E-commerce

Original E Business Worth Further Investigation
The online wire less delivery of electricity  in other words a wire less smart grid, is one of the most profitable new e-businesses we believe worth investigating, if not pursuing as a startup investment (either as a sole investor or a lead investor) for several reasons.

First, we obviously have access to the credit, debt and equity we need.  Second, the nations need for electricity, is growing exponentially, as is the global need.  This means of transmitting and selling it not only allows us to participate in global sales of clean, carbon free electricity, but the global carbon auctions, thereby automatically generating two income streams immediately.  We have done enough research, as we explain below, to minimize regulatory interference and paperwork, where it will be required, can retain Washington D.C and local counsel and lobbyists who can essentially guarantee at least some federal and state funding as well, and of course expedite permitting from the agencies where necessary, so those issues will not be of major concern.

We will have first mover advantage in this space.  We have picked our first state as a pilot very carefully to both give us the advantage of the business climate, existing federal funding, the existence of CU Boulder (and of course Boulder itself, the first city in the country where a wire line smart grid in the United States has just been built), plus other advantages the area offers to create a pilot that will not only compete but differentiate ourselves, and thus will enable us to go national if not international, especially given the grants the area has already received for EXPORTS, particularly of cleantech and high tech product.

In addition, the benefits to existing businesses and even individuals are tremendous, not just in these services but in the tax breaks we can offer them, but the additional revenue streams we have identified and discuss in the report below for us, if we further split the network, essentially creating a wireless VPN and ISP, further garnering income from wire less e-commerce business, which is, as we again discuss below, expected to hit somewhere north of 23 Billion by 2015.  With that, we wrap up our introductory question and reason for inquiry into the subject in the first place and begin our report on the issue at hand, its feasibility as a business, and the other requirements you asked to report on.

Summary
The wire less delivery of clean electricity offers incredibly profitable ecommerce returns because there is such a need for it in addition to enabling said company to generate additional revenue streams via splitting the network, to provide traditional wireless data and video broadband services.

Brief Overview of Plan
The plan is to take existing studies, plus the one smart grid in Boulder Colorado, as well as applications used in other countries, (both Telco and electricity models will be used) to create a model as a starting point to show how provision of said services at cheaper rates is not only feasible, but can provide additional upsides.

Our model is based on proven concepts in e-commerce, electrical engineering, WAN and VPN proven technology and the regulatory environment in the U.S. and globally.  Furthermore, we can implement most of this without policy changes.  Where some might be necessary, our research is already prepared to influence policy makers where necessary, if for no other reason than our plan is to provide a cheap but much needed commodity in a world reeling from debt and forced to deal with climate change, and high levels of joblessness.

Overview
The niche we have identified is absolutely profitable and yet to be exploited.  Despite Googles installation of the first smart grid in Boulder using wire line broadband, combined with their recent authorization to sell electricity from FERC, and their undeniable monopoly of the browser space, a company willing to take on the powers that be to deliver carbon free, environmentally friendly, cheap, electricity via broadband WIRE LESS networks, plus value added services is guaranteed to be profitable, differentiate itself and have guaranteed market entry.

TechnologyCompany Infrastructure
Our technology has been proven  but has not been implemented commercially yet in the United States - from Marconis and Teslas early experiments to the first experiment at Ball State to models being used in both the First AND the Third World.  In addition, in a digital environment, the technology is the same  pushing ANYTHING through a pipe  whether it be land line or virtual (i.e. a VPN), depends on infrastructure that is identical.  To wit in an IP universe of cyberspace, data is sent in bursts, video and voice must be sent via pipes big and fast enough to ensure that no jerky interruptions of packet transmission creates breakups in voice calls or digital views of video.  Electricity is just the same, its just more like data.

Furthermore, since such networks, whether wire line or wire less, can be literally split as any Telco provider can affirm, (the simplest example is that they provide services to more than one customer on a T-1 line) one is suddenly left with the proposition of a company that can create an automatic e-commerce company that sells both cheap electricity, avoiding cumbersome regulations (further discussion below) AND become a cheaply and easily scalable ISP for other customers who can both use said electricity in various ways, to power their own e-commerce businesses via the SAME network.

