Business and Finance

The business and finance sectors are arguably the most dynamic and innovative industries in the world’s modern economies. As rapid as the technology changes, the faster the sectors adopt to these innovations, taking each technological challenge as an opportunity to improve their service and to expand into wider demographics and geographical scope.

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During the advent of the 21st century, the sectors have once again proven their flexibility and capability to cope with sudden market changes and new technological trends, particularly the commercialisation of the Internet and the rising popularity of the World Wide Web that result to the birth of electronic commerce, or what is commonly known as e-commerce.

What is E-commerce?
E-commerce refers to the processing of business transactions over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. Over the years, the Internet has gained the reputation of being a safe and secure medium to make a purchase or do other business transactions, such as on-line payment of bills and hotel/ticket reservation.

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Business Applications
When one looks at today’s business environment, it is easy to conclude that e-commerce has influenced almost every facet of the business and finance sectors. As people continue to seek for new solutions to improve how an existing business transaction is processed and dealt with, new applications for e-commerce is developed. The following are just few of e-commerce’s popular business applications:

On-line shopping is the process of acquiring products or services through the Internet. Among the consumer products commonly purchased through the net are books, fashion accessories, cosmetics and nutritional products. The popularity of on-line shopping can be attributed to the increasing number of people using the net, the convenience it offers, and the rising number of businesses who want to get their products on-line. Recent data from price comparison and switching website uSwitch.com showed that UK’s online sales for the first half of 2008 totalled to 26.5 billion pounds, despite the 3.9 decline in retail sales in June. uSwitch also made a promising forecast for the on-line retail sector, predicting that 19 percent of overall retail sales in UK for 2008 will be made on-line.

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E-mail and messaging. The advent of e-mail and instant messaging has certainly changed and positively impacted the way business is done today. And inarguably, e-mail and messaging are two of the most important business applications that an enterprise should never be without. They made written communication easier, faster, and less expensive, compared to that of postal service. They also help businesses improve their customer service by allowing merchants and customers make buying and selling decisions in a timely manner.

On-line payment is the process of paying for acquired goods or service on-line. The process typically involves the transfer of fund/money electronically using computer networks, the Internet and digital stored value systems. On-line payment transactions are usually made using debit cards and credits cards. The most safest and secure way of making an on-line payment or making a money transfer is via an on-line payment service such as Pay Pal, Western Union, and Money Gram. So, next time you make your purchase over the net, check whether the merchant is using the service of any of these on-line payment service providers to ensure the security of your transaction and to avoid fraudulent financial thief.

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Accounting and finance systems. Perhaps another remarkable development contributed by e-commerce to business and finance is the automation of accounting and finance processes. It gives businesses greater control over their financial operations, and allows them to stay ahead of the competition. Thus, every business organization should include business and accounting software, which has an efficient database, integration capabilities, ability to generate clear and accurate reports critical for instant decision making, as one of the key element in its competitive strategy.

Newsgroup is a public forum area on the Internet that is dedicated and focused for the discussion of a specific topic. It is usually used an alternative to e-mail to disseminate information to a large user group. With the increasing number of people joining newsgroups, many companies are exploring the potential of newsgroups a marketing tool.

Financial quotes and quotations specifically refers to the marketing data relating to the last price in which securities are last traded, or to the latest price of consumer commodities and services. Many consumer sites, particularly those in the real estate, car loan and rental, and consultancy, currently offer free quotation as part of their customer service.