launching a successful online business and ec projects - Prentice Hall

Chapter Twelve: Launching a Successful Online Business and EC Projects W12.31
STEP 2: CREATING AN EC ARCHITECTURE
An EC architecture is a plan for organizing the underlying infrastructure and applications
of a site. The plan specifies the following:
◗ Information and data required to fulfill the business goals and vision
◗ Application modules that will deliver and manage the information and data
◗ Specific hardware and software on which the application modules will run
◗ Necessary security, scalability, and reliability required by the applications
◗ Human resources and procedures for implementing the architecture
Various IT tools and methodologies can be used to support the creation of an application
architecture. Because the creation of an architecture is an iterative process, collaborative
methodologies, such as joint application development (JAD), are especially useful
in identifying and modifying system requirements.
For example, TD Banknorth, a leading banking and financial services company
headquartered in Portland, Maine, wanted to upgrade its online customer services to
provide information fast enough so that customers would not have to send e-mails or
make phone calls. With the help of RightNow’s on-demand solutions and professional
services, TD Banknorth increased its 24-hour maximum response rate to customer
e-mails from a mediocre 90 percent level to an impressive 97 percent and lowered e-mail
volume by 55 percent, to about 35 messages a day.
The results obtained from step 2 are routed to a steering committee at the strategic
planning level. Based on the results of step 2, the application portfolio may be changed.
For example, the steering committee may discourage or scale down the specific project
because it is too risky. Once the architecture is determined and the project gets final
approval, a decision about how to develop the specific EC application must be made and
a development option chosen.
STEP 3: SELECTING A DEVELOPMENT OPTION
EC applications can be developed through several alternative approaches that will be
discussed in detail in Section 12.8. The major options are:
◗ Build the system in-house.
◗ Have a vendor build a customized system.
◗ Buy an existing application and install it, with or without modifications, by yourself
or through a vendor.
◗ Lease standard software from an application service provider (ASP), lease as a service
(SaaS), or lease via utility computing.
◗ Enter into a partnership or alliance that will enable the company to use someone
else’s application.
◗ Join a third-party e-marketplace, such as an auction site, a bidding (reverse auction)
site, or an exchange, that provides needed capabilities to participants (e.g.,
Yahoo! Store).
◗ Use a combination of approaches.
The criteria for selecting from among the various options were presented in
Section 12.3. Once an option is chosen, the system can be developed. At the end of
this step, an application is ready to be installed and made available. No matter what
option is chosen, it is important to keep in mind that all the different applications that
support the various capabilities of the Web site must be coordinated and considerable
EC architecture
A plan for organizing
the underlying
infrastructure and
applications of a site.
scalability
How big a system can
grow in various
dimensions to provide
more service; measured
by total number of
users, number of
simultaneous users, or
transaction volume.