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2015IEEEe-CommerceCloud:OpportunitiesandChallengesMariamAl-JaberiandNaderMohamedUAEUniversityAlAin,UAE{mariam_aljaberi,nader.
m}@uaeu.
ac.
aeJameelaAl-JaroodiUniversityofPittsburghPittsburgh,Pennsylvania,USAjaljaroodi@gmail.
comAbstract—Cloudcomputingisdrawingtheattentionsofallsectors-suchashealthcare,telecommunications,entertainmentande-commerce.
Itoffersservicesonlinebyprovidingacompletesetofinformationtechnology(IT)solutionswhichpromisetocutcostsandeffortsandenhanceperformanceandefficiencyofdeliveringservicesforcustomers.
Ine-commerceapplications,thecloudcancontributeenormouslyinenhancingbusinessprocessesleadingtobettereconomicvalueforthebusinessenterprise.
Inthispaper,asetofopportunitiesandchallengeshavebeendiscussedbasedonrelatedresearchtohighlightthemainadvantagesprovidedbythecloudfore-commerceapplicationsanddiscusstherelevantconcernsandissues.
Keywords—CloudComputing;e-Commerce;InternetI.
INTRODUCTIONThewebanditsapplicationsareconsideredanimportanthallmarkofthecurrentinformationage.
Inthebusinessworld,themigrationtowardsweb-basedtransactionsisaremarkableprogressinthevirtualbusinessandcommercialactivities,whichgavebirthtotheelectronicbusiness(e-business)andelectroniccommerce(e-commerce).
However,establishingane-commerceapplicationin-houseneedshugeeffortsandITexpertstoidentifytheneedsandhowitcanbeappliedtofitthebusinessonlinerequirements,whileoutsourcingcanbeaveryexpensivesolutionforenterpriseswhichmakeitunfeasibletogoonline.
Nowadays,thepowerofcloudcomputinghastransformedthee-commerceindustry.
Cloudcomputingisnotanewbrandofcomputingmode.
Itisactuallytheevolutionandextensionofthetraditionaldistributedcomputingandgridcomputing[6].
WherethemainideaisdistributingthepowerofcomputingacrossalargearrayofcomputingresourcesconnectedthroughtheInternettoestablishenhancedprocessesthatmeetthecustomerneeds.
CloudcomputingenablesorganizationstohostanumberofIToperations(like"datahosting")fromcloudserviceproviders.
Allservicesareofferedondemandbasedontheclientorganization'srequirementsprovidingtheneededITinfrastructureandacompletesolutionfortheire-commerceapplications.
Thustheservicesaremadeavailablewithoutworryingabouttechnicalandotherissuesandpaidforbasedonusage.
Inthispaper,thecloudcomputingconceptisdiscussedinSectionII.
Anoverviewofthepotentialopportunitiesandchallengesofusingcloudcomputingine-commerceapplicationsarediscussedinsectionsIIIandIV.
SectionVreviewssomerelatedprojectsdiscussingsomeaspectsofusingcloudcomputingine-commerceapplicationsanddiscussingpossiblesolutionstothechallengeslikesecurityandtrust.
AdiscussionoftheoverallconceptisprovidedinSectionVI.
AndtosumupaconclusionofferedinSectionVII.
II.
CLOUDCOMPUTINGCONCEPTSCloudcomputingisanemergingcommercialinfrastructuremodelthatofferstoreduceoreliminatetheneedforcompaniestomaintainin-househigh-costhardware,software,andnetworkinfrastructures.
Italsoreducesoreveneliminatesthehigh-costofrecruitingtechnicalprofessionalstosupporttheseinfrastructuresandoperatethein-houseITsolutions[13].
Fromawidelydiscussedideacarryingmanyconfusingconceptsandambiguities,Cloudcomputinghasrapidlybecomeanemergingcomputingparadigmenablingvariousservicestobeprovidedtointerestedconsumersatlowercostsandhigherprofits[14].
Consequently,establishingaformaldefinitionanddescriptionofCloudComputinganditsrequirementsisapressingnecessity.
