Lesson 13

In the context of e-business models, the terms brokers, agents, price bots, and the aggregation model all relate to how online businesses facilitate transactions, information flow, and pricing strategies. Here’s how they relate to each other:

1. Brokers and Agents
   • Brokers and agents are both intermediaries in the e-business ecosystem.
   • They help connect buyers and sellers, often without owning the goods or services themselves.
   • Key differences:
     • Brokers typically act as platforms or marketplaces (e.g., eBay, Expedia). They earn revenue via transaction fees or commissions.
     • Agents may act more on behalf of one party (usually the buyer), helping automate decision-making or negotiation processes (e.g., real estate agent websites or job-matching bots).
   • Relationship:
     • Both enable e-commerce by reducing search and transaction costs.
     • In tech-enabled settings, agents can be software programs (like shopping bots) that negotiate or filter options on a user’s behalf, while brokers often provide the infrastructure that hosts these agents.
2. Price Bots
   • Price bots (or shopbots) are a type of software agent.
   • Their role is to crawl multiple websites and compare prices for the same product across various sellers.
   • Function:
     • They provide consumers with real-time pricing data, enabling them to make informed choices quickly.
     • Price bots can be independent (like Google Shopping) or embedded in comparison shopping websites.
3. Aggregation Model
   • The aggregation model is an e-business model where a platform collects information from various providers and presents it in a centralized, user-friendly interface.
   • Examples:
     • Travel aggregators (like Kayak), hotel/metasearch engines, or news aggregators.
     • Often monetized via click-through fees, ads, or affiliate commissions.

Relationship Between All Three:

• Price bots are often used within or power the aggregation model.
• The aggregation model itself acts as a broker, bringing together buyers and sellers on a single platform.
• Agents (like price bots) can operate on behalf of the buyer to interact with aggregation sites or brokers, simplifying search and decision-making.

Example scenario:
A user searches for the best deal on a laptop.

• A price bot scans multiple e-commerce sites.
• The results are displayed on an aggregator site (broker), showing options from Amazon, Best Buy, etc.
• The agent (software or AI) may help filter or recommend based on user preferences.

In this module, we covered:

1. e-business relationships
2. e-business models
3. Brokers/agents: In e-business, brokers and agents act as intermediaries, facilitating transactions between buyers and sellers without directly owning the goods or services. Brokers typically create online platforms or marketplaces, earning revenue through transaction fees, while agents often represent a single party, automating tasks like price comparisons or negotiations. Both play a crucial role in streamlining online commerce by reducing search costs and enhancing market efficiency.
4. PriceBOTS: Within the realm of e-business, "Price BOTS" refers to automated software tools designed to monitor and analyze the pricing of products offered by online competitors. These bots systematically gather pricing data from various e-commerce websites, providing businesses with real-time insights into market pricing trends. E-businesses utilize these tools to dynamically adjust their own pricing strategies, aiming to maintain a competitive edge in the online marketplace.
5. The Agora Model: It's important to differentiate between general "agora" concepts and specific business applications using that term. Here's a breakdown in the context of e-business:
   
   • General Agora Concept:
     • Traditionally, an agora was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states, serving as a marketplace and gathering place.
     • In e-business, the "agora model" evokes this concept by emphasizing platforms that facilitate direct interactions and transactions between numerous buyers and sellers.
     • This often translates to online marketplaces where diverse participants converge to exchange goods or services, fostering a dynamic and decentralized trading environment.
   • e-Business Applications:
     • When referring to companies such as Agora.io, then the model is more about providing the tools to enable real-time engagement. Agora.io's business model revolves around providing real-time engagement (RTE) platforms. This allows other businesses to add live video, and audio to their own platforms.
     • Also there are companies such as Agora exchange, that are creating online market places, to connect buyers and sellers.
   In essence, the agora model in e-business highlights the creation of platforms that enable open, dynamic, and often decentralized online marketplaces or real time engagment platforms.
6. The aggregation model: The aggregation model in e-business involves a platform that gathers information from various providers and presents it in a unified, user-friendly format. This model simplifies the customer's search and decision-making process by consolidating diverse offerings into a single interface. Revenue is typically generated through click-through fees, advertising, or affiliate commissions, making it a common strategy for comparison sites and online marketplaces.
7. The alliance model: In e-business, the alliance model involves strategic partnerships between companies to leverage each other's strengths and resources. This collaboration aims to expand market reach, share development costs, or offer integrated solutions that neither partner could provide independently. Through these alliances, businesses can create synergistic value, enhancing their competitive position and achieving shared objectives in the digital marketplace.
8. The channel effect on e-Business models: The channel effect in e-business refers to the impact that adding or changing a sales channel, particularly online, has on a company's overall sales and customer behavior. It often involves the potential for channel conflict, where new online sales cannibalize existing offline sales, or conversely, creates new demand. E-businesses must carefully manage channel effects to optimize their distribution strategy and ensure a seamless customer experience across all channels.
9. Portals: Within the context of the internet and web-based services, "portals" are websites or online platforms designed to act as a central point of access to a wide range of information, services, and applications. They often feature personalized content, search functionalities, and links to various resources, aiming to streamline user experience. Portals serve to aggregate diverse online tools and information, creating a unified and convenient gateway for users.
10. New media effects on business delivery

To verify your understanding of concepts covered in this module, we recommend that you take the end of module self-check quiz. Not only will this help verify your own understanding, but it will provide you with valuable practice prior to taking the end of course test.
ebusiness Architecture - Quiz
So far in this course, we have covered what architecture is, the evolution of e-Business technologies, e-Business architecture drivers, and e-Business architecture. What we have not covered is a means, or process, of understanding e-Business architecture. Module 6 provides a language for understanding e-Business architecture and a means for breaking down the elements of architecture. This will introduce you to a methodology for rapidly restructuring and rebuilding e-Business architecture.