BCOS 184
E-COMMERCE
BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment July 2021 & Jan 2022
Section – A
Q.1 State the various advantages and disadvantages of E-commerce.
Ans. The advantages of E-commerce are:
(i) Accelerated buying process for saving time: When buying online, a buyer does not have to travel and move around looking for a product. Online buying is a quick process completely different from buying from conventional stores.
The buyers avail the needed product at their own pace and with ease.
They can choose from a wide range of products by making available goods from other chained stores as well.
(ii) Personalised store as per consumer preference: E-commerce offers personalized experience to buyers.
The portal will have the consumer’s history of purchases and benefits and discounts she/he can avail due to their loyalty, order history and so on. It fulfills customer expectations.
(iii) Reduce recurring cost while hiring virtual support resources: An advantage for the e-commerce firm is that it can be present in multiple locations at a fraction of the cost of physical presence.
It can outsource the tasks to even different countries or employees.
(iv) Customers retargeting is easier: E-commerce firm can retarget a customer to retain a customer base. Some of the techniques used to retarget customers are:
• By sharing a coupon when customers checkout from the website.
• By sending e-mails pitching upsell and cross-sell.
• By redirecting the consumer to the desired web-page or targeted advertisement as per the consumer’s preferences. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
(v) Easier to encourage an impulse buy: It is easier for an e-commerce firm to trigger an impulse buying. An impulse buying is an unplanned decision by a consumer to buy a product or service, made just before a purchase.
Emotions, feelings and attitudes play a decisive role in purchasing, triggered by seeing the product or upon exposure to a well crafted promotional message.
(vi) Reviews Available: Reviewing help the consumer to make right decisions while buying a product.
It helps the consumer to voice their opinion about the products. Positive comments or a higher rating build trust of the consumer on the product as well as the business.
This projects the business as transparent and trust-worthy.
(vii) Detailed information available for the consumer: The availability of detailed information allows the consumer to gauge the relevance and value of the product or service. It helps the consumer to make a confident and right choice.
(viii) Quality service at reasonably low operation cost: E-Commerce reduces the cost of operations significantly as the business does not have to rely on a physical presence to provide quality service.
An e-commerce firm does not have to pay rent, maintenance of a physical shop and other expenses of operating a physical store in a market.
(ix) Quick and affordable marketing: E-commerce firms use various tools for attracting the customers and to be visible in the market.
They can use quality promotional content and marketing videos explaining the product and services.They can apply various online strategies to reach the customers.
(x) E-commerce has flexibility with 24/7 service capability: E-commerce allows the service to consumer 24/7. It provides a shopping option round the clock.
Consumers get chat support and recommendations at any time and place.
E-commerce has the following disadvantages:
(i) Lack of personal touch; A consumer cannot touch and feel a product, The detailed expressed and explained products even cannot convince and attract the consumer.
(ii) Unsure about the quality: It is difficult to determine the quality of a produet being sold online. There are malpractices. Even fake products are sold online. Fake reviews are also there. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
(iii) Late Delivery: Businesses do not give exact delivery dates. Sometimes consumer waits for the product for more than the assured period of time.
There are also other issues that arise when it comes to the delivery of the product.
(iv) Difficulty in purchasing some products: Buyers do not feel confident to buy some precious products like gold and made-to-order furniture because of measurement issues. Their inability to verify such products physically is the main obstruction.
(v) Site crash issues: The consumer experience of buying online also depends on the functioning of servers and the quality internet service.
On several occasions the sites get stuck and transactions fail. All these discourage buyers to purchase online.
(vi) Cybercrime and Data privacy issues: Buyers do not feel safe to provide personal information while purchasing online because of cyber crime and data privacy issues. Hackers can access personal data and misuse them.
Q.2 Explain the various types of online payment methods.
Ans. Types of Payment Methods: Various kinds of e-payment are there. They include: • Automated Teller Machines.
• Card Services (ATM, credit, debit, prepaid) Mobile payments
• Automated clearing house.
• Remote deposit capture. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
• FedLine Access Solutions.
• Crypto currency
• Wire transfers
• Item processing
E-payment methods can be credit payment and cash payment systems or Pre Paid or Post Paid E-Payment System. Prepaid means the scheme in which the customer buys credit in advance before availing services.
In postpaid, the customers are billed at the end of the month for the services availed by them.