TherecentNISTdefinitionofCloudComputing[15]describesitasaparadigmallowinguserstoaccesssharedconfigurablecomputingresources.
TheNISTdefinitionisbasedonfivemaincharacteristics:UserscanautomaticallybenefitfromtheCloudserviceswithoutcommunicatingwiththeserviceproviders.
Standardprotocolsareusedtoaccessthecomputingresourcesoverthenetwork.
Cloudservicesfollowamulti-tenantmodelallowingresourcestobepooledandsharedamongusers.
Computingcapabilitiescanbequicklyscaledinoroutbasedontheusers'varyingdemands.
Userspayforutilizedcomputingcapabilitiesbasedonapay-per-usemodel.
Cloudservicesfollowthreeservicemodels:theCloudSoftware-as-a-Service(SaaS)whereausercanbenefitfromtheCloudprovider'sapplicationsthatrunontheCloudinfrastructure;theCloudPlatform-as-a-Service(PaaS)whereausercandeployapplicationsontocompatibleCloudinfrastructures;andtheCloudInfrastructureasaServiceProceedingsofthe2015InternationalConferenceonIndustrialEngineeringandOperationsManagementDubai,UnitedArabEmirates(UAE),March3–5,2015.
(IaaS)whereausercanbenefitfromthecomputingresourcesofferedandmanagedbyaCloudserviceprovider.
III.
E-COMMERCECLOUDOPPORTUNITIESTounderstandtheadvantagesofmigratingfromordinarye-commerceapplicationstocloud-basede-commerceapplicationswehavetoidentifyhowe-commerceapplicationscanbeenhanced;towhatextendthecloudcancreatevalueforthee-commerceapplication;andwhichdirectionwillleadtobusinessgrowth.
Toanswerthesequestionsanumberofopportunitieshavebeenaddressedinthefollowinglist:CostandEffort:Traditionale-commerceenterprisesputalotofresources,financesandmanpowertostartupanelectronicbusinesssystem.
Cloudcomputingreducesthecostofservices,implementation,maintenance,anddevelopmenttimeofthecomponentsforthee-commercesystem.
Insteadofestablishinganexpensivee-Commercesystemin-house,manycompaniesfoundthatoutsourcingismorecost-effectivetohandlemostofthecoree-commercecomponentsandtransactions.
Yetoutsourcingisstillacostlyapproachasproviderschargeforthefullsolution.
However,whencloudservicesareused,thebusinessisonlyrequiredtopayforuse.
Thisofferstheabilitytotakeadvantageofthecapabilitiesofcloudcomputingandcreateacollaborativeeconomicenvironmentwheretheoverheadcostsaresharedamongtheparticipants;withtheflexibilitytoonlypayforactualusage.
Thisfeatureissuitableforsmallandmediumsizede-commerceenterpriseswheretheycanutilizeadvancedITinfrastructuresandservicestosupporttheiroperationswithoutfacinghighinitialandoperationalcosts.
Itprovidestheinfrastructurefore-commerceapplicationsandcutthecostleadingtoabettereconomicefficiencyforthebusinessenterprise.
CommonComputationEnvironment:Thecloudcanprovidestrongcomputationcapabilitieswithconsiderablecomputationalresourcesforbusinessenterprises,whichwillgiveasolutionforthee-commerceapplicationstohavethiskindofcomputationsovertheInternetandspreadamongdifferentpartsofequipmentinsteadofhavingitonboard.
Thatwillaccordinglyenhancethespeedandqualityofthesesservicesprovidingsuperstrongcomputationalcapabilitiesforthecustomers[9].
SafetyandSecurity:Toolsandmechanismsfordatatrustinessandintegrityarenecessaryforbusinessenterprisesandcanbeprovidedfore-commerceapplicationsthroughcloudcomputing.
Thisrequiressecuretransferofdatatoandfromthecloudandalsoallowforperformingthecomputationsinthecloudsawayfromattacks.
