Assignment Two : E-Commerce

Types Of E-Commerce And The Components Of E-Commerce Architecture

     E-Commerce or Electronic Commerce is defined as the process of buying, selling, transferring or exchanging products, services, and information via computer networks, including the Internet. It is also refers to the business transaction conducted via electronic means. E-Commerce allows exchange of goods and services electronically with no barriers of time and distance.

     In this assignment, I have chosen B2B and B2C e-commerce transactions to make comparison between both transactions and also explain further about the components of their architecture. The B2B and B2C e-commerce transactions that I have selected for this assignment are Alibaba and Amazon respectively.

     For Business-to-Business (B2B), both the sellers and the buyers are business organizations. It is an electronic business marketplaces, which link between businesses, auctions and exchanges directly. One of the examples for B2B transaction e-commerce is Alibaba. Alibaba is one of the world's biggest B2B marketplace. Alibaba offers a transaction-based retail website, AliExpress.com, which allows smaller buyers to buy small quantities of goods at wholesale prices. According to some e-commerce analysts, Alibaba is probably the one organization in the world, which has been able to successfully provide a hassle free platform to small to medium sized businesses to carry on over the Internet. 

     On the other hand, for Business-to-Consumers (B2C), the seller are organizations and the buyers are individual. B2C transaction is also known as e-tailing. B2C consists of businesses selling to the general public through shopping cart software, without needing any human interaction. This is what most people think when they hear "e-commerce". An example of B2C transaction e-commerce would be Amazon. Amazon is a product-oriented B2C site that sell a wide variety of goods, including clothing, electronics, books, toys, movies etc to consumers. It is an online version of retail store where customers can shop 24 hours with comfort. 

Now, we will discuss about the components of e-commerce architecture of Alibaba's and Amazon's websites:

     Firstly, the access control and security of Alibaba and Amazon have establish mutual trust and secure access between parties in an e-commerce transaction by authenticating users, authorizing access, and enforcing security features. In order to conduct the transaction through both of the websites, the users need to register and login to their own account through user names and passwords. The both e-commerce sites will then authorize access to only those parts of the site that an individual user needs to accomplish his or her particular transactions. Thus, users usually will be given access to all resources of an e-commerce site except for other people's accounts, restricted company data, and Web master administration areas.

Alibaba

Amazon

     Besides, the profiling and personalizing components of Alibaba and Amazon websites uses cookies files, tracking software and users' feedback to keep track on users' behavior through online. Profiling is used for personalized marketing, authenticating identity, manage customer relationship, marketing planning and website management.
   
     For search management component, Alibaba and Amazon provide a search engine component to increase the Website capability that helps customers find the specific product or service they want to evaluate or buy. The search engines that provided in Alibaba and Amazon websites use a combination of search techniques, including searches based on content (a product description) or parameters.

Alibaba's Search Engine

Amazon's Search Engine

     Moreover, the content management software of both websites helps Alibaba and Amazon companies to develop, generate, deliver, update and archive text and multimedia information at e-commerce websites.

Alibaba's content

Amazon's content

     For catalog management component, Alibaba and Amazon websites consist of catalog management software to help them generate and manage the catalog content. The Alibaba's website shows portrait catalog, while the Amazon's website shows landscape catalog.

Alibaba's Catalog

Amazon's Catalog

     Besides that, for payment component, each e-commerce website have their own payment method support. For example, Alibaba's website support payment methods such as MasterCard, Maestro, Visa, Western Union, Bank Transfer, Web Money and Qiwi Wallet. However, Amazon's website support payment methods such as Amazon.com store card, checking accounts, MasterCard, Visa Card, American Express, Discover Network etc.

Alibaba's Payment Methods

Amazon's Payment Methods

     For collaborating and trading component, both customer-focused e-commerce websites uses tools such as e-mail, chat systems, and discussion groups to nurture online communities of interest among employees and customers to enhance customer service and build customer loyalty in e-commerce.

