One of the most confusing aspects of eLearning is that nobody knows what it is.
We do know the “e” doesn’t stand for “electronic”.
The”e” in eLearning would be better defined as
Evolving or Everywhere or Enhanced or Extended
One of the most confusing aspects of eLearning is that nobody knows what it is.
We do know the “e” doesn’t stand for “electronic”.
The”e” in eLearning would be better defined as
Evolving or Everywhere or Enhanced or Extended

———————————————-

Based on this survey from a very respected company,
there are many people that have the wrong definition of eLearning.
The survey asked 259 training managers at Fortune 500 firms
what tools they use to create e-learning content.
The top choice was PowerPoint with 66% of responses.
Next was Microsoft Word with 63%,
Macromedia’s Dreamweaver 61% and Flash 47%.
(Respondents could choose more than one.)

Just taking a Word document or PowerPoint presentation and
doing a “Save as HTML” does NOT mean you have created eLearning.
Just taking a F2F presentation and presenting it using a web conference is not eLearning.

E-Learning is :

-A learning environment supported by continuously evolving, collaborative processes focused on increasing    individual and organizational performance.

OR

- Effective eLearning thrives at the nexus of web usability, communication, relationship, document, and Knowledge  Management tools.

OR

- We also like this definition of Knowledge Management.Knowledge Management is about using information strategically to achieve one’s business objectives. Knowledge Management is the organizational activity of creating the social environment and technical infrastructure so that knowledge can be accessed, shared and created. – Robert K. Logan

Example:

Inline Small Business Solution, designed specifically with your business needs in mind, to allow you to improve your learining and development process through your companies evolution. This is achieved by providing you a set of simple online tools which enables the management to develop and maintain a simple E-learning process for your Learning and Development Programs.

E-Learning

The above  illustration depicts the Simple E-Learning Process Model which will allow you to reduce your overall Learning & Development lifecycle through a user self service programme centre, whereby a user can request or be scheduled a programm and then approved and executed, producing measureable results.

How E-learning works?

elearning

The buoyancy and air supply equipment have been checked. All gauges are working correctly. The divemaster is directing you to the dive platform. It’s sunny, but slightly windy, so the water is choppy. Your wet suit is on, and you have your fins in hand. You’re diving from a small boat so you choose the seated backroll to enter the water. You place your fins on your feet, position yourself on the edge of the boat and check to make sure your tank bottom is extending out beyond the edge of the boat over the open water.

You turn on your air and place the regulator mouthpiece in your mouth. One hand holds your mask while the other holds your regulator. So far so good. Time to make the entry. You enter the water backward, reorient yourself and bob to the surface. While thinking about what you need to do next, you forget to move out of the way for your buddy to enter the water, and you get a warning from the divemaster. After moving back from the boat, you place the regulator mouthpiece in the water. You place it face-down to prevent free-flow. You then replace the regulator mouthpiece in your mouth and exhale to clear it. You carefully inhale to make sure it is completely cleared.

You adjust your buoyancy compensator (BC) to make yourself more buoyant while you wait for the others to enter the water. While you’re waiting, you remember to clear your mask. Now the divemaster has signaled that it’s time to descend. You vent your BC using the deflator valve and concentrate on breathing shallowly. You descend slowly down into the darkness. As you descend, you remember to exhale some air into your mask to prevent a mask squeeze. Your fins are still as you descend. A glance at your dive calculator shows you that you’ve passed the 15-foot mark. You’re beginning to see some fish and other marine life. A large jellyfish glides past you.

You’re finally at the bottom and see your buddy and some of the other divers, but something is wrong.

A bell chimes and a red box with white text flashes on your monitor. A synthesized female voice calmly reports, “You did not equalize the pressure in your ears by using either the Valsalva maneuver or the Frenzel maneuver. You have just ruptured your ear drums, which can also result in vertigo. Vertigo can be deadly when experienced underwater. Please return to the online training module, then try the simulation again.”