Proposal
We already know we are extremely competitive.  The first smart grid was just built in Boulder using wire line rather than wire less technology.

Not only is this approach idiotic if one studies what the Telcos are doing, but the issue of both EIS studies and their manipulation, not to mention the agencies shameful misuse of the public land under their trust, is probably an issue here. Information can be found in the Bibliography on the only two documentaries that have ever been done on the subject and aired on PBS in 1994 (Air Wars and A New Range War  The Pentagon and Public Land.)

Schematic
The following is a very rough overview of what a wire less network would look like.  The amount of revenue we anticipate, purely through electricity sales and ecommerce alone (which are expected to reach 23 Billion plus by 2015 just through wireless mobile apps ALONE) is more than enough to justify more research.
                           
Although the U.S. market for distributed generation is substantial, perhaps the greatest potential is with the worlds 3 billion poor people who have no reliable access to electricity. On-site generators, as noted before, can save the 1,500 per kilowatt that developing countries would be required to spend on transmission lines. They could allow those nations to leapfrog the power grid, eliminating the need to build an expensive system based on giant generators and high-voltage wires, much the way that some countries are using cell phone technology to leapfrog the need to string expensive telephone landlines.

This is how it would look in the United States for an established business, for example one that is seasonal and needed income year round, and also needed to save on phenomenal electricity costs during the period it is in operation.
                           
This is what a model would look like if we could also provide the SAME SERVICES to the individual consumer, in conjunction with both legislative policy changes and a special product we would design, that would allow the consumer to both sell additional electricity from THEIR energy positive home back to the grid, but also participate via an online tool, in the carbon auctions.
                         
Benefits
Easier to Implement
Easier and cheaper to scale than traditional models
Smaller decentralized grids that tie into a national network are immune from cyber attack andor outages
Provide market entry and a competitive marketplace to smaller players
Provide incentives to economic growth
Provide incentives to start small business
Jump start the paradigm shift to a cleantech, environmentally conscious information economy with high wages that cannot be outsourced
Increase still falling home value
Provide passive income to consumers and businesses
Create incentives for both businesses and workers in creating more opportunities for teleworkers in the form of tax breaks
Allow consumers to create passive income in the face of a still horrific job market and foreclosure scenario by increasing home value, eliminating major utility costs, creating their own businesses and participating in the carbon auctions, which is currently not allowed under the Markey legislation.

Risks
Wire less switches are more complicated
FERC authorization will have to be obtained
Finding and retaining properly trained personnel (who will all be a virtual workforce to begin with) may be difficult to find and expensive to retain.

The idea of allowing consumers and municipalities to participate in the carbon auctions, while a relatively simple software program to design, would have to pass Congress.  As it is, only large corporate entities and utilities are allowed to do this.  This would require legislative change.  It may be that this could be done on a state by state level.

Airspace  As the military controls the majority of airspace in the United States, this may also be an issue that may have to be addressed at the Congressional andor Executive Branch level.  However, airspace is public property and thus it should not fall under military control.  We have included a very useful handbook that will be useful in such arguments, as well as those that preserve privacy and specifically combat FISA in the bibliography to support our claims and arguments.

Microsoft has in recent years faced potentially its most potent threat from Linux open source operating systems. Linux provides the operating system free of cost and has challenged Microsofts traditional monopoly. Microsoft has a variety of possible strategies which it can use to counter this new threat. The most radical approach would be to offer Microsoft Windows as an open source product and focus on the applications market. Microsoft could launch a litigation war against Linux claiming breach of intellectual property. The more sustainable option would be to launch a partnership with Linux to allow for compatibility between Microsoft products and Linux systems which would expand the market for Microsofts applications.

Microsoft was started in 1975 with Bill Gates famous mission statement about every PC in every home running Microsoft software. Microsoft has sought to build a common standard, which some would say is code for a monopoly in personal computer operating systems. This means that Microsoft has historically sought to build large market shares, dominating each market they participate in. Today Gates has stepped back from day to day operations and his friend and colleague Steve Ballmer leads the company whilst Gates offers his vision for the future direction of the company.