     In conclusion, I personally prefer Amazon rather than Alibaba. This is because as a consumer, Amazon is more suitable for me compared to Alibaba that is more suitable for suppliers or other businesses. Also, Amazon is more suitable to me than Alibaba because I usually do not buy the same products in large quantities. Besides, I think that Amazon e-commerce can get more relevant information about consumer's preferences and opinions, rather than Alibaba e-commerce which only provide information to suppliers or business corporation. Through Amazon e-commerce transaction, consumers can participate in product ratings and reviews. Therefore, Amazon e-commerce is much more closer to consumers' preferences and choices and this can increase the satisfaction of the consumers.

Assignment One : Presentation Software

The Common Features Or Functionalities Of Prezi And Microsoft PowerPoint

     I have selected 2 presentation software which named Prezi and Microsoft PowerPoint. 

   Prezi is a cloud-based presentation app that allows users to create beautiful and compelling stories through an overarching image structure combined with a unique navigation system that zooms into key components. Prezi’s unique differentiation is it’s zoom function. This allows the presenter to simply click the background with the mouse to zooms out the presentation to an overview, and also allow the presenter to zoom into the area they want. This allows the presenters to explore their ideas smoothly and naturally. Next, Prezi is considered to be a non-linear presentation software. It allows the presenters to choose their own paths. In other words, users can jump in and out ideas and are given more flexibility when presenting ideas. Besides, Prezi is free and web-based, which means you can work from any computer with an internet connection. Users don’t need to download any programs into their computer and they also don’t need to carry around an external hard drive or flash drive in order to present. Since they are web-based, Prezi presentations can easily be embedded into blogs and webpages. Therefore, users can share their presentations through online.

    Microsoft PowerPoint is known to be the standard software when making presentations. It is simple to learn. It is also extremely useful if you want to create a simple, professional presentation with a linear story line. Microsoft PowerPoint is user friendly. Technically, PowerPoint is very simple to use. This is because Microsoft office programs are taught in school, so most people have at least some familiarity of knowing how the software works. Next, PowerPoint provides seemingly endless possibilities when it comes to slide design. Users can choose from an endless amount of colors, fonts, graphics, and backgrounds to design their slides. Users can also use these visual enhancements in Microsoft PowerPoint to add the explanatory power of the presentation and also enhance their visuals. Besides, the hyperlinks function in PowerPoint allows users to click on a link and be taken directly to the links location on the web or somewhere else in the presentation.

     The table below show some of the common features or functionalities between Prezi and Microsoft PowerPoint: 

Features/Functionalities	Prezi	Microsoft PowerPoint
Saving to PDF	Yes	Yes
Included Themes	A lot	A lot
Custom Themes	Yes	Yes
Inserting Image	Yes (cannot paste in web images)	Yes
Image cropping	Yes	Yes
Video Files Insertion	Yes, many format	Yes, limited formats
Youtube media Insertion	Yes	Window-Yes, Mac-No
Sound Insertion	Yes, multiple file types	Yes, multiple file types
Soundtrack Insertion	Yes	Yes
Web Link Insertion	Yes	Yes
Auto Spell Check	Yes	Yes

Prezi Software

Microsoft PowerPoint Software

The Differences Between Prezi And Microsoft PowerPoint

     There are some differences between Prezi and Microsoft PowerPoint software. The table below show the differences between Prezi and Microsoft PowerPoint. This review is based on my experiences, and others may have different opinions and experiences.

