GLOSSARY

1G The first generation of wireless technology, which wasanalog based.

2G The second generation of digital wireless technology;accommodates voice and text.

2.5G An interim wireless technology that can accommo-date voice, text, and limited graphics.

3G The third generation of digital wireless technology;supports rich media such as video.

4G The expected next generation of wireless technologythat will provide faster display of multimedia.

802.11a This Wi-Fi standard is faster than 802.11b buthas a smaller range.

802.11b The most popular Wi-Fi standard; it is inexpen-sive and offers sufficient speed for most devices.However, interference can be a problem.

802.11g This fast but expensive Wi-Fi standard is mostlyused in businesses.

access control Mechanism that determines who canlegitimately use a network resource.

active tokens Small, stand-alone electronic devices thatgenerate one-time passwords used in a two-factorauthentication system.

ad management Methodology and software that enableorganizations to perform a variety of activities involvedin Web advertising (e.g., tracking viewers, rotating ads).

ad views The number of times users call up a page that hasa banner on it during a specific time period; known asimpressions or page views.

Address Verification System (AVS) Detects fraud bycomparing the address entered on a Web page with theaddress information on file with cardholder’s issuing bank.

admediaries Third-party vendors that conduct promo-tions, especially large-scale ones.

advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems Pro-grams that use algorithms to identify optimal solutions tocomplex planning problems that are bound by constraints.

advertising networks Specialized firms that offer cus-tomized Web advertising, such as brokering ads and tar-geting ads to select groups of consumers.

advertorial An advertisement “disguised” to look like edi-torial content or general information.

affiliate marketing An arrangement whereby a marketingpartner (a business, an organization, or even an individ-ual) refers consumers to the selling company’s Web site.

agency costs Costs incurred in ensuring that the agent per-forms tasks as expected (also called administrative costs).

agility An EC firm’s ability to capture, report, and quicklyrespond to changes happening in the marketplace.

angel investor A wealthy individual who contributes per-sonal funds and possibly expertise at the earliest stage ofbusiness development.

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application service provider (ASP) An agent or ven-dor who assembles the functions needed by enterprisesand packages them with outsourced development, opera-tion, maintenance, and other services.

application-level proxy A firewall that permits requestsfor Web pages to move from the public Internet to theprivate network.

associated ad display (text links) An advertising strat-egy that displays a banner ad related to a term entered ina search engine.

attractors Web site features that attract and interact withvisitors in the target stakeholder group.

auction A competitive process in which a seller solicitsconsecutive bids from buyers (forward auctions) or abuyer solicits bids from sellers (backward auctions).Prices are determined dynamically by the bids.

auction aggregators Companies that use software agentsto visit Web auction sites, find information, and deliver itto users.

auction vortals Another name for a vertical auction portal.

auditing The process of collecting information aboutattempts to access particular resources, use particularprivileges, or perform other security actions.

authentication The process by which one entity verifiesthat another entity is who he, she, or it claims to be.

authorization The process that ensures that a person hasthe right to access certain resources. With regards tocredit or debit cards, the process of determining whethera buyer’s card is active and whether the customer has suf-ficient funds.

Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network Anationwide batch-oriented electronic funds transfer sys-tem that provides for the interbank clearing of electronicpayments for participating financial institutions.

automatic crash notification (ACN) Device that auto-matically sends the police the location of a vehicle thathas been involved in a crash.

autoresponders Automated e-mail reply systems (textfiles returned via e-mail) that provide answers to com-monly asked questions.

avatars Animated computer characters that exhibit human-like movements and behaviors.

average-cost curve (AVC) Behavior of average costs asquantity changes; generally, as quantity increases, averagecosts decline.

B2B portals Information portals for businesses.

back end The activities that support online order-taking.It includes fulfillment, inventory management, purchas-ing from suppliers, payment processing, packaging, anddelivery.

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back-office operations The activities that support ful-fillment of sales, such as accounting and logistics.

balanced scorecard method Analysis of a variety ofmatrices (finance, internal operations, agility, customeropinions) for evaluating the overall health of an organi-zation or for assessing organizational progress towardstrategic goals.

bandwidth The speed at which content can be deliveredacross a network; it is rated in bits per second (bps).

banner On a Web page, a graphic advertising displaylinked to the advertiser’s Web page.

banner exchanges Markets in which companies can tradeor exchange placement of banner ads on each other’sWeb sites.

banner swapping An agreement between two companiesto each display the other’s banner ad on its Web site.

bartering The exchange of goods or services.

bartering exchange An intermediary that links parties ina barter; a company submits its surplus to the exchangeand receives points of credit, which can be used to buythe items that the company needs from other exchangeparticipants.

bastion gateway A special hardware server that utilizesapplication-level proxy software to limit the types ofrequests that can be passed to an organization’s internalnetworks from the public Internet.

behavioral biometrics Measurements derived from vari-ous actions and indirectly from various body parts (e.g.,voice scans or keystroke monitoring).

bid shielding Having phantom bidders bid at a very highprice when an auction begins; they pull out at the lastminute, and the bidder who bid a much lower price wins.

biometric systems Authentication systems that identify aperson by measurement of a biological characteristic,such as fingerprints, iris (eye) patterns, facial features, orvoice.

Blackberry A handheld device principally used for e-mail.

blog A personal Web site that is open to the public to readand to interact with; dedicated to specific topics orissues.

Bluetooth A set of telecommunications standards thatenables wireless devices to communication with eachother over short distances.

brick-and-mortar organizations Old-economy orga-nizations (corporations) that perform most of their busi-ness off-line, selling physical products by means of physi-cal agents.

brick-and-mortar retailers Retailers who do business inthe non-Internet, physical world in traditional brick-and-mortar stores.

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build-to-order (pull system) A manufacturing processthat starts with an order (usually customized). Once theorder is paid for, the vendor starts to fulfill it.

bullwhip effect Erratic shifts in orders up and down sup-ply chains.

bundle trading The selling of several related productsand/or services together.

business case A document that is used to justify theinvestment of internal, organizational resources in a newinitiative or project inside an existing organization.

business model A method of doing business by which acompany can generate revenue to sustain itself.

business plan A written document that identifies thecompany’s goals and outlines how the company intendsto achieve those goals and at what cost.

business process reengineering (BPR) A methodol-ogy for conducting a comprehensive redesign of anenterprise’s processes.

business-to-business (B2B) E-commerce model inwhich all of the participants are businesses or otherorganizations.

business-to-business e-commerce (B2B EC) Trans-actions between businesses conducted electronically overthe Internet, extranets, intranets, or private networks;also known as eB2B (electronic B2B) or just B2B.

business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C)E-commerce model in which a business provides someproduct or service to a client business that maintains itsown customers.

business-to-consumer (B2C) E-commerce model inwhich businesses sell to individual shoppers.

business-to-employee (B2E) E-commerce model inwhich an organization delivers services, information, orproducts to its individual employees.

buy-side e-marketplace A corporate-based acquisitionsite that uses reverse auctions, negotiations, group pur-chasing, or any other e-procurement method.

card verification number (CVN) Detects fraud bycomparing the verification number printed on the signa-ture strip on the back of the credit or debit card with theinformation on file with the cardholder’s issuing bank.

card-not-present (CNP) transaction A credit cardtransaction in which the merchant does not verify thecustomer’s signature.

certificate authorities (CAs) Third parties that issuedigital certificates.

channel conflict Situation in which an online marketingchannel upsets the traditional channels due to real orperceived damage from competition.

chat group A portion of the Web site where visitors cancommunicate synchronously.

chatterbots Animation characters that can talk (chat).

