Trends and issues in the development of information technology for EBusiness - Essay Example

The Web services model allows any user access through the use of XML tags for information exchange using the other three standards: SOAP, UDDI, and WSDL. The distinguishing feature of Web services technology is that it allows provider and consumers to not be tied in to a particular service set and truly minimizing the impact of change to switch service providers. Thus information system built on Web services allows companies to seamlessly integrate provider's functionality into their enterprise software applications, such as Supply Chain Management, Enterprise Resource Planning and others.

Use of the Internet for expanding business of the company is a reality, so those who ignore the high technologies will lose the race for competitive advantage. On the other hand, those who have embraced the power of e-commerce solutions are innovators. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics, 83% of businesses used computers, 71% of businesses use Internet access, and 23% of businesses had web sites in June 2003. Proportion of businesses placing or receiving orders via the Internet or web was 25% in purchasing and 6% in selling in 2001-2002 and 28% in purchasing and 13% in selling in 2002-2003.

Business income attributable to receiving orders via the Internet or web was 5% or more for 42% of companies in 2002-2003.At that time main business perceptions of the benefits for the business of receiving orders via the Internet or web were increased number of customers (28%) and faster business processes (53%). Main business perceptions of placing orders via the Internet or web were time saving (86%) and ability to track orders (20%). (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006, para.11-18)An important issue for development of information technologies for application in e-commerce is Internet penetration.

UNCTAD Report (2006, p.4) finds that number of Internet users continues to grow in all regions, in particular in Africa, whereas the market is the most mature in the United States. Despite high growth in many developing countries, Internet penetration rates are still very low. For example, China, the second largest Internet market in the world after the United States, has a penetration rate of only 6.3 per 100 inhabitants. While the number of computers is increasing substantially in developing countries, particularly in some of the emerging markets, computer penetration remains very low.

The Report reveals that enterprises' Internet use is high (up to 90%) in developed countries and among medium-sized and large enterprises in developing cou