Historical Perspective

Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in 1975. Microsofts first product was a condensed version of the BASIC programming language (Yoffie, Mehta and Seseri 2006 2). This programming language was developed for the first generation of Personal Computers. Microsoft continued developing other programming languages becoming a market leader in software development. However Microsoft started to achieve large scale success when it began to collaborate with IBM in 1980. IBM requested Bill Gates to provide an operating system for its new PC (Yoffie, Mehta and Seseri 2006 2). Gates did not develop the operating system completely himself however bought an existing operating system from another programmer for 50 000 and then tailored the operating system to work with Intel microprocessors which powered the IBM PCs (Yoffie, Mehta and Seseri 2006 2). By 1984 Microsoft had achieved 85 market share with its MS DOS product leading to the company going public in 1986. The stock price multiplied by three times within a year (Yoffie, Mehta and Seseri 2006 2). The 1980s saw the company attempt to move beyond MS DOS developing a graphical user interface called Windows. However Microsoft was still a laggard in software applications such as word processors and databases which were dominated by Lotus and Word Perfect. At this stage Microsoft products were perceived to be imitative and low quality.

With the development of Windows in the early 1990s, Microsofts revenue model was based around supplying hardware manufacturers with a single master copy of the software which they would then pre install on their machines. It was by the mid 1990s and the launch of Windows 1995 that development costs and time began to skyrocket. The development of upgrades was a way of keeping operating systems up to date whilst minimizing the cost of developing an entirely new operating system. When Windows became established as the standard operating system, Microsoft was then able to expand in the applications market. Microsoft established dominance over Lotus and Word perfect by bundling applications and offering incentives for customers to switch, however whilst Microsoft was able to dominate the productivity applications market, niche applications were still dominated by specialists such as Adobe.

Post 1993 Microsoft began to focus on operating systems for servers and developed Windows NT to compete with market leaders such as UNIX and Novell. However Windows NT was unable to dislodge UNIX from its market dominance and it was only with the development of Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 that Microsoft achieved a 70 server market share (Yoffie, Mehta and Seseri 2006 4). The cost of customer support to keep systems running also increased at this time.

A familiar pattern repeated itself with the emergence of the internet, in which Microsoft was initially dominated by a specialist browser developer Netscape. However after initial investments to create a superior product Microsoft was able to invert market share, bringing Netscape down from 87, to 22 in the late 1990, whilst capturing 77 of the market (Yoffie, Mehta and Seseri 2006 5).

After 2000 Microsoft spent much time, effort and money on resolving an array of legal challenges to its market domination. In 2000 a Federal Court Judge ruled that Microsoft was a monopoly and should be broken up into smaller units in accordance with the Sherman Antitrust Act (Yoffie, Mehta and Seseri 2006 6). However in subsequent years Microsoft won dismissals and denials and settled amicably with various parties which had joined the Department of Justice anti-trust action (Yoffie, Mehta and Seseri 2006 6). In 2004 the European Commission found Microsoft guilty of unfairly competing in the digital media player market leading to anti-trust violations (Yoffie, Mehta and Seseri 2006 6). This has led to Microsoft revealing more of its source code than it is comfortable with.

The Emergence of Linux as a Problem for Microsoft

In the late 1990s Linux emerged as a threat to Microsofts market dominance. Linux was free, had an open source code available to all developers and could run on a standard PC (Yoffie, Mehta, and Seseri 2006 8). It would particularly threaten Microsofts Windows NT operating system and be attractive to corporate users. Linux posed a threat because if hardware manufacturers switched to Linux it would exert strong downward pressure on the price of operating systems. Linux is essentially a potent threat to the Microsoft monopoly. IBM has been trying to promote Linux in order to challenge Microsofts dominance. Linux has particularly been a threat in emerging markets where personal, company and government customers tend to be more price sensitive. It is difficult for Microsoft to compete with a product which is free. Microsoft has had to share some of its source code with customers and launch an education drive which has informed customers of the relative parity in costs between Microsoft and Linux products.