Inaddition,thecloudprovidesacompletesetofinformationsecuritysolutions,sothroughusingcloudcomputingtherewillbeagreatchancefore-commerceenterprisestoexpandtheirbusinessinasecuredvirtualenvironment.
Itprovidesreliablecommunicationtoolstonetworkthecompanieswiththeirpeersaroundthebusinessworld.
Network:Cloudcomputingoffersincreasednetworkbandwidthforthee-commercewhichaccordinglywillspeedupthetransactionsandbetterfacilitatetheonlinebusinessprocesses.
Inaddition,thecloudprovidesmorereliableandrobustnetworkserviceswhichincreasestheaccessibilityandavailabilityofe-commerceapplications.
Competition:Asaresultoftheenhancementsinthepromotionofonlinebusinesstransactionsandservicesprovidedbycloudcomputing,thecompetitionwillincreasebetweenthecyber-companiesandthatwillraisethecompetitiveadvantagesinthecyber-market.
Storage:Cloudtechnologiesfacilitatestoringandsharinginformationregardlessofsizeandtypeandserviceswithinthee-commerceapplications.
Thisallowsformoreflexibleusageofstorageresourcesandbetterfacilitatesexchangingdatabetweendifferentservicesandclients.
Thusthecloudoffersanonlinedatacenterforbothsoftwareandhardwareaccessibleanytimeanywhereandpaidforbasedontheusagelevels.
Professionalism:Cloudcomputingcanenhancetheprofessionalismofthee-commerceapplicationsbyprovidingeconomicreliabilityoffering"maketoorder"servicesforbusinessenterprises.
OneexampleisSaaSwherethesoftwareandthedataishostedinthecloudandcanbeaccessedbyclientswhenandwheretheyneedit.
IV.
E-COMMERCECLOUDCHALLENGESAlthough,cloudcomputingpromisestoprovideasetofbeneficialsolutionsfore-commerceapplications,manychallengescometoattention.
Thefollowingisalistofthemainchallengesthatneedtobeconsidered:DataStorage:Usersofbusiness-basedCloudservicesworryabouttheirinabilitytocontroltheplacewherethedataisstoredhowitisreplicated,partitionedanddistributed.
Thislackofcontrolmakesclientswaryofthepoliciesandproceduresinuse.
DataPrivacy:Theprotectionofacompanyownedinformationanditsclients'privacyisstillakeychallengeincloudcomputingandappropriatetechnicalsolutionsaredesperatelyneeded.
ServiceQuality:Thecloudhasinspiredthemarketintomovingtoservice-orientedmanufacturinginsteadofproduction-orientedmanufacturing.
However,QoSmustguaranteeperformance,security,availability,dependabilityandreliabilityfortheoverallservicesandprocessesperformedbetweentheend-usersandthecloud.
ItisveryimportantincloudcomputingtoofferQoSsupportintermsofboththeperformanceofvirtualizationandmonitoringtools.
Inaddition,theuncertaintiesabouttheservicequalitymustbereduced.
Security:ItistheCloud'smajorproblemanddrawback,especiallywhendataiscreatedandprocessedonthecloud.
Itisdifficulttofindefficientandeconomicsolutionstoprotectdataandprogramsfromattacks.
Anintrudercaninterruptaconnectionbetweene-commerceenterprisesandtheircustomers.
Moreover,thedatamaybeexposed,accessed,modifiedorevendestroyedwhileintransitorduringprocessing.
TrustandReputations:Asadefinitiontrustis"thedegreebywhichatargetobjectsuchassoftware,adevice,aserver,oranydatatheydeliverisconsideredsecure.
"Thetrustisabigchallengeforcloudcomputingine-commerceplatforms,whereitishardforcustomerstodifferentiatebetweengoode-commercesitesandbadones.
ThisdiscouragescompaniesandclientstomigratetotheCloud.
Dependenceonconnectivity:inthecloud,toaccessresourcesorsharedinformationorevenhardwaretheend-usermustbeconnectedtoInternet.
Beingtetheredtotheavailabilityofnetworkconnectionsmaybeproblematicwhensuchconnectionsarenotreliable.
