Topic 4: Online goods and services

News and other information servicies:

• Viral videos - A video could be said to have gone ‘viral’ when it has been shared online by many people. 
• RSS - Rich Site Summary feed - method of subscribing to online content.

Software as a service

• Cloud computing - Online data storage and hosted applications are often combined to provide a ‘cloud computing’ facility.

Impact on organisations and individuals

• QR codes (Quick Response) - QR codes provide a way to link to online services using a camera and QR reader. 
• Geo-tagging - The addition of location data to files (e.g. images), usually set by built-in GPS. The data can be used for searching, filtering or for display purposes

Banking and other financial services

• Chip authentication devices - E.g. PINsentry.

- buying and selling of goods & services using websites accessed through Internet

Online shops

• Virtual 'shopping basket'
• 'Check out'
• Payment made & confirmed

Features:

• Facility sort & search for goods
• Images provided of products
• 24/7 availability
• Comparison of prices
• Recommendations
• Customer reviews
• Delivery service

• Booking systems displays events available
• Selects seat / film / holiday + places in virtual 'shopping basket'
• Enters personal details
• Payment made & confirmed
• Confirmation email ticket sent & print ticket

Advantages:

• Far greater choice
• Availability
• Find best price using price comparison websites
• Have right to return goods
• Read other users' reviews

Disadvantages:

• Need Internet access & computer skills
• Cannot pay using cash
• Cannot see/ touch products
• Delivery price
• Need to submit personal information
• Risk of not receiving goods or having personal details stolen

Impact on lifestyles:

Easier access for people with physical disabilities / young children

More choice for people in remote areas

Reduced carbon footprint

Available any time for people who work unsocial hours

Impact on businesses:

Online businesses can be located anywhere = no expensive high street rental prices

Smaller staff = money saved

Carry a greater range of products

Attract customers from all over the world

• Seller + bidder create online accounts + Description + photograph supplied of item for auction
• Bidder with highest bid "wins" item + obliged to buy item they "won"
• Seller & bidder exchange emails to arrange payment and delivery

Features

• Bidders search for items they want + See status of bids
• Changes can be made before scheduled end time
• Users of auction service can rate each other
• Sellers can choose to make an item available for purchase immediately
• Secure payment  arranged by auction site

Benefits

• Ability to search easily for goods
• Community of users builds trust by rating both buyers & sellers
• Third party payment options for secure payments
• Large number of sellers competing for business = prices driven down

Education and training

Student creates online account + select courses

Teaching material provided on website

Assignments submitted + returned to students electronically

Features

Interactive teaching material

Communities of students interacting online

Provides personalised learning

Students work from home

Information services

• News reports written by newspaper & TV companies
• Made available online for free / through subscription
• Users access websites to read news / select news using RSS feeds

Features

• Easy to search for & sort news items
• Up to date news available worldwide
• Review news items from different sources
• Allow users to select news
• Presented in text, images, videos
• Can add comments + subscribe to content

Banking and other financial services

Users create secure online bank account

Money transferred electronically into account

Payments made to other accounts

Features

View up-to-date bank account details

View all transactions + Pay bills online

Create new bank accounts

Secure access provided

Offers promotions to online customers

Online gaming: enables players to connect via Internet & interact with each other

"On-demand" / streaming entertainement servcies: allow users to play media when / where they want it.

Online gaming

• Central server: runs game software + streams each player's position & actions to all players over Internet
• Players need high bandwidth low latency Internet connection ---> avoid lag when gaming
• Select game & create online accounts --> interact with each other + against computer opponent
• Store data e.g. graphics + sound locally on player's computers

Streaming:

Selects entertainment service ---> Presses play ---> Programme continually sent from server + streamed over Internet ---> Player buffers (stores) some data in case of delays in data arriving

Downloading

Selects entertainment service ---> Downloads entire file from server to computer ---> (Presses play ---> Programme plays) - No Internet connection needed

• e.g. website, online shop - through which customers can find information + buy organisation's goods & services
• Overheads e.g. rent, salaries, fuel bills generally lower for online shops - more profitable than high street shops = Online shops can afford sell products more cheaply + still make a good profit

Advantages for retailer:

• No need to distribute goods to shops, Easy to make changes to products + prices
• Customers only need web browser, Internet connection + means of paying electronically
• Inexpensive way to reach new markets, Minimal start up time + investment needed
• Organisation can be located wherever it likes

Disadvantages:

• Skilled staff needed to develop + run efficient website
• Ensuring online payment security is difficult, Need delivery service + facility to handle returns
• Customers limited to those with access to Internet + can pay electronically
• High street shops may suffer + close down - can't compete with online shop

• Transaction: occurs every time something bought/sold
• Transactional data: information collected about sale/purchase
• Personalised information stored in cookies (small text files)

Commercial value: extremly valuable

• Allows organisation keep record of purchases
• Allows delivery to be tracked
• Contains rich source of information about customer shopping habits & preferences

Uses:

• Understand customers' buying habits + see trends in sales
• Produce more personalised experience
• For targeted advertsing campaigns & produce personalised adverts
• Create personalised marketing
• Track delivery of goods

Another way in which organisation operate online. Takes form of text, image, videos inc link to website.

