1.1 Describing the present environment for e-business and illustrating what types of business transactions are possible today over the internet

The difference between the internet and the World Wide Web is the internet is a way to access WWW.

What is internet?

Internet is a standardized protocol (set of rules) that allows a computer from one system to talk to any other.

Uses of internet

• Storage (cloud)

• Emails

• Skype

• Browsing

Also internet is a messaging system. The following structure shows all the components of any message.

Place|sender|recipient|date|content|signature or seal

Every message must include the content which can be encrypted or may consist of code names.

OBC use internet as a messaging system to:

• Book suppliers

• Potential customers

• Partners

• Agents

• Students

Also OBC uses internet to pay for electricity, water, heating and allows students to pay online for wifi and take online courses.

Intranet and extranet

Intranet – your own private IT system within the company, so only employees can use it.but there are levels of access, for example financial department has only financial information and they cannot get students detail excluding bank account.

Extranet – firm`s own private IT system that allows trusted agents, stakeholders, customers etc. to use that.

What is www?

World Wide Web (WWW) – a set of pages that can be available to any computer on the internet.

Uses of Web

• Search

• Sell/buy

• Advertise

• Uploading and downloading, including live streaming

HTML is a common language for displaying websites. That allows different users to visit any site no matter where and when it was designed.

There is set up order for any intelligent system:

Content (data) – software (applications and operating systems) – hardware (e.g keyboard, speakers)

1.2 Explanation how a college like obc could benefit from e-business and highlighting some of the difficulties they would face

In the past people would spend lots of time going to several shops comparing prices and goods, but now we can save our time and do that online as well as pay for it online. This process called e-commerce.

Benefits of e-commerce

To the seller: 24/7 Low cost – do not need physical shop and labour Delivery process is out sourced Availability – manage to increase prices on popular stuff Accurate sales process according to stock Scalable sales process – ability to increase profit margin because of low cost Several languages are available at website

To the buyer: 24/7 Shopping at home Cheaper goods Availability and comparability – buyers can see if exact product available and they can easily compare prices Vast range of stuff Saves time Ability to buy goods differ from local

There are advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce to both seller and buyer:

Advantages:	Disadvantages:
To buyer:
Access from home or any other place Quicker than regular shopping International market	Cannot check the quality Problem with size matching Can we trust this website?
To seller:
People cannot check the quality Lower cost Ability to reach remote customers Endless width of range	Not everyone has access to the internet (regions with no electricity, elderly, poor people) Trust problems Online fraud Copying of well-known sites Delivery problems Famous big brands

OBC can take advantage of e-services, for example, if there is no free places students can take online courses, but the risk is that could be error in the internet and the information will be lost. Online services courses help people apply from abroad and complete registration from home.