758 Glossary

ciphertext A plaintext message after it has been encryptedinto a machine-readable form.

click (click-through or ad click) A count made eachtime a visitor clicks on an advertising banner to accessthe advertiser ’s Web site.

click-and-mortar (click-and-brick) organizationsOrganizations that conduct some e-commerce activities,but do their primary business in the physical world.

click-and-mortar retailers Brick-and-mortar retailersthat offer a transactional Web site from which to conductbusiness.

click-through rate (or ratio) The ratio between thenumber of clicks on a banner ad and the number of timesit is seen by viewers; measures the success of a banner inattracting visitors to click on the ad.

clickstream behavior Customer movements on theInternet.

clickstream data Data that occur inside the Web envi-ronment; they provide a trail of the user’s activities (theuser’s clickstream behavior) in the Web site.

codecs The compression algorithms that are used toencode audio and video streams; short for compression anddecompression.

collaboration hub The central point of control for an e-market. A single c-hub, representing one e-marketowner, can host multiple collaboration spaces (c-spaces)in which trading partners use c-enablers to exchangedata with the c-hub.

collaborative commerce (c-commerce) E-commercemodel in which individuals or groups communicate orcollaborate online through the use of digital technologiesthat enable companies to collaboratively plan, design,develop, manage, and research products, services, andinnovative EC applications.

collaborative filtering A personalization method thatuses customer data to predict, based on formulas derivedfrom behavioral sciences, what other products or servicesa customer may enjoy; predictions can be extended toother customers with similar profiles.

collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenish-ment (CPFR) Project in which suppliers and retailerscollaborate in their planning and demand forecasting tooptimize flow of materials along the supply chain.

collaborative portals Portals that enable collaboration.

collaborative Web site A site that allows business part-ners to collaborate.

co-location A Web server owned and maintained by thebusiness is placed in the hands of a Web hosting servicethat manages the server’s connection to the Internet.

commodity content Information that is widely availableand generally free to access on the Web.

common (security) vulnerabilities and exposures(CVEs) Publicly known computer security risks, which

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are collected, listed, and shared by a board of security-related organizations (cve.mitre.org).

co-opetition Two or more companies cooperate togetheron some activities for their mutual benefit, even whilecompeting against each other in the marketplace.

Common Electronic Purse Specification (CEPS)Standards governing the operation and interoperabilityof e-purse offerings.

Compact Hypertext Markup Language (cHTML)A scripting language used to create content in i-mode.

company-centric EC E-commerce that focuses on a sin-gle company’s buying needs (many-to-one, or buy-side)or selling needs (one-to-many, or sell-side).

competitive forces model Model, devised by Porter, thatsays that five major forces of competition determine indus-try structure and how economic value is divided among theindustry players in an industry; analysis of these forceshelps companies develop their competitive strategy.

competitor analysis grid A strategic planning tool thathighlights points of differentiation between competitorsand the target firm.

complementary investments Additional investments,such as training, made to maximize the returns from ECinvestments.

Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT)Group of three teams at Carnegie Mellon Universitythat monitor the incidence of cyber attacks, analyze vul-nerabilities, and provide guidance on protecting againstattacks.

Computer Security Institute (CSI) Nonprofit organi-zation located in San Francisco, California, that is dedi-cated to serving and training information, computer, andnetwork security professionals.

confidentiality Keeping private or sensitive informationfrom being disclosed to unauthorized individuals, enti-ties, or processes.

consortium trading exchange (CTE) An exchangeformed and operated by a group of major companies toprovide industrywide transaction services.

consumer-to-business (C2B) E-commerce model inwhich individuals use the Internet to sell products or ser-vices to organizations or individuals seek sellers to bid onproducts or services they need.

consumer-to-consumer (C2C) E-commerce model inwhich consumers sell directly to other consumers.

contact card A smart card containing a small gold plateon the face that when inserted in a smart card readermakes contact and passes data to and from the embeddedmicrochip.

contactless (proximity) card A smart card with an embed-ded antenna, by means of which data and applications arepassed to and from a card reader unit or other device with-out contact between the card and the card reader.

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content The text, images, sound, and video that make up aWeb page.

content management The process of adding, revising,and removing content from a Web site to keep contentfresh, accurate, compelling, and credible.

contextual computing The enhancement of a user’sinteractions by understanding the user, the context, andthe applications and information required.

conversion rate The percentage of site visitors who actu-ally make a purchase.

cookie A data file that is placed on a user’s hard drive by aWeb server, frequently without disclosure or the user’sconsent, that collects information about the user’s activi-ties at a site.

copyright An exclusive grant from the government thatallows the owner to reproduce a work, in whole or inpart, and to distribute, perform, or display it to the publicin any form or manner, including over the Internet.

corporate (enterprise) portal A major gateway throughwhich employees, business partners, and the public canenter a corporate Web site.

cost-benefit analysis A comparison of the costs of a pro-ject against the benefits.

CPM (cost per thousand impressions) The fee anadvertiser pays for each 1,000 times a page with a bannerad is shown.

cross-selling Offering similar or related products and ser-vices to increase sales.

customer interaction center (CIC) A comprehensiveservice entity in which EC vendors address customer-service issues communicated through various contactchannels.

customer relationship management (CRM) A cus-tomer service approach that focuses on building long-term and sustainable customer relationships that addvalue both for the customer and the company.

customer-to-customer (C2C) E-commerce in whichboth the buyer and the seller are individuals, not businesses;involves activities such as auctions and classified ads.

customization Creation of a product or service accordingto the buyer’s specifications.

cyberbashing The registration of a domain name thatcriticizes an organization or person.

cybermediation (electronic intermediation) The useof software (intelligent) agents to facilitate intermediation.

cybersquatting The practice of registering domain namesin order to sell them later at a higher price.

cycle time reduction Shortening the time it takes for abusiness to complete a productive activity from its begin-ning to end.

dashboard A single view that provides the status of multi-ple metrics.

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data conferencing Virtual meeting in which geographi-cally dispersed groups work on documents together andexchange computer files during videoconferences.

