E-business report

Contents
Part-1: E-Business Website Prototype Solution:..............................................................................3
Part-2: E-Business Report................................................................................................................4
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................4
Background:.....................................................................................................................................5
Proposed solution for E-business prototype including:...................................................................7
E-business models:......................................................................................................................7
E-business marketing:..................................................................................................................9
Conclusions and recommendations:..............................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................15

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Part-1: E-Business Website Prototype Solution:

For any e-business to prosper an important role is played by the e-business website. A proper ebusiness website can play a very vital role in improving the profits of the business organizations.
An interactive and user friendly website will enable to increase the ease of doing business
through the website thus it increases the number of clients using the website (Addison, 2000).
The various stages that have been incorporated in the implementation of the website are as
follows:
i)

Phase 1: Assessment of the requirements for which the website is built-

The most important aspect for the development of the website is to understand the need and the
requirement that the website has to fulfill. In order to develop a proper prototype of the website it
is very important to have a proper assessment of the customer group that the website will target.
It is also necessary to make a prior assessment of the various features that will be added in the
website in order to make the website more user-friendly and fulfill its purpose (Amant, 2005).
ii)

Phase 2: Analysis-

One of the most important step prior commencing the development of the website for e-business
is to conduct a through analysis of the various markets that the website is going to focus. The
analysis should also include the cases study of the various existing e-business websites in order
to gain some insight into the existing practices (Addison, 2000). This method is going to be used
by the marketers in order to win the market competition (Cowell, 2003). The website developer
should also make a proper assessment of the various benchmark and best practices in the ebusiness and try to follow them.
iii)

Phase 3: Determination of the Goal of the website:

The website developer should have a clear understanding about the goal that the website has to
serve. For example if the aim of the website is to increase the visibility of the business then the
website can be inter-linked with the various social networking sites in order to increase the
visibility of the website among the wide range of customers (Lief, 2013). Likewise if the aim of
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the website is to provide more knowledge to the clients regarding the products than the website
can have various informative tools to enable the customers to have clear idea about the products
and services offered by the website.
Phase 4: development of the first prototype-

This phase involves the development of the outline of the structure of the website. This stage is
very important as it involves properly including all the features and making a procedure for
developing the website.
iv)

Phase 5: Behavior Assessment and Mind mapping-

The proper behavior assessment is very important in order to enable the website developer to
check the usability of the website and to eliminate the possible mistakes in the website structure
development. The mind mapping phase helps the website developer to properly organize the
various features of the website in a very coherent manner.
v)

Phase 6: Development of the Prototype-

This is the final stage in the development of the prototype of the website (Lief, 2013). It includes
the incorporation of the various features that has been selected in the previous stages into the
website and aligning the design of the website according to needs of the business it has to serve.

Part-2: E-Business Report

Introduction:

It has been mentioned that the small-medium enterprises (SME) are the main source for the
social and economic development of the country. They are considered to be the backbone of the

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countrys economic conditions. Glover et al. (2001) stated that the employment growth has been
possible due to the contribution of such SMEs. It has also helped to develop output, fosters
entrepreneurship and in promoting exports. It is seen that with the growing rate of internet, ecommerce and e-business have also been developed based on B2B (business to business) and
B2C (business to consumer). The expansion takes place both in the developing countries and also
in the developed countries. E-business has developed faster in most of the countries like India,
China, Indonesia etc. specifically where there are higher rates of SMEs are developed for the
growth of the economic condition of the country. Gupta (2006) opined that E-business acts as the
business expansion opportunities for the SMEs. SMEs may operate with the small to that
medium sized business of B2C, B2B or C2C (consumer to consumer) developing the systems of
e-business. Laudon (2009) mentioned that e-business websites for SMEs is developed with the
help of Joomla software since it enables in building a website along with other powerful
applications through online. The scope of this report is to develop the strategies for developing
the website of e-commerce that will help in marketing the products of the SMEs after going
through the technologies and strategies mentioned in this following study.
In the following report, the e-business website development techniques are discussed in respect
to the growth of SMEs by analyzing the best methods and technologies that will be used in its
development with the help of using the Joomla software taking the help of CloudAccess.net. The
limitations of the report would rely on the budget as it has been asked to develop an e-commerce
website for SMEs who deals with low budget based on its product. Thus in order to overcome
those limitations and other disadvantages, the concept of developing e-business has been
implemented so that the economic condition of the companies can be increased.

