Electronic Commerce

Semester 2 Term 2 Lecture 14

Intranets & Network-Centric Computing

• Demand for Intranets is booming as businesses worldwide seek to replace their aging legacy systems with better architectures

• The goal of intranets is to enable more “open” integrated systems where marketing, distribution, manufacturing and financial management functions all communicate with each other to achieve a common objective

• The degree of integration and the specific activities that are integrated are dependent on the firm’s infrastructure and the industry in which the firm operates

Business Reasons for Using Intranets

• The business reasons for using intranets can be summarised under four headings:– Business problem– Solution– Requirements– Benefits

Business Problem

• Expand access to information while controlling costs

• Reduce complex and expensive maintenance/support of custom client/server software on thousands of client systems

• Reduce multiple end user interfaces which result in confusion

Solution & Requirements

• Solution: Integrate business application access using Web technology

• Requirements:– Small amout of code on client workstation– Custom code on Web servers only– Low bandwidth needed for end users

Benefits

• Easier management with expanded supports for client platforms

• Minimises space required on client systems

• Requires no special client code

• Position for mobile access

Intranets & Application Software

• The primary driver of Intranets will continue to be business process re-engineering, where global deployment of operations, increasing mobility in the workplace, the aftermath of mergers and downsizing, and a competitive environment for IT are forcing large companies to look at all aspects of their application deployment to gain competitive advantage

Impact of the Web on Application Software

• The current trend is to place interfaces for the user between the application software and the Web, either on the Internet or Intranet

• The Web is an ideal front end that works with a number of applications, connects to the application through the Internet or an Intranet, and is not limited to the constraints usually placed by strange quirks of application software

Elaborating on the Intranet Architecture

• Competitive pressures lead to an intense challenge for companies to improve their business while reducing the strain on corporate information systems

• In light of these demands, Intranets take on an increasing importance as well as a new role in the development, deployment and management of applications and resources

What Remains to be Done?

• Technology alone does not solve all problems• To successfully manage today’s complex supply

chains, managers need to carefully interface and co-ordinate business functions, processes, and the technology that link the various components of the organisation to its customers and suppliers

• Co-ordination becomes crucial as the supply chain crosses functional boundaries

• Lack of co-ordination results in excessive delays, and ultimately, poor customer service