Data Encryption Standard (DES) The standard sym-metric encryption algorithm supported by the NIST andused by U.S. government agencies until October 2, 2000.

data warehouse A single, server-based data repositorythat allows centralized analysis, security, and control overthe data.

deep linking Entry into a Web site via the site’s interiorpages, not the homepage, typically through searchengines or external links.

demilitarized zone (DMZ) Network area that sitsbetween an organization’s internal network and an exter-nal network (Internet), providing physical isolationbetween the two networks that is controlled by rulesenforced by a firewall.

denial-of-service (DoS) attack An attack on a Website in which an attacker uses specialized software tosend a flood of data packets to the target computer withthe aim of overloading its resources.

desktop purchasing Direct purchasing from internalmarketplaces without the approval of supervisors andwithout the intervention of a procurement department.

differentiation Providing a product or service that isunique.

digital certificate Verification that the holder of a publicor private key is who he or she claims to be.

digital divide The gap between those who have and thosewho do not have the ability to access electronic technol-ogy in general, and the Internet and EC in particular.

digital economy An economy that is based on digitaltechnologies, including digital communication networks,computers, software, and other related information tech-nologies; also called the Internet economy, the new econ-omy, or the Web economy.

digital envelope The combination of the encrypted origi-nal message and the digital signature, using the recipi-ent’s public key.

digital options A set of IT-enabled capabilities in theform of digitized enterprise work processes and knowl-edge systems.

digital products Goods that can be transformed to digitalformat and delivered over the Internet.

digital signature An identifying code that can be used toauthenticate the identity of the sender of a document.

digital watermarks Unique identifiers embedded in digi-tal content that make it possible to identify piratedworks.

direct marketing Broadly, marketing that takes placewithout intermediaries between manufacturers and buy-ers; in the context of this book, marketing done onlinebetween any seller and buyer.

760 Glossary

direct materials Materials used in the production of aproduct (e.g., steel in a car or paper in a book).

disintermediation The removal of organizations or busi-ness process layers responsible for certain intermediarysteps in a given supply chain.

distance learning Formal education that takes place offcampus, usually, but not always, through online resources.

distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack Adenial-of-service attack in which the attacker gains ille-gal administrative access to as many computers on theInternet as possible and uses the multiple computers tosend a flood of data packets to the target computer.

domain name The name used to reference particularcomputers on the Internet; the name is divided into seg-ments separated by periods.

domain name registrar A business that assists prospec-tive Web site owners with finding and registering thedomain name of their choice.

dotted-quad addressing The format in which Internetaddresses are written as four sets of numbers separated byperiods.

double auction Auction in which multiple buyers andsellers may be making bids and offers simultaneously;buyers and their bidding prices and sellers and their ask-ing prices are matched, considering the quantities onboth sides.

dynamic pricing A rapid movement of prices over time,and possibly across customers, as a result of supply anddemand.

dynamic trading Exchange trading that occurs in situa-tions when prices are being determined by supply anddemand (e.g., in auctions).

dynamic Web content Content that is updated infrequently.

e-bartering Bartering conducted online, usually by a bar-tering exchange.

e-book A book in digital form that can be read on a com-puter screen or on a special device.

e-business A broader definition of EC that includes notjust the buying and selling of goods and services, but alsoservicing customers, collaborating with business part-ners, and conducting electronic transactions within anorganization.

e-check A legally valid electronic version or representationof a paper check.

e-commerce (EC) risk The likelihood that a negativeoutcome will occur in the course of developing and oper-ating an electronic commerce strategy.

e-commerce strategy (e-strategy) The formulationand execution of a vision of how a new or existing com-pany intends to do business electronically.

e-co-ops Another name for online group purchasingorganizations.

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e-distributor An e-commerce intermediary that connectsmanufacturers (suppliers) with business buyers by aggre-gating the catalogs of many suppliers in one place—theintermediary’s Web site.

e-government E-commerce model in which a govern-ment entity buys or provides goods, services, or informa-tion to businesses or individual citizens.

e-grocer A grocer that takes orders online and providesdeliveries on a daily or other regular schedule or within avery short period of time.

e-learning The online delivery of information for pur-poses of education, training, or knowledge management.

e-logistics The logistics of EC systems, typically involvingsmall parcels sent to many customers’ homes (in B2C).

e-loyalty Customer loyalty to an e-tailer.

e-mail discussion list A group of people who share acommon interest and who communicate with each othervia e-mail messages managed by e-mail list software.

e-mall (online mall) An online shopping center wheremany online stores are located.

e-marketplace An online market, usually B2B, in whichbuyers and sellers exchange goods or services; the threetypes of e-marketplaces are private, public, and consortia.

e-micropayments Small online payments, typicallyunder US$10.

e-newsletter A collection of short, informative articlessent at regular intervals by e-mail to individuals whohave an interest in the newsletter’s topic.

e-procurement The electronic acquisition of goods andservices for organizations.

e-purse Smart card application that loads money from acard holder’s bank account onto the smart card’s chip.

e-sourcing The process and tools that electronicallyenable any activity in the sourcing process, such as quota-tion/tender submittance and response, e-auctions, onlinenegotiations, and spending analyses.

e-supply chain A supply chain that is managed electroni-cally, usually with Web technologies.

e-supply chain management (e-SCM) The collabora-tive use of technology to improve the operations of sup-ply chain activities as well as the management of supplychains.

e-tailers Retailers who sell over the Internet.

e-tailing Online retailing, usually B2C.

e-zines Electronic magazine or newsletter delivered overthe Internet via e-mail.

eCRM Customer relationship management conductedelectronically.

edutainment The combination of education and enter-tainment, often through games.

Glossary 761

elasticity The measure of the incremental spending bybuyers as a result of the savings generated.

electronic auctions (e-auctions) Auctions conductedonline.

electronic banking (e-banking) Various banking activi-ties conducted from home or the road using an Internetconnection; also known as cyberbanking, virtual banking,online banking, and home banking.

electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP)Presenting and enabling payment of a bill online. Usuallyrefers to a B2C transaction.

electronic catalogs The presentation of product in-formation in an electronic form; the backbone of most e-selling sites.

electronic commerce (EC) The process of buying, sell-ing, or exchanging products, services, or information viacomputer networks.

electronic data interchange (EDI) The electronictransfer of specially formatted standard business docu-ments, such as bills, orders, and confirmations, sentbetween business partners.

electronic discussion (e-forum) A portion of the Web sitewhere visitors can post questions, comments, and answers.

electronic market (e-marketplace) An online market-place where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods,services, money, or information.

Electronic Product Code (EPC) An RFID code thatidentifies the manufacturer, producer, version, and serialnumber of individual consumer products.

electronic retailing (e-tailing) Retailing conductedonline, over the Internet.

electronic shopping cart An order-processing technol-ogy that allows customers to accumulate items they wishto buy while they continue to shop.

electronic voting Voting process that involves many stepsranging from registering, preparing, voting, and counting(voting and counting are all done electronically).

encryption The process of scrambling (encrypting) amessage in such a way that it is difficult, expensive, ortime-consuming for an unauthorized person to unscram-ble (decrypt) it.

encryption algorithm The mathematical formula used toencrypt the plaintext into the ciphertext, and vice versa.

Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS) An extension ofSMS that can send simple animation, tiny pictures,sounds, and formatted text.

enterprise invoice presentment and payment(EIPP) Presenting and paying B2B invoices online.

ethics The branch of philosophy that deals with what isconsidered to be right and wrong.

exchanges (electronic) Many-to-many e-marketplaces,usually owned and run by a third party or a consortium, inwhich many buyers and many sellers meet electronically

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to trade with each other; also called trading communities,or trading exchanges.

exchange-to-exchange (E2E) E-commerce model inwhich electronic exchanges formally connect to oneanother for the purpose of exchanging information.

expert location systems Interactive computerized systemsthat help employees find and connect with colleagues whohave expertise required for specific problems—whetherthey are across the country or across the room—in order tosolve specific, critical business problems in seconds.

Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (xHTML)A general scripting language; compatible with HTML;set by W3 Consortium.

Extensible Markup Language (XML) Standard (andits variants) used to improve compatibility between thedisparate systems of business partners by defining themeaning of data in business documents.

external Web site development When the businesshires another firm to build and/or maintain the Web site.

extranet A network that uses a virtual private network(VPN) to link intranets in different locations over theInternet; an “extended intranet.”

FAQ page A Web page that lists questions that are fre-quently asked by customers and the answers to thosequestions.

fingerprint scanning Measurement of the discontinu-ities of a person’s fingerprint, which are then converted toa set of numbers that are stored as a template and used toauthenticate identity.

firewall A network node consisting of both hardware andsoftware that isolates a private network from a publicnetwork.

forward auction An auction in which a seller offers aproduct to many potential buyers.

frame An HTML element that divides the browser win-dow into two or more separate windows.

front end The portion of an e-seller’s business processesthrough which customers interact, including the seller’sportal, electronic catalogs, a shopping cart, a searchengine, and a payment gateway.

front-office operations The business processes, such assales and advertising, that are visible to customers.

geographical information system (GIS) An informa-tion system that integrates GPS data onto digitized mapdisplays.

global positioning system (GPS) A worldwide satellite-based tracking system that enables users to determinetheir position anywhere on the earth.

Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)An open, nonproprietary standard for mobile voice anddata communications.

government-to-business (G2B) E-government cate-gory that includes interactions between governments and

762 Glossary

businesses (government selling to businesses and provid-ing them with services and businesses selling productsand services to government).

government-to-citizens (G2C) E-government cate-gory that includes all the interactions between a govern-ment and its citizens.

government-to-employees (G2E) E-government cate-gory that includes activities and services between govern-ment units and their employees.

government-to-government (G2G) E-governmentcategory that includes activities within government unitsand those between governments.

grid computing A form of distributed computing thatinvolves coordinating and sharing computing, applica-tion, data, storage, or network resources across dynamicand geographically dispersed organizations.

group decision support system (GDSS) An interac-tive computer-based system that facilitates the solutionof semistructured and unstructured problems by a groupof decision makers.

group purchasing Quantity purchasing that enablesgroups of purchasers to obtain a discount price on theproducts purchased.

groupware Software products that use networks to sup-port collaboration among groups of people who share acommon task or goal.

hash A mathematical computation that is applied to amessage, using a private key, to encrypt the message.

hit A request for data from a Web page or file.

honeynet A way to evaluate vulnerabilities of an organiza-tion by studying the types of attacks to which a site issubjected using a network of systems called honeypots.

honeypots Production systems (e.g., firewalls, routers, Webservers, database servers) designed to do real work but thatare watched and studied as network intrusions occur.

horizontal exchange An exchange that handles materialsused by companies in different industries.

horizontal marketplaces Markets that concentrate on aservice, materials, or a product that is used in all types ofindustries (e.g., office supplies, PCs).

hotspot An area or point where a wireless laptop or PDAcan make a connection to a wireless local area network.

hypermediation Extensive use of both human and elec-tronic intermediation to provide assistance in all phasesof an e-commerce venture.

hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) A lightweightcommunication protocol that enables Web browsers andWeb servers to converse with one another; of its sevencommands, GET and POST make up the majority ofrequests issued by browsers.

identity theft A criminal act in which someone presentshimself (herself ) as another person and uses that person’ssocial security number, bank account numbers, and so on,

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to obtain loans, purchase items, make obligations, sellstocks, etc.

incubator A company, university, or nonprofit organiza-tion that supports businesses in their initial stages ofdevelopment.

indirect materials Materials used to support production(e.g., office supplies or light bulbs).

infomediaries Electronic intermediaries that controlinformation flow in cyberspace, often aggregating infor-mation and selling it to others.

information architecture How the site and its Webpages are organized, labeled, and navigated to supportbrowsing and searching throughout the Web site.

information economics An approach similar to the con-cept of critical success factors in that it focuses on key orga-nizational objectives, including intangible financial benefits,impacts on the business domain, and impacts on IT itself.

information intelligence Information, data, knowledge,and semantic infrastructure that enable organizations tocreate more business applications.

information portal A single point of access through aWeb browser to business information inside and/or out-side an organization.

informational Web site A Web site that does little morethan provide information about the business and itsproducts and services.

integrity As applied to data, the ability to protect datafrom being altered or destroyed in an unauthorized oraccidental manner.

intellectual property Creations of the mind, such asinventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols,names, images, and designs, used in commerce.

interactive marketing Online marketing, enabled by theInternet, in which advertisers can interact directly withcustomers and consumers can interact with advertisers/vendors.

interactive voice response (IVR) A computer voicesystem that enables users to request and receive informa-tion and to enter and change data through a telephone.

interactive Web site A Web site that provides opportu-nities for the customers and the business to communicateand share information.

intermediary A third party that operates between sellersand buyers.

internal procurement marketplace The aggregatedcatalogs of all approved suppliers combined into a singleinternal electronic catalog.

internal Web site development The process of build-ing and/or maintaining the Web site with company staff.

Internet A public, global communications network thatprovides direct connectivity to anyone over a LAN via anISP or directly via an ISP.

Glossary 763

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names andNumbers (ICANN) Nonprofit organization thatmanages various technical and policy issues relating tothe Internet that require central coordination; it has noregulatory or statutory power.

Internet ecosystem The business model of the Interneteconomy.

Internet radio A Web site that provides music, talk, andother entertainment, both live and stored, from a varietyof radio stations.

Internet service providers (ISPs) Companies that pro-vide Internet delivery subnetworks at the local andregional level.

Internet2 The next generation of the Internet; it will cre-ate a network for the national research community,enable revolutionary Internet applications, and ensurethe rapid transfer of new network services and applica-tions to the broader Internet community.

Internet-based (Web) EDI EDI that runs on theInternet and is widely accessible to most companies,including SMEs.

interorganizational information systems (IOSs)Communications system that allows routine transactionprocessing and information flow between two or moreorganizations.

interstitial An initial Web page or a portion of it that isused to capture the user’s attention for a short time whileother content is loading.

intrabusiness EC E-commerce category that includes allinternal organizational activities that involve theexchange of goods, services, or information among vari-ous units and individuals in an organization.

intranet A corporate LAN or WAN that uses Internettechnology and is secured behind a company’s firewalls.

intraorganizational information systems Communi-cation systems that enable e-commerce activities to goon within individual organizations.

intrusion detection systems (IDSs) A special categoryof software that can monitor activity across a network oron a host computer, watch for suspicious activity, andtake automated action based on what it sees.

