Page 168 - E-Bussiness and E-Commerce Management Strategy, Implementation, and Practice

M03_CHAF9601_04_SE_C03.QXD:D01_CHAF7409_04_SE_C01.QXD 16/4/09 11:09 Page 135

Chapter 3 E-business infrastructure 135

all types of communications needs of an organization, i.e. data, voice and multimedia. VoIP
(pronounced ‘voyp’) is proving increasingly popular for reducing the cost of making phone
calls both within an office and for calls between offices, particularly internationally. IOD
(2005) estimates that after initial investment, the cost of managing a converged VoIP com-
munications system could be 50 per cent lower than managing separate voice and data
systems. In the longer term it will also be used by major telecommunications companies such
as AT&T and BT to replace their existing voice networks with IP networks.
In addition to the cost-reduction benefits, other benefits include:
Click-to-call – users click the number they want from an on-screen directory to call.
Call forwarding and conferencing to people at other locations
Unified messaging. E-mails, voicemails and faxes are all integrated into a single inbox.
Hot-desking – calls are routed to staff wherever they log-in – on-site or off-site.
Cost control – review and allocation of costs between different businesses is more transparent.
To implement VoIP several options are available to managers:

1 Peer-to-peer. The best-known peer-to-peer solution is Skype (purchased by eBay in 2005)
which offers free calls or video-conferencing between Internet-connected PCs that are
enabled with a headset (sometimes called ‘softphones’). A service called SkypeOut enables
calls to landlines or mobile phones at a reduced cost compared to traditional billing. This
service is only really suited to smaller businesses, but could be used in larger businesses for
some staff who call abroad frequently to bypass the central system.
2 Hosted service. This principle is similar to hosted software from application service
providers (ASPs). Here, a company makes use of a large centralized IP-based system shared
between many companies. This potentially reduces costs, but some companies might be
concerned about outsourcing their entire phone directory.
3 Complete replacement of all telephone systems. This is potentially costly and disruptive
in the short term, but new companies or relocating companies may find this the most cost-
effective solution.
4 Upgrading existing telephone systems to use VoIP. Typically, the best compromise for
existing companies.

Widgets
Widgets Widgets are different forms of tools made available on a web site or on a user’s desktop. They
A badge or button are a relatively new concept associated with Web 2.0. They either provide some functionality,
incorporated into a site or

social network space by like a calculator or they provide real-time information, for example on news or weather.
its owner, with content or Site owners can encourage partners to place them on their sites and this will help educate
services typically served people about your brand, possibly generate backlinks for SEO purposes (Chapter 9) and also
from another site, making
widgets effectively a engage with a brand when they’re not on the brand owner’s site. Widgets offer partner sites
mini-software application the opportunity to add value to their visitors through the gadget functionality or content, or
or web service. Content
can be updated in real to add to their brand through association with you (co-branding).
time since the widget Widgets are often placed in the left or right sidebar, or in the body of an article. They are
interacts with the server relatively easy for site owners to implement, usually a couple of lines of Javascript, but this
each time it loads.
does depend on the content management system.
The main types of widgets are:
1 Web widgets. Web widgets have been used for a long time as part of affiliate marketing, but
they are getting more sophisticated, enabling searches on a site, real-time price updates or
even streaming video.
2 Google gadgets. Different content can be incorporated onto a personalized Google
‘iGoogle’ home page, as is shown by the feed contents displayed in Figure 3.12.
3 Desktop and operating system gadgets. Vista, the new Microsoft operating system makes it
easier to create and enable subscription to these widgets and place them into sidebars.