Buisness Models

 

Business Models

A business model can be interpreted as a term that is used for the way a company can sustain itself and therefore create revenue. Consequently a company can incorporate and combine a number of different strategies to enhance their business performance.
There are many categories and definitions for different type of business models. Therefore for the purpose of this blog there will be nine models briefly discussed.

·         Brokerage Models
 Bring buyers and sellers together to provide a smooth transaction between the parties. They could be considered as the facilitator between both parties. Brokers have an important role between all the buyers, sellers and transactions, furthermore brokers tend to charge a fee or commission for transactions that take place between the parties involved.

·         Advertising Models
Can be seen as broadcasting through a website, it can be considered as an additional method of media broadcasting via a web site provider. Advertising models are generally incorporated with emails, IM and blogs, they are the advertising popups and banners that form ads. Therefore with higher volume of viewers this model tends to work best. Accordingly this could prove to be a major source of revenue for broadcasters.

·         Informediary
Informs the business of the customers habits, this process is done through collection of data. Which is evaluated for future marketing purposes and therefore can be seen as a useful tool for targeting specific consumer.

·         Merchant
Goods and services are wholesaler and retailer through a merchants. Therefore this is a person or business that is involved in selling and trading goods. Prices generally are through the use of auctions or price lists.

·         Manufacturer (Direct)
Is a distribution channel where customers may buy direct this reached customers direct and can eliminate the distribution channel. Therefore this can be considered as to be more efficient and improve customer’s services due to enquiring a better understanding of customers.

·         Affiliate
Where business rewards one or more of the affiliated partner groups by the use of incentives. Therefore when people are surfing the web, the affiliated partner site provides purchase opportunities to them through the use of incentives. The affiliated group provides purchase point click points through to the merchant. Furthermore if the affiliated group does not produce sales, it represents no costs to merchants.

·         Community
Users have a high investment in both loyalty and emotions therefore community model is based on the users loyalty. Therefore profits can be produced through additional products and services. This could be seen as one of the more productive areas due to the rising numbers through social networking sites.

·         Subscription
Charges are administered to users in the arrangement of daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. Consumers subscribe to a service and are charged accordingly to their subscription terms. Additionally there may be higher charges to consumers for higher levels of subscription.

·         Utility Charges are produced in a form of meter usage, therefore this is a type of pay as you go system. An example of this type of usage is similar to of a utility bill, such as electricity, gas and water.

 

http://moodle.federation.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=838803
http://myndset.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ecommerce-websites-300x238.jpg
     
https://soltisconsulting1.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/1060150303002.jpg
   http://www.3rbshops.com/image/data/blog/b2b.jpg

Digital Design

 

A Customer-centric website design is an important factor in creating a successful business. When creating a customer centric website it is essential to consider the needs and wants of the consumers.  Design is important as it needs to catch the user’s attention, be user friendly and attract consumers to reuse your serve in the future. This can help businesses for future predictions of sales and also assist its customers with information and services of the business. Therefore customer centric can be an important part of any businesses success.

There is also a need to consider why customer centric web sites can also be difficult for a business. Many businesses do not consider the needs of the customer and are not user friendly, therefore there is a need to take the experience through the eyes of the customer.  Additionally it can be extremely expensive with the setup of a centric web site, as customers may all require different needs and it is hard to focus on all their needs and requirements.



Companies or individuals appearance on the World Wide Web (WWW) can be defined as its presence. If an organisation, business or individual has a presence on the WWW then they will be easier to find. Therefore if a business has a good presence on the WWW, they may have portrayed a good image to customers, consequently this may increase their credibility. If a business or individual has a poor web site, this could be considered as having poor presence in the WWW.

Business that are reliant on the WWW have to consider other business that may be offering the same services. With a far broader spectrum of audiences via the WWW things can be accessed quicker and save customers time. Therefore this could save costs such as printing advertisements. Nevertheless customers will need to be attracted to the business in some way. Therefore there is a high need to attract new customers and creating trustworthiness. Unlike in the physical world where customers can go to the location, receive the goods and also have communication via face to face service. Customers have usually portrayed a loyal connection with the business prior to going to the location.



