E-Com Notes (Chapters 6-9)

8/11/2019 E-Com Notes (Chapters 6-9)

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eCommerceNotes102

PartTwoofTwo

2010

ShrenikKenia

V.I.T.

11/1/2010


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Vidyalankar Institute of Technology Page 1

ContentsEBusinessIntroduction....................................................................................................................................................2

EBusinessStrategies......................................................................................................................................................15

IntegrationofApplications.............................................................................................................................................24

ECommerceInfrastructure............................................................................................................................................46


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E-BusinessIntroduction

E-Businessvs.E-commerce

While some use ecommerce and ebusiness interchangeably, they are distinct concepts. Electronic business,

commonly referred to as "eBusiness" or "ebusiness", may be defined as the application of information and

communicationtechnologies(ICT)insupportofalltheactivitiesofbusiness.Commerceconstitutestheexchangeof

productsandservicesbetweenbusinesses,groupsandindividualsandcanbeseenasoneoftheessentialactivities

ofanybusiness.ElectroniccommercefocusesontheuseofICTtoenabletheexternalactivitiesandrelationshipsof

thebusinesswithindividuals,groupsandotherbusinesses.

ECommerceIsaparticularformofeBusiness.Electronicbusinessmethodsenablecompaniestolinktheir internal

andexternaldataprocessingsystemsmoreefficientlyandflexibly,toworkmorecloselywithsuppliersandpartners,

andtobettersatisfytheneedsandexpectationsoftheircustomers.ComparedtoeCommerce,eBusinessisamore

generic termbecause it refersnotonly to informationexchanges related tobuyingand sellingbutalso servicing

customersandcollaboratingwithbusinesspartners,distributorsandsuppliers.

EBusiness

encompasses

sophisticated

business

tobusiness

interactions

and

collaboration

activities

at

a

level

of

enterpriseapplicationsandbusinessprocesses,enablingbusinesspartnerstoshare indepthbusiness intelligence,

which leads, in turn, to the management and optimization of interenterprise processes such as supply chain

management.More specifically,eBusinessenables companies to link their internalandexternalprocessesmore

efficiently and flexibly, work more closely with suppliers and better satisfy the needs and expectations of their

customers.

In practice, ebusiness is more thanjust ecommerce. While ebusiness refers to more strategic focus with an

emphasison the functions thatoccurwhenusingelectronic capabilities,ecommerce isa subsetofanoveralle

businessstrategy.EcommerceseekstoaddrevenuestreamsusingtheWorldWideWebortheInternettobuildand

enhancerelationshipswithclientsandpartnersandtoimproveefficiencyusingtheEmptyVesselstrategy.Often,ecommerceinvolvestheapplicationofknowledgemanagementsystems.

Ebusiness involves business processes spanning the entire value chain: electronic purchasing and supply chain

management,processingorderselectronically,handlingcustomerservice,andcooperatingwithbusinesspartners.

Specialtechnicalstandardsforebusinessfacilitatetheexchangeofdatabetweencompanies.Ebusinesssoftware

solutionsallow the integrationof intraand inter firmbusinessprocesses.Ebusinesscanbe conductedusing the

Web,theInternet,intranets,extranets,orsomecombinationofthese.

Basically,electroniccommerce(EC) istheprocessofbuying,transferring,orexchangingproducts,services,and/or

information via computer networks, including the internet. EC can also be benefited from many perspective

includingbusinessprocess,service,learning,collaborative,community.ECisoftenconfusedwithebusiness.

Inecommerce, informationandcommunications technology (ICT) isused in interbusinessor interorganizational

transactions (transactions between and among firms/organizations) and in businesstoconsumer transactions

(transactionsbetweenfirms/organizationsandindividuals).

In ebusiness,on theotherhand, ICT isused toenhanceonesbusiness. It includes anyprocess that abusiness

organization(eitheraforprofit,governmentalornonprofitentity)conductsoveracomputermediatednetwork.

A more comprehensive definition of ebusiness is: The transformation of an organizationsprocesses to deliver

additionalcustomervaluethroughtheapplicationoftechnologies,philosophiesandcomputingparadigmofthenew

economy.


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Threeprimaryprocessesareenhancedinebusiness:

Production processes, which include procurement, ordering and replenishment of stocks; processing of

payments;electroniclinkswithsuppliers;andproductioncontrolprocesses,amongothers;

Customerfocused processes, which includepromotional andmarketingefforts, sellingover the Internet,

processingofcustomerspurchaseordersandpayments,andcustomersupport,amongothers

Internal management processes,which include employee services, training, internal informationsharing,

videoconferencing, and recruiting. Electronic applicationsenhance information flow between production

andsalesforcesto improvesalesforceproductivity.Workgroupcommunicationsandelectronicpublishing

ofinternalbusinessinformationarelikewisemademoreefficient.

EBusinessgoes farbeyondecommerceorbuyingandsellingoverthe Internet,anddeep intotheprocessesand

culturesofanenterprise.Itisthepowerfulbusinessenvironmentthatiscreatedwhenyouconnectcriticalbusiness

systemsdirectly tocustomers,employees,vendors,andbusinesspartners,using Intranets,Extranets,ecommerce

technologies,collaborativeapplications,andtheWeb.

Ebusinessisamorestrategicfocuswithanemphasisonthefunctionsthatoccurwhenusingelectroniccapabilities

whileEcommerceisasubsetofanoverallebusinessstrategy. Ecommerceseekstoaddrevenuestreamsusingthe

World Wide Web or the Internet to build and enhance relationships with clients and partners and to improve

efficiencywhileElectronicbusinessmethodsenablecompanies to link their internalandexternaldataprocessing

systemsmoreefficientlyand flexibly, toworkmore closelywith suppliersandpartners,and tobetter satisfy the

needsandexpectationsoftheircustomers.

EBusiness isat theenterpriseapplication levelandencompasses sophisticatedb2b interactionand collaboration

activities.EnterpriseApplicationSystemssuchasERP,CRM,SCM forman integralpartofeBusinessstrategyand

focus.

CriticalFactorswithrespectofe-Business

EBusiness supportsbusinessprocessesalong theentirevalue chain:Electronicpurchasing (EProcurement),SCM

(Supply Chain Management), Processing orders electronically, Customer Service & Cooperation with business

partners.

OneoftheobjectivesofeBusinessistoprovideseamlessconnectivityandintegrationbetweenbusinessprocesses

and applications external to an enterprise and the enterprises back office applications sucha as billing, orger

processing, accounting, inventory and receivables, and services focused to total supply chain management and

partnership includingproductdevelopment, fulfillment,anddistribution. In this respect,eBusiness ismuchmore

thaneCommerce.

TosucceedineBusinessitiscrucialtocombinetechnologicaldevelopmentswithcorporatestrategythatredifinesa

companys role in the digital economy while taking into account its various stakeholders. It is imperative to

understandtheissues,evaluatetheoptions,anddeveloptechnologyorientationplans.AneBusinessstrategyhelps

organizations identify their eBusiness concerns, assess their information needs, analyze towhat degree existing

systems serve theseobjectives,pinpoint specific improvements,determine thedevelopment stagesofeBusiness

solutionsandattainconcreteandmeasurableresults.Thus, it isclearthateBusinesssolutionsarenotonlyabout

technology.

AclassicexampleisSAPsystemsintegrationsforanyorganization.This itself istakenupasaprojectandexecuted

withgreatattention todetail.Aminute logicalerror in interpretationof the firmsobjectives could result in the

entiresystembeingreworkedfromscratch.


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EBusiness allows for redefinitionof value, competitiveness and the verynatureof transactionsand it affects all

areasofanorganization. Itiscrucialtocombinetechnologyandbusinessstrategywhiletakingintoaccountvarious

stakeholders

AnEbusinessStrategyhelpsto

Identifyebusinessconcerns

Assessinfoneeds

Analyzeexistingsystems

Improvementsrequiredinexistingsystems

Determinethestagesofdevelopmentofsolutions

Attainconcreteandmeasurableresults.

Characteristicsofe-Business

To emphasize, eBusiness is not simply buying and selling but encompasses the exchange of many kinds of

information, include online commercial transactions. EBusiness is about integrating external company processes

withanorganizations internalbusinessprocesses;assuch,avarietyofcorebusinessprocessescouldexploitane

Businessinfrastructure.

Theseincludeamongothers:

CollaborativeProductDevelopment

CollaborativePlanning,ForecastingandReplenishment

ProcurementandOrdermanagement

OperationsandLogistics

CollaborativeProductDevelopment

This isoneofthefastestgrowingtechnologies inengineeringwithsomeformofsolutionsbeing implemented ina

range of industries such as automotive, aerospace, agricultural machinery etc. It contributes towards making

productsinashorttimespanwhilemaintainingqualityandreducingcost.

Italsoaidsinmaximizingtimetomarketbenefitswhilemaintainingcontroloverproductdevelopmentinformation.

Byintegratingdesignandtestingcyclesofproductswiththoseofsuppliers,afirmcanshortenthecompletecycleof

itsproducts.Thisclearly,reducesthetotalcostoftheproductcycle,&evenmore importantly, itreducesthetime

that is needed to bring products to the marketplace. Collaborative product development solutions offer ERP

integrationandSCM.

CollaborativePlanning,ForecastingandReplenishment

This isaprocess inwhichManufacturers,DistributorsandRetailerswork together toplan, forecastandreplenishproducts. In eBusiness relationships collaboration takes the form of sharing information that impacts inventory

levelsandmerchandiseflow.

Collaboration points:sales forecasts, inventory requirements,manufacturingand logistic lead times, seasonal set

schedules,new/remodelstorageplans,promotionalplansetc

Goal:Toget thepartnerstoworktogetherto improve lowersupplycycletimes, improvecustomerservice, lower

inventorycosts, improveinventorylevelsandachievebettercontrolofplanningactivities

ProcurementandOrdermanagement

Electronic procurement or EProcurement can achieve significant savings and other benefits that impact the

customer. To support procurement and order management processes, companies use an integrated electronic

orderingprocessandotheronlineresourcestoincreaseefficiencyinpurchasingoperations.


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Benefits: cost savings, better customer service by controlling the supply base, negotiating effective buying

preferences,andstreamliningtheoverallprocurementprocess.