This passage is an example of e-learning in a simulated electronic environment. E-learning, Computer-Based Training (CBT), Internet-Based Training (IBT), Web-Based Training (WBT) and a host of other names picked up along the way may be the wave of the learning future for people of all ages. Immersing yourself in a 3-D environment or simply interacting with characters or objects on the screen can be a very good way to learn a new skill. The popularity of online training has grown significantly since the early 1990s.

E-learning  Services (Tools)

E-learning services have evolved since computers were first used in education. There is a trend to move toward blended learning services, where computer-based activities are integrated with practical or classroom-based situations.

Computer-based learning
Computer Based Learning, sometimes abbreviated to CBL, refers to the use of computers as a key component of the educational environment. While this can refer to the use of computers in a classroom, the term more broadly refers to a structured environment in which computers are used for teaching purposes. The concept is generally seen as being distinct from the use of computers in ways where learning is at least a peripheral element of the experience (e.g. computer games and web browsing).

Computer-based training
This section needs additional citations for verification.
Computer-based training (CBT) services are where a student learns by executing special training programs on a computer relating to their occupation. CBT is especially effective for training people to use computer applications because the CBT program can be integrated with the applications so that students can practice using the application as they learn. Historically, CBTs growth has been hampered by the enormous resources required: human resources to create a CBT program, and hardware resources needed to run it. However, the increase in PC computing power, and especially the growing prevalence of computers equipped with CD-ROMs, is making CBT a more viable option for corporations and individuals alike. Many PC applications now come with some modest form of CBT, often called a tutorial. Web-based training (WBT) is a type of training that is similar to CBT; however, it is delivered over the Internet using a web browser. Web-based training frequently includes interactive methods, such as bulletin boards, chat rooms, instant messaging, videoconferencing, and discussion threads.
Web based training is usually a self-paced learning medium though some systems allow for online testing and evaluation at specific times. Recent years have seen an explosion in online training for educators by content providers such as Knowledge Delivery Systems Atomic Learning, PBS Teacherline, and more.

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL)
“Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is one of the most promising innovations to improve teaching and learning with the help of modern information and communication technology. Collaborative or group learning refers to instructional methods whereby students are encouraged or required to work together on learning tasks. It is widely agreed to distinguish collaborative learning from the traditional ‘direct transfer’ model in which the instructor is assumed to be the distributor of knowledge and skills. “ Lehtinen et al.

Technology-enhanced Learning
Technology enhanced learning (TEL) has the goal to provide socio-technical innovations (also improving efficiency and cost effectiveness) for e-learning practices, regarding individuals and organizations, independent of time, place and pace. The field of TEL therefore applies to the support of any learning activity through technology.

Computer-aided assessment
Computer-aided Assessment (also but less commonly referred to as E-assessment), ranging from automated multiple-choice tests to more sophisticated systems is becoming increasingly common. With some systems, feedback can be geared towards a student’s specific mistakes or the computer can navigate the student through a series of questions adapting to what the student appears to have learned or not learned.
The best examples follow a Formative Assessment structure and are called “Online Formative Assessment”. This involves making an initial formative assessment by sifting out the incorrect answers. The author/teacher will then explain what the pupil should have done with each question. It will then give the pupil at least one practice at each slight variation of sifted out questions. This is the formative learning stage. The next stage is to make a Summative Assessment by a new set of questions only covering the topics previously taught. Some will take this even further and repeat the cycle such as BOFA which is aimed at the Eleven plus exam set in the UK.
The term learning design has sometimes come to refer to the type of activity enabled by software such as the open-source system LAMS which supports sequences of activities that can be both adaptive and collaborative. The IMS Learning Design specification is intended as a standard format for learning designs, and IMS LD Level A is supported in LAMS V2.elearning has been replacing the traditional settings due to its cost effectiveness.