There are many fantastic web sites that are functional, attractive and have great purpose. Web sites like e-bay, amazon books and even business such as Big W and JB Hi-Fi are all great way of branding and giving customers choices of their needs. If we were to look at Ebay and amozon books for example, they have a search option and payment options available to customers. It is a fantastic way for customers to see what they are buying prior to purchasing the product, there is also customer feedback required after a purchase has been made. Their sites are user friendly and customers can contact the seller via messaging if requiring more information. Therefore with such an easy way to interact, sell and buy with customers they have built credibility and attained a good status with customers.

Source

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Web-presence


http://digitalmelito.pbworks.com/f/1357571992/Digital_Design_Word_Cloud.png

 

Internet Security and Privacy

Privacy breach

Through the use of Google search,more than 15,775 Telstra customers had their information made public between February 2012 and May 2013. Telstra had breached the privacy of its customers through the internet. Data was made accessible to anyone that had used the Google search engine. Data that was exposed and made accessible for public viewing was customers names, telephone numbers and in some cases even their home and business address. Consequently by failing to take the proper measures and destroying personal information,Telstra had breached three National Privacy Principles .Furthermore due to the privacy laws that had been broken Telstra was fined $10,200. To ensure that this was not going to happen again Telstra agreed to replace the existing software platform ,on which it had occurred and to review contracts of the third parties that were managing the personal information.

So what can you do about privacy? It is good practice to -Tell people who and what information you disclose to others and to ask permission before collecting information online. Many websites have opt-out check boxes when collecting information – it would be better to have opt-in check boxes, but of course that presents a marketing dilemma.

It may be helpful to think of Security as Authentication and Privacy as Authorisation. This approach may seem to simplistic, BUT, this is a very useful concept in the development of a privacy policy. You may know the password (authentication) to your sister, brother’s or partner’s email account but are you authorised to use it????

Question 2
What AmI technologies are identified in the case?
There is a huge amount of Data collected through systems, these systems gather data through sources such as location implants, surveillance systems, sensor networks in homes and mobile phone tracking. Accordingly these systems endeavor to compare data and forecasting data about individuals. Once the data has been gathered and compiled then it is resold back to its original company. Some example of these companies may be mobile phone companies and insurance companies.


What drives DMC’s officers to take the actions they took?
DMC could have had possible financial losses if there was no actions taken. There was a need for them to protect their business, due to having information thieved. They had no alternative but to try and cover up the breach. Consequently this could have ruined the business and given them a bad reputation and would have lost considerable amounts of profit.

 

DMC is the clear market leader in the aggregation of AmI data. Are there any comparisons you can make to technology companies today?
Department of Human Services, Vic Roads, Centerlink and many other government bodies are all collecting data and information of individuals. Government corporations use this data for evidence or for predicting future of revenue and unemployment rates.
How realistic is the description of governments using the technology and prohibiting immigration from states with no AmI data aggregation information?
Governments using technology and prohibiting immigration can be considered as realistic. With the use of Ami data when traveling in or out of a country there is a need for information on the individual. If Immigrating or travelling to another country there is a requirement for authorities to know as much as possible on the individual. Countries do not allow for you to immigrate unless they know about you.


What would be the impact of this digital divide?
Digital divide impacts enormously on individual and organizations that may be technologically, sociologically, or economically disadvantaged, they may not have access or lack knowledge in these areas. Therefore this is creating a gap between them and others that may have access. Countries that are heavily invested in technology will be advantaged and those that are poor will become poorer as they do not have the revenue and will be left behind in technologically.


List some of the ‘unintended consequences’ described in the case.
Data was stolen and individuals/public were unaware that there had been  access to their private information. The system was ineffective and had flaws , they were able to track information on the public but unable to find the employees involved. Subsequently with the company being sued by consumer activist groups, this may have forced the President of the company to resign.

