www.bluetooth.com The Standard of the Future
Bluetooth is an industrial standard which provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices like personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, computer gear and even digital cameras via a secure, low-cost, short range radio frequency. The specifi cation was fi rst developed by Ericsson (www.ericsson.com) and was later formalized by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) which was established in 1999 by Sony Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Toshiba and Nokia, and later joined by over 1000 other companies.
Bluetooth gets around the problems that come with both infrared and cable synchronizing systems by communicating on the licence-free frequency of 2.45 gigahertz which has been set aside by international agreement for the use of industrial, scientifi c and medical devices (ISM).
Bluetooth was primarily designed for low power consumption, with a short range 10 cm, 10 m, 100 m or up to 400 metres (depending on power class) and with a low-cost transceiver microchip in each receiving device.
One of the ways Bluetooth technology may become even more useful in the future is in Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP – also called Internet telephony). When VOIP becomes more widespread, Bluetooth may then end up being used for communication between a cordless phone and a computer listening for VOIP.
The latest version of Bluetooth technology currently available to consumers is 2.0.
Information sourced from SIG website and Wikipedia
The Protocol to Be Used
All of the parties in an electronic discussion need to know what the bits mean and whether the message they receive is the same message that was sent. In most cases, this means developing a language of commands and responses known as a protocol (see Appendix 1 for more details). Some types of products have a standard protocol used by virtually all companies so
that the commands for one product will tend to have the same effect on another. Modems fall into this category. Other product types each speak their own language (e.g. printers), which means that commands intended for one specifi c product will seem gibberish if received by another.
Doing Business in the eLandscape – eBusiness, eCommerce and mCommerce
In today’s global marketplace, the impact of technology has pervaded almost all fi elds of business. In the manufacturing industries, technology has gone beyond its initial role as a substitute for humanpower to become a value-adding component. In service industries it is a unique tool to enhance services in all aspects of the service business’s endeavours, whether these be operations, marketing or human resources. The emergence and adoption of internet technology as an electronic medium of communication and commerce is bringing about changes not only in how fi rms operate and conduct business but in how they compete and offer greater value to all stakeholders.
The ‘unique selling point’ of the internet is that it provides a timely and effi cient method of communication and information fl ow 24 hours x 7 days a week (24 x 7). The quantum advances in technology, communication and digital science that have taken place over the last fi ve to eight years have enabled fi rms to transcend the challenges previously posed by distance and time, and to convert them into potential opportunities. The creative utilization of distance and time, referred to as the ‘death of distance’ through the impact of technology, constitutes a major economic force that will shape many businesses and countries around the globe by proffering an entirely new set of value enhancement options (Holsapple and Singh, 2000; Phan, 2003).
In addition to the impact of new communication technologies on individual businesses in any industry sector, the potential impact on the supply and value chains of those businesses and the whole industry sector in which they trade, is a major consideration for the likely future success or otherwise of those industry sectors (Anderson and Lee, 2000, 2001). Gaining both customers and partnering businesses’ acceptance and loyalty as well as focusing on how their needs can be met is one of the primary preoccupations of managers today. This is discussed further in Chapter 4 with particular attention being paid to what this means for agribusiness as more and more companies look to extend their reach in terms of market and product development.
eBusiness versus eCommerce versus mCommerce
One of the legacies of the dot.com boom is not only the new tools for conducting business it left behind – but also the jargon it generated. There was a period in 1999 when it was just about impossible to keep up with the new phrases, terminology and TLAs (three letter abbreviations) that the dot.com revolution was generating. Driving this wave of reengineering of the English language was a remarkable explosion of business models and technological innovations that continue to create opportunities for business years after the hype and excitement have all but disappeared.
However, the jargon (Table 1.3) that remains can create confusion, particularly when the terms eCommerce and eBusiness are used where there is a signifi cant difference in both the meaning and electronic enablement complexity associated with the two terms. The defi nition used in this book for eCommerce is:
The buying and selling of products over the internet – initiatives are focused on the business to consumer (B2C) model.
The defi nition used in this book for eBusiness is:
eBusiness embraces all aspects of electronically enabling a business – initiatives are focused on the organization’s core competencies and the business to business (B2B) model. The buying and selling of goods does not have to be via the internet but will be facilitated by electronic technologies and systems within and between businesses.
