A major innovation : ebusiness

Intro

Computer systems have become ubiquitous.
It is widely acknowledged today that new technologies, in particular access to the Internet, tend to modify communication between the different players in the professional world, notably: * relationships between the enterprise and its clients, * the internal functioning of the enterprise, including enterprise-employee relationships, * the relationship of the enterprise with its different partners and suppliers.

Online shopping pre-dates the internet/www, the IBM PC and Microsoft. It was invented in the UK in 1979 by Michael Aldrich of Redifon Computers. Aldrich connected a modified 26" colour television to a real-time transaction processing computer via a domestic telephone line and demonstrated online shopping.
During the 1980s online shopping was also used extensively in the UK and some parts of continental Europe by auto makers Peugeot-Talbot, Ford, Nissan and General Motors. But there was no broadband!
In 1990 Tim Berners-Lee created the first World Wide Web server and browser.
It is a major innovation in the sense that it has become unavoidable, and everyone is concerned about it. It has created a new way of buying, consuming and living. From banking to shopping to entertaining, the Internet has become integral to daily activities.

I/ What is e business
-In the emerging global economy, e-commerce and e-business have increasingly become a necessary component of business strategy and a strong catalyst for economic development.
-E-business (electronic business), derived from such terms as "e-mail" and "e-commerce," is the conduct of business on the Internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners. One of the first to use the term was IBM, when, in October, 1997, it launched a thematic campaign built around the term. Today, major corporations are rethinking their businesses in terms of the