IP version 4 (IPv4) The current version of InternetProtocol, under which Internet addresses are 32 bits longand written as four sets of numbers separated by periods.

IP version 6 (IPv6) Version of the Internet Protocol, stillin the planning stage, that will replace IPv4 and improvenetwork management.

iris scanning Measurement of the unique spots in the iris(colored part of the eye), which are then converted to aset of numbers that are stored as a template and used toauthenticate identity.

ISP hosting service A hosting service that provides anindependent, stand-alone Web site for small andmedium-sized businesses.

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key The secret code used to encrypt and decrypt a message.

key performance indicators (KPI) The quantitativeexpression of critically important metrics.

keystroke monitoring Measurement of the pressure,speed, and rhythm with which a word is typed, which isthen converted to a set of numbers that are stored as atemplate and used to authenticate identity; this biomet-ric is still under development.

keyword banners Banner ads that appear when a prede-termined word is queried from a search engine.

knowledge management (KM) The process of captur-ing or creating knowledge, storing it, updating it con-stantly, interpreting it, and using it whenever necessary.

knowledge portal A single point of access software sys-tem intended to provide timely access to information andto support communities of knowledge workers.

learning agents Software agents that have the capacity toadapt or modify their behavior (to learn).

letter of credit (LC) A written agreement by a bank topay the seller, on account of the buyer, a sum of moneyupon presentation of certain documents.

localization The process of converting media productsdeveloped in one environment (e.g., country) to a formculturally and linguistically acceptable in countries out-side the original target market.

location-based commerce (l-commerce) M-commercetransactions targeted to individuals in specific locations, atspecific times.

lock-in effect Effect created when users do not switch toanother site because of barriers posed by having to learnnew site navigation systems and transaction processes.

logistics The operations involved in the efficient and effec-tive flow and storage of goods, services, and related infor-mation from point of origin to point of consumption.

look and feel The elements, including layout, typeface,colors, graphics, and navigation aids, that visually distin-guish a site from any other.

m-business The broadest definition of m-commerce, inwhich e-business is conducted in a wireless environment.

m-wallet (mobile wallet) Technologies that enablecardholders to make purchases with a single click fromtheir wireless device.

macro virus or macro worm A virus or worm that isexecuted when the application object that contains themacro is opened or a particular procedure is executed.

malware A generic term for malicious software.

management by maxim A five-step process that bringstogether corporate executives, business-unit managers,and IT executives in planning sessions to determineappropriate infrastructure investments.

market liquidity The degree to which something can bebought or sold in a marketplace without affecting its

764 Glossary

price. It is measured by the number of buyers and sellersin the market and the transaction volume.

market maker The third-party that operates an exchange(and in many cases, also owns the exchange).

market segmentation The process of dividing a con-sumer market into logical groups for conducting market-ing research, advertising, and sales.

marketspace A marketplace in which sellers and buyersexchange goods and services for money (or for othergoods and services), but do so electronically.

mass customization Production of large quantities ofcustomized items.

maverick buying Unplanned purchases of items neededquickly, often at non-pre-negotiated higher prices.

merchant brokering Deciding from whom (from whatmerchant) to buy a product.

merge-in-transit Logistics model in which componentsfor a product may come from two different physical loca-tions and are shipped directly to customer’s location.

message digest A summary of a message, converted into astring of digits, after the hash has been applied.

meta tag An HTML element that describes the contentsof a Web page.

metric A specific, measurable standard against whichactual performance is compared; may be quantitative orqualitative.

metric benchmark A method that provides numericmeasures of performance.

microbrowser Wireless Web browser designed to operatewith small screens and limited bandwidth and memoryrequirements.

micropayments Electronic payments for small-purchaseamounts (generally less than US$10).

mirror site An exact duplicate of an original Web site that isphysically located on a Web server on another continent.

mobile agents Software agents that can transport them-selves across different system architectures and platformsin order to perform their tasks.

mobile commerce (m-commerce) E-commerce con-ducted via wireless devices.

mobile computing Permits real-time access to informa-tion, applications, and tools that, until recently, wereaccessible only from a desktop computer.

mobile CRM The delivery of CRM applications to any user,whenever and wherever needed. This is done by use of thewireless infrastructure and/or mobile and wearable devices.

mobile portal A customer interaction channel that aggre-gates content and services for mobile users that is accessi-ble via a mobile device, especially cell phones and PDAs.

mobility The degree to which the agents themselves travelthrough the network.

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MRO (maintenance, repair, and operation) Indirectmaterials used in activities that support production.

multiagent systems Computer systems in which there isno single designer who stands behind all the agents; eachagent in the system can be working toward different,even contradictory, goals.

multichannel business model A business model wherea company sells in multiple marketing channels simulta-neously (e.g., both physical and online stores).

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) The nextgeneration of wireless messaging; MMS will be able todeliver rich media.

name-your-own-price model Auction model in whicha would-be buyer specifies the price (and other terms) heor she is willing to pay to any willing and able seller. It isa C2B model that was pioneered by Priceline.com.

National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) A divi-sion of the Department of Homeland Security chargedwith implementing U.S. cyberspace security strategy.

National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC)A joint partnership under the auspices of the FBIbetween governmental and private industry; designed toprevent and protect the nation’s infrastructure.

Netizen A citizen surfing the Internet.

network access point (NAP) An intermediate networkexchange point that connects ISPs to NSPs.

network effects Effects created when leading products inan industry attract a base of users, which leads to thedevelopment of complementary products, furtherstrengthening the position of the dominant product.

network service providers (NSPs) Major telecommu-nication companies, such as MCI and Sprint, that main-tain and service the Internet’s high-speed backbones.

Next Generation Internet (NGI) Consortium initi-ated and sponsored by the U.S. government to link gov-ernment research agencies, universities, and national labsover high-speed networks, promote experimentationwith the next generation of networking technologies,and demonstrate new public policy applications requir-ing high-speed networks.

Next Generation Internet Protocol (IPng) Protocol that,when implemented, will improve upon IPv4’s scalability,security, ease of configuration, and network management.

nonrepudiation The ability to limit parties from refutingthat a legitimate transaction took place, usually by meansof a signature.

nontechnical attack An attack that uses chicanery to trickpeople into revealing sensitive information or performingactions that compromise the security of a network.

on-demand delivery service Express delivery madefairly quickly after an online order is received.

one-to-one marketing Marketing that treats each cus-tomer in a unique way.

Glossary 765

online intermediary An online third party that brokers atransaction online between a buyer and a seller; may bevirtual or click-and-mortar.

online negotiation A back-and-forth electronic process ofbargaining until the buyer and seller reach a mutually agree-able price; usually done by software (intelligent) agents.

online publishing The electronic delivery of newspapers,magazines, books, news, music, videos, and other digitiz-able information over the Internet.

ontology A type of hierarchical thesaurus in which eachsubheading inherits all the characteristics of the headingsabove it.

