Report Evaluating E- Business

Question: Write the Report onEvaluating E- Business. Answer: Introduction Airline domain is arguably one of the most challenging business areas. It integrates principles of retailing, sales and distribution, pricing strategies, inventory management, network optimization, CRM (customer relationship management), SCM (supply chain management), engineering, human resource management, revenue optimization, revenue accounting etc. In addition the industry is guided by IATA regulations, customs regulations, and national security regulations. Airline industry has given birth to whole ecosystem of suppliers (Aircraft manufacturers, caterers, in-flight entertainment suppliers, and fuel suppliers), brokers (global distribution systems, travel agents) and Industry business process enablers (Price engine providers, revenue optimization system providers, payment gateway providers etc). Keeping a tight control over costs, selling the seats at the best possible price while maintaining excellent service standards is key to an Airlines success. Airlines around the world realize that this is possible only through information technology and enterprise wide digitization. This paper shall provide an overview of the key business process areas in an Airline, approach for digitization, e-Business models, strategy, key metrics and challenges. The paper provides and elaborate a leading profitable airline (Singapore Airlines), listing the key e-business initiatives that are implemented or planned for implementation in the near future. The Ease of Use of Ecommerce Site Placing the services on the electronic marketplace is one aspect of the entire e-Business gamut. Digitization if achieved end-to-end, offers several benefits in terms of: Scalability Ease to add on additional services and integrate with other partners. Business agility Adapt the business models and operational flows in sync with the rapidly changing business landscape. Streamlined processing Structured workflows, systematic and controlled processes and monitoring mechanisms to ensure work is being processed efficiently and quickly. Superior customer services Ability to provide value-add services with minimum cost impact. Management visibility Dynamic and real-time data available to generate on the fly reports to monitor and make strategic decisions. Cost savings associated with the digitized business model Lesser staff overheads, re-work, Ability to fine tune the process or replace redundant E-Business Applications Currently Used Below is the list of applications that are hosted electronically for the airline company. As we can see this caters to most of the services: Electronic Ticketing Electronic Boarding Pass Electronic Check-in Self Service Check-in Ticket reissue and refunds Advanced Payment Gateway Travel Agent facilities Frequent Flyer facilities Corporate Integration Travel Supplier Integration Additional Services Online E-Commerce Marketing Strategy Marketing strategy plays a key role in business growth. If marketing strategy of an E-business is properly framed and executed, it can capitalise very well on the investments made in E- website and lead to huge grown in revenue. The marketing strategy of the company includes various aspects including presents in Website, mobile app, Social Media, E-mail, Offline media. Companys present is also available across platform so that it can be easily marketed and can reach to customer of various segment and categories. Various platforms included Traditional, mobile, Tablet, Face book, Twitter, Blogs, Print, TV and Audio. E-Commerce Security Strategy An E-business can add value and help to grow the business but it needs to be protected against the cyber attacks and hackers so that it is not an easy and attractive target to be misused. The security strategy of the company is such it covers the major loop holes that may lead to security breach. During analysis and listing the security requirements, company highlighted few security gaps that should be covered as part of overall should design. Here are listing of the identified security loop holes identified. Weak password usage Unhindered account enumeration Inappropriate access controls Two factor authentication based on single system Loosely configured SSL/TLS Exposed Cloud based interface Unable to handle automated machine attack Exposed Mobile based interface Leakage during data transfer System vulnerable to account harvesting (possibility of to guess credentials and penetrate system) Additionally the Airline Company also identified the remediation and designed the security strategy considering the remediation. These included: Adoption of proper data encryption methodology Adoption of secure network to transfer data Abide Data minimization policy Use of encrypted connectivity methods Deploy security to cover network threats Privacy, autonomy and spying test while security testing Encryption via SSL/TL for TCP connection Data Masking and ammonization IT Architecture The architecture of an E- business should be well thought of considering the overall business objective. Architecture of the Airline company was done covering the below aspects: Develop clear understanding of business objectives Know how to choose the right technology to achieve identified objectives Below are the key features that are part of architecture design: Below is the diagrammatic representation of Two-tier and Multi-tier architecture: Two-tier Web server and database server Multi-tier Web application servers Backend, legacy databases Conclusion Curtailing costs, ensuring service excellence and ensuring profitability are key to Airlines success. Spiraling fuel costs, Lower travel budgets in major business houses and unstable global political atmosphere are challenges that the industry has to surmount. Streamlining the business process and bringing in automation becomes an absolute necessity in todays chaotic environment. Over half a decade of losses has crippled the industry and most Airlines do not have the financial bandwidth to restructure and optimize the IT framework and ensure end-to-end digitization. It remains a fact the worlds leading Airlines are those which have invested heavily in enterprise digitization and e-Commerce initiatives. The results of the investment have been impressive with most of the Airlines reporting huge cost savings as well as increases in revenue and profit margins. Recommendations: Based on the evaluation, we feel that following features may be considered for enahanving business value and customer experience in E- business: Packaging Services to attract customers -Personalization as well as dynamic promotion of services has proved to be effective in selling additional services to the customer and should be adopted. Unified strategy for e-Business - Standardized approaches and sharing of best practices will make transition to digital mode hassle free for the enterprise. Analyzing Digital Consumer Tracks - Logging and analyzing how the consumer spends his time on the application or website gives valuable information of customer expectations, waiting period. Pages and functions most frequently used by average customers need to be prioritized an optimized. Security - Phishing poses threat to the consumer, Hacking and fraud transactions could be crippling for the entire business. Adoption of highly secure protocols and following recommended information security policies would instil confidence in the consumer to perform and online transaction. Robustness and Performance These keep a consumer wanting to come back the website to perform another transaction Improving Usability and Customer Friendliness (Standby support Callback Assistance) - Personalized content, search facilities, stand-by support (Instant Messaging with support person or drop note to call centre to call the consumer back to help him get used to the website) are features that make e-Market place attractive. Other practises in similar airlines segment that can be added to keep business competitive and agile: Refund Workflow Automation Group Management Workflow Automation SMS Alerts for Flight Disruption, Schedule Changes Waitlist Promotion Automatic Travel Documentation Check Mobile Commerce References Bauer, M. (2011).Introduction to the Architectural Reference Model for the Internet of Things. 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