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Friday, January 30, 2009

The History and Evolution of E-Commerce


The History Of E-Commerce


The history of E-Commerce(EC) is a history of how Information Technology has transformed business processes. It provides with a detailed explanation of the stages which EC has actually evolved and began to be used as a popular online mean of economic exchange where it refers to the online transaction of goods.


The development of EC applications started in the early 1970s with Electronic Funds Transfer(EFT), which refers to the computer-based systems used to perform financial transactions electronically. However, the use of these applications was limited to financial institutes, large corporations, and some daring businesses.


Electronic Data Interchange(EDI) was then developed in the late 1970s to improve the limitation of EFT. EDI enlarged the pool of participating company from manufacturers, retailers, services, and others. Such systems were called Interorganizational System(IOS).


An IOS allows the flow of information to be automated between organizations to reach a desired supply-chain management system, which enables the development of competitive organizations.


From the 1990s onwards, EC would additionally include Enterprise Resource Planning systems(ERP), data mining and data warehousing.


The term ‘electronic commerce(EC) was coined in the early 1990s when Internet became commercialized and users began flocking to participate in the World Wide Web. EC applications were then rapidly expanded.


Possibly EC is introduced from the Telephone Exchange Office. The earliest example of many-to-many EC in physical goods was the Boston Computer Exchange, a marketplace for used computers launched in 1982. The first online information marketplace, including online consulting, was likely the American Information Exchange, another pre-Internet online system introduced in 1991.


The Evolution Of E-Commerce


The evolution of E-commerce(EC) can be attributed to a combination regulatory reform and technological innovation. Through Internet appeared in the late 1960s, EC now took off with the arrival of the World Wide Web(WWW) and browsers in the 1990s. The liberalization of the telecommunications sector and innovations such as optic fiber and DSL which has helped to expand the volume and capacity of communications that helped in the process of rapid growth. As a result, the barriers to entry and engage in EC have fallen rapidly. In other word, the evolution of EC is where the internet and electronic data exchanges are steadily becoming valuable tools in the supply chain, but in a way that involves instead of eliminates dealers.


EC were first developed in the early 1970s with innovations like:

  • Electronic Funds Transfer(EFT)- funds can be routed electronically from one organization to another.
  • Eletronic Data Interchange(EDI)- used to electronically transfer routine documents, that expanded electronic transfers from financial transactions to other types of transaction processing.
  • Interorganizational System(IOS)- a system which allows the flow of information to be automated between organizations in order to reach a desired supply-chain management system, which enables the development of competitive organisations.

Year

Event



1984


EDI, or electronic data interchange, was standardized through ASC X12. This guaranteed that companies would be able to complete transactions with one another reliably.



1992


Compuserve offers online retail products to its customers. This gives people the first chance to buy things off their computer.



1994


Netscape arrived. Providing users a simple browser to surf the Internet and a safe online transaction technology called Secure Sockets Layer.



1995


Two of the biggest names in EC are launched: Amazon.com and eBay.com



1998

DSL or Digital Subscriber Line, provides fast, always on Internet service to subscribers across California. This prompts people to spend more time, money, and online.


1999


Retail spending over the Internet reaches $20 billion, according to business.com



2000


The U.S government extended the moratorium on Internet taxes until at least 2005.



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