Open Profiling Standard (OPS) Standard that pro-vides Internet site developers with a uniform architecturefor using Personal Profile information to match personalpreferences with tailored content, goods, and serviceswhile protecting users’ privacy.

opt-in clause Agreement that requires computer users totake specific steps to allow the collection of personalinformation.

opt-out clause Agreement that requires computer usersto take specific steps to prevent the collection of personalinformation.

order fulfillment All of the activities needed to providecustomers with ordered goods and services, includingrelated customer services.

organizational knowledge base The repository for anenterprise’s accumulated knowledge.

outsourcing The use of an external vendor to provide allor part of the products and services that could be pro-vided internally.

P2P distributed computation Computer architecturethat uses P2P resource sharing to combine idle computerresources over a network, forming a virtual computeracross which large computational jobs can be distributed.

packet filters Rules that can accept or reject incomingpackets based on source and destination addresses andthe other identifying information.

packet-filtering routers Firewalls that filter data andrequests moving from the public Internet to a privatenetwork based on the network addresses of the computersending or receiving the request.

packets Segments of data and requests sent from one com-puter to another on the Internet; consist of the Internetaddresses of the computers sending and receiving thedata, plus other identifying information that distinguishone packet from another.

partner relationship management (PRM) Businessstrategy that focuses on providing comprehensive qualityservice to business partners.

partnering Web site development When a mixture ofinternal and external development is used to build and/ormaintain a Web site.

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passive tokens Storage devices (e.g., magnetic strips) thatcontain a secret code used in a two-factor authenticationsystem.

patent A document that grants the holder exclusive rightsto an invention for a fixed number of years.

payment card Electronic card that contains informationthat can be used for payment purposes.

payment service provider (PSP) A third-party serviceconnecting a merchant’s EC systems to the appropriateacquirers. PSPs must be registered with the various cardassociations they support.

peer-to-peer (P2P) A network architecture in whichworkstations (or PCs) share data and processing witheach other directly rather than through a central server;can be used in C2C, B2B, and B2C e-commerce.

performance-based government An approach thatmeasures the results of government programs.

permission advertising (permission marketing)Advertising (marketing) strategy in which customersagree to accept advertising and marketing materials.

personal area network A wireless telecommunicationsnetwork for device-to-device connections within a smallrange.

personal digital assistant (PDA) A handheld computerprincipally used for personal information management.

personal firewall A network node designed to protect anindividual user’s desktop system from the public networkby monitoring all the traffic that passes through thecomputer’s network interface card.

personalization The ability to tailor a product, service, orWeb content to specific user preferences.

personalized content Web content that is prepared tomatch the needs and expectations of the individual visitor.

pervasive computing Invisible, everywhere computingthat is embedded in the objects around us.

phishing attack A high-tech scam that uses e-mail, pop-up messages, or Web pages to trick a user into disclosingsensitive information such as credit card numbers, bankaccount numbers, and passwords.

physiological biometrics Measurements deriveddirectly from different parts of the body (e.g., finger-print, iris, hand, facial characteristics).

plaintext An unencrypted message in human-readable form.

policy of least privilege (POLP) Policy of blockingaccess to network resources unless access is required toconduct business.

pop-under ad An ad that appears underneath the currentbrowser window, so when the user closes the active win-dow, he or she sees the ad.

pop-up ad An ad that appears in a separate window before,after, or during Internet surfing or when reading e-mail.

766 Glossary

premium content Content not available elsewhere onthe Web.

privacy The right to be left alone and the right to be freeof unreasonable personal intrusions.

private e-marketplaces Online markets owned by asingle company; may be either sell-side or buy-side e-marketplaces. Also known as company-centric market-places.

private key Encryption code that is known only to its owner.

procurement management The coordination of all theactivities relating to purchasing goods and servicesneeded to accomplish the mission of an organization.

product brokering Deciding what product to buy.

product differentiation Exploiting EC to provide prod-ucts with special features to add greater value to customers.

product lifecycle management (PLM) Business strat-egy that enables manufacturers to control and shareproduct-related data as part of product design and devel-opment efforts.

production function An equation indicating that for thesame quantity of production, Q, companies either can usea certain amount of labor or invest in more automation.

project champion The person who ensures the EC proj-ect gets the time, attention, and resources required anddefends the project from detractors at all times.

protocol A set of rules that determine how two computerscommunicate with one another over a network.

protocol tunneling Method used to ensure confidential-ity and integrity of data transmitted over the Internet, byencrypting data packets, sending them in packets acrossthe Internet, and decrypting them at the destinationaddress.

proxies Special software programs that run on the gatewayserver and pass repackaged packets from one network tothe other.

proxy bidding Use of a software system to place bids onbehalf of buyers; when another bidder places a bid, thesoftware (the proxy) will automatically raise the bid tothe next level until it reaches the predetermined maxi-mum price.

public e-marketplaces (public exchanges) B2B mar-ketplaces, usually owned and/or managed by an indepen-dent third party, that include many sellers and many buy-ers; also known as exchanges.

public key Encryption code that is publicly available toanyone.

public key encryption Method of encryption that uses apair of matched keys—a public key to encrypt a messageand a private key to decrypt it, or vice versa.

public key infrastructure (PKI) A scheme for securinge-payments using public key encryption and varioustechnical components.

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purchasing cards (p-cards) Special-purpose paymentcards issued to a company’s employees to be used solelyfor purchasing nonstrategic materials and services up to apreset dollar limit.

radio frequency identification (RFID) Technologythat uses radio waves to identify items.

random banners Banner ads that appear at random, notas the result of the user’s action.

Real-Time Protocol (RTP) Streaming protocol thatadds header information to the UDP packets, thusenabling the synchronized timing, sequencing, anddecoding of the packets at the destination.

Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) Streamingprotocol that adds controls for stopping, pausing,rewinding, and fast-forwarding the media stream; it alsoprovides security and enables usage measurement andrights management.

recommendation systems Intelligent agents that pro-vide recommendation services.

reintermediation Establishment of new intermediaryroles for traditional intermediaries that have beendisintermediated.

request for quote (RFQ) The “invitation” to participatein a tendering (bidding) system.

resident agents Software agents that stay in the computeror system and perform their tasks there.

return on investment (ROI) A ratio of required costsand perceived benefits of a project or an application.

revenue model Description of how the company or anEC project will earn revenue.

reverse auction (bidding or tendering system)Auction in which the buyer places an item for bid(tender) on a request for quote (RFQ) system, potentialsuppliers bid on the job, with the price reducing sequen-tially, and the lowest bid wins; primarily a B2B or G2Bmechanism.

reverse logistics The movement of returns from cus-tomers to vendors.

Rijndael The new Advanced Encryption Standard used tosecure U.S. government communications since Octo-ber 2, 2000.