The Benefits and Drawbacks of e-Learning

The vast movement towards e-learning is clearly motivated by the many benefits it offers. However much e-learning is praised and innovated, computers will never completely eliminate human instructors and other forms of educational delivery. What is important is to know exactly >what e-learning advantages exist and when these outweigh the limitations of the medium.

• Features Unique to e-Learning

Like no other training form, e-learning promises to provide a single experience that accommodates the three distinct learning styles of auditory learners, visual learners, and kinesthetic learners. Other unique opportunities created by the advent and development of e-learning are more efficient training of a globally dispersed audience; and reduced publishing and distribution costs as Web-based training becomes a standard.

E-learning also offers individualized instruction, which print media cannot provide, and instructor-led courses allow clumsily and at great cost. In conjunction with assessing needs, e-learning can target specific needs. And by using learning style tests, e-learning can locate and target individual learning preferences.

Additionally, synchronous e-learning is self-paced. Advanced learners are allowed to speed through or bypass instruction that is redundant while novices slow their own progress through content, eliminating frustration with themselves, their fellow learners, and the course.

In these ways, e-learning is inclusive of a maximum number of participants with a maximum range of learning styles, preferences, and needs.

• Collaborative Learning

All collaborative learning theory contends that human interaction is a vital ingredient to learning. Consideration of this is particularly crucial when designing e-learning, realizing the potential for the medium to isolate learners. With well-delivered synchronous distance education, and technology like message boards, chats, e-mail, and tele-conferencing, this potential drawback is reduced. However, e-learning detractors still argue that the magical classroom bond between teacher and student, and among the students themselves, can not be replicated through communications technology.

• Advantages of e-Learning to the Trainer or Organization

Some of the most outstanding advantages to the trainer or organization are:

Reduced overall cost is the single most influential factor in adopting e-learning. The elimination of costs associated with instructor’s salaries, meeting room rentals, and student travel, lodging, and meals are directly quantifiable. The reduction of time spent away from the job by employees may be the most positive offshoot.

Learning times reduced, an average of 40 to 60 percent, as found by Brandon Hall (Web-based Training Cookbook, 1997, p. 108).

Increased retention and application to the job averages an increase of 25 percent over traditional methods, according to an independent study by J.D. Fletcher (Multimedia Review, Spring 1991, pp.33-42).

Consistent delivery of content is possible with asynchronous, self-paced e-learning.

Expert knowledge is communicated, but more importantly captured, with good e-learning and knowledge management systems.

Proof of completion and certification, essential elements of training initiatives, can be automated.

• Advantages to the Learner

Along with the increased retention, reduced learning time, and other aforementioned benefits to students, particular advantages of e-learning include:

On-demand availability enables students to complete training conveniently at off-hours or from home.

Self-pacing for slow or quick learners reduces stress and increases satisfaction.

Interactivity engages users, pushing them rather than pulling them through training.

Confidence that refresher or quick reference materials are available reduces burden of responsibility of mastery.

• Disadvantages to the Trainer or Organization

e-learning is not, however, the be all and end all to every training need. It does have limitations, among them:

Up-front investment required of an e-learning solution is larger due to development costs. Budgets and cash flows will need to be negotiated.

Technology issues that play a factor include whether the existing technology infrastructure can accomplish the training goals, whether additional tech expenditures can be justified, and whether compatibility of all software and hardware can be achieved.

Inappropriate content for e-learning may exist according to some experts, though are limited in number. Even the acquisition of skills that involve complex physical/motor or emotional components (for example, juggling or mediation) can be augmented with e-learning.

Cultural acceptance is an issue in organizations where student demographics and psychographics may predispose them against using computers at all, let alone for e-learning.

• Disadvantages to the Learner

The ways in which e-learning may not excel over other training include:

Technology issues of the learners are most commonly technophobia and unavailability of required technologies.

Portability of training has become a strength of e-learning with the proliferation of network linking points, notebook computers, PDAs, and mobile phones, but still does not rival that of printed workbooks or reference material.