Examples include plastic card, online transactions, concerned bank, Cyber Cash, encrypted payment and cheques for deposit.
Credit Cards:
Credit card, a plastic card, is issued by a bank to customers. It is used to purchase goods/services from the authorized stores.
The bill is presented by the store to the bank which informs the customer about the debit. The customer pays the amount to the bank at the end of the month.
Cyber Cash :
In Cyber cash system, the customer makes payment to the merchant through credit card without disclosing the credit details to him.
The credit details are sent to the merchant in encrypted form. The merchant forwards the encrypted payment with his private key to the bank’s Cyber Cash gateway server.
The bank’s Cyber Cash gateway server decrypts the information, processes the transaction and forwards it to the merchant’s bank BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
Internet Cheques :
Internet cheque or electronic check, or e-check is a form of payment made via the Internet. An electronic check is part of the larger electronic banking field and part of a subset of transactions referred to as Electronic Fund Transfers (EFTs).
This includes not only electronic checks but also other computerized banking functions like ATM withdrawals and deposits, debit card transactions and remote check depositing features.
The transactions require the use of various computer and networking technologies to gain access to the relevant account data to perform the requested actions.
Smart card:
A plastic card with a microprocessor, it is loaded with funds to make transactions. It is also called a chip card.
Cash Payment System:
A. Direct debit: The account holder instructs the bank to collect a specific amount of money from his account electronically to pay for goods or services.
B. E-check: It’s an electronic transfer of money from a bank account.
C. E-cash: Certain amount of money is stored on a client’s device and made accessible for online transactions.
D. Stored-value card: A card with a certain amount of money is used online for payment. Gift card is an example of this. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
E-Wallet:
E-wallet is a software-based system that securely stores users’ payment information and passwords for numerous payment methods and websites.
By using a digital wallet, users can complete purchases easily and quickly with nearfield communications technology. RBI has categorised e-wallets into three types: Closed, semi-closed and open.
Closed wallet can be used to buy goods and services only from one company. A semi-closed wallet can be used to buy goods and services at specified merchant locations.
Open wallets can be used for buying goods and services, including at merchant locations or point of sale terminals. These wallets can only be issued by banks.
Money can be added using net banking, and credit or debit cards. Prepaid wallets have transaction limits and validity periods.
Crypto Currencies :
A crypto currency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger existing in a form of a computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transaction records, to control the creation of additional coins, and to verify the transfer of coin ownership.
Cryptocurrencies are rapidly gaining interest as a payment method for online transactions.
Q.3 Do you think Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is revolutionizing the world? If so how?
Ans. Distributed Ledger Technology is revolutionizing the world because in today’s connected and integrated world, economic activity takes place in business networks that span national, geographie, and jurisdictional boundaries.
Business networks typically come together at marketplaces where the participants, such as producers, consumers, suppliers, partners, the market makers enablers, and other stakeholders own, control, and exercise their rights privileges, and entitlements on objects of value known as assets. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
Assets can be tangible and physical, such as cars, homes, or strawberries, or intangible and virtual, such as deeds, patents, and stock certificates.
Asset ownership and transfers are the transactions that create value in a business network.
Transactions typically involve various participants like buyers, sellers, and intermediaries (such as banks, auditors, or notaries) whose business agreements and contracts are recorded in ledgers.
A business typically uses multiple ledgers to keep track of asset ownership and asset transfers between participants in its various lines of businesses.
Ledgers are the systems of record for a business’s economic activities and interests. A distributed ledger is a type of database that is shared, replicated, and synchronized among the members of a decentralized network.
The distributed ledger records the transactions, such as the exchange of assets or data. among the participants in the network.
Participants in the network govern and agree by consensus on the updates to the records in the ledger. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
No central authority or third-party mediator, such as a financial institution or clearinghouse, is involved.
Every record in the distributed ledger has a timestamp and unique cryptographic signature, thus, making the ledger auditable immutable history of all transactions in the network.
Q. 4. What is E-tailing? Explain its advantages and disadvantages for both the retailers and the buyers.
Ans. E-tailing: E-tailing or e-retailing, also called e-retail, means sales of goods and services via the internet or other electronic sources for personal and household use by consumers. Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato. Swiggy and Makemy Trip are examples.