The problem of Linux providing competition in the form of free open source operating systems was particularly potent in developing countries and emerging markets, more so in Asia. There was a developing culture of anti Americanism and anti Microsoft sentiment. A solution to this problem was the introduction of a basic version of Windows XP which could be sold for a more competitive price in countries such as India, Brazil and Thailand. The pricing in these countries was sometimes as low as 10 of the price in mature economies. Related to the pricing issue was the problem of piracy. Microsoft tried to address the issue of piracy by discontinuing updates for pirated versions of its products

Strategies to Counter the Linux Threat

When faced with competition from Linux which is offering a rival product for free through open source code, Microsoft must create a number of possible strategies to protect its business. One strategy which would be quite radical would be to essentially admit defeat to Linux and its open source free software and provide Windows as a free open source operating system. Windows has been experiencing declining revenues over a ten year period. It is certainly the core of Microsofts monopoly however increasing research and development costs and diminishing returns on each new release mean that consumers are less captive than they once were. Microsoft benefits more from the products which follow the operating system than the system itself.  One major benefit would be that the question of anti-trust litigation which Microsoft spent so many years dealing with would be resolved, developer support would be garnered to spread the costs of product development, allowing Microsoft to focus more on the development of more profitable products associated with the operating system.

Another possible strategy would be litigation through enforcing intellectual property laws. Microsoft can claim that Linux is violating its intellectual property rights or patents and launch a program of enforcement which would destabilise Linux by shaking the confidence of its users. In such a scenario users of Linux would be carrying a liability by using a product which is in violation of intellectual property rights of Microsoft. In such a strategy Microsoft would be able to collect payments from companies which use Linux under the threat of litigation.

Another major strategy could be to narrow the gap between Microsofts operating system and that of Linux. A strategy to forge interoperability between Windows and Linux could be pursued. Microsoft could enter into a partnership with Novell which sells SUSE Linux to develop ways to run both systems on individual computers. This would essentially be adapting to the needs of customers who find it difficult to manage the use of both operating systems separately for different functions.  Besides technical inter operability, a collaboration between Microsoft and Linux would put an end to litigation threats between the two companies, and combine sales and marketing resources. This move could potentially weaken Microsofts core business of operating systems by giving legitimacy to Linux, however would also make many of its other products compatible with Linux.

Evaluation of potential strategies

It would be highly unlikely that Microsoft would offer its operating system as open source in response to the challenge posed by Linux. The Microsoft franchise has been built almost since its inception upon the almost monopoly like grip which Microsoft has held upon the operating system market. It is this virtual monopoly which has allowed it to dominate market share in ancillary markets such as applications, swiftly crushing competition by bundling its applications with its operating system. Furthermore in the past Microsoft has been unwilling to release source code, and only done so in limited circumstances under the threat of judicial action. Microsoft is built around its operating system dominance and this at the core of its business forming part of its corporate culture. Such a radical change would be unlikely to receive the support of Bill Gates who still oversees the broad strategy and vision of the company.

A strategy based upon litigating competitors out of existence would most likely become counter productive. Not only would this make Microsoft unpopular among many of its own customers and Linux users, but would further enforce perceptions of Microsoft as a monopolist habituated toward anti competitive behaviour. Furthermore this strategy would be time consuming possibly stretching into many years as cases wind their way through the judicial system, from lower to higher courts. Microsoft re entering the sphere of litigation which it had worked so hard to move away from would re ignite anti- trust actions which may prove to be a bigger threat to business than the competition which Linux provides.

Rather than concede defeat and radically restructure the Microsoft business model or engage in a litigation battle which may cost more than it is worth, Microsoft would be better served by trying to cooperate and harmonize its operating system with that of its competitor Linux. This would allow Microsoft applications operability on Linux systems essentially expanding the reach of Microsoft products and accepting Linux as a reality. The argument that accepting the competition of Linux as a reality would legitimize Linux and weaken Microsofts position does not solve the problem as it exists but indicates a sense of denial on the part of Microsoft that they have to operate in a competitive environment, and Linux is a competitor which must be engaged with. This would require a cultural change within Microsoft which has exhibited a history of anti competitive and predatory monopolistic behaviour.

Obstacles to the Implementation of the Preferred Strategy

A possible obstacle to the successful implementation of the strategy to harmonize Microsoft operating systems with those of Linux would be in dealing with a potential shift in revenue models away from a revenue stream dominated by operating systems to one more focussed upon applications. As the Microsoft franchise has been built upon dominance in the operating system space, and operability of Linux with Windows applications would lend some stability to Linux market share some restructuring of Microsofts revenue and cost model would be necessary. This would provide a challenge to the senior management of the company in particular who would have to place a greater focus in innovation rather than relying on the advantage of controlling the software platform.