Background:
In this new economy, the economic development of the community depends on the foundation of
various innovative activities. The developing countries, mainly the small towns and the rural
communities are going through the competitive disadvantages in new economy due to lack of
diversity and the depth of the local product, service markets and the input that are available in
large metropolitan areas (McKie, 2001). Certain disadvantages of the rural places can be reduced
if the businesses developed in the rural areas starts using internet to strengthen its access with the
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services, research and the markets. Businesses situated in the small towns competes effectively if
it takes the opportunity of worldwide markets in context to the information, customers, services
and input required for the business through internet. Nelson (2010) stated that e-business can be
used as the business strategy based on which the SMEs need to develop the websites using the
Joomla software to enlarge the business. E-business is defined as per Palmer (2010), to
encompass the selling and marketing through internet utilizing the electronic communication in
respect to the business activities. SMEs might develop new websites for e-business enhancing its
business by incorporating various techniques and technologies in developing it. This concept
would help the SMEs to run online accessing the new markets and would also help to shorten the
distances (Rezaul, 2012). Going online business, SMEs would require a change in the
management system that would bring organizational changes and implement strategies at a lower
cost compared to the larger companies. As studied by Shaw (2003), it has been seen that
compared to last several years, the users of the internet have increased that would help the
company to be success in expanding the business using the concept of developing a website of ebusiness. Based on the information system type that is computer based, e-business systems will
include people, computer networks, procedures, database and the software. The Joomla software
will be used in this context of the study of developing the website for the SMEs. Strauss et al.
(2001) stated that Joomla is considered as the content management system or CMS that is also an
award winning system that will help to develop the websites for the SMEs and other online
applications. The ease of its use and the extensibility has developed it as the popular website
developing software and is an open source of solution, freely available in the market. For each of
the requirements, there will be implementation of various requirement stages, designs, system
analysis, testing, maintenance and deployment. Requirement can be sometimes risky and
complex even since the development task of the website lead to proper understanding of the
specific requirements that is known as requirement engineering (Chhabra, 2009). The ecommerce business strategies need to be implemented for enhancing the business of the SMEs
through proper strategic planning taking in to considerations of the concepts of supply chain
management, tactical operations, customer relationships, integration of service management and
inventory as discussed further through the course of the study of this report. The requirements of
the particular firm needs to be understood first, based on which research and analysis are
required to develop the e-commerce website.
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Proposed solution for E-business prototype including:

E-business models:
The models of the e-business can be categorized into business to business (B2B), business to
customers (B2C), Consumer to consumer (C2C) and Consumer to business (C2B).
Glover et al. (2001) mentioned that websites developed on the basis of B2B models of business
will sell the products to the intermediate buyer from the product goes to final customer. The
order is placed by the wholesaler that is retrieved by the company, based on the consignment; the
product is sold to that final customer arriving to take the product from the retail outlet of the
wholesaler.

Business organization

Wholesaler
Website

Customer

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Fig1: B2B e-business models

(Source: Glover et al. 2001)
On the other hand, it has been mentioned by Harris (2002), that websites formed on the basis of
the business model of B2C, sells the products to their customers directly. Customer can place the
order after choosing the product from the website based on which a mail will be sent to the
business organization, who then dispatches the products to the customers.
Business organization

Website
Customer

Fig 2: B2C e-business models

(Source: Harris, 2002)
Following the business model of C2C when a website if developed, customers are able to sell the
products and property online and can be charged or can be free based on the websites. The
product can be bought by another new customer (Strauss et al. 2001).
Website

