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In the late 1990s, companies such as IBM and Ariba began rolling out the first global B2B networks. Subsequently, online supply chain technology expanded to meet the needs of companies that sell to the average consumer, and B2C was born. Recently, some market leaders coined the term "B2E," or busine...

The business-to-business market was the darling of e-commerce pundits way back in the early '90s when companies began to get serious about using the Web to do business. B2B e-commerce was expected to lead the way into a brave new online world of business communications, management and international ...

Recognizing the mutual benefit that accrues to helping their online merchants succeed, e-commerce hosting companies, along with e-tailers themselves, are driving demand for software applications that can help them better manage and grow their businesses. This final installment in our five-part serie...

It wasn't so long ago that technological or economic reasons -- or both -- stood in the way of many people who aspired to launch a retail business online. That's changed drastically in a short span of time. Professional quality e-commerce hosting services, along with a growing range of easy-to-use ...

The adaptation of technologies that were once exclusive to big science and the military for commercial public use has become a characteristic of our times. Notable among them are global positioning systems and geographic information systems, both of which have been growing in adoption as their tec...

With the ongoing development of wireless telecommunications and shared application and data resources, the practice of integrating geographic information systems with conventional data analysis and decision support systems is on the rise. This trend is having a profound effect on how products and se...

Roaming door-to-door salespeople were once American cultural archetypes, exemplars of the struggles of the common man to improve his lot and provide for his family through the art of the sale. For better and for worse, they epitomized the American obsession with commerce, material wealth and well-be...

Researchers have long recognized that representing large and diverse data sets visually and spatially offers the potential for improving both comprehension and ease of use. With the confluence of work in geographic information systems, enterprise data systems and distributed computing, this potentia...

The business of providing small businesses with e-commerce hosting and support solutions is growing fast. The large-enterprise market is crowded, and competition is fierce. That has led an increasing number of e-commerce platform providers to enter the SMB end, where they are looking to establish fo...

Want to be your own boss? Got an itch to try your hand at e-commerce but don't consider yourself a techie? Maybe you've got an eye for style, the next big fad, or just useful products. Or perhaps you have the pulse of a particular space, as well as the sales and marketing savvy to put an idea to ...

The size of an organization's data mountain can be expected to double roughly every five years, which can be an overwhelming prospect. For the firm that has implemented effective data management procedures, though, there's gold in them there hills. Interest in GIS-based Web services, such as Google ...

These days it seems that science fact is at least as amazing as science fiction. In a few short generations, actual developments in the real world of computing and information systems, biotechnology, nanotechnology and robotics have surpassed the imaginary leaps of early sci-fi authors such as Jules...

The challenges associated with building the next generation of large-scale data warehouse systems should not be underestimated. Storing and accessing data across multiple geographically dispersed platforms using multiple storage and transfer standards is a huge task. How to design database schema th...

Since the technology of data warehousing has risen to become common currency, it has been at the epicenter of leading-edge advances in database, data analysis and decision support systems theory and practice -- and for good reason. With experts estimating that the amount of data in any given organi...

IT and business managers are spending an increasing amount of time and money trying to predict what kind of return they can expect on their software investments, because their multi-networked, online working environment requires them to continually invent new approaches, as Part 1 of this two-part s...

A major auto manufacturer spends four years and more than US$200 million to install a Web-based enterprise resource planning system from an industry leading developer, then pulls the plug and goes back to its legacy system. An IT industry pioneer launches a leading vendor's customized order manageme...

Consumers and small businesses just can't afford to let their network and computer guards down these days. With the growing number of mobile and wireless technologies available to them, and with cybercrooks becoming better organized, focused, and more willing to share resources, the digital world c...

Consumers and small businesses just can't afford to let their network and computer guards down these days. With the growing number of mobile and wireless technologies available to them, and with cybercrooks becoming better organized, focused, and more willing to share resources, the digital world c...

Consumers and small businesses just can't afford to let their network and computer guards down these days. With the growing number of mobile and wireless technologies available to them, and with cybercrooks becoming better organized, focused, and more willing to share resources, the digital world c...

Consumers and small businesses just can't afford to let their network and computer guards down these days. With the growing number of mobile and wireless technologies available to them, and with cybercrooks becoming better organized, focused, and more willing to share resources, the digital world c...