•The notion of e-retailing was first developed in Europe. The features of e-tailing are
•Easy and convenience of shopping at home which save time and efforts
•E-tailors offer a wide variety of products and services
•Consumers get good discounts and get products and services in competitive prices. •Buyers get detailed information about the products,
• They can make comparison of various models/brands and choose the best. Most popular types of e-retailers are: BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
(i) Pure Play (Virtual) e-retailers: These retailers only have the electronic platforms. They have no physical outlet. Amazon and Flipkart are this type of e-retailers.
(ii) Brick and click (Click-and-Mortar) e-retailers: These retailers have both online and offline transactions. Dell comes under this category.
Some advantages and disadvantages of e-tailing are given below: Advantages for Retailers:
(i) Location Utility: Retailers do not have any place constraint to sell their products and services. They can do it from anywhere.
(ii) Less Expensive: E-tailing is less expensive because the sellers do not have to spend on wages of salesmen and cost on premises and its maintenance.
(iii) High Reach: E-tailers can reach to large audience through internet.
(iv) 24 x 7 Businesses: Retailers do not have time constraint. They can sell at any time.
(v) Feedback: They easily get feedback of consumers which help in improving the offers.
Disadvantages for Retailers:
(1) Lack to Infrastructure: Retailers face the problems of accessibility and connectivity of internet. Initial investment cost is also very high in e-tailing,
(ii) Lack of Technological Expertise : all retailers cannot afford to have technological expertise to run the business. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
(iii) Complex Logistic Management: There are Intrinsic and Extrinsic Challenges which increase the complexities in tailing logistics.
(iv) Customers’ Expectations: Customers have high expectations in terms of flexibility in delivery, detailed product descriptions, cost and security of delivery, flexible payment options.
(v) Lack of Personal Touch: E-tailing lacks face-to-face interaction, persuasion and handling the customers’ query.
(vi) High Competition: E-tailers have to compete with other e-tailers and the organised and unorganised retailers in the market that increase the competitions for them.
Advantages for buyers:
(i) Time Utility: Consumers can shop at the time of their convenience.
(ii) Place Utility: Consumers can place order from anywhere.
(iii) Convenience Utility: Consumers can shop from any mode via computer, laptops or mobile.
(iv) Option Utility: Consumers have wide varieties of options via e-tailing,
Disadvantages of buyers:
(i) Uncertainty on quality of products and services: Consumer cannot make sure about the quality of products and services.
(ii) Fear of Fraud: Consumers face the risk of fraud and loss of money.
(iii) Unavailability of Products: Consumers do not the products and services they require.
(iv) Lack of Technological Know-how: Consumers lack technical expertise.
The disadvantages of E-tailing for retailers are:
(i) It is Expensive: Planning, designing, creating, hosting, securing and maintaining a professional e-commerce website is not cheap, especially if you expect large and growing sales volumes. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
(ii) Security and Fraud: The growth of online retail market has attracted the attention of sophisticated criminal elements. The reputation of your business could be fatally damaged if you don’t invest in the latest security systems to protect your website and transaction processes.
(iii) Legal Issues: Getting to grips with e-commerce and the law can be a challenge and you have to be aware of and plan to cope with the additional customer rights which are attached to online sales.
(iv) Advertising Costs: While online marketing can be a very efficient way of getting the right customers to your products, it demands a generous budget. This is especially true if you are competing in a crowded sector or for popular keywords.
(v) Customer Trust: It can be difficult to establish a trusted brand name, especially without a physical business with a track record and face-to-face interaction between customers and sales staff. You need to consider the costs
or setting-up a good customer service system as part of your online offering
(vi) No Personal Touch: It does not allow face-to-face interaction, persuasion and handling the customers’ query.
(vii) High Competition: There are many other e-tailers as well as the organised and unorganised retailers in the market that increase the competitions among them.
The advantages of e-tailing for buyers are:
(i) A wide range of products and services: E-tailing allows customers to choose a product or service of their choice from any supplier anywhere in the world. The customer has a wider choice than he would have had if he’d picked a brick-and-mortar store.
(ii) Simplicity and Comfort: Customers can buy any product from any e-commerce in the world without having to step foot from their workplace or home.
Due to bad weather, economic situation or for any other reason, many people cannot go shopping. E-tailing is convenient when buying goods or services without creating physical limitations for consumers. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
(iii) It Saves Money: Costs incurred by a provider of products or services in co-operation with an intermediary are paid by the customer.