Reduced social and cultural interaction can be a drawback. The impersonality, suppression of communication mechanisms such as body language, and elimination of peer-to-peer learning that are part of this potential disadvantage are lessening with advances in communications technologies.

• Do the Benefits Outweigh the Drawbacks?

The pro’s and con’s of e-learning vary depending on program goals, target audience and organizational infrastructure and culture. But it is unarguable that e-learning is rapidly growing as form of training delivery and most are finding that the clear benefits to e-learning will guarantee it a role in their overall learning strategy.

For Principal of Effective E- Learning :

ref :http://www.elearningguild.com/pdf/2/091002DES-H.pdf

E-commerce is the pre-eminent buzzword of the online business revolution. It captures the excitement and focus of this fast emerging market. But it is more than a slogan or glib party line. At its core it embodies a concept for doing business online.

Electronic commerce is the paperless exchange of business information using electronic data interchange (EDI), e-mail, electronic bulletin boards, fax transmissions, and electronic funds transfer. It refers to Internet shopping, online stock and bond transactions, the downloading and selling of “soft merchandise” (software, documents, graphics, music, etc.), and business-to-business transactions.

The concept of e-commerce is all about using the Internet to do business better and faster. It is about giving customers controlled access to your computer systems and letting people serve themselves. It is about committing your company to a serious online effort and integrating your Web site with the heart of your business. If you do that, you will see results!

The Internet is a reasonable alternative to all of those means of communication. Any place and any way that your business communicates with its customers, you should think about how you could have done it online. That is the power of e-commerce.

Electronic commerce or e-commerce refers to a wide range of online business activities for products and services.  It also pertains to “any form of business transaction in which the parties interact electronically rather than by physical exchanges or direct physical contact.” Ref. below image.

E-commerce

Example of E-bay:
They make business by online through internet. Any customer go to site and can purchase desired
items anywhere from the world and make online payment via Paypal. Same way E-bay will ship customer’s items to the intended place. Also they are getting feedback from customer and work on it in future to satisfy them requirements.

Here Business process takes place via internet electronically . which saves time and energy and customer can purchase required items at its own comfort. This is the best real time example of e-commerce.

Definition of E-Commerce

E-commerce is the use of electronic communications and digital information processing technology in business transactions to create, transform, and redefine relationships for value creation between or among organizations, and between organizations and individuals.

E-commerce is usually associated with buying and selling over the Internet, or conducting any transaction involving the transfer of ownership or rights to use goods or services through a computer-mediated network.  Though popular, this definition is not comprehensive enough to capture recent developments in this new and revolutionary business phenomenon.

What are the different types of e-commerce?

1.business-to-business (B2B);

2.business-to-consumer (B2C);

3.business-to-government (B2G);

4.consumer-to-consumer (C2C); and

5.mobile commerce (m-commerce).

What is B2B e-commerce?

B2B e-commerce is simply defined as e-commerce between companies. This is the type of e-commerce that deals with relationships between and among businesses. About 80% of e-commerce is of this type, and most experts predict that B2B e-commerce will continue to grow faster than the B2C segment. The B2B market has two primary components: e-frastructure and e-markets. Efrastructure is the architecture of B2B, primarily consisting of the following:

• logistics – transportation, warehousing and distribution (e.g., Procter and Gamble);

• application service providers – deployment, hosting and management of packaged software from a central facility (e.g., Oracle and Linkshare);

• outsourcing of functions in the process of e-commerce, such as Web-hosting, security and customer care solutions (e.g., outsourcing providers such as eShare, NetSales, iXL Enterprises and Universal Access);

• auction solutions software for the operation and maintenance of real-time auctions in the Internet (e.g., Moai Technologies and OpenSite Technologies);

• content management software for the facilitation of Web site content management and delivery (e.g., Interwoven and ProcureNet); and

• Web-based commerce enablers (e.g., Commerce One, a browser-based, XML-enabled purchasing automation software).