Conclusion

Assuming that the necessary cultural and financial changes can be implemented, in the longer term Microsoft would no longer have the burden of protecting its monopoly position through constantly expanding research and development costs for operating systems which are exhibiting declining sales and would be able to adapt to a changing market place in which applications and the internet will provide greater revenue streams. Furthermore this strategy would ease the legal pressure on Microsoft which it constantly faces due to its status as a monopolist. Federal anti-trust suits although dealt with in the post 2000 period will always threaten the Microsoft franchise and co operation with Linux and a strategic re structuring of the core business may be a small price to pay when confronted with the prospect of a successful anti- trust suit which would break up the company into smaller units.

Globalization comes along with fast pace financial transaction and migration of currency in entire world. To put the term development in front place, it needs to be technologically advance and more accurate than ever before. Today businesses world are increasing with double increasing demand of consumer. To meet such requirement it had became mandatory for banks around world to adopt the technology of new world.
Banks around world are busy restructuring the core value to retain customer and their trust on bank. With more advance customer society in 21st century, they expect their financial institutes and banks to anticipate their advance. These expectations of customer added different new modules to banking and financial system long ago, i.e. online banking. With online banking people (customer) have trust on their banks about the privacy of their financial information and personal data with the bank. There always exist a threat of loss of personal information and financial data over the internet. The basic question here is, how trustworthy are online transaction These transactions are the collection of number of different sub-transaction within faction of time. In past the more emphasis was to maintain the atomicity of transaction over internet. But now privacy is bigger concern for safe world business. (Turow J, 2005)

Any insecure network may be victimized and may get exploit with variable different backdoor advance threats. People are more skeptics to use their personal details for online banking and transactions. This is because there had been uncertain situations of customer loses its money over online transaction and never reached destination. There are two types privacy that one needs to maintain and many other aspects need to be considered before put personal information and financial details over internet. (Acquisti A, 2004)

Case 1 (Privacy of personal details provided to respective bank)
Assumption of customer with Bank Personal details provided to bank are safe and would never be used outside its work scope.

Assurance of Bank to its customer Details provided to banks are in safe hands and need not to worry.
Trust of Customer on Bank Details provided to bank would not be disclosed to third party.

Actual Fact Personal details are shared with third party for product and marketing offers. Customer is left with uncertain with whom their information was being used and shared and has no control over such disclosure.

Case 2 (Privacy of online transaction over Internet)
Assumption of customer with Bank Private networkdedicated connection provided by bank for online transaction is safest and no way could it be trace-passed.

Assurance of Bank to its Customer Transaction is connection orientedsession oriented and has responsibility to provide security during that session.

Trust of Customer on Bank Online transactions are safest, provided with security.

Actual Fact Most of the banks outsource their security services to private agencies and pay them on contract basis. Though agencies are bound by contract, still bank has no way to know if online transaction are wiretapped or listened online.

Apart from these assumption and trust Banks around world try to implement latest security measures and provide safest environment for online banking. Sometime threats come not from outside but exist within bank, employee who are authorized to access personal details of bank customer my find way to take those details outside bank for personal profit by selling them to third party (Jensen C.  Potts C. 2004). This situation is worst customer may lose its trust on bank and its security. In such circumstances bank offers compensation to customer but mostly it had proved to be unsuccessful try to regain customers trust (Tsai J, 2007).

Online banking had gained more important because of its policy of anytime-anywhere banking (Tang Z. 2005). If you access unsecured private network for online banking and get robbed by some online hackerintruder, it becomes more critical if the hacker is geographically located in some other country. This makes it impossible if such robbery has been done through several different countries, because each nation has its own constitution and different way of implementing law  order.

Online privacy gives you the power to control the release of personal and financial information over the Internet. Although there are new developments every day to help protect privacy  many things one can do to protect the personally identifiable information that is gathered about individual when someone surf and shop online. First, to follow some common sense rules online that will help you protect privacy and the privacy of individual family. Then, check out the growing range of new technological tools available to help to control the information sharing, surf anonymously and remove name from e-mailing lists.