Operations&Logistics

Logisticsisthatpartofthesupplychainprocessthatplans,implementsandcontrolstheefficient,effectiveflowand

storageofgoods,servicesandrelatedinformationfromthepointoforigintopointofconsumptioninordertomeet

customer requirements. To make this happen, transportation, distribution, warehousing, purchasing & order

managementfunctionsmustworktogether. LogisticsintheeBusinesseraisallaboutCollaboration thesharingofcriticalandtimelydataonthemovementofgoodsastheyflowfromrawmaterial,allthewaytotheenduser.

OperationsandLogisticsprocessesarebasedonopencommunicationbetweennetworksoftradingpartnerswhere

integratedprocessesandtechnologyareessential forhighperformance logisticsoperations. Thesesolutionshelp

managethelogisticsprocessbetweenbuyersandsuppliers,whileeliminatingcostlydiscrepanciesbetweenpurchase

order,salesorderandshipping information.Byeradications thesevariancesand inconsistencies improvements in

thesupplychainmayresultfromtheeliminationofmixedshipmentsandshipmentdiscrepancies,andthereduction

of inventory carrying costs for the customer. At the same time this increases customer satisfaction through

improveddeliveryreliabilityandimprovedefficienciesinreceivingoperations.

Furthermore,therearecriticalelementstoebusinessmodelsaswell.Theyareasfollows:

A shared digital business infrastructure, including digital production and distribution technologies

(broadband/wirelessnetworks,contentcreationtechnologiesandinformationmanagementsystems),which

willallowbusinessparticipantstocreateandutilizenetworkeconomiesofscaleandscope.

Asophisticatedmodelforoperations,includingintegratedvaluechainsbothsupplychainsandbuychains.

Anebusinessmanagementmodel,consistingofbusinessteamsand/orpartnerships;

Policy, regulatory and social systems i.e., business policies consistent with ecommerce laws, tele

working/virtualwork,distanceslearning,incentiveschemes,amongothers.

Ease

of

Automated

Processing A payer can now cheaply and easily automate the generation and

processing of multiple payments with minimal effort. Previously, the dependency upon banks to handle

most payments and the lack of a cheap, ubiquitous communications technology made automation of

paymentprocessesexpensiveanddifficulttoestablish.

ImmediacyofresultPayment immediacyoccursbecauseautomationandtheabilityforthe intermediate

systemsandproviderstoprocesspaymentsinrealtime.Withthemoremanual,paperbasedsystemsthere

wasalwaysatimedelayduetotherequirementforhumaninterventionintheprocess.

Opennessandaccessibility Theavailabilityofcheapcomputingandcommunicationstechnologyandthe

appropriate software enables small enterprises and individuals to access or provide a range of payment

services that were previously only available to large organizations via dedicated networks or the

transactionalprocessingunitsofbanks.

Loss of collateral information The new technology dispenses with, or alters, collateral information

accompanying transactions.This informationhas traditionallybeenpartof the transaction,andhasbeen

relieduponbythetransactingpartiestovalidateindividualpayments.

Collateralinformationcanbedefinedasinformation:

Whichisnotessentialtothemeaningandintentofatransaction;

Which is typically incidental to the nature of the communications channel over which the transaction is

conducted;butneverthelessprovidesusefulcontextual information foroneormoreof theparties to the

transaction?

Collateral

information

can

include

many

things

ranging

from

tone

of

voice

in

a

telephone

call

to

the

business

cardsandletterheadsandapparentauthorityofthepersonwithwhomyouaredealing.


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Customerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)

CRMsystemsarefrontofficesystemswhichhelptheenterprisedealdirectlywithitscustomers.CRM(definition)

is the process of creating relationships with customers through reliable service automated processes, personal

informationgathering,processingandselfservicethroughtheenterpriseinordertocreatevalueforcustomers.

Thereare3categoriesofuserapplicationsunderCRMs:

Customerfacing applications:

Applications which enable

customers to order products and

services

Salesforce facing applications:

Applications thatautomatesomeof

the sales and salesforce

managementfunctions,andsupport

dispatchandlogisticfunctions.

Managementfacing applications:

Applicationswhichgatherdatafromprevious apps and provide

management reports and compute

Returnon relationships(RoR)asper

companysbusinessmodel

EnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP)

ERPsareoftencalledbackofficesystems.ERPsystemsaremanagement informationsystemsthat integrateand

automate many of the business practices associated with operations or production aspects of a company. ERP

software can aid in control of many business activities such as sales, delivery, production, billing, production,

inventory,shipping,invoicingandaccounting.

A typical ERP system is designed around these 4

primarybusinessprocedures:

Production: manufacturing, resource planning

andexecutionprocess

Buyingaproduct:procurementprocess

Sales of a product and services: customer

ordermanagementprocess

Costing, paying bills, and collecting:

financial/management accounting and

reportingprocess.

SupplyChainManagement(SCM)

Supplychain(definition)isanetworkoffacilitiesanddistributionoptionsthatperformthefunctionsofprocurement

ofmaterials, transformationof thesematerials into intermediateand finishedproducts,anddistributionof these

finishedproducts tocustomers.SCMdealswith theplanningandexecution issues involved inmanagingasupply

chain.



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Supplychainhas3mainparts

Supply side: concentrates on

how,where from,andwhen raw

materials are procured and

suppliedtomanufacturing.

Manufacturingside:convertsraw

materialstofinishedproducts. Distribution side: ensures that

finished products reach the final

customers through a network of

distributors, warehouses and

retailers.

KnowledgeManagement

This relates to the identification and analysis of available and required knowledge assets and related processes.

KnowledgeassetsencompasstwothingsInformationandExperience.Knowledgeassetscompriseofallknowledge

thatabusinesshasorneedstohaveinordertogenerateprofitsandaddvalue.

Knowledgemanagement includes the subsequentplanningandcontrolofactions todevelopboth theknowledge

assetsandtheprocessestofulfillorganizationalobjectives.Knowledgeisastrongdenominatorofabusinessmodel

anddeterminesbusinesscompetenciesespeciallywhenuniquetothebusinessandsomustbekeptinhouse.

E-Markets

EMarket isanelectronicmeetingplace formultiplebuyersandsellersprovidingmanyparticipantswithaunified

viewofsetsofgoodsandservices,enablingthemtotransactusingmanydifferentmechanisms.AneMarketuses

Internettechnologytoconnectmultiplebuyersandsuppliers.

E-Business

Roles

and

their

challenges

TherearetwomainrolesintheEbusinessscenario:

o TheBuyer:BuyersareorganizationsthatpurchasegoodsandservicesdirectlyfromSuppliers.

o TheSupplier:Suppliersareorganizationsthatmarketandsellgoodsorservicesdirectlytobuyersor

indirectlythroughdiversesaleschannels includingWebbasedprocurementsystemsandelectronic

marketplaces.

SupplierstypicallyprovidebuyerswithwebbasedservicesnecessaryforcompletingeBusinesstransactions.

Buyers (customers) can thus reviewproduct information, receive customer service,ordering servicesand

customizationsupportfacilitiesancansubmitormodifyorders.

AnadditionalroleisthatofMarketMakers

thatarethirdpartyorganizationsthatrunemarkets.

Eachrolehasdistinctbusinessandtechnicalchallenges,buttheyallcoalescearoundacommonpoint.

Forbuyersaswellas for suppliers, theprimary challenge is theability to reacha criticalmassof trading

partnersandtransactionvolumetosustaintheirbusiness.

Forsuppliersespecially,thefollowingchallengesexist:

o Managing multiple selling channels, based on various technologies, protocols, data formats, and

standardbusinessprocesses.

o Having the ability to takemultiple typesofordersonce the customerhas decided to conduct e

Businessenabledordermanagementthroughthevarioussellingchannels.

o Having theability todifferentiateand customizeproductsand services fromother suppliers,and

offeringthemthroughthevarioussellingchannels.


o Having theability toadaptandgrow theeBusinesswithout incurringdrastic technologychanges,

lrestructuring.organizationa


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o Andsweepingchangesinthebusinessprocess,orradicalnewinvestments.

Tomeettheneedsofbuyersandsuppliers,eBusinessstrategyandsolutionsmustbebuiltonthefollowing

basicprinciples:

o Empoweringsuppliers&buyers:

Differentchannels.

o Enablingsuppliersofallsizes:

E-Business

Requirements

Identify/measure quantifiable business objectives:companiesmustaccuratelymeasure the impactane

Business initiativehasontheirbusinessprocessesanddecidewhetherthis initiative isworthpursuingand

hassustainablelongtermeffects

Ensure organizational/operational flexibility: Enterprises must reposition themselves in their mission,

structureandexecutiontoprosperinasubstantiallymoredynamicenvironment.

Rethink entire company supply chains: companies must rethink their entire supply chains in order to

optimize performance and value as they seek to better integrate with suppliers and customers, share

information,interlinkprocesses,andoutsourcemanufacturinglogisticssystemsandmaintenanceactivities.

Transformthecompanytoaprocesscentricform: Companiesmustbeconceptualizedasasetofbusiness

processes with more emphasis on maximizing the efficiency of processes rather than departmental or

functionalunits.

Define Business processes: companies must create models of existing processes and interactions

determining the relevant events, time frames, resources and costs associated with business processes,

hencemakingthemwelldefinedandmeasurable

Understand Security requirements: the breadth of access and interaction requirements of a eBusiness

solutionrequirestheabilitytoprovidecontrolledandfocusedaccessbyalltheusers.

Align business organizations with a flexible IT architecture: in response to demands for end to end e

Businesssolutions,companiesareexpandingtheirapplicationstoincludeenhancedintegrationcapabilities.

Thisincludesintegrationofbusinessprocessesatvariedlevelsfromapplicationsanddataacross(andwithin)organizations.

Establish ubiquity within standards: Noneof themany integration technologiesavailable fromvarious IT

vendors has achieved complete coverage. These do work within organizations but not across global

enterprises and between separate enterprises. Attempts are made to establish open standards for

interoperability.

