What is E-Commerce:

E-commerce (electronic commerce or EC) is the term used for any commercial or business transaction, which involves the transfer of information on the internet. To put it simple E-Commerce is about setting your business on the Internet, allowing visitors to access your website, and go through a virtual catalog of your products / services online. When a visitor wants to buy something he/she likes, they merely, "add" it to their virtual shopping basket. Items in the virtual shopping basket can be added or deleted, and when you're all set to checkout...you head to the virtual checkout counter, which has your complete total, and will ask you for your name, address etc. and method of payment (usually via credit card). Once you have entered all this information (which by the way is being transmitted securely) you can then just wait for delivery. Its that simple.

In practice, the term e-commerce and a newer term, e-business, are often used interchangably. For online retail selling, the term e-tailing is sometimes used. Ecommerce allows consumers to electronically exchange goods and services with no barriers of time or distance. Electronic commerce has expanded rapidly over the past five years and is predicted to continue at this rate, or even accelerate. In the near future the boundaries between "conventional" and "electronic" commerce will become increasingly blurred as more and more businesses move sections of their operations onto the Internet.

Business to Business

Business to Business or B2B refers to electronic commerce between businesses rather than between a business and a consumer. B2B businesses often deal with hundreds or even thousands of other businesses, either as customers or suppliers. Carrying out these transactions electronically provides vast competitive advantages over traditional methods. When implemented properly, ecommerce is often faster, cheaper and more convenient than the traditional methods of bartering goods and services.

The road to creating a successful online store can be a difficult if unaware of e-commerce principles. Researching and understanding the guidelines required to properly implement an e-business plan is a crucial part to becoming successful with online store building. Thousands of companies that sell products to other companies have discovered that the Web provides not only a 24-hour-a-day showcase for their products but a quick way to reach the right people in a company for more information.

Security of Business Transactions

The most important within the domain of ecommerce is the Security of Business Transactions.Security includes authenticating business transactors, controlling access to resources such as Web pages for registered or selected users, encrypting communications, and, in general, ensuring the privacy and effectiveness of transactions. Among the most widely-used security technologies is the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which is built into almost all the leading Web browsers.