E-Commerce Strategies (IT Professional) [Hardcover]

Charles H Trepper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2000 | Series: IT Professional

In the coming years, digital technology will radically increase the speed at which business is conducted. Ultimately, digital technology will transform three major elements of any business: relationships with customers and business partners (commerce), information flow and relationships among workers within a company (knowledge management), and internal business processes (business operations). "E-commerce Strategies" deals with the first of these elements by providing IT decision-makers with a broad education about the benefits of implementing e-commerce solutions in the enterprise. It also provides case studies of successful e-commerce implementations using Microsoft technologies that offer benefits such as increased productivity, faster order cycles, lower manufacturing costs, and lower total cost of ownership. The book leads the reader through each case study, describes and quantifies its benefits in detail, and provides an evaluation guide to help the reader determine whether the case study and implementation are relevant to his or her own business. It also describes a set of consistent e-commerce business applications and ties them together chapter by chapter. The end of the book describes how these solutions can be woven together into a comprehensive, enterprise-wide system of digital solutions -- what Microsoft calls a Digital Nervous System (DNS).

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

E-commerce is definitely hot, but doing it well is anything but easy. In the spirit of making it easier to understand, E-Commerce Strategies serves two purposes: to frame the issues involved in planning and implementing an e-commerce solution, and to explain Microsoft's strategy in that arena.

Targeted toward decision-makers in organizations, this title defines the terminology, spells out the benefits, and specifies the pitfalls of doing business online. It doesn't answer every question, but the book does give solid methods for fully evaluating company needs and formulating a battle plan. Strategies also addresses e-commerce myths and realities and gets readers thinking about how to measure the success and cost of an e-commerce plan.

A chapter titled "E-Commerce Site Essentials" covers the internal and external features to consider implementing on a site--with a remarkable lack of screen shots of real-world implementations. Appendices list the Web sites and printed sources used in writing the book, which is somewhat helpful.

Part of the book covers the Microsoft e-commerce platform, offering an overview of the various pieces of the Redmond giant's plan--from Site Server to Windows 2000, and MSN for content delivery. This section is pretty lightweight, and it has no visual examples of Microsoft-based Web sites, but the text does concisely summarize the Microsoft architecture.

Moving into the fast-paced world of e-commerce can be intimidating. This book is good for getting managers and executives started in their online futures using Microsoft platforms. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered:

• Importance of e-commerce
• E-commerce risks and rewards
• Hardware and software components
• Essential site features
• Membership and profiling
• Brand management
• Microsoft e-commerce strategy
• Microsoft portals
• Partnering issues

Product Details

• Hardcover: 341 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735607230
• ISBN-13: 978-0735607231
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,933,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Filled with Best Practices and Helpful Checklists!, April 28, 2000

By 

Jon (East Coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: E-Commerce Strategies (IT Professional) (Hardcover)

I found this book to be great, even though we don't have much in the way of MS software. The real value of the book lies in two key areas:

1. Best practice research from I/T industry analysts, and almost every major analyst group is included. This feature alone provides lots of great tips. Plus, getting the best practice research would cost thousands of dollars to purchase from analysts.

2. The checklists, such as the "Taking Stock" and "Action Plan" sections at the end of each chapter. These lists are very useful in planning E-Commerce initiatives and strategies, because they give you a list of things to do, and help you avoid forgetting anything.

While the book does not detail a methodology for E-Commerce development (e.g., programming), it is extremely valuable for strategic planning. It's also valuable for checking your current initiatives to see if you're following the best practices outlined in the book. About me: I'm a 42-year-old Director of E-Commerce with a large east coast food manufacturer.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Place for E-com Beginners ala Microsoft 2000, April 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: E-Commerce Strategies (IT Professional) (Hardcover)

Trepper does a decent job on hitting all of the bases. His book is practical with plenty of references and resources. My frustrations: I was looking more for a roadmap to E-Commerce planning and implementation. This book does not provide a project-type of guideline. I wish the appendix would have included such a guide (NO CD-ROM).The book could have been better illustrated to reinforce the verbage. For the Microsoft-phobics, he really promotes the new Microsoft suite of products( ref Ch 9). In fairness, Microsoft has a plausible E-com solution. If you want to get there get here, pick this one up to get acquainted with equipped to compete in the New Economy.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book but ---, August 7, 2000

By 

A. REHMAN (Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: E-Commerce Strategies (IT Professional) (Hardcover)

I have found this to be a good book for beginners on the subject. It provides a very good basis for understanding the concepts. Readers should however remember that it has a clead bias towards Microsoft.

It is a good book but biased.