A number of business and tech. driven requirements are compelling forces that enable successful

development&deploymentofintegratedendtoendeBusinessapplications.Someoftheseare:

o Efficientbusinessprocessmanagementtechnology

o Efficientb2bcommunication

o Efficiententerpriseapplicationintegrationtechnology

o

Othercategorizationsviewtheproblemdifferently.

AmorebasicapproachtoviewingeBusinessrequirementsisasfollows:

Trust The biggest requirement for running a successful ebusiness is trust. In this ageof Facebookand

MySpace, online merchants may think that privacy of a customer's information isn't important, but the

oppositeistrue.

o Thus, businesses must be trustworthy to operate online. Consumers will not simply give theirfinancialinformationtojustanyone,soasitewilllosebusinessifconsumersdonotfeelcomfortable

thatitisareliable,upstandingcompany.


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o Companiesmusthavecomprehensiveprivacypoliciesandstickwiththem.Anothergood ideaisto

getdigitalcertificatesandTRUSTeseals,whichareawardedbythirdpartyorganizationsafterthey

researchthelegitimacyofanonlinewebsite.

o Suchawardsputconsumers'mindsatease.Finally,evenifanebusinessdoesallthis,itmustalsobe

trustworthy in the sense of fulfilling its promises: be up front with consumers about pricing and

deliverytimes.

Privacypolicy Inadditiontothewayprivacylawsapplyinthe"real"world,therearesomespecialthingsto

thinkaboutwhendealingwiththeInternetandebusiness.

Youshouldfullyunderstandhowyourwebsitefitsintoprivacylawrequirements.

If your website collects personal information, you should develop a proper and legally

compliantprivacypolicyandpostitinareadilyvisiblelocationonyourwebsite.

Ifyouusecookiesorsimilarmeanstotrackvisitors,dependingonhowyoudothat,youmay

stillneedtodevelopandpostapolicy.

Onlineprofilingmayrequiretheconsentoftheindividualdependingonthecircumstances.

Keep inmind that people do look for privacy policies so,without a policy, youmay lose

prospectivecustomers.

Aproperlydraftedprivacypolicyorstatementwillnotonlyminimizeyourlegalexposure,it

can serveamarketing functionaswell,allowingyou toattractand retaincustomerswho

otherwisemightnotbeasinclinedtodealwithyou.

Donotcreateapolicyandthen failto follow itprecisely.This isan invitation fordisaster,

includingnotonlypossiblelegalproblems,butalsoinjurytoyourreputationandgoodwill.

o Itisimportanttonotjustletthepolicysitonceithasbeenposted.Itshouldberevisitedregularlyto

determinewhetherornotit isstillaccurateandtoevaluatewhetherornot itshouldberevisedto

assistyouinyourbusinessgoalsandobjectives.

Strategy Ecommercemerchantsmustalsohavea strategy to succeed in theonlinemarketplace.Many

peoplestartwebsitesbecausetheythinkitisaquickandeasywaytomakecash,butinfactittakesamuch

greaterinvestmentthanmostpeopleexpect. Therefore,beforelaunchingasite,businessesmusthavestrategiestohandleissueslargeandsmall:

o Howconsumerswillplaceorders,

o Howdeliverieswillbemade,

o Howcustomerserviceissueswillbehandled?

o Morebroadly,howmuchdoownersexpecttoearnoveracertainperiod,howwillconsumersfind

thesite,andhowwillsuccessbejudged.

o Onlinemerchantswithoutstrategieswillsoonbeoverwhelmedbysuchissues.

Suitability Finally, merchantsmust decide if their products are suitable for the web. Requirements for

successfulebusinessesconcernthegoodsandservicesthemselves:

o Cantheybedeliveredquicklyandcheaply?

o Dotheyappealtopeopleoutsideasmallgeographicarea?

o Willgoingonlinesavemoney?

o Willthebenefitsoutweighthecosts?


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TechnologicalRequirements:

o AchievingReal

Time

Flexibility:Intheory,digitalthingsareeasiertochangethanphysicalthings.It

is faster toeditamemousingawordprocessorthanatypewriter (andyoudontget inkonyour

fingers).

o Butwhenprogrammingisrequiredtochangecontentoraccesspolicies,maintainingacomplexWeb

sitecanrangefromoneroustoimpossible.Marketfactorschangeinrealtime,andsomustthelogic

andcontentofaneBusinesssite.

o To achieve this vision, the next generation of eBusiness systems must provide a framework for

automatedinformationexchangebetweenallthestakeholdersinabusiness.

o Thesenew frameworksaredesigned for flexibilitysocompaniescanchangecontentandbusiness

logicinrealtimetomeetchangingbusinessneedsandmarketconditions.

o Thisadaptabilitycomesfromasetofcoreservices,commontoallapplications,whichenablerapid

deployment of new applications and new information and which work together to create a

compelling,unifiedeBusinessenvironment.

o AneBusinessframeworkmustincludepackaged,readytodeployservicesfor:

o AnArchitectureForeBusiness AseBusinessmovesbeyondsimpletransactionstoencompassall

the complex processes through which a company provides value, information systems must

orchestratethefunctionofenterpriseapplicationsand informationresourcesfortotal information

flow. And they must empower business people with the tools to manage content publishing,

delivery, and access, so that business results dont depend on the IT departments programming

backlog.

o Three TierObject CenteredDesign Toachievetrue,realtimeeCommerce,nextgeneratione

Business systemsmustbebuiltarounda3tierapplicationparadigmwitha clearabstractionand

true separation of user interface presentation, business logic, and content. Separation and

abstractionoftheselayersisachievedthroughtheuseofbusinessobjects,particularlyinthemiddle

layer.

o Whenseparatingpresentation,application,andDataLogicthreethingsmustbeconsidered:

User Interface The user interface must support a variety of interface mechanisms,

includingWebbrowsers forusers,businessmanagers,designersanddesktopapplications

fordevelopers.

BusinessLogic Themiddletiermustnotonlyimplementandexecutebusinesslogic,itmust

alsoprovide the frameworkof services thatenableeBusiness, including security services,



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transaction services, and caching, pooling, and other load balancing services to improve

overallsystemperformance.

Content The content layer includes corporate databases, document stores and other

knowledgerepositories

o AllObjectsAreNotCreatedEqual TheoverallarchitectureofaneBusinesssystem is important,but

proper abstractions achieved through object technology are the foundation of a flexible eBusiness

system.Correctseparationofpresentation,business logic,security functions,andcontentdetermines

the flexibility of the system and the pace and effectiveness of eBusiness processes. To deliver truly

dynamic,realtimecommunication,theserelationshipsmustbeestablishedonapertransactionbasis,

aseachpage isassembled fordelivery toausereBusinessprocesses lend themselves to thiskindof

abstraction.o BringingOrderToContentManagement Ascompaniesmovemoreof theirbusinessprocessesonto

theWebinsearchofgreatersalesorefficiency,Websitesaregrowinginsizeandcomplexity.StaticWeb

sitesoftenconsistofhundredsoreventhousandsofWebpages,andtensofthousandsoflinesofcode.

Multimedia sites are becoming the standard, with everything from sophisticated graphics and

animationtoaudioandvideo.EnterpriseWebsitesmustintegratemultipleapplicationsfromtheback

officetothesupplyandsaleschain,whilemaintainingsecurityandtheintegrityofbusinessinformation.

As sitesbecome largerandmore complex, traditionalWebpublishing systems,with theirhardcoded

Web page content, become unmanageable. Content creators swamp programmerswith requests for

newWebpages,theapprovalprocessbogsdown,andusersnolongerhaveaccesstocurrentcontent.



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o DynamicWebEnvironment ThegraphicallayoutsusedinnextgenerationeBusinesssystemsaremore

intelligentandmanageablethanthetemplatesusedintraditionalWebpublishing.Whilebothcontrol

placementofgraphicelements,style,etc.,templatesaccesscontentthroughbusinesslogichardcoded

intothebodyofthepage.Pageswithdifferentcontent,howeversimilar,requiredifferentsourcefiles.

Layouts,ontheotherhand,areanextgenerationapproachthatdoesnotembedbusiness logic inthe

presentationobjects.Alayoutcontrolsonlystyleandplacementofelementsonthepage.Thelogicthat

determinescontentisseparatefromthelayout,andcanbechangedandmaintainedindependently.

o ContentManagement

Tools

ContentManagementtoolsmustenablecontenttogrowandchangeat

Webspeed.

o TeamContentDevelopment PublishingcontenttotheWebandextendingthe functionalityofasite

takesawholeteam:developerstobuildsitestructureandimplementbusinessrules,designerstocreate

pagelayoutsanddefineaconsistentlookandfeel,andbusinessmanagerstodefinebusinessrulesand

contributecontent.

o CollaborationAcrossTheExtendedEnterprise PublishingandmanagingWebcontenttypicallyinvolves

anapprovalprocessandsomeadministrativework.

o CentralizedRules BasedContentManagement:Anyoneshouldbeabletomanagesitecontentsimply

bydefiningafewdocumentcharacteristicswhenadocumentispublished.Withcharacteristicssuchasa

documentstype (forexample,datasheet), format,andactivation/expirationdates inplace, linksto

the document can be automatically populated throughout the site, and document visibility and

documentmigrationcanbeautomated.

o CustomizedContentDelivery

o PervasivePersonalization

o KnowledgeBased Personalization Effective personalization depends on the ability to customize a

users experience based on a rich, centrally stored user profile: in essence, a knowledge base that

consistsofuser informationandexpertiseonhow toapply that information. Thiskindof knowledge

base cannot be bolted onto a brochure wareWeb site. The ability to gather and apply userrelated

knowledgemustbe integrated into theeBusiness system from day one, so that information can becontributed,shared,andleveragedbyalltheapplicationsinthesystem.

o User profiles are the crownjewels of an eBusiness strategy. The quality of profiles determines the

degreetowhichtheuserexperiencecanbepersonalized.Profilescanandshouldbebuiltthroughboth

explicitandimplicitmechanisms.

o InclusiveSecurity

o ScalabilityToCompete AsmoreandmoreprocessesareadaptedtoeBusiness,aWebsitemaygrow

to support thousands of users, millions of documents and millions of transactions each day. An e

Businesssystemmusthavethepowertoperformfastandreliably,asabusinessgrows,whiledelivering

thedynamic,personalizedcontentnecessarytoachievebusinessgoals.

o EnterpriseIntegration

and

Transaction

Monitors

AnybusinessprocesscanbeWebifiedwithaCGI

interfaceorafewserverpages.Butisolated,eBusinessisaboutprovidingnewvaluebydoingbusiness

inafundamentallynewway.IntegrationisthegoalandtheheartofeBusiness:integratingandexposing

applicationsandcontent inapersonalizedwaytospeed,scaleand improvebusinessprocessesandto

engage,involve,andbuildlastingrelationshipswithcustomersandbusinesspartners.

o Transaction management guarantees that users have a consistent view of business information. For

example, theeBusinesssystemshouldpreventthecustomerfromcompletinganorderbasedonone

price, thenbeingchargedbasedon thenewprice.Transactionmanagementalsoprevents inaccurate

resultsbasedonsystemfailures(e.g.,thesystemgoesdownandlosesanorderbutcontinuestoprocess

the

billing

using

already

transmitted

credit

card

information).