	Prezi	Microsoft PowerPoint
Ease Of Use	Moderate	Easy
Fonts, styles, themes, colours	Limited choices offered	Large number of choices  offered
Transitions	The zooming features when use appropriately can  emphasize connections  between ideas and processes.	For some materials, the linear design of  PowerPoint is perfect. The transition effect is a lot and optional.
Metaphor	Canvas / Whiteboard	Slide / Slide Tray
Software Model	Web-based, require Internet	Application based, require program installations
Pricing	Basic for free, pay for upgrade	Usually sold as part of the Microsoft Office  Suite, can cost several hundred dollars
Saved Files Types	PEZ files on web, downloadable	PPT files on computer
Embed on web page	Yes	Using 3rd party (eg: Slide Share)
Templates	Over 90 free templates	Hundreds of free templates
Template design	Very high end design with modern animation	Designs are fairly basic
Printer Friendliness	Not Great	Great
Motion sickness	Can be an issue if users are not careful with transition frequency and depth effects	Not an issue
Drawing tools	Limited	Huge Variety

Which Software Do I Prefer? Why?

     Microsoft PowerPoint and Prezi both have their own place. PowerPoint has some great advantages for the average presenters, while Prezi has a few great benefits if users want to create a more interactive presentation. 

     

     I personally prefer Microsoft PowerPoint for my presentation. This is because I am more familiar with PowerPoint software that are more user friendly compared to Prezi. In my opinion, I think that Microsoft PowerPoint is much more easier to use compared to Prezi which are more complicated. 

    Many people consider PowerPoint to be an out-of-date software, it is mainly because they associate it with elementary school classrooms and simple, cheesy animations. The reality is that we can do so much more with PowerPoint that most people don’t realize. Yes! It is true that Prezi is great for those that want to break out of the boring PowerPoint rut. It offers a fresh new take on the traditional presentation, and can be a great way to keep viewers engaged. However, if we don't master Prezi software well, the Prezi presentations can make the viewers dizzy and distract them from the content of your presentation. Therefore, I will be more prefer to use Microsoft PowerPoint software that I am more familiar with. This is to make sure that viewers and audiences will engaged with my presentation content and also to ensure that the viewers can get the information that I wish to share with them.

     Lastly, I think that, no matter which software we prefer, we must first take the time to master and use it to create good presentations. At the end of the day, both of these software are just tools. Whatever tools you choose, it will only add value to your presentation if it helps you to tell your story. 

What Did I Learned From This Assignment?

     This assignment required us to create a blog, explore 2 presentation software and explain more detail about both softwares through blog writing. I have chosen 2 presentation software for this assignment, which is Prezi and Microsoft PowerPoint. 

     

     Firstly, through this assignment, I have learned the way to do blog writing. I have used Blogger in doing this assignment. Before doing this assignment, I was not so clear about the features of blog writing software. But, after doing this assignment, I have gained more understanding about the blog writing software and its features.

     Secondly, I have explored two presentation software that I chose, Prezi and Microsoft PowerPoint. Although I am quite familiar with the operation of Microsoft PowerPoint software, but after explored it, I realized that there are still a lot of features and functionalities that I don't even know before. Also, through this assignment, I have gain better understanding and knowledge about the Prezi software. I have never use Prezi software before. Therefore, in order for me to understand more about the features and functionalities, I have registered an account to explore Prezi software. After explore it, I realized that it is a presentation software which is more creative and interactive compared to Microsoft PowerPoint that is more boring to users and viewers.  

     After I explored Prezi and Microsoft PowerPoint, I have gained better understanding compared to last time. Through this assignment, I knew that Prezi is more suitable for presentation that need to look into details, to skip back and forth, map like layout, brainstorming, timeline and whiteboard effects. On the other hand, PowerPoint is more suitable for presentation that need to explain reports, step-by-step ideas, processes, linear, number and data. 

     Besides, I also learned the pros and cons of Prezi and Microsoft PowerPoint. I also learned about the similarities and differences among Prezi and Microsoft PowerPoint. After going through all these, although I know that Prezi software is more interactive and creative in doing presentation, but I still prefer to use Microsoft PowerPoint in my presentation. 

     Lastly, I have learned a lot of things and gained more knowledge about blog software and presentation software through this assignment. I will try my best to explore more about other software and try to master them and use other software to do other assignments and presentations in the future so that I can explore more and learn more about other software.