travelling teams, suppliers, vendors, partners, or customers. A few examples arc a sales extranet containing order forms and client directories for the sales team, a partner extranet enabling management of joint tasks, or a customer extranet portal where ‘one collaborate on specifications documents with clients ‘An extranet is a controlled private network allowing customers, partners, vendors, suppliers and other businesses to gain information, typically about a specific company or educational institution, and do so without granting access to the organization's entire network. An extranet is often a private part of a website, It is restricted to select users through user IDs, passwords and other authentication mechanisms on a login page. ‘An extranets may be viewed as an intranet mapped onto the public Internet or onto some other private network. Advantages of Extranets include: ‘© The ability to exchange large volumes of data using electronic data interchange © Sharing product data or catalogs with business partners Joint company collaboration and training Sharing services such as online banking applications among affiliated banks Four main reasons to use an Extranet : ‘Anextranet can be a useful tool for the following business need: # Using online ordering, electronic order tracking and inventory management internally or externally, with selected partners, # Working flexibly to meet the demands of larger ‘companies, by adopting new technologies and ‘enabling the exchange of business information and transactions. « Facilitating a cheap and efficient way for businesses to connect with their trading partners and suppliers, and allowing them @ Scanned with OKEN ScannerBCA Vith Semester / E-Commerce /2016/ ™ 146 access to the information they need 24 hours a day. © Automating the trading tasks between you and your trading partners, in order to strengthen business relationships and integrate your business firmly within their supply chain Business model of Extranet applications : The strategic role of the extranet : ‘The extranet represents the bridge between the public Internet and the private corporate intranet. The extranet connects multiple and diverse organizations on-line, enabling strategic communities of stakeholders with common interests (communities of interests) to form a tight business relationship and a strong communication bond, in order to achieve commerce-oriented objectives. The extranet defines and supports this extended business enterprise including partners, suppliers and distributors, contractors, customers and others that ‘operate outside the physical walls of an organization butare nonetheless critical {o the suocess of business ‘operations. With the Internet providing for public outreach or communication, and intranets serving internal business interests, extranets serve the business-critical domain between these extremes where the majority of business activity occurs. Parnes, [Consultants Contractors Nenaied Enterprise ‘Suppliers & Business Distributors [Customers} Figure — The extranet model Extranet solutions built engage and support these interactive communities are designed to emphasize and foster customer relationships. As successful businesses know, the cost of obtaining a new customer far outweighs the cost of maintaining a current one. With commerce-enabled extranets, companies are now able to establish and maintain one-to-one relationships with each of their customers, members, staff or others at very low cost through the Web, offering a customized and individualized experience that can be dynamically generated or modified based upon a user's privileges, preferences, or usage pattems of Emerging Interactive Communities Interests Emerging interact tive communities on the Web are /ho are is i Is and organizations WI comprised of individual eee demanding that increased value be ae ered Gogh these on-line solutions. The static brochure eb) js fast becoming an outdated marketing tool that does not effectively serve the needs of business. “The new paradigm for information dissemination through the Web involves presenting conten context. : | ‘One of the strongest characteristics of the on-line interactive community isan active member-centric focus. With the ability to capture both active (user- entered) and passive (system-recorded) information throughout the user's on-line experience, ‘Another characteristic for these interactive business models is a change in the way content is presented. ; : The third major characteristic is transaction ‘management activities. CONSUMER COMMUNITY ELECTRONIC MARKET PLACE, Independent Contractors Community Organization B Customers Community ‘nira-organizational communication Suppliers Community Extra-organizational communication Organization A Figure ~ Interactive communications between communities of interests With effective Extranet in business organization, the models lead to have following advantages : * Enhanced communication Improved internal communication Improved business partnership channels Effective marketing, sales and customer support Collaborative activities support * Productivity enhancements @ Scanned with OKEN ScannerBCA Vith Semester / E-Commerce / 2016 / m 147 Just-in-time information delivery Reduction of information Overload Productivity collaboration between work groups © Training on demand Business enhancements © Faster time to market ‘© Simultaneous engineering potential © Lower design and production costs Improved client relationships New busin ¢ Cost reduction Reduced error © Reduced travel and meeting «Improved comparison shopping Reduced administrative and operational costs 12. What are the Cyber attacks ? Discuss the measures that can be deployed as a safeguard from cyber attacks in an organization. ‘Ans. Cyber attacks : ‘A cyber attack is deliberate exploitation of computer systems, technology-dependent enterprises and networks, Cyber attacks use malicious code to alter computer code, logic or data, resulting in disruptive consequences that can compromise data and lead to cyber erimes, such as information and identity theft. Cyber attacks may include the following consequences: « Identity theft, fraud, extortion « Malware, pharming, phishing, spamming, spoofing, spyware, Trojans and viruses « Stolen hardware, such as laptops or mobile devices # Denial-of-service and service attacks Breach of access Password sniffing System infiltration Website defacement Private and public Web browser exploits Instant messaging abuse « Intellectual property (IP) 1 access A Cyber Attack is an attack initiated from a computer against a website, computer system or ual computer (collectively, a computer) that distributed denial-of- heft or unauthorized compromises the confidentiality integrity oF oa ility of the computer or information stored ‘Types of Cyber Attacks : © Gaining, or attempting to gain, unauthorized access to a computer system or its data. ‘* Disruption or denial of service attacks © Hacking a website or mal-facing the site «Virus or malware installation * Unauthorized use of a computer for processing of data «Inappropriate use of computers or applications by employees of a company, in a way that it harms the company. © Inappropriate use of computers or apps by employees — could be deliberate or due to lack of knowledge. Measures that can be deployed as a safeguard from Cyber Attacks in an organizatio 1. Establishing strong passwords «¢ Implementing strong passwords is the easiest thing business can do to strengthen its security «Frequent changes in the passwords will lead to secure important information and helps in ocking confidential information. 2. Putting up a strong firewall ‘In order to have a properly protected network, usage of firewall is recommended, A firewall protects business network by controlling internet traffic coming into and flowing out of business. rus protection : Antivirus and anti-malware software are essentials in business arsenal of online security weapons. ‘These help in preventing an unwanted attack on business network 4. Updating programs regularly + ‘¢ Making sure that computer is “Pro} and updated” is a necessary s being fully protected. ‘« There's little point in installing all this great software if one is not going to maintain it right. ‘© While applications are not fully full proof, itis important to regularly update these tools to help keep users safe. 5. Securing laptops + Because of their portable nature, laptops are at higher risk of being lost or stolen than average company desktops. I's important to take some extra perly patched tep towards @ Scanned with OKEN ScannerBCA Vith Semester / E-Commerce /2016/ m 148 There can be several reason for data inaccuracy looks on the hard drive so that, without the correct t can’t be read 6. Taking Backup regularly * Scheduling regular backups to an external hard drive, or in the cloud, is a painless way to psure that all business data is stored safely. * The general rule of thumb for b: eee ackups is as * Servers should have a complete backup weekly * Incremental backups every night * Personal computers should also be backed up completely every week 7. Monitoring diligently : One good monitoring tool is data-leakage Prevention software, which is set upi at key ‘network touch points to look for specific information coming out of business's internal network It can be configured to look for credit card numbers, pieces of code, or any bits of information relevant to business that would indicate a breach, Q13. What is Web Analytics ? Discuss the managerial issues relating to analysing Web-visits. Ans. Web Analytics : Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of web data for purposes of understanding and optimizing web usage. Web analytics is not just a process for measuring web traffic but can be used as a tool for business and market research, and to assess and improve the effectiveness of a website. Web analytics applications can also help companies measure the results of traditional print or broadcast advertising campaigns. Ithelps one to estimate how changes traffic to a website after the launch of a new advertising campaign. Web analytics provides information about the number of visitors to a website and the number of page views. It helps gauge traffic and popularity trends which is useful for market research. Most popular Web Analytics issues are: 1. Data Inaccuracy : Web analytics data is never hundred percent accurate, The data that steams through the dashboard of the analytics software is not free from error. b. 2, Data Integration stallation- Error prone web analytics aaron installation can be the number one cause of data inaccuracy. Each web analytics package comes with different installation mechanism. Some are tag based and others are based on java script and require different set of coding expertise. Content issues — Depending on the programming language one use for his web ages, analytics installation should be stalled accordingly. Cookie issues — Study conducted by Comscore showed that 30% of the visitors delete their first and third party cookies. This means that one can lose campaign attribution data and upto 30% of his paid efforts could result in direct traffic (clean ‘entry traffic) or unaccountable traffic. There has been a big pa debate on the importance and reliability of data integration services. Enterprise analytics providers are a big player in promoting the heck out of data integration solutions as an upsell. Several new ‘companies have their entire business model builton data integration, 3. Privacy : Almost all the analytics solutions in ‘market including both free and paid capture personal site visitor data including their IP address, geo location, computer and internet configuration and time & frequency of visi While most of the data is safe, the IP address tracking proves to be a sensitive issue especially when identity theft and spami iB are concerned, 4. Some other Common Web Analytics Issues are : Outdated or insufficient tracking, Confusion around tracking nomenclature in the tool. fusing muttiple tools, confusion as to which one is the “official” tool for reporting purposes. Untrustworthy data or data that doesn’t make sense, Not understanding the tool due to no training or documentation available, No support for questions or issues withthe tool | @ Scanned with OKEN Scanner