Robust

system

logs

can

help

coordinate

updates across multiple data sources from multiple vendors or roll back changes in case of system

failure.


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o DelegatedSystemManagement eBusinesssystemsaredistributedbytheirverynature,coordinating

informationsharingamongapplications,businessfunctionsanddepartments,andpartnersupanddown

thesupplychain.BringingbusinessprocessestotheWebincreasesthecomplexityoftheeBusinesssite,

andgrowingandchangingnumbersofusersandapplicationsincreasethecomplexityofmanagingasite.

No centralized IT department could effectively maintain current accounts or access privileges for all

users,insideandoutsidethecompany.MostWebsitestodayarenotsophisticatedenoughtoreachthis

roadblock,butasbusinessesopenandextend theirprocessesvia theWeb, systemmanageabilitywill

becomeanincreasinglyseriousissue.

o Time to MarketTime to market must be minimal as delays may result in losing the benefit of e

Businessintegration.

Impactsofe-Business

Improved operational efficiency and productivity: by eliminating operational waste and automation of

inefficientbusinesspractices,organizationscanrealizeproductivitygains

Reduction in operating costs and costs of goods and services: by connectingdirectlywith suppliers and

distributors, organizations can realize more efficient processes that result in reduced units of cost for

productsorservicesandlowerpricestocustomerswhileachievingeconomiesofscale.

Improvedcompetitive position:global reach, rapidgrowth,efficient reductionofproduct time tomarket

andoptimizationofproductdistributionchannelsallcontributetosuperiorcompetitiveposition.

Penetrationintonewmarketsthroughnewchannels:witheBusinesslocationisofnoconsequencewhenit

comestoreachingcustomers.

Improvedcommunication,informationandknowledgesharing:alignmentofkeysupplychainpartnerswith

anorganizationsinternalstrategieshelpsexploittheirexpertiseandknowledge,hencecreatingopportunity

tosecurelongtermbusinessbyembeddingtheirprocessandproceduresinthoseoftheircustomerssupply

chains.

Harmonizationandstandardizationofprocess

Improvedinternal

information

access

Improvedrelationshipswithsuppliersandimprovedcustomerservice

InhibitorsofeBusiness

Management/Strategyissues

o ebusinessstrategy

o Organizationalchangesrequiredbyebusiness

o Managementattitudesandorganizationalinflexibility

Cost/financingissues

o Costsofimplementationo CalculatingtheReturnonInvestment(ROI)

SecurityandTrustIssues

LegalIssues

o Fewcompaniesarefamiliarwiththerulesandregulationsthatapplytoanonlineenvironment.

ThisleadstoUncertainty.

o Differentstrokesfordifferentfolks!

TechnologicalConcerns

o IntegrationIssues

ArgumentsagainstInvestment

o Uncertainty&Fear


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E-BusinessStrategies

WhatisanE-BusinessStrategy?

EBusinesshastriggerednewbusinessmodels,strategiesandtacticsthataremadepossiblebytheinternet

andotherrelatedtechnologies.

In order to compete in the marketplace, it is essential for organizations to establish strategies for the

developmentofanebusiness.

EBusinessstrategycanbeviewedviatwodifferentviewpoints,whichareexplainedbelow.

Oneviewdefinesstrategyasplansandobjectivesadoptedtoachievehigherlevelgoals.

Inthatsense,astrategy isdevelopedtoachieveagoal like implementingorganizationalchange,ora large

softwarepackagesuchasanERPsystem.

Strategymayalsorelatetoplansconcerningthe longtermpositionofthefirminitsbusinessenvironment

toachieveitsorganizationalgoals.

Basedontheabove,wearriveatacommondefinitionforaneBusinessStrategy.

An eBusiness strategy is the set of plans and objectives by which applications of internal and external

electronicallymediatedcommunicationcontributetothecorporatestrategy.

Strategicplanningcomprisesadistinctclassofdecisions(aplanisasetofdecisionsmadeforthefuture)and

objectives, andhas tobepositionednext to tacticalplanning (structuring the resourcesof the firm) and

operationalplanning(maximizingtheprofitabilityofthecurrentoperations).

Strategy isconcernedwithchanges in thecompetitiveenvironmentthatmaytriggerstrategicchanges for

theindividualfirmandsoaffectitsrolesandfunctionsinthemarket.

Reassessmentofstrategymayoccurdueto:

o NewProducts

o Changingcustomerpreferences

Flowers:Roses/Carnations >Orchids

A

few

years

back

when

people

went

to

the

florist,

they

generally

picked

up

Roses

or

Carnations etc. Now, they prefer Orchids. This is an example of changing customer

preferences.Aglobalnotion isthatacustomerdoesnotrealizetheutilityoffeeltheneed

foraproductuntilitisofferedtohim/her.

o Changingdemandpatterns

o Newcompetitors

The frequency, dynamics and predictability of the above changes dictate the intensity of the strategic

planningactivityofthefirm.

So,eBusinessstrategy(revised)is:

o Thesetofplansandobjectivesbywhichapplicationsofinternalandexternalelectronicallymediated

communicationcontributetothecorporatestrategy.

EBusinessstrategymaybeimplementedfor:

o Tacticalpurposes:Mail>EDI>XMLFDI

o Achievingcorporatestrategyobjectives

EBusinessisstrategicinnature.

o Theideaistocreateapreferablysustainable&competitivepositionforthecompany.

This is achieved by integration of the Internet and related technologies in its primary

processes.

EBusiness must not only support corporate strategy objectives but also functional strategies (SCM,

Marketing)

SupplyChainManagementStrategy


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o Based on value chain analysis for decomposing an organization into its individual activities and

determiningvalueaddedateachstage.

o Gaugeefficiencyinuseofresourcesateachstage.

MarketingStrategy

o Isaconcernedpatternofactionstaken inthemarketenvironmenttocreatevalue forthe firmby

improvingitseconomicperformance.

o Focusedoncapturingmarketshareorimprovingprofitabilityviabrandbuildingetc.

o OperatesonCURRENTASWELLASFUTUREprojectionsofcustomerdemand.

InformationSystemsStrategy

o Howtoleverageinformationsystemsinanorganizationtosupporttheobjectivesofanorganization

inthelongrun.

EBusinessstrategyisbasedoncorporateobjectives.

StrategicPositioning

Strategicpositioningmeansthatafirmisdoingthingsdifferentlyfromitscompetitorsinawaythatdeliversaunique

valuetoitscustomers.Thereare6fundamentalprinciplesafirmmustfollowtoestablishandmaintainadistinctive

strategicposition:

1. Startwiththerightgoal:superiorlongtermROI.

2. Strategymustenableittodeliveravaluepropositiondifferentfromcompetitors.

3. Strategymustbereflectedinadistinctivevaluechain.

4. Accepttradeoffsforarobuststrategy.

5. Strategymustdefinehowallelementsofwhatafirmdoesfittogether.

6. Strategymustinvolvecontinuityofdirection.

Levelsofe-BusinessStrategies

Strategies will exist at different levels of an organization. Strategic levels of management are concerned with

integrating and coordinating the activities of an organization so that the behavior is optimized and its overall

direction is consistentwith itsmission. UltimatelyeBusiness isabout communication,withinbusinessunitsand

betweenunitsoftheenterpriseaswellasorganizations.

1) SupplyChainorIndustryValueChainlevel

EBusinessrequiresaviewoftherole,addedvalue,andpositionofthefirminthesupplychain.

Importantissuesthatneedtobeaddressedatthislevelare:

i. Whoarethefirmsdirectcustomers?

ii. Whatisthefirmsvalueproposaltothecustomers?

iii. Whoarethesuppliers?

iv. Howdoesthefirmaddvaluetothesuppliers?

v. What isthecurrentperformanceoftheSupplyChain intermsofrevenueandprofitability,

inventorylevelsetc?

vi. Moreimportantly,whataretherequiredperformancelevels?

vii. Whatarethecurrentproblemsinthechain?

This sortofanalysisgive insight into inupstream (supplier side)anddownstream (customer side)

dataandinformationflows.

2) TheLineofBusinessor(Strategic)BusinessUnitlevel

UnderstandingthepositioninthevaluechainisastartingpointforfurtheranalysisofhowInternet

relatedtechnologiescouldcontributetothecompetitivestrategyofabusiness. This is the level where competitive strategy in a particular market for a particular product is

developed(StrategicPositioning).


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Therearefourgenericstrategiesforachieving aprofitablebusiness:

i. Differentiation:Thisstrategyreferstoallthewaysproducerscanmaketheirproductunique

anddistinguishthemfromthoseoftheircompetitors.

ii. Cost:Adoptingastrategyforcostcompetitionmeansthatthecompanyprimarilycompetes

with low cost; customers are interested inbuying aproduct as inexpensively aspossible.

Successinsuchamarketimpliesthatthecompanyhasdiscoveredauniquebusinessmodel

whichmakesitpossibletodelivertheproductorserviceatthelowestpossiblecost.

iii. Scope:

Ascopestrategyisastrategytocompeteinmarketsworldwide,ratherthanmerely

inlocalorregionalmarkets.

iv. Focus:Afocusstrategyisastrategytocompetewithinanarrowmarketsegmentorproduct

segment.