Customer 2

Customer 1

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Fig 3: C2C e-business models

(Source: Strauss et al. 2001)

In the C2B model, there is an approach from the customers regarding the various multiple
businesses for the particular service. Customer can place for an estimate amount to be spent for
the particular service as mentioned by Albert (2003).
Websites

Customer

Business organization

Fig 4: C2B e-business model

(Source: Albert, 2003)
The particular report can be developed using the concept of the B2B and B2C models of ecommerce for developing the website since the small and the medium firms are developing the
websites for enhancing the product sell and to reach the customers in a faster way that would
engage direct sells to the customers by placing order through websites and with the help of order
placed by the customer being transferred to the company through the e-mail as mentioned using
the models.
E-business marketing:
As per Chhabra (2009), it can be discussed that to create image of the brand of the small and the
medium sized firms, e-business is considered to be an efficient element in the marketing strategy
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since it helps to convey the message of the offers of the company and enables the customers to
choose the right product based on their needs. The strategy needs to be developed while building
the website of the SMEs through the use of Joomla software that will be trained about with the
help of the free trainings provided by the cloudaccess.net. To make a differentiation of the
product presentation with the help of efficient designs and structures, would enforce the
customers to grow their interests in order to choose the products of the firms that will be
something unique for them like the competitive prices, superior quality and the convenience etc
(Glover et al. 2001). To market the e-business effectively, Gupta (2006) stated that the target
market needs to be identified first based on which the business websites will be developed so that
the customer wants and needs are fulfilled and they will grow their interests in the business of
the particular firms. If a clear understanding is developed about the targeted customers along
with their needs and requirements, then the firm will get the focus to be on the efforts in order to
catch the attention and to promote the services and the products. Customers have many options
to choose a business firm to buy a product. Harris (2002) stated that when an e-business of a
selected firm is new in the market, the customers get awareness to purchase products from that
firm. Thus, it depends on the firm how they will plan the marketing strategies so that the targeted
customers get attracted understanding the innovative and promotional strategies of marketing.
The promotional strategies for online marketing implemented by the firm that will promote the ebusiness are mailings lists, newsletters, social sites and the blogs (Laudon, 2009). Thus it can be
concluded that the e-business marketing will help to develop the business in an effective manner
using the software of Joomla.
E-Business infrastructure:
The various requirements for the e-commerce are as follows:
1) Legal resources: According to the laws governing e-commerce in Australia, the stakeholders
who are involved in the e-business website has to first make a proper contract describing the
various terms of engagement with each other. These legal contracts are very much necessary so
that the online transactions can take place without any hindrance and it will also help to make a
proper judgment in case of any dispute arising between the stakeholders. The various legal
requirements are as follows:

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i) There should be proper contract regarding the website development which also includes the
content of the website and agreements regarding the hosting of the website. These agreements
are necessary to make sure that the content of the website doesnt fail to give proper respect to
the third party rights.
ii) Proper agreement has to be made with the company providing internet services.
iii) Proper legal arrangements are to made regarding the usage of the website and should also
include all the agreements regarding the privacy policy of the website.
iv) The company should also set up proper rules and guidelines regarding the selling of the
products through the website and the use of the information provided by the customers in the
company website (Schillace, 2014).
2) Software resources: In order to enable the smooth functioning of the working of the website
and the online transactions through the various software requirement for the website are as
follows:
i) The website should have the proper Digital certificates in respect to the web servers, so that the
customers can be assured about the safety, privacy and security of their data. In Australia there
are various organizations under Australian Government Information management Office
(AGIMO) which provide the Digital certificates.
ii) The website should have proper collaboration with the various banks in order to provide
secure e-payment facility to the clients.
3) Network and hardware requirements: The various network and hardware requirement of the
website consist of the routers for various configurations, servers with the capacity according to
business needs, optical fiber for proper connections between the systems. To keep the system
safe from any kind malware the system should incorporate proper firewall system.
E-Business Payment systems:
The website should have multiple e-payment options in order to flexibility to the clients. This
should include payment options from the credit card, debit card, Smart card, E-money and the
provision for EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer).