When there are no middlemen, the customer may not have to spend so much money. Products offered over the Internet are generally cheaper than those in the shops.
(iv) It Saves Time: Saving time is one of the major benefits of online shopping. Products are delivered to customers within a week.
If you order goods that are heavier, you do not have to worry about it. The messenger will bring them to your doorstep.
(v) It Provides Complete Information: The Internet is used as the main tool for making e-commerce transactions. It allows customers to search for product information, compare prices and benefits and ultimately evaluate whether it is really worth the money.
On the web, customers also find warranty information that contains product descriptions and other details. Before purchasing the product, you are fully aware of the conditions.
Q.5 Explain the process pertaining to acknowledgement and dispatch of electronic records.
Ans. Acknowledgement and Dispatch of Electronic Records: The IT Act deals with the manners in which acknowledgement of the receipt of electronic record may be made and discusses the time of receipt of an electronic record.
If the originator has not specified a specific acknowledgement mode to be given by the receiver regarding the receipt of the record, the acknowledgement can be given by a communication by the addressee, automated or otherwise or a conduct of the addressee, sufficient to show to the originator that the electronic record has been received.
For example, if a person gets a mail for a meeting, the person can send a mail to the sender saying thank you for the information or sends an automated response or shows interest by joining the meeting. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
In cases where the originator has not specified that the electronic record will be binding only upon the receipt of acknowledgment and the acknowledgment has not been received by the originator within the time specified or agreed
if no time has been specified or agreed to within a reasonable time, then the originator may give notice to the addressee stating that no acknowledgment has been received by him and specifying a reasonable time by which the acknowledgment must be received by him and if no acknowledgment is received within the aforesaid time limit he may after giving notice to the addressee, treat the electronic record as though it has never been sent.
The IT Act also talks about dispatch of electronic record. It is stated that, the time at which an individual sends the electronic record and it enters a computer outside the ambit of control of the sender, is the time of dispatch.
The place of origin of dispatch is the place of business of the sender and the place of receipt is the place of business of the receiven
Section – B
Q.6 State the impact of Block chain technology with respect to E-commerce,
Ans. Block Chain Impact on E-Commerce! Block-chain technology is useful for the e-commerce industry. Some of its advantages are:
• It is always open source and other users or developers can modify it as they want it to be.
• It is a great technology for storing financial records.
• It allows peer-to-peer and business-to-business transactions without a third party.
• It reduces costs to the user or businesses over time.
• All users collectively retain control.
• Users and developers get to call the shots.
Block chain will be the driving force for ecommerce in the future because of the following reasons: BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
(a) Better Supply Chain Tracking and Monitoring
(b) Provenance Tracking
(c) Payments Get an Efficient Makeover
(d) Secure Platform for e-Commerce.
Q.7 What are the various non-biometric security measures?
Ans. Companies are using firewalls. A firewall is a combination of hardware and software that controls the flow of incoming and outgoing network traffic and prevents unauthorized communication into and out of the network.
The firewall identifies names, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, applications, and other characteristics of incoming traffic.
It checks this information against the access rules programmed into the system by the network administrator. There are a number of firewall screening technologies:
Packet filtering examines fields in the headers of data packets flowing between the network and the Internet, examining individual packets in isolation,
Stateful inspection determines whether packets are part of an ongoing dialogue between a sender and a receiver.BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
Network Address Translation (NAT) conceals the IP addresses of the organization’s internal host computer(s) to protect against sniffer programs outside the firewall.
Application proxy filtering examines the application content of packets. A proxy server stops data packets originating outside the organization, inspects them, and passes a proxy to the other side of the firewall.
If a user outside the company wants to communicate with a user inside the organization, the outside user first “talks” to the proxy application and the proxy application communicates with the firm’s internal computer.
Intrusion Detection Systems: These systems detect and deter intruders. In case of a suspicious incident, the device triggers an alert.
Antivirus and Antispyware Software: Most antivirus software is effective only when it is written against a known malware. The antivirus software must be continuously updated to continue to be effective.
Unified Threat Management Systems (UTM): It is an information security term that refers to a single security solution and usually a single security appliance, the provides multiple security functions at a single point on the network
Q.8 What are the most advance functions of E-commerce software?
Ans. Advanced Functions of E-commerce Software in large businesses houses integrating different components is crucial because their range of products are not limited and their business interest spread over many products and services.