3) TheCorporateorEnterpriselevel

Thislevelcomprisesacollectionof(strategic)businessunits.

Thisleveladdressestheproblemofsynergythroughafirmwide,availableITinfrastructure.

CommoneBusinessapplicationsthroughouttheorganizationareneededfortwobasicreasons.

Fromefficiencypointofview,havingdifferentapplications for the same functionality indifferent

areasofbusiness

isneedlessly

costly.

Fromaneffectivenesspointofview,thereistheneedforcrossLineofBusinesscommunicationand

shareabilityofdata.

Theemphasisinthebusinessplansisonthecustomer,notthefinalproduct.

TheseallbecomesubjectsofanenterprisewideeBusinesspolicy.

ThechangingcompetitiveAgenda:Business&TechnologyDrivers

BusinessDrivers:

Shiftineconomiesfromsupplydriventodemanddriven

o Causesashift

inintent

ofservice

and

quality

programs,

the

impetus

for

product

development

&the

structureoftheorganizationitself

o OnetoOnemarketing

o MassCustomization

TechnologicalDrivers:

Internet

o Pervasiveness

o InteractiveNature

o VirtualNature

StrategicPlanningProcess

Thestrategicplanningprocesshasthefollowingsteps:

Thestrategicplanningprocessstartswiththeestablishmentoftheorganizationsmissionstatement.

o The mission statement is a basic description of detailing the fundamental purpose of the

organizations existence and encompasses strategy development, including determination of the

organizationsvisionandobjectives.

o Itisdevelopedatthehighestleveloftheorganizationsmanagement,andprovidesageneralsense

ofdirectionforalldecisionmakingwithinthefirm.

Strategic

Analysis

o This involves situation analysis, internal resource assessment, and evaluation of stakeholders

expectation.


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StrategicAlignment

Inthe1980stheconceptofalignmentbetweenbusinessandITwasdeveloped.

Accordingtothisconceptitisnotonlyfeasibletodesignandbuildatechnicallysophisticatedinfrastructure

foreBusiness,butalsotoformulatebusinessstrategiesthatcomplementandsupportthisinfrastructure.

Oneof themajor issues regarding anenterprises investment in IT iswhether this is inharmonywith its

strategicobjectives.

Thisstateofharmonyisreferredtoasalignment.

Alignmentiscomplex,multifacetedandalmostnevercompletelyachieved.Itisaboutcontinuingtomovein

therightdirectionandbetteralignedthanthecompetitors.

AnyeBusinessstrategyshouldarticulateanenterprises intentiontouse informationtechnologybasedon

businessrequirements.

WhenformulatingtheITstrategy,theenterprisemustconsider:

o Businessobjectivesandthecompetitiveenvironment

o Currentandfuturetechnologiesandthecosts,risks,andbenefitstheycanbringtothebusiness.

o ThecapabilityoftheITorganizationandtechnologytodelivercurrent andfuturelevelsofserviceto

thebusiness.

o CostofcurrentIT,andwhetherthisprovidessufficientvaluetothebusiness.o Lessonslearnedfrompastfailuresandsuccesses.

Consequencesofe-Business

As eBusiness is an information technologyenabled organizational phenomenon with economic

consequences,economictheoriesappeartobeparticularlyusefulforanalyzingthebusinesseffects.

Strategyisaboutfindingtheright(external)fitbetweenorganizationandenvironment.Differentschoolsof

thoughthaveapproachedthisproblemfromdifferentangles.

WhenanalyzingthebusinesseffectsofaneBusiness,wewillconsiderthefollowingapproaches:

o TheTheoryofCompetitiveStrategy

o Theresourcebaseview

o Thetheoryoftransactioncosts

TheoryofCompetitiveStrategy

o Thestructuralattractivenessofafirmisdeterminedbyfiveunderlyingforcesofcompetition:

Thebargainingpowerofthecustomers

Thebargainingpowerofthesuppliers

Thebarrierstoentryfornewcompetitors

The

threat

of

new

substitute

products

or

services

Thecompetitionamongexistingfirmsintheindustry



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o In combination, these forcesdeterminehow theeconomic value createdby anyproduct, service

technologyorwayofcompetingisdividedbetweencompaniesinanindustry.

o Thebargainingpowerofcustomersforafirmcould,forinstance,dependonthedegreeofproduct

differentiation,and the sizeofdemandand supply.Switching costsarealsovery important: they

answerthequestionofhowmuchwillitcostthecustomertochangetoanothersupplier.

o Thebargainingpowerofsuppliersisdependentonavarietyoffactors,suchasrelativesize,number

of suppliers, that can deliver a critical resource, and so on. The Internet causes another specific

threatfromtheperspectiveofITsuppliers;theymaybypasstheircustomersanddirectlyapproach

theenduser.

o Thebarrierstoentryfornewcompetitorsdependonhowdifficultitistojointheindustry.Economic

andtechnologicalthresholdsmaypreventoutsidepotentialcompetitorstocome in.Economiesof

scale,necessarycapital,andspecializedexpertiseareimportantfactorsinthisrespect.

o The threatofsubstituteproductsdependson thequestionofwhetherotherproductscandeliver

addedvalueforconsumersinsteadofcurrentproductsintheabsenceofswitchingcosts.e.g.The

InternetisaseriousthreattothePostOffice.

o Thelevelofcompetitionamongexistingfirmsintheindustrywilldependonvariousfactorsliketype

ofmarket,existingcompetitivebehavior,andsoon.

TheResourceBasedView

o Accordingtothistheoryofeconomicdevelopment,innovationisthesourceofvaluecreation.

o Severalsourcesofinnovation(hence,valuecreation)areidentified:

Theintroductionofnewgoodsornewproductionmethods,

Thecreationofnewmarkets,

Thediscoveryofnewsupplysources,

Andthereorganizationofindustries.

o Theresourcebasedview(RBV),whichbuildsonthetheoryofeconomicdevelopmentsperspective

onvaluecreation,regardsafirmasacollectionofresourcesandcapabilities.

o TheRBVlooksatavailableresourcesfirsttoseehowapositioninthebusinessenvironmentcanbeacquiredwiththem.

o According to this view, a firm can build a strategic position by picking the right resources and

buildingcompetenciesthatareuniqueanddifficulttoimitate.

o Resourcesareconsideredtherawmaterialforbuildingcompetencies.

o The RBV states that marshalling and uniquely combing a set of complementary and specialized

resourcesandcapabilitiesmayleadtovaluecreation.

o A firms resources and competencies are valuable if, and only if, they reduce a firms costs or

improveitsrevenues.

o Corecompetenciesofanorganizationencompassknowledgebases,skillsets, andserviceactivities

thatcancreateacontinuingcompetitiveadvantage.

TransactionCostEconomics

o Transaction Cost Economics attempt to explain firms choices between internalizing and buying

goodsandservicesfromthemarket.

o Accordingtotransactioncosttheory,exchangeswithexternalfirmsentailavarietyofcoordination

costsassociatedwithvariousaspectsofinterfirmtransactions.

o Thecentralquestionaddressedbytransactioncosteconomics iswhyfirms internalizetransactions

thatmightotherwisebeconductedinmarkets.Thus,twokeyissuesconcerningfirmsare:

Whichactivitiesshoulda firmmanagewithin itsboundaries,andwhichactivitiesshould it

outsource?

Inwhichwayshouldafirmmanageitsrelationshipwithitscustomers,suppliers andother

businesspartners?


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o According to transaction cost economics, a firm has two options for organizing its economic

activities: an internal hierarchical structure where it integrates the activity into its management

structure,oramarketlikerelationshipwithexternalfirms.

o Criticaldimensionsoftransactionsinfluencingthechoiceofthemosteffectivegovernanceformare:

Uncertainty

ExchangeFrequency

SpecificityofAssetsenablingtheexchange

o Transactioncostsincludethecostsofplanning,adapting,executingandmonitoringtaskcompletion.

o Transaction cost Theory assumes thatmarkets arenotperfect, so lead to costs, like search and

monitoringcosts.

o As internet technology isexpected tosignificantly reduce transactioncosts, thistheoryprovidesa

basisforassessingtheeffectsoftheInternetonnewandexistingbusinessmodels.

SuccessfactorsforImplementationofe-BusinessStrategies

Transforminganenterprisefromatraditionalorganizationtoanebusinessbasedorganizationsacomplex

endeavor.

Itisessentialthatseniormanagementdevelopsandendorsesabroadstrategicvision.

Oncethestrategyhasbeendeterminedandapprovedtheimplementationstrategyhastobechosen.

Twoapproachesprevail:

o The topdown approach: According to this, business transformation is a businesswide

phenomenonthatcanonlybeimplementedbusinesswide.

o Thebottomupapproach: In thisapproach,business reengineering startsasanexperiment inan

inconspicuouspartofanorganization.Lessonsarelearntfromthisexperiment,andtheknowledgeis

transferredtootherpartsoftheorganization.

Although the bottomup approach has strong support , especially in the case of innovation, central co

ordinationofthetransformationactivityismandatory.

Toprovideforthecentralcoordination,programmanagementhastobeinstituted.Acorepartofprogrammanagementismultiprojectmanagement,themainobjectivesofwhichare:

o Recognizedependenciesbetweenprojects

o Sharescarceresourcesinanoverallefficientway

o Systematicallyutilizeexperiencesfromsingleprojects

Programmanagementischaracterizedby:

o Programorganization,

o Policies,

o Plans,

o Communication,

o Alignment.

Leading a change project or businesswide initiative requires persons that plan the change and build

businesswidesupport;thesearecalledchangeagents.

ChangeAgentsarepartoftheprogrammanagementorganization.

Inprinciple,everyoneinvolvedinachangeprojectcanassumetheroleofachangeagent.

Threetypesofchangeagentroleshavebeenidentified:

o Traditional:Inthetraditionalmodel,theInformationSystem(IS)specialistsfocusonthedeliveryof

theimplementationofthetechnology,withoutconsideringtheorganizationalaspects.Consequently

theybecometechnicianswithanarrowareaofexpertise.

o Facilitator:Inthefacilitatormodel,thecentralmodelisthatpeople,nottechnologiescreatechange.The change agentbrings together all the conditionsnecessary for the change. In thismodel, the

changeagentremainsneutral,theorganizationisresponsibleforthechange.