ROI calculator Calculator that uses metrics and formulasto compute return-on-investment (ROI).

rolling warehouse Logistics method in which productson the delivery truck are not preassigned to a destination,but the decision about the quantity to unload at eachdestination is made at the time of unloading.

rootkit A special Trojan horse program that modifiesexisting operating system software so that an intrudercan hide the presence of the Trojan program.

routers Special computers that determine the paths tra-versed by data packets across the Internet.

Glossary 767

RSA The most common public key encryption algorithm;uses keys ranging in length from 512 bits to 1,024 bits.

sales force automation (SFA) Software that automatesthe tasks performed by sales people in the field, such asdata collection and its transmission.

sales force mobilization The process of equipping salesforce employees with wireless computing devices.

scenario planning A strategic planning methodologythat generates plausible alternative futures to help deci-sion makers identify actions that can be taken today toensure success in the future.

scoring methodology A method that evaluates alterna-tives by assigning weights and scores to various aspectsand then calculating the weighted totals.

screen sharing Software that enables group members, evenin different locations, to work on the same document,which is shown on the PC screen of each participant.

sealed-bid auction Auction in which each bidder bidsonly once; a silent auction, in which bidders do not knowwho is placing bids or what the prices are.

search engine A computer program that can access adatabase of Internet resources, search for specific infor-mation or keywords, and report the results.

search engine optimization (SEO) The application ofstrategies intended to position a Web site at the top ofWeb search engines.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Protocol that utilizes stan-dard certificates for authentication and data encryptionto ensure privacy or confidentiality.

security risk management A systematic process fordetermining the likelihood of various security attacksand for identifying the actions needed to prevent or miti-gate those attacks.

self-hosting When a business acquires the hardware,software, staff, and dedicated telecommunications ser-vices necessary to set up and manage its own Web site.

sell-side e-marketplace A Web-based marketplace inwhich one company sells to many business buyers frome-catalogs or auctions, frequently over an extranet.

sensor network A series of interconnected sensors thatmonitor the environment in which they are placed.

settlement Transferring money from the buyer’s to themerchant’s account.

shilling Placing fake bids on auction items to artificiallyjack up the bidding price.

shopping portals Gateways to e-storefronts and e-malls;may be comprehensive or niche oriented.

shopping robots (shopping agents or shopbots)Tools that scout the Web on behalf of consumers whospecify search criteria.

Short Message Service (SMS) A service that supportsthe sending and receiving of short text messages onmobile phones.

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signature file A simple text message an e-mail programautomatically adds to outgoing messages.

simple agents Software agents that work within the con-text of a single application and focus on a single set oftasks with a circumscribed set of outcomes.

single auction Auction in which at least one side of themarket consists of a single entity (a single buyer or a sin-gle seller).

site navigation Aids that help visitors find the informa-tion they need quickly and easily.

smart card An electronic card containing an embeddedmicrochip that enables predefined operations or theaddition, deletion, or manipulation of information onthe card.

smart card operating system Special system that han-dles file management, security, input/output (I/O), andcommand execution and provides an application pro-gramming interface (API) for a smart card.

smart card reader Activates and reads the contents of thechip on a smart card, usually passing the information onto a host system.

smartphone Internet-enabled cell phones that can sup-port mobile applications.

SMEs Small to medium enterprises.

sniping Entering a bid during the very last seconds of anauction and outbidding the highest bidder (in the case ofselling items).

social computing An approach aimed at making thehuman–computer interface more natural.

social engineering A type of nontechnical attack thatuses social pressures to trick computer users into com-promising computer networks to which those individualshave access.

software (intelligent) agents Software agents that con-tinuously perform three functions: they perceive ofdynamic conditions in the environment, they take actionto affect conditions in the environment, and they use rea-soning to interpret perceptions, solve problems, drawinferences, and determine actions.

spamming Using e-mail to send unwanted ads (some-times floods of ads).

spot buying The purchase of goods and services as theyare needed, usually at prevailing market prices.

spyware Software that gathers user information over anInternet connection without the user’s knowledge.

stickiness Characteristic that influences the averagelength of time a visitor stays in a site.

storebuilder service A hosting service that provides diskspace and services to help small and micro businessesbuild a Web site quickly and cheaply.

768 Glossary

stored-value card A card that has monetary value loadedonto it and that is usually rechargeable.

storefront A single company’s Web site where products orservices are sold.

strategic sourcing Purchases involving long-term con-tracts that usually are based on private negotiationsbetween sellers and buyers.

strategy A broad-based formula for how a business isgoing to compete, what its goals should be, and whatplans and policies will be needed to carry out those goals.

strategy assessment The continuous evaluation of progresstoward the organization’s strategic goals, resulting in cor-rective action and, if necessary, strategy reformulation.

strategy formulation The development of strategies toexploit opportunities and manage threats in the businessenvironment in light of corporate strengths and weaknesses.

strategy implementation The development of detailed,short-term plans for carrying out the projects agreed onin strategy formulation.

strategy initiation The initial phase of strategic plan-ning in which the organization examines itself and itsenvironment.

streaming The delivery of content in real time; consists oftwo types, on demand (HTTP streaming) and live (truestreaming).

subscriber identification module (SIM) card Anextractable storage card used for identification, customerlocation information, transaction processing, securecommunications, and the like.

supplier relationship management (SRM) A com-prehensive approach to managing an enterprise’s interac-tions with the organizations that supply the goods andservices it uses.

supply chain The flow of materials, information, money,and services from raw material suppliers through facto-ries and warehouses to the end customers.

SWOT analysis A methodology that surveys externalopportunities and threats and relates them to internalstrengths and weaknesses.

symmetric (private) key system An encryption systemthat uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt the message.

synchronization The exchange of updated informationwith other computing devices.

syndication The sale of the same good (e.g., digital con-tent) to many customers, who then integrate it withother offerings and resell it or give it away free.

technical attack An attack perpetrated using softwareand systems knowledge or expertise.

teleconferencing The use of electronic communicationthat allows two or more people at different locations tohave a simultaneous conference.

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telematics The integration of computers and wirelesscommunications to improve information flow using theprinciples of telemetry.

telewebs Call centers that combine Web channels withportal-like self-service.

tendering (reverse auction) Model in which a buyerrequests would-be sellers to submit bids; the lowest bid-der wins.

third-party logistics (3PL) suppliers External, ratherthan in-house, providers of logistics services.

total benefits of ownership (TBO) Benefits of owner-ship that include both tangible and the intangible benefits.

total cost of ownership (TCO) A formula for calculat-ing the cost of owning, operating, and controlling an ITsystem.

trademark A symbol used by businesses to identify theirgoods and services; government registration of the trade-mark confers exclusive legal right to its use.

transaction costs Costs that are associated with the dis-tribution (sale) and/or exchange of products and servicesincluding the cost of searching for buyers and sellers,gathering information, negotiating, decision making,monitoring the exchange of goods, and legal fees.

transaction log A record of user activities at a company’sWeb site.

transactional Web site A Web site that sells productsand services.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol(TCP/IP) Two combined protocols that together solvethe problem of global internetworking by ensuring thattwo computers can communicate with each other reli-ably; each TCP communication must be acknowledgedas received or the sending computer will retransmit themessage.