Source:
Retrieved from http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000TZpSDtWWtPU/s/750/750/Computer-data-screen-illustration.jpg

Retrieved from http://www.security-faqs.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/How-Do-I-Backup-My-Computer-Data-Online.jpg

Riggins, F., & Dewan, S. (2005). The digital divide: Current and future research directions. Journal of the Association for information systems, 6(12), 13.

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Navagation

One of the biggest challenges for businesses and customers alike is navigating the Internet. Michael Rappa the leading scholar in the field of technology management. In this blog there will be an attempt to briefly summaries four main points Michael Rappa makes about search.

1). If we compare data storage of 50 years ago then the collecting and storing of data may have been expensive and taken long periods of time to sort. In recent times when searching for information via the internet search engines there is lots of information available. Rappa (2005) states that data is considered as being relatively cheap in comparison to 50 years ago. Therefore this resulting in a substantial amount of information being stored .The negative side of this is that when using search through search engines there may not always be relevant or significant information sourced.

2). When searching the internet we tend to search key phases, questions or words. Search engines will search the internet for those key phases. Generally the results are displayed with sites to pages.There are uncountable amounts of web sites to select from, therefore it is important to use the correct phase or keywords while searching. Many people are unaware of how to narrow down this process and this can become a time consuming task.

3). Advertising is becoming more evident with search engines. Search engines such as Google and Yahoo are beginning to link advertisements with their product. Therefore when searching a word a particular business that has paid for the service would be prioritized and the company would come up first. This will increasing consumer awareness to the services and products available.

4) Searching can sometimes be a challenge and finding data that is useful can be frustrating and time consuming .Search engine such as Google and Yahoo have attempted to simplify searching by developing a directories and using existing searches that have been previously searched for.

Marissa Mayer Interview.
Write a paragraph or two, on four points made by Marissa Mayer, that you think were the most interesting or significant for business. There are no right or wrong answers here, I just want your opinion.
Marrissa Mayers is the Vice president of google, her description of how google has adopted new ideas is quite fascinating. Google takes all the ideas of users into consideration, then transform these ideas into a prototype and capturing the attention of the users. Therefore by meeting the needs of the users and capturing their attention helps to develop the product. They are willing to try new things, take feedback into consideration to improve the products. Mayers also states how google has small team working together and sharing the same office space. With smaller teams not needing to leave their own work area to make decisions is a fantastic way for the teams to communicate. This obviously does not waste time and decisions are made quicker.
Google success may be due to the fact that they develop products that users need and want. Once they have developed the product they continue to look at ways of improving them. The vision of improving is limitless and google is a great example of how there is room for improvement in any business or work place.                               

                                            








https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nw5j6aI8sg&noredirect=1


Bill Joy - 6 Web

 The Near Web - is the internet you use via your PC. The internet you see while using devices.
The Here Web - is mobile Internet such as iPhones and iPads. It is always with you.
The Far Web is seen from your home television the internet through HD (high definition) screens and games online.
The Weird Web is using Internet via voice recognition. For example asking your car to do things, find directions to a street address, talk to household objects, appliances, etc.
Business to Business (B2B) is where business systems talk to each other, therefore there is no human interaction.
Device to Device (D2D) is where devices talk to each other. Devices collect data by sensors. An example of this may be where cities can see traffic via cameras and determine traffic control.

Could there be more?
Most definitely, modern technology is advancing each day and who knows what the future holds. With google developing new products and ways to search the web. Modern Technology is something that could be considered as never ending.

What does it mean for business?
With the availability of internet access to a broad society and the world being connected via internet, there are enormous gains and opportunities  for businesses. This could enhance any businesses performances and open up a larger spectrum of new and prospective clients or customers.

Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nw5j6aI8sg&noredirect=1
http://digitalenterprise.org/mrappa.html
http://digitalenterprise.org/index.html

Introduction to E-Commerce and E-Business

Topic 1 - Introduction to E-Commerce and E-Business

Topics that are briefly covered in this blog will be risks to businesses via the internet .Definitions and the difference between E-commerce and E-business. Different models of E-business and E-commerce. Also suggestions on how modern technology may have changed the future of the business market to buyers,sellers and customers.