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o Advocate: In this role, change agents focus on inspiring people to adopt the change. Unlike the

facilitator,hedoesnotremainneutral,butusesanytactic(persuasion,manipulation,poweretc)to

makethechangesaccepted.

Especially in the case of eBusiness transformation, where organizational and IT changes relate to

infrastructureandissuesofcommonalityandinteroperability,theadvocatemodelseemstobeappropriate.

PressuresForcingBusinessChanges

Competitiono Fiercer&MoreGlobal

Customershavebecomeincreasinglydemanding

IntegratedDemand(Travel,CarRentaletc.)

Firmsaskthemselveswhichofmycompetencesareuniqueandofcoreimportance?

o E.g.>Bajajexitsthescootermarket.

Companyconfigurationchangesduetooutsourcingandinsourcing.

BusinessModels

Therearevariousdefinitions forBusinessModels.Thedefinitionschangebasedon theparadigmandthecontext

beingapplied.Letslookateachdefinition:

Participantsinajointbusinessventure:

o Specify the relationships between different participants in a commercial venture, the benefits &

costs to each and the flows of revenues. It addresses a simple equation (profit= revenuecost)

irrespectiveofthemodel.

o Describeshowtheenterpriseproduces,deliversandsellsitsproductsorservices,thusshowinghow

itdeliversvaluetothecustomerandhowitcreatedwealth.

Process&structureofabusinessorganization:

o Referstothestructures&processesinplacetooperationalizethestrategyofbusiness:

o Canbedescribedas:

Anarchitecturefortheproduct,service&informationflows;

Adescriptionofthevariousbusinessactors&theirroles;

Adescriptionofthepotentialbusinessbenefitsforthevariousactors;

Adescriptionofthesourcesofrevenues.

Perspectiveofamarketplace.

o Definitioncanbeanalyzedfromvariousperspectives:

B2B,B2Cactivitiesorboth?

Positioninthevaluechain?

Valueproposition&targetcustomers? Specificrevenuemodelsforgenerationofitsincomestreams?

Representation?PhysicalorVirtualorcombination?

PerspectiveofeBusiness

o A descriptive representation of the planned activities of an enterprise that involves 3 integral

componentswhichspecify:

Internalaspectsofabusinessventure

Type of relationships of the enterprise with its external business environment and its

effectiveknowledgeregardingtheserelationships

Howtheinformationassetsareembeddedinthebusinessventure.

Abusiness

model

can

be

viewed

as

an

externalization

of

afirms

internal

business

processes

o Doesnotinvolveinternalbusinessprocesscomplexity.

Whentakingtheinternalaspectsofabusinessintoaccountthefollowingelementsneedtobedefined:


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o ProductsorServices

o Sourcesofrevenue

o Activities

o Organizationofthefirm

E-BusinessModels

EBusinessmodelsareclassifiedasfollows:

InternetEnabled

o Categorizedbasedonincreasingfunctionality,innovation,integrationandvalue.

ValueWeb

o Assuredlynotarecipeforsuccessbutpreliminaryconceptionsofanemergingformofafluidand

flexibleorganization.

o Movefromwedoeverythingourselvesunless(valuegeneratedbysingleorganization)towedo

nothingourselvesunless(valuegeneratedbythenetwork).

EBusinessEnabled

o EspeciallyvalidforB2Bcontexts

o 5RepresentativeBusinessmodelso TeleworkingModel:

Collaborationusingcommunicationtechnologies

ClassicexampleisElectronicManufacturingServices(Solectron)

o VirtualOrganizationModel:

Collectionofgeographicallydispersedindividuals,groupsandorganizationalunits.

Example:GeneraLife(Insurance)

o ProcessOutsourcingModel:

Example:BPOs,IBM

o CollaborativeProductDevelopmentModel

Example:AutomobileManufacture>FORD

o ValueChainIntegrationModel:

Usedtoimprovecommunication&collaborationbetweenallsupplychainparties.

MarketParticipants

o MoregenericclassificationofInternetBasedBusinessModels

Cybermediaries

o IndisagreementwiththewidelyacceptedideathateBusinesswillcauseindustryvaluechainstobe

restructuredtosuchanextentthatintermediationwillnolongerbeaprominentfeature.

o Therealtrendmightjustbetowardsanincreaseinintermediationbycybermediaries.

Organizationswhichoperateinelectronicmarketstofacilitateexchangesbetween

producersandconsumersbymeetingtheneedsofboth.

DirectoriesofDirectoryServicesIntermediaries

VirtualMalls

WebsiteEvaluators

Auditors

SpotMarketMakers

FinancialIntermediaries(ESCROWServiceforOnlinepurchases).

Note:FordetailsonalleBusinessmodels,ReferMichaelPapazoglou,eBusinessOrganizational&Technical

Foundations


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IntegrationofApplications

e-BusinessIntegration(Patterns)

eBusinessIntegrationoccurs inasmanyformsasthereareeBusinesses.Atfirstglance, integrationproblemsand

the corresponding solutions are seldom identical. Yet, upon closer examination, you discover that integration

solutions can actually be classified into common categories. Each of these categories describes both a "type" of

integration problem as well as a solution method. These categories are called integration patterns. Integration

patternshelpyouunderstandthedifferentmethodsavailabletoyouforagiventypeofintegrationproblem.They

allowyoutotakeastepbackandunderstandthedifferences inthevariousscenariosandappreciatethedifferent

approaches to integration.Finally, theyallowyou toview"integration in thebigpicture."Youcan learn tobreak

downwhatmaybeacomplexintegrationintoconceptualcategoriesandunderstandwhichtechnologiestoapply.

WhatAreIntegrationPatterns?

Apatterniscommonlydefinedasareliablesampleoftraits,acts,tendencies,orotherobservablecharacteristics.In

softwaredevelopment,youmaybe familiarwith the ideaofdesignpatternsorprocesspatterns.Designpatterns

systematically describe object designs that can be employed for a common set of problems. Similarly, process

patternsdescribeprovenmethodsandprocessesused insoftwaredevelopment.Inpractice,patternsaresimplya

logical classification of commonly recurring actions, techniques, designs, or organizations. What are integration

patterns? Integrationpatternsemerge fromclassificationofstandardsolutions for integrationscenarios.Theyare

notpatternsofdesignorcode.Noraretheypatternsofoperationalprocesses foran integrationproject. Instead,

eachintegrationpatterndefinesatypeofintegrationproblem,asolutiontechnique,aswellasparametersapplied

foreBusinessIntegration.

FollowingaresevencommoneBusiness Integrationpatterns.Theyarenotmeant tobecomprehensive,butthey

covermostofthecommonintegrationscenariosimplementedtoday.TheyencompassbothEAIscenariosaswellas

B2Biscenarios:

EAI(intra

enterprise)

Patterns

1. DatabaseReplication

2. SingleStepApplicationIntegration

3. MultiStepApplicationIntegration

4. BrokeringApplication

B2Bi(interenterprise)Patterns

5. ApplicationtoApplicationB2Bi

6. DataExchangeB2Bi

7. B2BProcessIntegration

TheEAIPatterns representpatterns commonlyappliedwithina corporateenterprise,whereas theB2BiPatterns

representthedifferentmethods inconductingintegratedB2Btransactions.Thefollowingsectionsprovideacloser

lookateachofthesepatternsanddiscusssomeofthedetails.

DatabaseReplication

TheDatabaseReplicationpatternmaybethemostprevalentpatternofEAIintegrationtoday.Databasereplication

involvesmanagingcopiesofdataovertwoormoredatabases, resulting in redundantdata.Companiesengage in

databasereplicationfornumerousreasons.Onereasonisthatmanyorganizationsarebecomingmoredistributedin

their operations, requiringmultiple copies of the samedataover several physical locations.Replication is also a

means of data recovery. In many organizations, an active secondary database is maintained for data recovery

purposes.Intheeventthattheproductiondatabaseneedstoberecovered,thesecondaryreplicateddatabasecan

be used. This also applies for "high availability" systems. In these situations, a redundant copy of "live" data is


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maintainedtoensurethat ifthefirstsystem isnotavailable,theredundantdatabasesystem isactivated.Thetwo

generalcategoriesfordatabasereplicationaresynchronousandasynchronousreplication.

Single-StepApplicationIntegration

The SingleStep Application Integration (SSAI) pattern extends the asynchronous database replication pattern.

Instead of focusing on data consistency between two databases, the SSAI pattern integrates data between

applications,movingdatafromonecontexttoanother.Itdoessobytranslatingdatasyntaxofthesourcemessage

andreformattingdataelements intoanewtargetmessage. It is"singlestep"because itrequiresan intermediarybroker tomap sourcemessages to targetmessages. Typically, it is anextensionof the asynchronous replication

technology,inthatitutilizesMessageQueuingMiddlewaresuchasMQSeries.Itisjustaslikelytobeimplemented

withthelesssophisticatedFTPinabatchmode.Ineithercase,thepointisthatitdoesmorethansimplymovedata

frompointAtopointBforconsistencyssake.Whereas, inthereplicationpatternboththesourceandtargetdata

modelsarelikelysimilar,ifnotidenticalattimes,thisisnotnecessarilythecasefortheSSAIpattern.Theobjective

hereisnotdataconsistency,butapplicationdataintegration.

Multi-StepApplicationIntegration

The MultiStep Application Integration (MSAI) pattern is an extension of the SSAI pattern. MSAI enables the

integrationofn (source)tom (target)applications. Itaddressesmanytomany integration,whichSSAIcannot,byproviding what is known as sequential logical processing. In other words, steps in this pattern are processed

sequentially, and rules applied are Boolean logical in nature. Like the singlestep pattern, MSAI requires an

intermediarytobrokerthetransactionofdatabetweenapplications.Itisoftenbuiltaroundanasynchronousevent

based system and typically is implemented through the use of Message Queuing Middleware as well. The

asynchronouseventbasedapproachcreates loose coupling.Althougheach system isphysically independent, they

are logically dependent. In other words, interdependencies exist between the application events that can be

expressedintermsoftransformationsanddataintegrationrules.Dataelementsfromoneapplicationcandrivethe

retrievalorprocessingofmessages inanotherapplication.Thesimplestmultistepexample inFigure3.3 involves

threeapplications inwhichamessage fromapplicationA is combinedwithamessage fromapplicationB that is

reformattedforatargetapplicationC.ItiscommonforadataelementfromapplicationAtoactasakeytodrivethe

requestforinformationfromapplicationB.