Some advanced functions of e-commerce software are:
(i) Middleware: Middleware is a type of software that larger companies need to establish the connections between their e-commerce software and their existing business/accounting system. In some large companies, their IT staff writes their own middleware.
Most companies purchase middleware which is customized for their businesses by a vendor or a consulting firm. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
Cost of middleware includes the cost of the software and the consulting fees. Making a company’s information systems work together is called interoperability.
Middleware is an important goal of companies. Middleware cost range from few lakhs to several millions depending on complexity and existing systems.
(ii) Enterprise Application Integration and Databases: An application server is a computer that gets the request messages received by the Web server and runs application programs that perform some kind of action based on the contents of the request messages.
The rules used in the business determine the actions that the application server software performs. These rules are called business logic.
Application servers are two types-page-based and component-based systems. Page-based application systems return pages generated by scripts that include the rules for presenting data on the Web page with the business logic.
(iii) Web Services: All information that can be communicated across organization in the different applications and clients come under web server.
Many IT professionals define Web services as a combination of software tools that let application software in one organization communicate with other applications over a network by using a specific set of standard protocols called by their acronyms as SOAP, UDDI and WSDL. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
IT professionals use it as a self-contained, modular unit of application logic that provides some business functionality to other applications through an Internet connection.
(iv) Integration with ERP Systems: Enterprise Resource Planning (E.R.P.) links to existing information available on the basis of B2B websites.
ERP software is a collection of different programs that integrate all facts of business including accounting, logistics, manufacturing, planning, project management, and treasury function.
The major ERP vendors include Baan, Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP. A typical installation of ERP software costs between 10 lakhs to 15 lakhs.
Thus, companies that are already running these systems have made a significant investment in them and expect their electronic commerce sites to integrate with them.
Q. 9. What are the various key elements of a business model?
Ans. A business model is very important to ensure a business is set-up properly and has the ability to operate the business. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
The business model is the main component of a business plan and this is necessary when looking for investors from both individuals and banks. The following are some of the key elements of a business model:
(i) Value Proposition: It means how a company’s product or service fulfills the needs of customers and why a customer would buy from the company.
For example, a successful value proposition must include personalization, customization, and reduction of product search, price discovery costs and facilitation of transactions by managing product delivery.
(ii) Revenue Model: This is describe how a company plans to make money from its business because earning revenue and produce a superior return on invested capital is the primary objective of a company.
(iii) Target Customers: It means what market space does the Company intend to serve and what is its size. It is the company intended market space and the overall potential financial opportunities available to the company in that market space.
(iv) Competitive Environment: This is describing the direct and indirect competitors who doing similar business in the same market space.
For example, the additional information includes how large they are, their net profits, and their share of the market space and the price of their product.
(v) Competitive Advantage: This describes the factors that differentiate the business from its competition and which may encourage customers to purchase the company’s product or service. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
(vi) Market Strategy: This is describes how the company plans to enter market and attract customers and potential customers such as promoting the product and service to attract a target audience.
(vii) E-distributor: The business supplies products and services directly to individual businesses. That is owned by one company seeking to serve many customers. So, its revenue comes from sales of goods.
(viii) E-procurement: The business creates digital markets where participants transact for indirect goods. Its revenue comes from service fees, supply-chain management and fulfillment services.
Q.10 State the importance of E-Governance.
Ans. E-governance means using new information technology in governance. It has made governments more competent and effective to meet newer challenges of public service delivery.
In this chapter, we will discuss the basics of e-governance, the evolution of application of digital technologies in governance and some of the latest digital initiatives by the government of India. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
E-governance means the use of information and communication technology for steering the citizens and promoting the public service.
It includes a pragmatic application and usage of ICT for delivering efficient and cost effective services and information and knowledge to the citizens being governed, thereby realizing the vast potential of the government to serve the citizens.
It made correlations between state and society, government and people, people-topeople, governance and society.
E-governance facilitates and improves the quality of governance and ensures people’s participation in the governing process through electronic means like e-mail, websites, SMS connectivity, and others.
E-governance raises the transparency, accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness and inclusiveness in the governing process in terms of reliable access to the information within government, between government, national, states, municipal, and local level 11/15 governments, citizens, and businesses and empowers business through access and use of information.
Section – C
Q.11. Briefly comment on the following:
(a) E-commerce leads to fast and convenient services to citizens.