A unique combination of tools and legal techniques, technical, and self-regulatory is being designed to address the privacy concerns of Internet users. (Brown M.  Muchira R 2004) Top-priority objectives include setting limits on government access to personal information, ensuring that new information and communication technologies are designed in ways that protect rather than diminish privacy, and developing appropriate federal legislation to set baseline standards for consumer privacy. This guide is intended to educate Internet users about online privacy, and offer practical suggestions and policy recommendations.

Information technology has revolutionized most of the manual processes that is being used in most industries nowadays. Communication and transaction has never been this swift and most people are getting most of their work done and can stretch their productivity as well. In essence, computer systems has complemented the work of most employees and made their deliverables easier.

Not only in terms of tasks at processes and automation has information technology also intervened into the economic activity of consumers in the recent times. E-commerce, has been the new global marketplace, where goods and services are traded, thus transactions are being made online than the usual cash basis. The whole spectrum of the value chain of most businesses, information technology has a crucial role from the production to the distribution of goods.

Business automation may look simpler than the automated activity, however, it has its own complications when the system is not fully understood or the user is not adept on the peculiarities that it offers. For instance, in e-commerce where credit cards are usually used, it can cause several mis-transactions as compared to the original point of sale in most marketplaces. For work users, automation can be as crude as the manual operations, thus troubleshooting should be at hand in case glitches would happen.

Despite the pros and cons of business automation, did it replace the human capacities in doing manual work or has lessened the workers to learn more about other facets of business Answering the former question, it can be a yes or a no. For example the rise of automated teller machines have made some bank consumers veer away from withdrawal transactions, however, the bank has more businesses that would need personal and human transactions. This shows that some business would really avail automation as part of their processes to replace usual activities like queuing in a line however, it does not compromise the human workforce. It is meant to cut off monotonous work and let employees concentrate on more manually-natured work.

This notion actually does not support that automation lessens the human ability. Information technology and computer systems are based on the usual process which employees do manually before. Thus, having these operations done in minutes instead of hours, would be a start for employees to explore more learning tasks than spending time doing manual work. For some organizations, the advent of communication technologies have made employees work or engage in opportunities off-site rather than just be present in the office.

Thus, business processing must be viewed as a complementing activity to most jobs in the workplace. Business should take the revolution as the replacement of old manual jobs in order to concentrate to more learning tasks and experiences. In the same way, business processes should be refined and ample education to users is needed in order for it to realize its full potential.

The closest description of the online communities is gathering place  of  several users which  become economically potent as they imbibe a combination of advertising, e-commerce and subscriber fees. Online communities are also known as virtual communities and they are across geographical and political boundaries.  Online communities are based on the premise of beyond geographies.

The concept of communities is not new to business. Companies have been community-focused since long. However, the internet has greatly enhanced communication among the members.

Online communities, if managed effectively, allow businesses to grow. One-point concentration of customers is useful for companies to do target marketing. Secondly the companies can use the member profile information in their communication and product development strategies. Online communities are also referred to as the virtual market places of the future (Martin Lindstrom and Tim  Frank Anderson). Today companies both medium and large-sized, are trying to  do in their Customer Relationship Management in maintaining loyalty  by fostering communities of customers.

Communities allow companies to get much closer to their most important customers through innovative programs that inspire participation such as member-generated content, events, member-to-member interaction and outreach efforts.
 
The question for marketers today is not whether to make online communities part of the marketing mix, its how to tap them and what kind to create. according to  Robbie Kellman Baxter, president of strategy consulting firm Peninsula Strategies. This is so important, particularly for high-emotion products. This technique creates loyalty among those customers because the customers peer groups are so tightly linked to the companys products says Baxter.

Companies like Charles Schwab, Unilever, Reebok and Starwood Hotels are capitalizing on consumers passion for sharing ideas and being part of a virtual community with private online venues that protect confidentiality for both the company and the members. Toymaker RC2 Corp. used Communispace to test its prototypes in the hands of kids and their moms. The information collected about names, pricing and packaging helped the company make hundreds of decisions about its toys and retail programs.

