What are e-business and, e-commerce, and what are three types of e-commerce systems?
At one time there was a difference between the Old Economy and the New Economy. The first consisted of traditional companies—car makers, pharmaceuticals, retailers, publishers. The second consisted of computer, telecom unications and internet companies (AOL, Amazon, eBay, and a raft of “dot-corn” firms). Now, however, most Old Economy companies have absorbed the new internet-driven technologies, and the differences between the two sectors have dwindled. In other words, most companies arc now engaged in e-business, using the internet to facilitate every aspect of running ^business, As one article puts it, “At bottom the internet is a tool that dra matically lowers the cost of communication. That means it can radically alter any industry or activity that depends on the flow of information.”
One sign of growth is that the number of internet host computers has been almost doubling every year. But the mushrooming of computer networks and the booming popularity of theWorld Wide Web are only the most obvious signs of the digital economy. Behind them lies something equally important: the growth of vast stores of information in databases.