Ans. E-commerce website is currently one of the most important emerging and thriving sectors of web marketing. It has expanded faster over the past years and is expected to keep growing at an accelerating rate. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
Ecommerce websites enable businesses to grow faster, more convenient and less costly. From an end user’s perspective, ecommerce websites are very convenient to purchase products and services online.
The process is often very quick as the customers can place orders in a relatively short period of time, without having to leave their homes or offices.
Moreover, customers can purchase from several businesses without having to physically move around.
Customers and potential buyers can be provided with a lot of information that make their shopping experience quicker and easier as well as improved customer service.
They will also have the opportunity to purchase products and service 24/7 comfortably and conveniently.
Allowing customers to shop for the comfort and convenience of their own homes at any time can increase business sales and potentially the customers’ loyalty.
Most importantly, ecommerce websites enable a business to keep consumers happy and constantly change to adapt to their strategies according to their lifestyle and technological changes. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
(b) The main aim of cyber security is to help make the business more successful.
Ans. Cybersecurity is important because it protects all categories of data from theft and damage.
This includes sensitive data, Personally Identifiable information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), personal information, intellectual property, data, and governmental and industry information systems.
Without a cybersecurity program, your organization cannot defend itself against data breach campaigns, making it an irresistible target for cybercriminals.
Both inherent risk and residual risk is increasing, driven by global connectivity and usage of cloud services, like Amazon Web Services, to store sensitive data and personal information.
Widespread poor configuration of cloud services paired with increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals means the risk that your organization suffers from a successful cyber attack or data breach is on the rise. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
Business leaders can no longer solely rely on out-of-the-box cybersecurity solutions like antivirus software and firewalls, cybercriminals are getting smarter and their tactics are becoming more resilient to conventional cyber defences.
(c) Recent technology disruption has been knocking at the banking industry much more than before.
Ans. Banks and other financial institution are heavy users of computers in maintaining customer’s accounts, ledger, updating, electronic fund transfer and processing of huge amount of cheques, credit cards, and the major transactions that takes place daily.
The up coming Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) already installed by most banks are the most visible symbols of computer in the banking sector in Nigeria.
They are of course everywhere in Europe, America and Asia. The Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) enable bank customer to withdraw, recharge phones, transfer funds from their various accounts even when the bank is closed physically.
Each transaction made, the customer’s record is updated and he or she is provided with a print out or notification. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
However the use of computer in the banking sector can be an efficient tool in speeding up the process and reducing the cost of producing and undertaking figure works.
More effective control procedure in computerized system can bring about sales budgeting and credit control.
Many credit cards, smart cards, master cards can also be used to withdraw money at 12/15 an ATM and the online banking against the credit limit extended to the card.
Customers keep their money in the bank safely and it is paid out when needed by means of cheques and other ways.
(d) Having an online presence is imperative on the part of any type of business these days.
Ans. You don’t have to run your entire business over the internet to benefit from online business opportunities Small businesses might only need an email address to communicate with their clients, customers and suppliers electronically.
Other businesses might use their website to conduct their entire business online.
The many benefits of online business include:
• global access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• improved client service through greater flexibility
• cost savings BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
• faster delivery of products
• increased professionalism
• less paper waste
• opportunities to manage your business from anywhere in the world.
Customers may prefer to visit your website to find out about your products and services, instead of visiting you in person.
They will also expect to see your website address and your email on business cards and other promotional materials.
Q.12. Distinguish between the following:
(a) Hardware and Software
Ans. A web server includes software and hardware that uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and other protocols to act in response to client requests made over the World Wide Web.
A web server shows website content through storing, processing and delivering web pages to users.
Meaning of Hardware Servers:
A hardware server stores the website data and delivers it to the users when they as for it. These big computers are housed in datacenters. Planning for hardware is made keeping in view the requirements. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
For a very small company, a single computer can control the HTTP server along with an FTP server for file downloads an SMTP server for e-mail and other Internet-related functions.
For a large company that has multiple locations and has cross-border businesses, every service runs in one or more dedicated servers, and a gigantic website requires hundreds of servers to switch through Web hosting and cloud computing.
The three main hardware components to consider when selecting a web server are the CPU or processor, memory (RAM) and hard drive (storage).
Other factors need consideration is bandwidth, security, support, reliability, backups and other issues that help the server to run efficiently.