The downside of private online communities is that they do not represent scientific statistical samples. These can  be used only to gauge reactions, but not to base multimillion-dollar decisions . Moreover many sites were successful in attracting huge usage, revenue hasnt kept pace. Most online communities are not economically viable. Most never will be viable due to several tricky issues which conspire against online communities. though  a number of niches within the online community space are faring very well.

We can concur with Brian Eckert who said that One of the most successful business models to emerge and capitalize upon the Internets capabilities is the creation and maintenance of Internet Communities.  According to Baxter, Companies need to see the trend and evolve, before it passes them by.

Technology is making life easier for people especially in the business world. With the help of technology, most businesses have taken to carrying out their business activities using various technologies in information and communication technology. Companies have been able to link their processing systems and automate all their processes, and this has helped them improve their efficiency levels as they satisfy the needs of their customers. This is what is being referred to as e-business. It includes the use of technologies to improve a companys profitability and productivity (Andam, 2003).

Information is one of the valuable resources in an organization. The information that is found in most of the businesses concerns the customers. One of the issues facing e-business is developing trust among the customers about the privacy and security of the information that they provide to the businesses. There are concerns that are being raised by the customers about how the information that they provide will be used and how it will be protected from unauthorized access. Security is a major concern for the customers and the businesses and it is one of the areas that needs further research in e-business. The customers need to know that they can trust the businesses with the information and the businesses need the customers to trust them in order to develop e-business. How can security of information be enhanced in e-business for the benefit of both parties

The research can identify some of the problems that the businesses face when adopting security measures in e-business. The fears that the customers and the clients have concerning their information in e-business can also be discussed and highlighted. Some of the security measures that have been set up can be discussed briefly and the ways in which their viability is being challenged. Several research methods and approaches can be used to answer this question. One of the methods that can be used to identify the solution is by use of the case study method. There are various businesses that have been able to get ways to enhance the security of their processes in e-business and gained their customers trust as well. The businesses may have developed different ways of dealing with the issue of security of the information that their clients have provided. The focus can be put on some of these businesses and the methods that they have applied to enhance the security in their processes and ensure that the sensitive information provided is safe and secure.

Interviews with several experts of Information security and in e-businesses can be used to gather information. They can give their expert opinions on some of the challenges that are there in e-business when it comes to security of information and getting the customers to trust them. They may also give their advice on some of the methods that are viable but have not been investigated or experimented to ensure that they can work. They may also point out some of the policies that can be established to help strengthen the issue of e-business security.

EBay is an online shopping and auction website that allows people and websites to trade, buy and sell variety of goods and services worldwide. Majority of sales takes place through a set time auction format. eBay has established localized websites as Paypal, Kijiji, and Stubhub in various countries to facilitate easier trading. eBay auctions provide a convenient, efficient, and entertaining market place in which to sell and shop (David and Richard, 2 000).eBay is a phenomenon in the expanding universe of e-commerce. Many people have made eBay an important part of their live and businesses, where they out bargain or find items for their personal collections(David and Richard,2000).The use of Internet allows eBay to offer its customers something distinctive. According to David and Richard (2000) when Shirley Bryant began listing her more expensive books on eBay auctions, items that would normally stay for months in her store catalog sold quickly at eBay and at good prices and better still, her local business took on global proportions (p.1).She soon started dealing with customers all over the world saying that eBay provided her customers she would never have found on catalogs or store. Internet can also allow eBay to solve a new set of problems for customers. At a given time web surfer can find over 4 million different sites in over 2,000 different product categories on eBay. Internet site is the world largest market for person to person trading (David and Richard, 2000).The person to person trading forums on the internet allows interaction, collectible shows, auction houses and classified ads, therefore expanding geographical reach of sellers enormously and increasing buyers profitability.