What is B2C e-commerce?

Business-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce between companies and consumers, involves customers gathering information; purchasing physical goods (i.e., tangibles such as books or consumer products) or information goods (or goods of electronic material or digitized content, such as software, or e-books); and, for information goods, receiving products over an electronic network.

It is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce. Its origins can be traced to online retailing (or e-tailing).Thus, the more common B2C business models are the online retailing companies such as Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, Beyond.com, Barnes and Noble and ToysRus. Other B2C examples involving information goods are E-Trade and Travelocity.

The more common applications of this type of e-commerce are in the areas of purchasing products and information, and personal finance management, which pertains to the management of personal investments and finances with the use of online banking tools.

What is B2G e-commerce?

Business-to-government e-commerce or B2G is generally defined as commerce between companies and the public sector. It refers to the use of the Internet for public procurement, licensing procedures, and other government-related operations. This kind of e-commerce has two features: first, the public sector assumes a pilot/leading role in establishing e-commerce; and second, it is assumed that the public sector has the greatest need for making its procurement system more effective.

Web-based purchasing policies increase the transparency of the procurement process (and reduces the risk of irregularities). To date, however, the size of the B2G e-commerce market as a component of total e-commerce is insignificant, as government e-procurement systems remain undeveloped.

What is C2C e-commerce?

Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or C2C is simply commerce between private individuals or consumers.

This type of e-commerce is characterized by the growth of electronic marketplaces and online auctions, particularly in vertical industries where firms/businesses can bid for what they want from among multiple suppliers.16 It perhaps has the greatest potential for developing new markets.

This type of e-commerce comes in at least three forms:

• auctions facilitated at a portal, such as eBay, which allows online real-time bidding on items being sold in the Web;

• peer-to-peer systems, such as the Napster model (a protocol for sharing files between users used by chat forums similar to IRC) and other file exchange and later money exchange models; and

• classified ads at portal sites such as Excite Classifieds and eWanted (an interactive, online marketplace where buyers and sellers can negotiate and which features “Buyer Leads & Want Ads”).

Consumer-to-business (C2B) transactions involve reverse auctions, which empower the consumer to drive transactions. A concrete example of this when competing airlines gives a traveler best travel and ticket offers in response to the traveler’s post that she wants to fly from New York to San Francisco.

There is little information on the relative size of global C2C e-commerce. However, C2C figures of popular C2C sites such as eBay and Napster indicate that this market is quite large. These sites produce millions of dollars in sales every day

What is m-commerce?

M-commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services through wireless technology-i.e., handheld devices such as cellular telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Japan is seen as a global leader in m-commerce.

As content delivery over wireless devices becomes faster, more secure, and scalable, some believe that m-commerce will surpass wireline e-commerce as the method of choice for digital commerce transactions. This may well be true for the Asia-Pacific where there are more mobile phone users than there are Internet users.

Industries affected by m-commerce include:

• Financial services, including mobile banking (when customers use their handheld devices to access their accounts and pay their bills), as well as brokerage services (in which stock quotes can be displayed and trading conducted from the same handheld device);

• Telecommunications, in which service changes, bill payment and account reviews can all be conducted from the same handheld device;

• Service/retail, as consumers are given the ability to place and pay for orders on-the-fly; and

• Information services, which include the delivery of entertainment, financial news, sports figures and traffic updates to a single mobile device.

How is the Internet relevant to e-commerce?

The Internet allows people from all over the world to get connected inexpensively and reliably. As a technical infrastructure, it is a global collection of networks, connected to share information using a common set of protocols. Also, as a vast network of people and information, the Internet is an enabler for e-commerce as it allows businesses to showcase and sell their products and services online and gives potential customers, prospects, and business partners access to information about these businesses and their products and services that would lead to purchase.

Before the Internet was utilized for commercial purposes, companies used private networks-such as the EDI or Electronic Data Interchange-to transact business with each other. That was the early form of e-commerce. However, installing and maintaining private networks was very expensive. With the Internet, e-commerce spread rapidly because of the lower costs involved and because the Internet is based on open standards.