Servicestandardsissues:Cloudserviceprovidersdonotprovideenterpriseswithspecificdetailsabouttheinfrastructureandservicesused.
Informationonlocation,technologyused,staffsituation,modeofoperationsforexamplearenotcommunicatedtotheclients.
Clientswhowishtousesuchservicesmaybehesitanttodosowithoutknowingthisinformation.
V.
CURRENTRESEARCHEFFORTSCloudcomputingisanemergingtrendininformationtechnology,especiallywhenitcomestoe-commerceapplications.
Thisdrawstheattentionofresearcherstoinvestigateitschallengesandexpanditshorizon.
Manyoftheresearcheshighlightedthevariousaspectsofcloudcomputingine-commerceapplications.
Theyoffervariousapproachessuchasprovidingspecificsolutionsforindividualissuessuchassecurityandtrust,availability,QoSamongmany.
Thefollowingisareviewofsomeoftheworkdoneinthefield:A.
Cloudtrustmodeline-commerceTheintegrationoftheInternetwithmanyapplicationsthroughcloudcomputinghasdrasticallyreshapedthelandscapeofmanysettingsinbusinessandacademia.
InadditionitfacilitatedtheadoptionoftheInternetinmanyactivitiesthattraditionallydidnotusetheInternet.
e-Commerceisfoundtobeasupportiveparadigmthatallowsvariousonlineenterprisestoreducetheiroperationalcosts,whileattaininggreatermarketoutreachanddevelopingfruitfulpartnershipsandrelationshipswithpeerenterprises.
However,usingtheInternetasthecorenetworkhasledtonewrisksandconcerns;therefore,trustandsecuritymaybethemainhurdleshinderingthegrowthofe-commerceapplicationsonthecloud.
Trust,reliability,andsecurityarethecoreconcernsinsuchvirtualtransactions.
Therefore,thearticle[7]focusesondevelopingamodeltoincreasethetrustinthecloud-basede-commercefromasecurity-orientedtrustviewpointforthesakeofpromotinge-businessnewhorizons.
Theauthorrecognizesthattrustmanagementine-commercetransactionshasthreeapproaches,namely:Centralizedtrustmanagementinwhichclientsreportratingsoftheirtrustlevelsafterperformingatransaction.
Athirdpartymayalsobeinvolvedtogeneratetrustthroughattestationsandcertification.
Decentralizedtrustmanagement,whichenhancespeer-to-peer(P2P)operationstoperformcriticale-commercefunctionsinadecentralizedmanner.
P2Pcomputingisthesharingofcomputerresourcesandservicesthroughdirectcommunicationbetweenmultiplesystems.
Moreover,aP2P-basedarchitecturedoesnotrequireextracoststosetupseparateservers.
Distributedtrustmanagementwhosebasicarchitecturescomprisesasetoftrustmanagementbrokersthatpartitionthedataamongthemselves.
Thisapproachhelpsinpartitioningthetrustcomputationworkloadforprovidingincrementalreliabilityinthee-commercesystembecauseitcanensurearelativelycompletedatasets.
However,thecollaborationamongbrokersandthecosttosetthemupmightbeanconcern.
Thethreeapproachesmayhelpinincreasingthetrustinthevirtualtransactionswithincloud-basede-commercesystem.
B.
e-CommercedealeragentmechanismincloudcomputingSaaS-softwareasaservice-isoneofthecloudcomputingmodelsusedinthee-commercedealeragentmechanismtodevelopbusinessservicesusingwebandtradingservices.
Themainconceptinthisproject[11]isdevelopingthedealeragentbasedmechanismonthecloud-basede-commercesystemtoprovideamorepersonalizedandeffectivelocalcloudenvironment.
Asoftwareagentiscapableofhelpingthetraderschooseandpurchaseproductsdependingontheirpreferences.
Moreover,itprovidestransactionscustomizationonthecloud-basede-commercesystem.
Heretwosystemshavebeencombinedtoprovidearesponsiveserviceforthebuyer'stofindthesuitableservices/productsforthem.
Thiswasattainedusingtheagentsoftwarearchitecture.