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Legal and privacy issue regarding e-business:

The various legal and privacy issues that are faced in the e-business involve the regulations and
privacy of the various data of the customers. The various security measures that can be
incorporated in the website involve the use of the data encryption methods. The website should
also adopt a strong password policy and should use such settings which delete all the financial
data of the customers once they have logged out of the site.
E-business benefit from the prototype Website:
The various benefits for the e-business that can take place due to the website are as follows:
i) The main advantage of the prototype website is that it provides a perfect platform for the ebusiness to market their products and services among the perspective clients.
ii) This website also has the potential to improve the sale of the products and services by
engaging more customers using the innovative tool of the website.
iii) The design of the website will increase the trust of the customers by placing the various
options in strategic locations.
iv) The website design is very customer friendly thus it will enable more customers to return to
the website due to the ease of doing the business using the website.
v) The website also implements the best practices for the search engine optimization in order to
improve the rankings of the website in case of the online search.
vi) Since the website is very user friendly and has been made keeping in mind the targeted
customer group thus it also enable to generate more word to mouth for the website and will help
to increase the footfall of the customers in the website.
vii) The secure payment options in the website also creates trust among the customers about the
authenticity of the financial transaction and will help to increase the number of customers doing
business from the website.

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Conclusions and recommendations:

At the end of this report, it can be inferred from various modes of studies conducted that the
development of the e-commerce website would help in developing the marketing strategy of the
e-business of the small to medium sized enterprises using the Joomla software that will enable in
forming the website designed for the company after taking a tutorial guide through the
cloudaccess.net which is a platform to built and optimize the Joomla hosting and the hosting of
word press. With the development of the website, it has been cited that there will be some
organizational changes in the company that would play a predominant role to reposition the
company or in order to eliminate the negativity of their brand image. Developing the ecommerce websites involves the use of various strategies so that the customers get attracted
towards their websites and take interest in purchasing. It is an important tool of marketing of the
products developed by the firms and is often used by the SMEs to keep their survival in the
competitive market. The discussion part of the report provides the detailed idea about the use of
the concept of the development of the e-commerce website for the rural business. Based on the
requirements of the companies and indentifying the gaps that rise issues for the company to meet
success, the strategies have been developed for such a website so that the company can enhance
business through the marketing of the products online. The various and diverse ways have been
noted through the course of the study that would enable to understand why businesses prefer to
use the concept of internet keeping it as a portion of business strategy. There is a detail
discussion carried on the concept of e-business models, marketing strategies, its infrastructure
including the required resources, payment systems, issues faced in e-business and the benefits
that will be derived so that it can be recommended to implement the conception in developing
the rural businesses for future growth and success. Since, internet has become the important
source for the modern business, thus the concept of developing e-commerce website would
enhance the business of the small firms by proving effective marketing strategy and can be
recommended for the expansion of the company in a much easier and faster way. Website
designing can be considered like the shop interior that needs to be designed using several
techniques and designs to make it attractive for retaining the customers. The website needs to be
designed in such a way, the techniques of which involved in its development would impact on
the customer mind and boost the product sell. Thus after completion of the following report, it
can be mentioned that the changes brought in the firms with the incorporation of the idea of
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developing the e-commerce website using the strategies required, it would help in developing the
business in an easy way and the firms can enjoy the growth and sustainability of the business in
the market. The localized strategies need to be planned for the firms following the business
models of e-commerce that would be preferred by the targeted customers. The website would
work as the promotional tool for the firm with proper advertisements to reach the audience in an
effective manner. New technologies need to be used using the software of Joomla for building
the websites of SMEs that will help to meet the objectives set for the business. the concept can
be continued through further studies in involving new technologies and designs for developing ecommerce websites in respect to the given report reducing the limitations of the funds and
growing the financial support for the SMEs.

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