E-commerce advantages and disadvantages
E-commerce provides many new ways for businesses and consumers to communicate and conduct business. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages of conducting business in this manner.

E-commerce advantages
Some advantages that can be achieved from e-commerce include:
• Being able to conduct business 24 x 7 x 365 . E-commerce systems can operate all day every day. Your physical storefront does not need to be open in order for customers and suppliers to be doing business with you electronically.

•Access the global marketplace . The Internet spans the world, and it is possible to do business with any business or person who is connected to the Internet. Simple local businesses such as specialist record stores are able to market and sell their offerings internationally using e-commerce. This global opportunity is assisted by the fact that, unlike traditional communications methods, users are not charged according to the distance over which they are communicating.

•Speed. Electronic communications allow messages to traverse the world almost instantaneously. There is no need to wait weeks for a catalogue to arrive by post: that communications delay is not a part of the Internet / e-commerce world.

•Marketspace.The market in which web-based businesses operate is the global market. It may not be evident to them, but many businesses are already facing international competition from web-enabled businesses.

•Opportunity to reduce costs. The Internet makes it very easy to ‘shop around’ for products and services that may be cheaper or more effective than we might otherwise settle for. It is sometimes possible to, through some online research, identify original manufacturers for some goods – thereby bypassing wholesalers and achieving a cheaper price.

•Computer platform-independent . ‘Many, if not most, computers have the ability to communicate via the Internet independent of operating systems and hardware. Customers are not limited by existing hardware systems’ (Gascoyne & Ozcubukcu, 1997:87).

•Efficient applications development environment ‘In many respects, applications can be more efficiently developed and distributed because the can be built without regard to the customer’s or the business partner’s technology platform. Application updates do not have to be manually installed on computers. Rather, Internet-related technologies provide this capability inherently through automatic deployment of software updates’ (Gascoyne & Ozcubukcu, 1997:87).

•Allowing customer self service and ‘customer outsourcing’. People can interact with businesses at any hour of the day that it is convenient to them, and because these interactions are initiated by customers, the customers also provide a lot of the data for the transaction that may otherwise need to be entered by business staff. This means that some of the work and costs are effectively shifted to customers; this is referred to as ‘customer outsourcing’.

•Stepping beyond borders to a global view. Using aspects of e-commerce technology can mean your business can source and use products and services provided by other businesses in other countries. This seems obvious enough to say, but people do not always consider the implications of e-commerce. For example, in many ways it can be easier and cheaper to host and operate some e-commerce activities outside Australia. Further, because many e-commerce transactions involve credit cards, many businesses in Australia need to make arrangements for accepting online payments.
However a number of major Australian banks have tended to be unhelpful laggards on this front, charging a lot of money and making it difficult to establish these arrangements – particularly for smaller businesses and/or businesses that don’t fit into a traditional-economy understanding of business. In some cases, therefore, it can be easier and cheaper to set up arrangements which bypass this aspect of the Australian banking system. Admittedly, this can create some grey areas for legal and taxation purposes, but these can be dealt with. And yes these circumstances do have implications for Australia’s national competitiveness and the competitiveness of our industries and businesses.

As a further thought, many businesses find it easier to buy and sell in U.S. dollars: it is effectively the major currency of the Internet. In this context, global online customers can find the concept of peculiar and unfamiliar currencies disconcerting. Some businesses find they can achieve higher prices online and in US dollars than they would achieve selling locally or nationally. Given that banks often charge fees for converting currencies, this is another reason to investigate all of your (national and international) options for accepting and making online payments.

In brief, it is useful to take a global view with regard the potential and organisation of your e-commerce activities, especially if you are targeting global customers.
•A new marketing channel. The Internet provides an important new channel to sell to consumers. Peterson et al. (1999) suggest that, as a marketing channel, the Internet has the following characteristics:

•the ability to inexpensively store vast amounts of information at different virtual locations.

