The Internetworked E-Business Enterprises

In the emerging economy there is a new infrastructure, based on the Internet, that is causing us to scrutinizemost of our assumptions about the firm. As a skin of Networks– growing in ubiquity, robustness, bandwidth,and function– covers the skin of the planet, new modelsof how wealth is created are emerging.

-- Kalakota, Ravi, Marcia Robinson(1999)

Definition of “Internet”

On October 24, 1995, the FNC unanimously passed a resolution defining the term Internet. This definition was developed in consultation with the leadership of the Internet and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Communities.

RESOLUTION:"The Federal Networking Council (FNC) agrees that the following language reflects ourdefinition of the term "Internet". "Internet" refers to the global information system that --

(i) is logically linked together by a globally unique address space based on the Internet Protocol (IP) or its subsequent extensions/follow-ons;

(ii) is able to support communications using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite or its subsequent extensions/follow-ons, and/or other IP-compatible protocols; and

(iii) provides, uses or makes accessible, either publicly or privately, high level services layered on the communications and related infrastructure described herein."

Definition of “Internet”

• A huge network of millions of computer hosts from many countries and organizations and communicating via a common set of protocols.

• A worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange. – Anyone with a computer can access the internet

through an ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Definition of Internet• A global network connecting millions computers. As of

1998, the Internet has more than 100 million users worldwide, and that number is growing rapidly. More than 100 countries are linked into exchanges of data, news and opinions.

• Unlike online services, which are centrally controlled, the Internet is decentralized by design. Each Internet computer, called a host, is independent. Its operators can choose which Internet services to use and which local services to make available to the global Internet community. Remarkably, this anarchy by design works exceedingly well.

• There are a variety of ways to access the Internet. Most online services, such as America Online, offer access to some Internet services. It is also possible to gain access through a commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Intranet

• Any {network} which provides similar services within an organization to those provided by the {Internet} outside it but which is not necessarily connected to the Internet. The commonest example is the use by a company of one or more {World-Wide Web} servers on an internal {TCP/IP} network for distribution of information within the company. – Employees of a company can access this information

through its intranet.

Definition of Intranet

• A network based on TCP/IP protocols (an internet) belonging to an organization, usually a corporation, accessible only by the organization's members, employees, or others with authorization. An intranet's Web sites look and act just like any other Web sites, but the firewall surrounding an intranet fends off unauthorized access.

• Like the Internet itself, intranets are used to share information. Secure intranets are now the fastest-growing segment of the Internet because they are much less expensive to build and manage than private networks based on proprietary protocols.

Extranet

• The extension of a company's {intranet} out onto the {Internet}. This is in contrast to, and usually in addition to, the company's public {web site} which is accessible to everyone. The difference can be somewhat blurred but generally an extranet implies real-time access through a {firewall} of some kind.– Selected customers, suppliers and mobile workers

can access the company's private data and applications via the {World-Wide Web}

Definition of Extranet

• An extranet is a private network that uses the Internet protocol 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. It has also been described as a "state of mind" in which the Internet is perceived as a way to do business with other companies as well as to sell products to customers.

• An extranet requires security and privacy. These require firewall server management, the issuance and use of digital certificates or similar means of user authentication, encryption of messages, and the use of virtual private networks (VPN) that tunnel through the public network.

Internetworked E-Business

• Internet, intranet, and extranet• Enable managers, business professionals,

teams, and workgroup to electronically exchange data and information anywhere in the world with other end users, customers, suppliers, and business partners

• Companies and workgroups can thus collaborate more creatively, manage their business operations and resources more effectively, and compete successfully in today’s fast-changing global economy

E-Business

• The use of Internet technologies to internetwork and empower business process, electronic commerce, and enterprise communications and collaboration within a company and with its customers, suppliers and other business stakeholders

Overview of E-Business Applications

E-Business Applications

• Enterprise communication and collaboration

• Electronic commerce

• Internal business systems

Major E-Business Applications

EnterpriseCommunication

andCollaboration

EnterpriseCommunication

andCollaboration

Electronic BusinessApplications

TelecommunicationsNetworks

ElectronicCommerce

ElectronicCommerce

Internal BusinessSystems

Internal BusinessSystems

The InternetIntranetsExtranets

Enterprise Communications and collaboration

• Support communication, coordination, and collaboration among the members of business teams and workgroups