Transport Layer Security (TLS) As of 1996, anothername for the SSL protocol.

Trojan horse A program that appears to have a usefulfunction but that contains a hidden function that pre-sents a security risk.

trust The psychological status of involved parties who arewilling to pursue further interaction to achieve a plannedgoal.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL) The addressingscheme used to locate documents on the Web.

unique visit A count of the number of visitors to a site,regardless of how many pages are viewed per visit.

unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE) The use of e-mail to send unwanted ads or correspondence.

up-selling Offering an upgraded version of the product inorder to boost sales and profit.

Glossary 769

User Datagram Protocol (UDP) Transport protocolused in place of TCP by streaming servers.

user profile The requirements, preferences, behaviors, anddemographic traits of a particular customer.

utility computing Computing resources that flow likeelectricity on demand from virtual utilities around theglobe—always on and highly available, secure, efficientlymetered, priced on a pay-as-you-use basis, dynamicallyscaled, self-healing, and easy to manage.

valuation The fair market value of a business or the priceat which a property would change hands between a will-ing buyer and a willing seller who are both informed andunder no compulsion to act. For a publicly traded com-pany, the value can be readily obtained by the price thestock is selling over the exchange.

value analysis Method where a company evaluates intan-gible benefits using a low-cost, trial EC system beforedeciding whether to commit a larger investment to acomplete system.

value proposition The benefit that a company’s productsor services provide to customers; the consumer need thatis being fulfilled. Also, the benefits a company can derivefrom using EC.

value-added networks (VANs) Private, third-party-managed networks that add communications servicesand security to existing common carriers; used to imple-ment traditional EDI systems.

vendor managed inventory The practice of retailersmaking suppliers responsible for determining when toorder and how much to order.

venture capital (VC) Money invested in a business by anindividual or a group of individuals (venture capitalists)in exchange for equity in the business.

versioning Selling the same good, but with differentselection and delivery characteristics.

vertical auction Auction that takes place between sellersand buyers in one industry or for one commodity.

vertical exchange An exchange whose members are inone industry or industry segment.

vertical marketplaces Markets that deal with one indus-try or industry segment (e.g., steel, chemicals).

Vickrey auction An auction in which the highest bidderwins but pays only the second-highest bid.

video teleconference Virtual meeting in which partici-pants in one location can see participants at other loca-tions on a large screen or a desktop computer.

viral marketing Word-of-mouth marketing in whichcustomers promote a product or service to friends orother people.

virtual (Internet) community A group of people withsimilar interests who interact with one another using theInternet.

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virtual corporation (VC) An organization composed ofseveral business partners sharing costs and resources forthe production or utilization of a product or service.

virtual credit card An e-payment system in which a creditcard issuer gives a special transaction number that can beused online in place of regular credit card numbers.

virtual (pure-play) e-tailers Firms that sell directly toconsumers over the Internet without maintaining a physi-cal sales channel.

virtual meetings Online meetings whose members are indifferent locations, even in different countries.

virtual private network (VPN) A network that uses thepublic Internet to carry information but remains privateby using encryption to scramble the communications,authentication to ensure that information has not beentampered with, and access control to verify the identityof anyone using the network.

virtual (pure-play) organizations Organizations thatconduct their business activities solely online.

virtual reality (VR) System that delivers interactivecomputer-generated 3D graphics to a user through ahead-mounted display.

virtual university An online university from which stu-dents take classes from home or other off-site locations,usually via the Internet.

virus A piece of software code that inserts itself into a host,including the operating systems, in order to propagate; itrequires that its host program be run to activate it.

visit A series of requests during one navigation of a Website; a pause of a certain length of time ends a visit.

voice portal A Web site with an audio interface that canbe accessed through a telephone call.

voice scanning Measurement of the acoustical patterns inspeech production, which are then converted to a set ofnumbers that are stored as a template and used toauthenticate identity.

voice XML (VXML) An extension of XML designed toaccommodate voice.

Voice-over-IP Communication systems that transmitvoice calls over Internet Protocol–based networks.

vortals B2B portals that focus on a single industry orindustry segment; “vertical portals.”

warehouse management system (WMS) A softwaresystem that helps in managing warehouses.

wearable devices Mobile wireless computing devices foremployees who work on buildings and other climbableworkplaces.

Web analytics The analysis of clickstream data to under-stand visitor behavior on a Web site.

Web bugs Tiny graphics files embedded on e-mail mes-sages and in Web sites that transmit information aboutthe user and their movements to a Web server.

770 Glossary

Web hosting service A dedicated Web site hosting com-pany that offers a wide range of hosting services andfunctionality to businesses of all sizes.

Web self-service Activities conducted by users on theWeb to find answers to their questions (e.g., tracking) orfor product configuration.

Web Services An architecture enabling assembly of dis-tributed applications from software services and tyingthem together.

Web site construction The initial content creation,design, programming, and installation phases of a Website’s development.

Web site maintenance The ongoing process of keep-ing the Web site open for business, managing content,fixing problems, and making incremental additions tothe site.

Webcasting A free Internet news service that broadcastspersonalized news and information, including seminars,in categories selected by the user.

Webinars Seminars on the Web (Web-based seminars).

Weblogging (blogging) Technology for personal pub-lishing on the Internet.

Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) The common name used to de-scribe the IEEE 802.11 standard used on most WLANs.

wikiLog (wikiblog) A blog that allows everyone to par-ticipate as a peer; anyone may add, delete, or changecontent.

WiMax A wireless standard (IEEE 802.16) for makingbroadband network connections over a large area.

wireless 911 (e-911) In the United States, emergencyresponse calls from cellular phones.

wireless access point An antenna that connects a mobiledevice to a wired LAN.

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) A suite of net-work protocols designed to enable different kinds ofwireless devices to access WAP-readable files on anInternet-connected Web server.

wireless local area network (WLAN) A telecommuni-cations network that enables users to make medium-range wireless connections to the Internet or anothernetwork.

Wireless Markup Language (WML) A scripting lan-guage used to create content in the WAP environment;based on XML, minus unnecessary content to increasespeed.

wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN) Atelecommunications network that enables users to makelong-range wireless connections to the Internet oranother network.

wireless mobile computing (mobile computing)Computing that connects a mobile device to a networkor another computing device, anytime, anywhere.

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wireless wide area network (WWAN) A telecommu-nications network that offers wireless coverage over alarge geographical area, typically over a cellular phonenetwork.

workflow The movement of information as it flowsthrough the sequence of steps that make up an organiza-tion’s work procedures.

workflow management The automation of workflows,so that documents, information, and tasks are passed

Glossary 771

from one participant to the next in the steps of an orga-nization’s business process.

workflow systems Business process automation tools thatplace system controls in the hands of user departments toautomate information-processing tasks.

worm A software program that runs independently, con-suming the resources of its host in order to maintainitself, that is capable of propagating a complete workingversion of itself onto another machine.

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