•the availability of powerful and inexpensive means of searching, organising, and disseminating such information.

•interactivity and the ability to provide information on demand

•the ability to provide perceptual experiences that are far superior to a printed catalogue, although not as rich as personal inspection

•the capability to serve as a transaction medium

•the ability to serve as a physical distribution medium for certain goods (e.g., software)

•relatively low entry and establishment costs for sellers

•no other existing marketing channel possesses all of these characteristics.

Some of these advantages and their surrounding issues are discussed below in further detail.

E-commerce disadvantages and constraints
Some disadvantages and constraints of e-commerce include the following.

•Time for delivery of physical products . It is possible to visit a local music store and walk out with a compact disc, or a bookstore and leave with a book. E-commerce is often used to buy goods that are not available locally from businesses all over the world, meaning that physical goods need to be delivered, which takes time and costs money. In some cases there are ways around this, for example, with electronic files of the music or books being accessed across the Internet, but then these are not physical goods.

•Physical product, supplier & delivery uncertainty . When you walk out of a shop with an item, it’s yours. You have it; you know what it is, where it is and how it looks. In some respects e-commerce purchases are made on trust. This is because, firstly, not having had physical access to the product, a purchase is made on an expectation of what that product is and its condition. Secondly, because supplying businesses can be conducted across the world, it can be uncertain whether or not they are legitimate businesses and are not just going to take your money. It’s pretty hard to knock on their door to complain or seek legal recourse! Thirdly, even if the item is sent, it is easy to start wondering whether or not it will ever arrive.

•Perishable goods . Forget about ordering a single gelato ice cream from a shop in Rome! Though specialised or refrigerated transport can be used, goods bought and sold via the Internet tend to be durable and non-perishable: they need to survive the trip from the supplier to the purchasing business or consumer. This shifts the bias for perishable and/or non-durable goods back towards traditional supply chain arrangements, or towards relatively more local e-commerce-based purchases, sales and distribution. In contrast, durable goods can be traded from almost anyone to almost anyone else, sparking competition for lower prices. In some cases this leads to disintermediation in which intermediary people and businesses are bypassed by consumers and by other businesses that are seeking to purchase more directly from manufacturers.

•Limited and selected sensory information. The Internet is an effective conduit for visual and auditory information: seeing pictures, hearing sounds and reading text. However it does not allow full scope for our senses: we can see pictures of the flowers, but not smell their fragrance; we can see pictures of a hammer, but not feel its weight or balance. Further, when we pick up and inspect something, we choose what we look at and how we look at it. This is not the case on the Internet. If we were looking at buying a car on the Internet, we would see the pictures the seller had chosen for us to see but not the things we might look for if we were able to see it in person. And, taking into account our other senses, we can’t test the car to hear the sound of the engine as it changes gears or sense the smell and feel of the leather seats. There are many ways in which the Internet does not convey the richness of experiences of the world. This lack of sensory information means that people are often much more comfortable buying via the Internet generic goods – things that they have seen or experienced before and about which there is little ambiguity, rather than unique or complex things.

•Returning goods. Returning goods online can be an area of difficulty. The uncertainties surrounding the initial payment and delivery of goods can be exacerbated in this process. Will the goods get back to their source? Who pays for the return postage? Will the refund be paid? Will I be left with nothing? How long will it take? Contrast this with the offline experience of returning goods to a shop.

•Privacy, security, payment, identity, contract. Many issues arise – privacy of information, security of that information and payment details, whether or not payment details (eg credit card details) will be misused, identity theft, contract, and, whether we have one or not, what laws and legal jurisdiction apply.

•Defined services & the unexpected . E-commerce is an effective means for managing the transaction of known and established services, that is, things that are everyday. It is not suitable for dealing with the new or unexpected. For example, a transport company used to dealing with simple packages being asked if it can transport a hippopotamus, or a customer asking for a book order to be wrapped in blue and white polka dot paper with a bow. Such requests need human intervention to investigate and resolve.