Internet risks

·        With online purchases there can be many negative aspects, such as items not always looking or sounding the same as they are perceived online.

·        People are not always willing to give their credit or debit card details online. This could make them feel that others may be able to gain access to their banking details, giving them a false sense of security.

·        Security systems that are not understood by customers can lead to negative effects, such as being time consuming and leading customers to not processing the final purchase.

·        Fraudulent transactions by the use of stolen credit cards that are being used to purchase items or services may be costly and hard to eliminate the problem.

E-commerce

Is a process where you can buy or sell services and products online. Electronic interaction with customers, buyers and sellers. Any interaction that is done over the internet that sources through a computer or internet device.
Businesses are trying to make it easy for customer to purchase products, via card payment options. Making products and services readily available to customers without the needing to work within certain hours as a face to face retailer requires.

E-business

E-business is where the use of technology assists in the running of the business. It is not just using the Electronic system for buying or selling it can be used for supply chain management, customer relationship management, data collection and many other business strategies. E-business is known as conducting of a business via the internet.

Buy-side E-commerce
Refers to transactions that are process between an organisation and its supplier. Resources or services that are required by an organization from suppliers to help with the running of the business. This prospective is for the buying for the organisation.

Sell-side E-commerce
Refers to selling products or services to organisations customers. This is potentially for selling an organisations products and services to a consumer or customer.

Different types of E-business

B2C - Business to consumer - The business sells products or services directly to retail consumers online
B2B- Business-to-business,- comprises of businesses using the Internet to conduct transactions with other businesses  B2B businesses generate profits from direct sales.
C2B - Consumer-to-business - consumers create value and demand for products. It is based on consumers driving the businesses and customers can offer their own prices for products. C2B business include reverse auctions, where consumers can ask for a particular price for a product or service that they are considering to buy or sell. Reverse auctions are a common in C2B.
C2C - Consumer-to-consumer - Allows customers to be buyers and sellers on online marketplaces. EBay is an example of C2C, EBay works as a third-party for buyers and sellers, bringing together anxious buyers and sellers.

 Digital technology penetration rate.

Smart phones have been found to have the highest penetration rate at the moment and in Australia alone they are the second highest digital technology sold. Australia has a percentage of 37% which is the second highest rate in the world. Due to the use of technology such as smart phones internet access is made easier and more readily available to the customer. This enhancing performance for many businesses, such as phone companies, internet providers and made online access of shopping online available at the customers finger tips.

 Barriers to adoption of sell-side e-commerce by business
Lack of knowledge - Many small businesses apply e-commerce into their business and have very little knowledge on computer systems and may be limited in knowledge of fixing any problems that may arise. Therefore there is a need for knowledge and resources available to staff of  systems that are in place. This may then eliminate any problems that may arise.

Costly - Organizations initial setting up  an internet programs may find it to be time consuming and lead businesses with  the need to educate staff on the use of  new technology systems and strategies that may have been put in place. This may be a expensive  and time consuming venture for a  small organisation.

Communication - Communicating via the internet can sometimes take time for business to respond to complaints or to any questions consumers may have. This may cause customers to be unsatisfied with the service and not return in the future. Leaving customers with a negative experience can lead to unwelcoming response.

Competitive threats
There are many online networks that sell the same type of products and this could be a treat to a business. Businesses need to be aware of what other similar products are available to customers and try to make their product easier available or different in some way.

Semantic Web
Is the extension of the world via the use of the internet which enables people to share content beyond the boundaries of face to face and  through the internet websites that have been set up for the use of buying, selling and even communication.
In the modern world of technology buying and selling over the internet such as tickets through Ticketmaster/Ticketek, allows customers to purchase a variety of tickets for sporting events, concerts and many other popular events. It allows customers to choose their own seats and price range, while keeping track of tickets that are sold and still available to customers. This helping customers and working together with business partners to conduct an easy business partnership for all parties involved. This may be an effective and profitable approach to any business or organisation.

Sources
http://www.psut.edu.jo/sites/raad/eBusiness_notes/Chapter01.pdf
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/27750797?sid=21106021006803&uid=4&uid=2