• Example– Employees and external consultants on a

project team may use Internet, intranets and extranets to support electronic mail, electronic discussion groups, and project websites to communicate and collaborate business projects

Electronic Commerce

• Support the buying and selling of products, services, and information over the Internet and extranets

• Examples– Use E-commerce websites for business-to-business

and business-to-customer sales and support– Use extranets for large customers to access the

company’s inventory databases– Use a corporate intranet for employee to easily look

up customer records stored on intranet server

Internet Business

• Support a company’s internal business processes and operations

• Examples– Use an intranet enterprises information portal

to access benefits information on a human resource department server

– Link an intranet to the Internet allowing manager to make inquiries, generate reports, and access corporate databases from anywhere in the world

Enterprise Collaboration

The Internet phenomenon has permanently changesthe computing mentality of business people.Today’s users expect any computing experience toinclude on-demand Internet access and tools for Collaborating with other people.

-- Papows (1997)

Goals of enterprise collaboration

• Communicate– Sharing information with each other

• Coordinate– Coordinating our individual work efforts and

use of resources with each other

• Collaborate– Working together cooperatively on joint

projects and assignments

Teams, Workgroups, and Collaboration

• Workgroups– A workgroup can be defined as two or more people

working together on the same task or assignment• Teams

– A team can be defined as a collaborative workgroup, whose members are committed to collaboration

• Collaboration– Collaboration can be defined as two or more people

work with each other in a cooperative way that transcends the coordination of individual work activities found in a typical workgroup

– Collaboration is the key to what makes a group of people a team, and what make a team successful

Collaboration is about working together to produce a product that’s much greater that the sum of its parts. Collaborators develop a shared understanding that’s much deeper than they could have developed working on their own or contributingpieces to the product. The power is so great that unless you’ve Experienced it, it’s really hard to understand. The process taps into the collective wisdom, knowledge, and even subconsciousMinds of the collaborators. This powerful phenomenon is becoming a requirement to effectively compete in today’s marketplace.

-- Hills, 1997

Teams, Workgroups, and Collaboration (Cont.)

• Teams and workgroups can be as – Formal and structured as a traditional busines

s– Less formal and structured lije the members o

f process teams in a manufacturing environment

– Informal, unstructured and temporary as an ad hoc task force or a project team whose members work for different organizations in different parts of the world

Virtual Teams

• The members of a team or workgroup don’t have to work in the same physical location

• Members are united by the tasks on which they are collaborating, not by geography or membership in a large organization

• In sociology and cultural anthropology , these workgroups are called social fields– Semiautonomous and self-regulating, associations of

people with their own work agenda, rules, relationships, and norms of behavior.

– Enterprise collaboration systems make electronic social fields possible

Enterprise Collaboration System Components

• Use hardware, software, data, and network resources to support communication, coordination, and collaboration among members of business teams and workgroup

• Use PC workstations networked to a variety of servers on which project, corporate, and other database are stored

Groupware for Enterprise Collaboration

Groupware is one of the most poorly defined terms incomputing. Its most general definition– software thatenables multiple users to share information with oneanother and work together on multiple projects-- caninclude products of many disparate types, from contactmanagement and E-mail to document-sharing programs

-- Gow (1997)

Groupware• Can be simply defined as collaboration software

– Software tools that help teams and workgroups work together in a variety of ways to accomplished joint projects and group assignments

• Example products– IBM Lotus Notes, Novell GroupWise, Microsoft Exchan

ge, and Netscape Communicator support collaboration through email, data and audioconferencing, discussion forums, scheduling and calendaring, and so on.

• Groupware is changing as developers attempt to tailor it for use over the Internet or corporate intranets and extranets

• Application software suites are adding Internet/intranet access, joint document creation, and other collaborative capabilities that provide users with some groupware features

Groupware for Enterprise Collaboration

Groupwarefor

EnterpriseCollaboration

ElectronicCommunications

Tools

ElectronicCommunications

Tools

ElectronicConferencing

Tools

ElectronicConferencing

Tools

CollaborativeWork

ManagementTools

CollaborativeWork

ManagementTools

•E-Mail•Voice Mail, I Phone•Web Publishing•Faxing

•Data Conferencing•Voice Conferencing•Videoconferencing•Discussion Forums•Electronic Meetings

•Calendaring•Task and Project Mgt•Workflow Systems•Knowledge Mgt•Document Sharing