•Personal service . Although some human interaction can be facilitated via the web, e-commerce can not provide the richness of interaction provided by personal service. For most businesses, e-commerce methods provide the equivalent of an information-rich counter attendant rather than a salesperson. This also means that feedback about how people react to product and service offerings also tends to be more granular or perhaps lost using e-commerce approaches. If your only feedback is that people are (or are not) buying your products or services online, this is inadequate for evaluating how to change or improve your e-commerce strategies and/or product and service offerings. Successful business use of e-commerce typically involves strategies for gaining and applying customer feedback. This helps businesses to understand, anticipate and meet changing online customer needs and preferences, which is critical because of the comparatively rapid rate of ongoing Internet-based change.

•Size and number of transactions. E-commerce is most often conducted using credit card facilities for payments, and as a result very small and very large transactions tend not to be conducted online. The size of transactions is also impacted by the economics of transporting physical goods. For example, any benefits or conveniences of buying a box of pens online from a US-based business tend to be eclipsed by the cost of having to pay for them to be delivered to you in Australia. The delivery costs also mean that buying individual items from a range of different overseas businesses is significantly more expensive than buying all of the goods from one overseas business because the goods can be packaged and shipped together.

N-Tier architecture refers to the architecture of an application that has at least 3 “logical” layers — or parts — that are separate. Each layer interacts with only the layer directly below, and has specific function that it is responsible for.

Why use n-Tier architecture?

Because each layer can be located on physically different servers with only minor code changes, hence they scale out and handle more server load. Also, what each layer does internally is completely hidden to other layers and this makes it possible to change or update one layer without recompiling or modifying other layers.

Typically, the user interface runs on a desktop PC or workstation and uses a standard graphical user interface, functional process logic may consist of one or more separate modules running on a workstation or application server, and anRDBMS on a database server or mainframe contains the computer data storage logic. The middle tier may be multi-tiered itself (in which case the overall architecture is called an “n-tier architecture”).

For Example:
A change of operating system in the presentation tier would only affect the user interface code.

Graphical Representation:

N-Tier Architecture

User Interface/Presentation Tier

Presentation tier has a class library which provides classes for creating reusable GUI components. The GUI     components interface the business components.
Presentation Tier implements automated data workflows for GUI initialization, loading, saving data, enabling and disabling forms.
On this tier Multi-language support is implemented which allows runtime modification of terms and phrases.   Application layer has class library which allows combining different reusable GUI components from User Interface   tier into end products.

Data Tier

Data tier has Data Access class library which provides methods for exchanging data between business components and databases. Data tier has also designer tool which generates data entities and business components from database tables.

Business Tier

Business tier contains a class library which implements business functions. Business tier assures process authentication that prevents unauthorized usage of business components.

Service Tier

Service tier contains a class library which takes care of set-up and control Web Services, Remote objects, Windows Services and batch applications.

Workflow engine
Workflows are not set in the application code like in most software packages. Business flow diagram and control logic, defined by Business managers, is configured for workflow engine by using the user-friendly interface – Workflow designer with integrated version control. In fact it is possible to create multiple Workflows for any business context. Different workflows can be linked to any business context if necessary.

Comparison with the MVC architecture

MVC Architecture

At first glance, the n- tiers may seem similar to the MVC (Model View Controller) concept. however, topologically they are different.

A fundamental rule in a n-tier architecture is the client tier never communicates directly with the data tier. In a n-tier model all communication must pass through the middleware tier. Conceptually the n-tier architecture is linear.

However, the MVC architecture is triangular. The View sends updates to the Controller, the Controller updates the Model, and the View gets updated directly from the Model. (refere figure 2)

Graphical Example of N-tier Architecture Web Development Usage in Microsoft which is self explanatory.

Microsoft n-tier

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