Table 1.3. Common eBusiness and eCommerce classifi cations. A comprehensive set of ‘E’
jargon defi nitions can be found at: www.wiredmedia.co.uk/docs/64.html
Classifi cation Defi nition Example
Business to consumer (B2C)
Retailing transactions with individual shoppers
Amazon.com (www.amazon.com) Business to
business (B2B)
Interorganizational information fl ow and electronic market transactions between organizations
Cyberlynx
(www.cyberlynx.com.au)
Customer to customer (C2C)
Selling personal services, advertising property, etc.
eBay
(www.ebay.com) Ray White Real Estate (www.raywhite.com.au) Customer to
business (C2B)
Selling knowledge products or services to organizations
Accenture
(www.accenture.com.au) Non-business
eBusiness
Non-business institutions Academe www.uq.edu.au
or not-for-profi t organizations (www.bluecare.com)
Intrabusiness eBusiness
All internal activities via intranets
Peer to peer (P2P) P2P is not a technology or a business model – P2P networks allow any internet-connected computer to talk to any other without having to go through centralized servers
Napster
(www.napster.com)
The essential characteristics of any electronically enabled business are that the dealings between two parties (business to consumer or business to business) are electronic, the key commodity being traded is information, and that it is a transaction that may, but does not necessarily, lead to the delivery of a physical product – in effect a gateway to a deal. Successful electronically enabled business requires (Norris et al., 2001):
• Robust technology – hardware, software and networks
• A sound business model – how the business works and interacts with others
• Secure transaction processing
• The establishment of trust in the absence of personal contact
• The handling of intangible, information-orientated products
• Integration of presentation, billing and fulfi llment of the requirement.
mCommerce or mobile commerce is business that is done on the move using mobile devices such as PCs, PDAs and in particular the now ubiquitous mobile phone (cellphone or cell in the USA, Canada, South Africa, Pakistan) (see Appendix 1).
Currently mCommerce is mainly used for the sale of mobile phone ring-tones and games and for mobile messaging, although it is increasingly used to enable payment for location based services such as maps, as well as video, music downloads, and for news and sports headlines. According to Juniper Research (2005) mCommerce is currently one of the fastest growing business models with revenues from mobile sports video-clips and text-updates to double in 2005 to more than US$1.3 billion; from lotteries, betting and casino gambling to generate over US$2 billion in 2006; the sale of mobile music is tipped to reach US$9 billion by 2009; and its use in a worldwide tracking service, primarily in food safety (see Chapter 6) is projected to go over the US$1 billion mark in 2007 in Europe alone. Mobile games are another source of revenue, pundits suggesting that more than US$4.5 billion will change hands in this sector alone by 2009.
Banks and other fi nancial institutions are also exploring the use of mCommerce to broaden and retain their business by allowing their customers to not only access account information (e.g. bank balances, stock quotes and fi nancial advice) from anywhere, but also the possibility to make transactions (e.g. purchasing stocks, remitting money) via mobile phones. Stockmarket dealings via mobile are also increasing in popularity as they allow subscribers to react to market developments in a timely fashion, irrespective of their physical location. Corporations are also using mCommerce to expand services and access a new marketing and advertisement channel.
While there are currently very few regulations on the use and abuses of mobile commerce, this will change in the next few years with the increased use of mCommerce requiring a commensurate increase in the need for good security.
Summary
Without knowing or understanding what a business is, why it exists or what creates value for it, the importance of electronically enabling a business as a new component of business models for the future would be diffi cult to understand. This chapter has covered the basic concepts behind a ‘business’, an ‘agribusiness’ and associated ‘agri-industry chains’, ‘doing business’, and the ‘eLandscape’, including the basic components of an electronically enabled business environment.
Remember, however, when confronted with electronically enabling your business – don’t panic – it is still really just about doing business. The next chapter further explores the issue of creating ‘value’ in the business as well as how doing business in the eLandscape creates a better value proposition for the business. Marc Andreessen was one of the early net wizards to demonstrate value creation through the net – and is the Smart Thinker for this chapter.