BTEC ICT Level 3 Unit 8 E-Commerce

Session 1 – Technologies Required For an E- Commerce System

1. Technologies required for an E-Commerce system

Starter Questions:

1.What do you think “e-commerce” means?2.What is an “online” business or trader? Can

you identify 3 examples?3.Working with a partner try and list as many

examples of ‘hardware’ and ‘software’ that would be used to carry out e-commerce.

Unit 8 Learning Aims

After completing this unit you should:1.Know the technologies required for an e-

commerce system2.Understand the impact of e-commerce on

organisations3.Understand the effects of e-commerce on

society4.Be able to plan e-commerce strategies.

E-Commerce Definition: - The buying and selling of goods and services by businesses and consumers through an electronic medium, without using any paper documents.

Any transaction that is completed solely through electronic measures can be considered e-commerce.

1.1. Technologies – What do they consist of?

Software: - • Web server - a server that distributes web

pages on the internet, holding live copy of the web page which can be seen by anyone.

• Browsers – software that allows the user to view the webpage, installed in a computer converting the data received into a visual webpage. They store cached web pages to be reviewed quickly again.

1.1. Technologies – What do they consist of?

1.1. Examples of Browsers

Other examples of web browsers include:Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Safari.

Browsers visually represents HTML and other web languages so that they appear like this on your computer screen!

Software (Contd): - • Server Software- such as Internet Information

Services (IIS), Apache HTTP Server and CuteFTP designed to make uploading data (File Transfer Protocol) more user friendly .

• Web Authoring Tools – helping more people create web pages by simplifying the process. They include Microsoft Expression Web (part of Office 2007) and Adobe Dreamweaver.

1.1. Technologies – What do they consist of?

1.1. Examples of Web Authoring Tools

Microsoft Expression Web – displaying WYSIWYG

Adobe Dreamweaver - – displaying WYSIWYG

Software (Contd): - • Database Systems - e-commerce websites use a

back-end storing catalogue of products and customer records that is linked to it based on an easy-to-read language (examples include MySQL).

• Networking – focuses on how a computer can be identified, data will be transferred (TCP/IP addresses) and the naming of websites (domains)

1.1. Technologies – What do they consist of?

1.1 – Technologies (1) Plenary Questions

1. Identify and explain the term ‘Hardware’?2. Identify and explain the term ‘Networking’?3. Identify and explain the term ‘Web Servers’?4. Identify and explain the term ‘Browsers’?5. Identify and explain the term ‘database

Systems’?6. Identify and explain the term ‘TCP/IP

Addresses’?

1.1 – Technologies (2) Plenary Questions

1. Identify and explain the term ‘Domain names’?

2. Identify and explain the term ‘Programming Requirements’?

3. Identify and explain the term ‘Download Speeds’?

4. Identify and explain the term ‘Browser/Platform Compatibility’?