• Can be targeted at particular customers + Statistics can be gathered
• Cheaper + reachers customers faster than traditional advertising
• Reaches wide range of customers 

Using search engines:

• Advertisement displayed - search using key words
• Google Adwords - advertsing company only pays when people click on their adverts: cost-per-click
• Key words carefully chosen + advert carefully worded to make people want to click on it

Using social networking:

• use information known about users to target adverts at particular users
• Organisations pay to display adverts on particular users' pages
• Select custoemrs by location, age and interests

Viral marketing: when organisation creates interesting & entertaining content - makes people want to 'pass it on' to friends using social networking, email, texting

• Content goes 'viral' - spreads very quickly
• Cheap - organisations does not have to pay for adverts
• Memorable content - people remember brand name

Online targeted marketing: concentratin online advertsing on groups of customers who most likely to buy product

• Collect + combine online data
• Then query data to send adverts just to those users whose age, gender, interests or previous purchases suggest they might buy particular product

Personalisation techniques: make advertisements relevant to particular customer using personal information + aim of persuading customer to buy related products

To avoid target marketing: opt out sharing personal information , delete cookies, be careful with personal information added to online profiles

Credit / debit cards: Authorising organisation buying from totransfer money from bank account to its own bank account

• Debit cards: customer pay by taking money directly out of account
• Credit cards: allow customer to borrow money. Customer pays money back at later date, often with interest
• Paying online give following details:
  • Card number + Cardholder's name
  • Expiry date
  • Credit card verification (CCV) code
    • number on back of card - not included on magnetic stripe/chip

Secure website:

• URL - https
• Change in address bar's colour (often green)
• Padlock symbol
• 'Norton Secured' - further layer of authentication

Online bank transfer: keep customers safe from online fraud

• checking bank accounts - no unusual activity
• providing secure encrypted web services
• login protection schemes e.g. PINsentry

Online coupons and eVouchers: sent to people electonically by email / printed out & sent by post. Redeem -creates online account + enters unique reference numbers given on eVoucher/ coupon

Third part payment processors: Trusted organisations stand between customers & retailers - payment not made directly

• Buyer creates third party payment processor account - information never shared with retailers
• Buyer pays third party - holds money until payment is authorised
• Once payment authorised - third party transfers it to seller
• Seller no need to offer secure site (expensive) + buyers not exposed to fraud

Near field communcation (NFC): contactless payment service - allows devcies to communicate when close together - can be used to make payments

Advantages:

• Good security - short transmission range
• Losing NFc card only loses credit in account
• Convenience of not having to enter payment details repeatedly

Disadvantages:

• Only pay small accounts
• Need to protect against accidental payments
• If NFC card lost, anyone can use credit on it

Consumer rights under Uk Law:

• When buying something, item must be of satifactory quality, fit for purpose & as described.
• If item is faulty, has to be replaced, repaired or money refunded
• Byying online from UK-based retailer: same rights buying online as buying in a shop

"Cooling off" period for online purchases: orders placed online can be cancelled, for any reason, up to 7 working days after receiving items & full refund of any money paid will be made. Applies to everything except:

• Goods made to perosnalised specification
• Perishable goods e.g. food, flowers
• CDs/DVDs/software where seal has been broken
• Newspapers, magazines or other reading material ( not books)
• Gaming, betting & lotteries

Applications software: software used to carry out particular task. Two types:

Locally installed software: Obtains software on DVD/ Downloads from Internet. Installs software on computer or file server.

• Advantages:
  • Works without being online
  • Hold licence to use software
  • Access controlled to computer = good security
• Disadvantages:
  • Large amount of file space
  • Install upgrades / patches to fix bugs
  • Data stored locally - must be backed up

Hosted software ( Software as a Service): logs in through Internet. Runs on web-server over Internet.

• Advantages:
  • Doesn't take up any file space on compuet
  • Allow users from different parts of world to work on same document at same time
• Disadvantages: 
  • Can't work without Internet connection
  • Not as secure - hosted company might be targeted by online hackers
  • Response time depends on network speed

Proprietary software: Developed by company. Pay to use on computer / online. e.g. Microsoft Word

Open source software: Developed by volunteers. Free to use. e.g. OpenOffice.org

Some 'software as a service' applications now available for free - business of commercial providers could be threatened - customers use free 'software as a service' online applications

Response to SaaS:

• Make products more appealing + of better quality by incl more facilities & functions
• Provide software applications installed when buying computer
• Provide technical support, help services & training materials
• Copyright - protect products + stop similar "free" products offered as a "software service"
• Offer own verisons of software as a service

Local data storage: stored on digital device

• Control over access to files & security of data
• Data accessed quickly
• No need Internet connection
• Responsible for keeping data safe
• Difficult to share data with others
• Have to back up data

Online data storage: stored on server elsewhere + access using Internet

• Available anywhere you have Internet access + browser
• Some are free + Easy to share data with others
• Data backed up for you
• Have to trust organisation to keep data secure
• Online data storage may not be reliable
• Need Internet connection + Less control of data

Search techniques:

Add more key words to narrow down search

Use advanced search facilities

Search by date / langauge

Use more than one search engine

Different types of searches:

" " - finds exact phase

AND or + finds web pages containing both words

OR finds web pages containing either words

- finds web pages not containing that word