BrokeringApplication

Attimes integrating twoapplications isnotprincipallyamatterof integratingdata,but integratingbusiness logic.

TheBrokeringApplicationpatternaddressestheuseofintermediaryapplication logicto linktogethertwoormore

applications.Inplainterms,itmeansthatcustomapplicationcodeiswrittencontaininglogictobrokerinteractions

between the disparate applications. This custom brokering application sits in the middle as an intermediary for

processingrequestsfromdifferentapplications

Theuseofthissolutionpatternisparticularlyapplicableinthescenariosbelow:

ApplicationsNeedtoReuseLogic

ApplicationsLinkedbyComplexLogic

ApplicationsUnifiedThroughUserInterface

Application-to-ApplicationB2Bi

Nowyou'rereadytomovebeyondEAItolearnaboutApplicationtoApplicationB2Bi,extendingintegrationbeyond

thecorporateenterprise. Iwilldescribe fouradditionalpatterns related specifically toB2B integration,beginning

firstwiththeApplicationtoApplicationB2Bipattern.TheApplicationtoApplicationpatternisthelogicalextension

ofwhatoccursinEAI.WhenEAIvendorstouttheirproductsasbeingB2Bi,thisspecificpatterniswhattheyhavein

mind.However,asyouwilldiscover, this isnot theonlypatternandvery likelynoteven theprimarypattern for

B2Bi.ApplicationtoApplicationB2Bi,which isoftenreferredtoas interenterprise integration, involvescorporate


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entitieslinkingtheirapplicationsdirectlytotheapplicationsoftheirpartnersorcustomers.Inpractice,thistypeof

integrationisoftenimplementedaspartofasupplychainofgoodsandservicestothecustomer.

Thisextensionforinterenterpriseintegrationmeansthatanumberofadditionalissuesneedtobeaccountedfor:

Security

FederatedControl

SystemsManagement

DataExchangeB2Bi

The limitation of theApplicationtoApplicationB2Bi pattern is that it can be more demanding to implement. It

necessitatesthateachparticipanthandlesandexternalizesapplicationnativedatadirectly.Thismakesitdifficultto

scaletheB2Binteractionmodelrapidlywhensuchademandisplacedontheparticipants.Theoptimalsolutionisto

providearapidlyscalableB2Bimodel inwhichparticipantscanexchangedatafreelywithminimalexpectationon

their infrastructure. The Data Exchange B2Bi pattern enables B2B transactions predicated on a common data

exchange format. It is themostwidelyappliedpattern forB2Bcommerce today.DataExchangeB2Bi iseffective

because it is simple in concept and has been in use since the days of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), the

forerunnertotodaysB2BovertheInternet.

AlthoughthereisasignificantincumbencyoflegacyEDItransactions,theXMLbasedB2BwillultimatelydisplaceEDI

as the primary mechanism for eBusiness transactions. XMLbased data packets are transmitted between two

business entities through the use of a data exchange gateway service on both ends. One of the primary

responsibilitiesofthegatewayserviceistopreparethedatapacketsbyplacingthemwithinasecurityenvelope.The

B2BgatewayservicesupportssecuritystandardssuchasMIME,X.509,andS/Key.It isalsoresponsibleforrouting

datathroughastandardtransport.MostB2BgatewayservicesprovidenumeroustransportoptionsincludingHTTPS,

FTP, and TCP/IP Sockets.However,uponexamination, youwill find thatmostB2Bi transactions stilldeliverXML

documentsoveranHTTPSpipe.

B2BProcess

Integration

Even with industrywide initiatives such as RosettaNet, a pointtopoint data exchange that manages static

interactionshassome limitations. IfCorporationAwants topurchaseofficesupplies fromDepotX, itmustagree

aheadoftimeonthecontentofthedocumentsexchangedandbuyingprocess.This is,ofcourse,tobeexpected.

However,what if thesituation involvesmanagingmultiplesuppliersor ifthe interactionsbecomemorecomplex?

Forinstance,ascenarioinwhichsuppliersopenlybidtocompeteonpricingwillincreasethedimensionsofprocess

interactions.Inthatcase,managingtheB2Btransactionisnolongeranactivityofmanagingasinglepointtopoint

interaction.Instead,itbecomesachallengeofmanagingbusinessprocessesthataredynamicratherthanstatic.

TheB2BProcessIntegrationpatterntakesthelimitationsraisedbytheDataExchangepatternandaddressesthem

byprovidingBusinessProcess Integration (BPI) services. Justas theDataExchangepatternallowsparticipants to

managedataexchangesdynamicallythroughXMLbaseddocuments,theB2BProcessIntegrationpatternallowsthe

participantstomanageprocessesinthesameway.

Therefore,richer,morecomplexrelationshipscanoccurbetweentradingpartners.B2BProcessIntegrationpattern

canbeimplementedasoneoftwovariations:ClosedProcessB2BiorOpenProcessB2Bi.Youmightarguethateach

ofthesevariationsconstitutesanindividualpattern,butbecausetheysharethecommonattributeofbeingprocess

focused,IhavedecidedtotreatthemasvariationstotheB2BProcessIntegrationpattern.

ApproachestoMiddleware

Middleware iscomputersoftwarethatconnectssoftwarecomponentsorsomepeopleandtheirapplications.Thesoftwareconsistsofasetofservicesthatallowsmultipleprocessesrunningononeormoremachinesto interact.

Thistechnologyevolvedtoprovideforinteroperabilityinsupportofthemovetocoherentdistributedarchitectures,


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which are most often used to support and simplify complex distributed applications. It includes web servers,

application servers,and similar tools that supportapplicationdevelopmentanddelivery.Middleware isespecially

integraltomoderninformationtechnologybasedonXML,SOAP,Webservices,andserviceorientedarchitecture.

Middlewaresits"inthemiddle"betweenapplicationsoftwarethatmaybeworkingondifferentoperatingsystems.

It issimilartothemiddle layerofathreetiersinglesystemarchitecture,exceptthat it isstretchedacrossmultiple

systemsor applications.Examples includeEAI software, telecommunications software, transactionmonitors, and

messagingandqueueingsoftware.

Thedistinctionbetweenoperating systemandmiddleware functionality is, to someextent,arbitrary.While core

kernelfunctionalitycanonlybeprovidedbytheoperatingsystem itself,somefunctionalitypreviouslyprovidedby

separately sold middleware is now integrated in operating systems. A typical example is the TCP/IP stack for

telecommunications,nowadaysincludedinvirtuallyeveryoperatingsystem.

Insimulationtechnology,middlewareisgenerallyusedinthecontextofthehighlevelarchitecture(HLA)thatapplies

tomanydistributedsimulations. It isa layerofsoftware that liesbetween theapplicationcodeand the runtime

infrastructure. Middleware generally consists of a library of functions, and enables a number of applications

simulationsorfederatesinHLAterminologytopagethesefunctionsfromthecommonlibraryratherthanrecreate

themforeachapplication

DefinitionofMiddleware

Software thatprovides a linkbetween separate softwareapplications.Middleware is sometimes calledplumbing

because it connects two applications and passes data between them. Middleware allows data contained in one

database to be accessed through another. This definition would fit enterprise application integration and data

integrationsoftware.

ObjectWebdefinesmiddlewareas:"Thesoftwarelayerthatliesbetweentheoperatingsystemandapplicationson

eachsideofadistributedcomputingsysteminanetwork."

Middlewareiscomputersoftwarethatconnectssoftwarecomponentsorapplications.Thesoftwareconsistsofaset

ofservicesthatallowsmultipleprocessesrunningononeormoremachinestointeract.Thistechnologyevolvedto

provideforinteroperabilityinsupportofthemovetocoherentdistributedarchitectures,whicharemostoftenused

tosupportandsimplifycomplex,distributedapplications.

It includesweb servers, application servers,and similar tools that supportapplicationdevelopmentanddelivery.

MiddlewareisespeciallyintegraltomoderninformationtechnologybasedonXML,SOAP,Webservices,andservice

orientedarchitecture.

Insimulationtechnology,middlewareisgenerallyusedinthecontextofthehighlevelarchitecture(HLA)thatapplies

tomanydistributed simulations. It isa layerofsoftware that liesbetween theapplicationcodeand the runtime

infrastructure. Middleware generally consists of a library of functions, and enables a number of applications

simulationsorfederatesinHLAterminologytopagethesefunctionsfromthecommonlibraryratherthanrecreate

themforeachapplication.

OriginofMiddleware

Middlewareisarelativelynewadditiontothecomputinglandscape.Itgainedpopularityinthe1980sasasolution

totheproblemofhowto linknewerapplicationstoolderlegacysystems,althoughthetermhadbeeninusesince

1968.Italsofacilitateddistributedprocessing,theconnectionofmultipleapplicationstocreatealargerapplication,

usuallyoveranetwork.


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Useofmiddleware

Middlewareservicesprovideamorefunctionalsetofapplicationprogramminginterfacestoallowanapplicationto

(whencomparedtotheoperatingsystemandnetworkservices.):

Locatetransparentlyacrossthenetwork,thusprovidinginteractionwithanotherserviceorapplication

Filterdatatomakethemfriendlyusableorpublicviaanonymizationprocessforprivacyprotection(for

example)

Beindependentfromnetworkservices Bereliableandalwaysavailable

Addcomplementaryattributeslikesemantics

Middleware offers some unique technological advantages for business and industry. For example, traditional

databasesystemsareusuallydeployed inclosedenvironmentswhereusersaccessthesystemonlyviaarestricted

networkorintranet(e.g.,anenterprise'sinternalnetwork).WiththephenomenalgrowthoftheWorldWideWeb,

users can access virtually any database for which they have proper access rights from anywhere in the world.

Middleware addresses the problem of varying levels of interoperability among different database structures.

Middleware facilitates transparentaccess to legacydatabasemanagement systems (DBMSs)orapplicationsvia a

webserverwithoutregardtodatabasespecificcharacteristics .

