Lesson 1

Introducing an eBusiness to an existing business can be dramatic. Its effects are felt both internally and externally, in operations, marketing, as well as in the attitude of the employees. In many ways the introduction of eBusiness is a rebirth of the existing offline business. It allows those involved to experience first-hand how the business is re-engineered to accommodate the new model, and to learn a great deal about the business itself. It is not the responsibility of the architect to change the existing business functions. However, it is the responsibility of the architect to ensure that all executives, particularly those in charge of the areas affected, are prepared for and understand the impact of such changes. The architect needs the people responsible for making the changes to confirm that the necessary changes can be completed within the timeframes and with existing resources. If the architect cannot get these assurances, then the architect must ensure that the plans and budget for the project are altered accordingly.
At the end of this module, you will be able to:

The generic term e-business systems, as used in this context, identifies IT systems that use Internet-based technologies to facilitate business transactions. At the highestlevel, the vast majority of e-business systems use Web services (essentially services provided or “served” by Web servers) to deliver content and exchange data with individual users or with other systems. This is not to say that other, non-Web enabled systems or services would not be included within an overall e-business solution. On the contrary, any solution of this type would almost always incorporate other communications systems and application services as well. However, an e-business solution cannot be classified as part of this category without a Web services component. Using this definition, most enterprise-wide systems, such as enterprise resource planning, enterprise relationship management, and customer relations management, provide some form of content delivery and systems management through a Web services interface In the next lesson, we will look at the commercial implications of an eBusiness.