eBay reaches a very wide range of customers through the internet. It is one of the most important aspects in expanding the e commerce industry. Considering the number of people who browse the internet daily, approximetaly 500 million consumers are reached every day (David and Richard, 2000).With such an intense growth in internet connection and usage it means that the amount of business being carried by an average user is also growing significantly meaning there is more to be purchased over the net. The  consumers that can use eBay  include those who want airline tickets, home morgages,drugs,auotomobiles and even groceries through web house. Accordingly David (2000) says that a research has shown an increase in online retail sales by 108 billion (p.7).However the society of advancement of education (2006) says that a growing number of users are buying less online, approximately 41, due to growing worries about identity theft, which include mishandling of data by credit card processing company card systems (p.1). eBay practices the dynamic pricing where transaction prices are determined by buyers. The internet has enabled to lift commercial activities directly from offline model thus providing no greater value. The only thing that online auction has done is to minimize risk and maintain business, by valuing the cost of goods as the cost of transferring them electronically. From a consumers perspective theres no difference in purchasing the same good or service on a retailers catalog and purchasing it on the internet. However since the introduction of price line in 1995 the buyer gets a low price on a good or service on the net, and the seller unloads something that might otherwise expire as worthless (David and Richard, 2000).

e Bay makes a growing company to engage in different mechanisms called site policing for communication of the companys values to millions of active users  which is limited to e-mails and various bulletin boards, newsletters and announcements it places on its site. In the early years, when the community was small eBay values were passed to new users by veteran buyers and sellers (David and Richard, 2000).The rate of growth of eBay makes it impossible for an organization to manage its infrastructure efficiently. Constant increase in human traffic in eBay web site requires constant upgrading of technology and expansion of network infrastructure, engineer staff and transaction processing systems e.g. installation of web servers with the company hosting supplier. Lack of implementation may result in slower response by users. Managing of a dot com company requires new and unique management that will scale the organization and identify opportunities, come up with a vision and organize improvisers. Growing internet companies require personnel with in depth knowledge in managing processes and people. The launch of online stock trading meant that companies had to employ personnel with knowledge in online forex trading so as to keep the company in touch with the market trends.

The power of internet has helped eBay to perform existing transactions at a faster pace since most of the people in the world have access to the internet. In a magazine e business, internet has helped to boost investment in eBay. There has been a major increase in previous years market performance and reinforcing of the development agencys to be at the top of technology. John de Kanter a chief executive of In Staffs said that since the start of use of internet to market the institution, a new feel and look  on the institution  site has been created  with even modern design that provide in depth information thus making it easier for people to browse through the site. Since its launch In Staffs has seen significant leadership in technology innovation and internal investments.Tomtom (2007) has also linked with Google to meet the growing demands of its customers through the internet (p.22).Tomtom said that its users were able to transfer their data into Tomtom devices through the net. Without the internet then such data would be outdated therefore internet plays a major role in Tomtom .When an award winning  Stockton e-tail specialists Visual soft launched its ground breaking designer clothing as on line sale, shoppers spent a massive on their clothing, it was  named the winner of the Design of the Year Award. The director of Visual soft said that the approach to web development was the key success factor (Gale, 2009). Internet is unleashing a wave of change in eBay and its clearly seen in various companies. As the Cisco, Chris Sionton says since the launch of internet in his company it has been easier to transact business within the company.

Internet has a number effect to the people, environment, systems and strategy structure of eBay. Internet creates thousand of employment opportunities ranging from programmers, managers and software engineers. Stock markets in the world are currently trading online. It has also made companies to emerge faster and compete with higher ranking companies in the world. It also creates a conducive environment where every employee has the freedom of speech. According to David and Richard (2000), Pierre said that he looked upon his employees to speak out if the company management was doing something that was not right.

Actually he said that he had empowered everyone to be the guardian of culture (p.98).The internet helps in continual learning, Systems thinking and open information flow in the organization thus helping the organization in better decision making, resource mobilization and environment understanding. Dot com companies run into unanticipated problems and opportunities with startling regularity making them more efficient and effective (David and Richard, 2000).When a company has a mission, like to be the worlds largest online auction company, the management will make its decisions in regard to its mission .Thus through the internet eBay has facilitated making key decisions quickly and effectively. Through the internet eBay facilitates continued new programs in the company, new sites and major initiatives. This reveals the companys involvement in problems and opportunities. Internet has helped the companies to grow very quickly. Accordingly e-commerce environment is growing at a very high rate and changing quickly. The companies have to build substantial excess capacity systems that can hold excess growth human traffic in their eBay websites (David and Richard, 2000).