Hardware used in Web Servers:
A static web server has a computer (hardware) with an HTTP server (software). A dynamic web server has a static web server plus extra software, most frequently an application server and a database. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
Web server software allows computers to act as web servers. The first web servers supported only static files, such as HTML (and images) but now they commonly allow embedding of server side applications.
Web servers also get embedded in devices like printers routers, webcams and serving only a local network. The HTTP server understand. URLs and the protocel a user browser uses to view web pages.
Web Stone, a benchmarking software, measures performance on various types of Web pages such as HTML, Common Gateway Interface protocol and Application Programming Interface. Features of Web Server Software
The features of web server software are:
• Web Server can support enlarge data storage support, so it is capable to make multiple websites.
• Easy to configure log file set up, enabling where to hold all log files.
• It helps to control bandwidth to regulate network traffic, so due to this it can avoid the down time while flowing high volume web traffic.
• Easy to make FTP websites, because it helps to move enlarge files from one site to other site.
• Easy to set-up website configuration and directory security.
• Easy to make virtual directories, and then help to map them alongwith physical directories.
• Easy to set up of custom error pages configuration that means it helps to view user friendly error messages on your website, when your website is getting any issues like as 404 Error will be displayed if web pages donot presented.
• Can be specified default documents for example if any file has not specify with its name then default documents will be displayed
(b) App based business and Web based business
Ans. An app-based business primarily uses a mobile app to transact with its customers. For example, although people can use their desktop computers to hail a ride on Uber and Lyft, the mobile app lets them request service no matter where they are.
The table below lists the difference between app based and web based business:
Parameters:
. Devices used BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
. Internet Connectivity Requirement
. Platform
. Mobility
. Reachability
. Payment gateway
. Privacy and security
App-Based Business:
. Smart phones and tablets
. Mandatory
. Web store and native Apps
. Mobility is high, as customers,can buy and make transactions from anywhere, anytime as long as internet connectivity is there.
. Reaches a large number of customers, even when they are a on mobile
. Mobile banking, net banking, Credit/Debit card, Wallets COD
. Malware is a major concern
Web-Based Business:
. Desktop computers and laptops
. Mandatory
. Web stores
. Mobility is low as customers can buy and make transactions on their computers and laptops
. Reach is relatively limited
. Net banking, Credi/Debit card, Wallets,COD
. Relatively more secure
c) Self-hosted payment gateways and API hosted payment gateways
Ans. Self-hosted Payment Gateways : BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
In this type, customer’s payment details are collected on the merchant’s website. The collected data is sent to the payment gateway’s URL.
Some gateways require the payment data be provided in a specific format and some require a hash key or secret key.
Examples of these gateways include QuickBooks Commerce’s B2B Payments and Shopify Payments. Both are powered by Stripe.
Pros: The entire transaction is completed in one place and the merchant has control over the payment journey.
Cons: No technical support that you can rely on if the system fails.
API Hosted Payment Gateways :
Customer’s payments are processed using an API (Application Programming Interface) or HTTPS queries after customers enter their card details on the merchant’s checkout page.
Pros: It is customizable and offers full control over the customer experience. It can be used with mobile devices and tablets. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
Cons: Merchant is responsible for PCI DSS compliance and purchasing SSL certification.
(d) Digital Signature and Electronic Signature
Ans. E-Signature and Digital Signature: Differentiate between Electronic Signature and Digital Signature.
The IT Act, 2008 mentions both electronic signature and digital signature. An electronic signature is data in electronic form, which is used by the signatory to sign.
Electronic signatures are a legal concept distinct from digital signatures, a cryptographic mechanism often used to implement electronic signatures.
While an electronic signature can be as simple as a name entered in an electronic document, digital signatures are increasingly used in e-commerce and in regulatory filings to implement electronic signatures in a cryptographically protected way.
Digital Signatures are more authentic than electronic signatures. Electronic signatures are used for verification of document while Digital Signatures are used for securing the document.
Electronic Signature can be biometric, name typed at the end of a mail, digitalized version of conventional signature.
Digital signature uses two-way protection with encryption and decryption. Electronic signatures are technologically neutral and the Act does not specify any technology for its creation while digital signature follows specific technology based approach.
For example, usage oi hash functions, use of public key cryptography system. Digital Signatures have validity of maximum three years, while electronic signatures have no such limits on validity. BCOS 184 Free Solved Assignment
BPSC 133 FREE ASSIGNMENT 2021-22