Businessesfrequentlyusemiddlewareapplicationstolinkinformationfromdepartmentaldatabases,suchaspayroll,

sales,andaccounting,ordatabaseshoused inmultiplegeographic locations. In thehighly competitivehealthcare

community, laboratoriesmake extensive use ofmiddleware applications for data mining, laboratory information

system (LIS)backup,and tocombinesystemsduringhospitalmergers.Middlewarehelpsbridge thegapbetween

separateLISsinanewlyformedhealthcarenetworkfollowingahospitalbuyout.

Wirelessnetworkingdeveloperscanusemiddlewaretomeetthechallengesassociatedwithwirelesssensornetwork

(WSN),orWSNtechnologies.ImplementingamiddlewareapplicationallowsWSNdeveloperstointegrateoperating

systemsandhardwarewiththewidevarietyofvariousapplicationsthatarecurrentlyavailable.

Middlewarecanhelpsoftwaredevelopersavoidhavingtowriteapplicationprogramminginterfaces(API)forevery

controlprogram,by serving as an independentprogramming interface for their applications. ForFuture Internet

network operation through traffic monitoring in multidomain scenarios, using mediator tools (middleware) is a

powerfulhelpsincetheyallowoperators,searchersandserviceproviderstosuperviseQualityofserviceandanalyse

eventualfailuresintelecommunicationservices.

Finally,ecommerceusesmiddlewaretoassistinhandlingrapidandsecuretransactionsovermanydifferenttypesof

computer environments. In short,middlewarehas become a criticalelement across abroad rangeof industries,

thankstoitsabilitytobringtogetherresourcesacrossdissimilarnetworksorcomputingplatforms.

Typesofmiddleware

Hurwitz's classification system organizes the many types of middleware that are currently available. These

classificationsarebasedonscalabilityandrecoverability:

Remote Procedure Call Client makes calls to procedures running on remote systems. Can be

asynchronousorsynchronous.

MessageOrientedMiddlewareMessages sent to the clientare collectedand storeduntil theyare

actedupon,whiletheclientcontinueswithotherprocessing.

ObjectRequestBrokerThistypeofmiddlewaremakesitpossibleforapplicationstosendobjectsand

requestservicesinanobjectorientedsystem. SQLorientedDataAccessmiddlewarebetweenapplicationsanddatabaseservers.


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Embedded Middleware communication services and integration interface software/firmware that

operatesbetweenembeddedapplicationsandtherealtimeoperatingsystem.

Othersourcesincludetheseadditionalclassifications:

Transaction processing monitors Provides tools and an environment to develop and deploy

distributedapplications.

Application servers software installed on a computer to facilitate the serving (running) of other

applications.

EnterpriseServiceBusAnabstractionlayerontopofanEnterpriseMessagingSystem.

RPC

In computer science, a remote procedure call (RPC) is an interprocess communication that allows a computer

programtocauseasubroutineorproceduretoexecuteinanotheraddressspace(commonlyonanothercomputer

onasharednetwork)withouttheprogrammerexplicitlycodingthedetailsforthisremote interaction.That is,the

programmerwritesessentiallythesamecodewhetherthesubroutineislocaltotheexecutingprogram,orremote.

Whenthesoftware inquestionusesobjectorientedprinciples,RPC iscalledremote invocationorremotemethod

invocation.Notethattherearemanydifferent(oftenincompatible)technologiescommonlyusedtoaccomplishthis.

Historyand

origins

TheideaofRPC(RemoteProcedureCall)goesbackatleastasfaras1976,whenitwasdescribedinRFC707.Oneof

thefirstbusinessusesofRPCwasbyXeroxunderthename"Courier"in1981.Thefirstpopularimplementationof

RPC on Unix was Sun's RPC (now called ONC RPC), used as the basis for NFS (Sun). Another early Unix

implementationwasApolloComputer'sNetworkComputingSystem(NCS).NCSlaterwasusedasthefoundationof

DCE/RPCintheOSF'sDistributedComputingEnvironment(DCE).AdecadelaterMicrosoftadoptedDCE/RPCasthe

basisoftheMicrosoftRPC(MSRPC)mechanism,andimplementedDCOMontopofit.Aroundthesametime(mid

90's), Xerox PARC's ILU, and the Object Management Group's CORBA, offered another RPC paradigm based on

distributedobjectswithaninheritancemechanism.

Messagepassing

AnRPC is initiatedbytheclient,whichsendsarequestmessagetoaknownremoteservertoexecuteaspecified

procedure with supplied parameters. The remote server sends a response to the client, and the application

continuesitsprocess.Therearemanyvariationsandsubtletiesinvariousimplementations,resultinginavarietyof

different(incompatible)RPCprotocols.Whiletheserverisprocessingthecall,theclientisblocked(itwaitsuntilthe

serverhasfinishedprocessingbeforeresumingexecution).Animportantdifferencebetweenremoteprocedurecalls

andlocalcallsisthatremotecallscanfailbecauseofunpredictablenetworkproblems.Also,callersgenerallymust

deal with such failures without knowing whether the remote procedure was actually invoked. Idempotent

procedures (those that have no additional effects if called more than once) are easily handled, but enough

difficultiesremainthatcodetocallremoteproceduresisoftenconfinedtocarefullywrittenlowlevelsubsystems.

ThestepsinmakingaRPC

1. TheclientcallingtheClientstub.Thecallisalocalprocedurecall,withparameterspushedontothestackin

thenormalway.

2. The client stub packing the parameters into a message and making a system call to send the message.

Packingtheparametersiscalledmarshaling.

3. Thekernelsendingthemessagefromtheclientmachinetotheservermachine.

4. Thekernelpassingtheincomingpacketstotheserverstub.

5. Finally,theserverstubcallingtheserverprocedure.Thereplytracesthesameinotherdirection.


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Standardcontactmechanisms

Toletdifferentclientsaccessservers,anumberofstandardizedRPCsystemshavebeencreated. Mostoftheseuse

an interface description language (IDL) to let various platforms call the RPC. The IDL files can then be used to

generatecodetointerfacebetweentheclientandserver.ThemostcommontoolusedforthisisRPCGEN.

OtherRPCanalogues

RPCanaloguesfoundelsewhere:

Java's JavaRemoteMethod Invocation (JavaRMI)APIprovidessimilar functionality tostandard UNIX

RPC

methods.

Modula3'sNetworkObjects,whichwerethebasisforJava'sRMI

XMLRPCisanRPCprotocolthatusesXMLtoencodeitscallsandHTTPasatransportmechanism.

Microsoft .NET Remoting offers RPC facilities for distributed systems implemented on the Windows

platform.

RPyCimplementsRPCmechanismsinPython,withsupportforasynchronouscalls.

PyroObjectOrientedformofRPCforPython.

Etch(protocol)frameworkforbuildingnetworkservices. Facebook'sThriftprotocolandframework.

CORBAprovidesremoteprocedureinvocationthroughanintermediatelayercalledthe"ObjectRequest

Broker"

DRballowsRubyprograms tocommunicatewitheachotheronthesamemachineoroveranetwork.

DRbuses

remotemethodinvocation(RMI)topasscommandsanddatabetweenprocesses.

AMFallowsFlexapplicationstocommunicatewithbackendsorotherapplicationsthatsupportAMF.

LibeventprovidesaframeworkforcreatingRPCserversandclients.

WindowsCommunicationFoundationisanapplication

RMI

The JavaRemoteMethod InvocationApplication Programming Interface (API), or JavaRMI, is a Java application

programminginterfacethatperformstheobjectorientedequivalentofremoteprocedurecalls(RPC).

1. TheoriginalimplementationdependsonJavaVirtualMachine(JVM)classrepresentationmechanismsandit

thus only supports making calls from one JVM to another. The protocol underlying this Javaonly

implementationisknownasJavaRemoteMethodProtocol(JRMP).

2. InordertosupportcoderunninginanonJVMcontext,aCORBAversionwaslaterdeveloped.



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UsageofthetermRMImaydenotesolelytheprogramminginterfaceormaysignifyboththeAPIandJRMP,whereas

the term RMIIIOP (read: RMI over IIOP) denotes the RMI interface delegating most of the functionality to the

supportingCORBAimplementation.

Theprogrammersof theoriginalRMIAPI generalized the code somewhat to supportdifferent implementations,

suchasaHTTP transport.Additionally, theability topassarguments "byvalue"wasadded toCORBA inorder to

supporttheRMIinterface.Still,theRMIIIOPandJRMPimplementationsdonothavefullyidenticalinterfaces.

RMI functionality comes in the packagejava.rmi, while most of Sun's implementation is located in the sun.rmi

package.NotethatwithJavaversionsbeforeJava5.0developershadtocompileRMIstubsinaseparatecompilation

stepusingrmic.Version5.0ofJavaandbeyondnolongerrequirethisstep.

Jini offers amore advanced version ofRMI in Java. It functions similarly but provides more advanced searching

capabilitiesandmechanismsfordistributedobjectapplications.

Example

The following classes implement a simple clientserver program using RMI that displays a message. RmiServer

classListens to RMI requests and implements the interface which is used by the client to invoke remote

methods.

importjava.rmi.Naming;importjava.rmi.RemoteException;importjava.rmi.RMISecurityManager;importjava.rmi.server.UnicastRemoteObject;importjava.rmi.registry.*;public class RmiServer extends UnicastRemoteObjectimplements RmiServerIntf{static public final String MESSAGE = "Hello world";public RmiServer() throws RemoteException{super();}public String getMessage(){return MESSAGE;}public static void main(String args[]){System.out.println("RMI server started");// Create and install a security managerif (System.getSecurityManager() == null){System.setSecurityManager(new RMISecurityManager());System.out.println("Security manager installed.");}elseSystem.out.println("Security manager already exists.");try//special exception handler for registry creation{LocateRegistry.createRegistry(1099);System.out.println("java RMI registry created.");}catch (RemoteException e){//do nothing, error means registry already existsSystem.out.println("java RMI registry already exists.");}try{


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//Instantiate RmiServerRmiServer obj = new RmiServer();// Bind

E-Com Notes (Chapters 6-9)

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