Animplementationprototypetoexplainthecloud-basede-commerceagentbasedframeworkandtheagentprotocolsotheagentanddealerscaninteractwasdescribed.
Theagentactsasarepositorythatmaintainsallinformationaboutthee-commercesitelikepaymentsandproductsdatabases.
Itwillsearchfortheavailableproductsinthee-commercesites.
Anevaluationofthee-commercesitesisestablishedthroughmeasuringtheproductserviceperformanceofeachsite.
Atradingsystemwasusedtoallowbothbuyersanddealerstotrade.
Furthermore,thepaymenttransactionphaseissecuredusingPayPalsandboxgateway.
C.
Aframeworkforenhancinge-commerceapplicationsTheInternethaspavedthewaytothebirthofe-commerce,whichbecamethehallmarkoftoday'sbusinessworld.
Withtimee-commerceaugmenteditspopularityasitsvariousapplicationsprovidedasetofefficientservicesforallconcernedstakeholdersincludingtheemployees,customersandpartners.
However,therearestillchallengestoovercomewhenconsideringtheadoptionorexpansionofe-commercesystems.
Oneofthesechallengesfacingtheenterprisesistheenvironmentalcost.
Therefore,thecloudparadigmisemergingasanappropriatesolutiontoovercomethisproblem.
Theauthors[12]proposeanewframeworktousecloud-basede-commerceapplicationstosolvetheproblemofthelackofresourcesandforreducingtheenvironmentalcostfordevelopingandimplementingane-commercesystem.
Theproposedframeworkconsistsoffivelayersstartingwiththehardwarerecourseslayerinthecloudservicemiddlewarewhichcontainsalltheinfrastructureofthesystem.
Thislayerprovidesthescalabilityofdynamicchangesneededforthee-commercesystemstoaddanymemoryorphysicalhostpooltoimproveresourcesutilization.
Thesecond,softwareresourcelayer,providesaninterfaceforthedeveloperstocommunicatewiththemiddlewaretechnologyandoperatingsystems,tocreatethee-commerceapplicationsanddeploythemonthecloud.
Afterthatcomestheresourcemanagementlayerwhichisresponsibleformanagingthehardwareandsoftwareresourcelayer.
Themainroleofthislayeristoprovideondemandsoftwareallocationamongdifferenthardwarerecoursesonthecloud.
Theservicelayerwhichisdividedintothreesublayersbasedonthecloudresourcestypes:IaaS,SaaSandPaaP.
Thisdivisionwillhelpthecloudcustomertoeasilyusethedifferentcloudresources(i.
e.
infrastructure,softwareandplatformresources)basedontheapplication'sneeds.
Thelastlayeristhebusinessapplicationlayer,whichprovidesthebusinesslogicofthee-commercesystemandconnectthecloudresourcesthatsupporttheapplication.
Thisframeworkprovidesasetofenhancementstoovercometheexistingchallengesine-commerceapplicationssuchasreducingcostsinhardware,softwareandtrainedstaff.
Italsoreducestheimplementationtimetoaboutthehalfofthetraditionaltime.
Providingatime-to-valueandon-demanddynamicscalabilityisoneoftheimportantpromisesinthisframeworkwhichwillleadtoincreasedprofitsandcreatealeadingindustryamongenterprises.
However,theframeworkdoesnotaddressallthechallengesfacedbythecloud-basede-commercesystemsuchasthesecurityoftheplatformsandapplications,standardsofcloudcomputingandregulatoryissuesofcloudservices.
Cloud-basede-commercesystemsrequiremoretimeandpracticetosuccessfullyaddressthesechallenges.
D.
Organicproductcatalogs:Towardsanarchitectureforcloud-basedmicroenterprisee-commerceTheauthorsin[8]discussthepotentialimpactofthecloudfacilitiesonthepromotionoftheproductsandservicesofmicro-enterprises(i.
e.
,afirmwithlessthan10employees)asafocusoftheirstudy.
DespitethefactthattheICT(InformationandCommunicationTechnology)revolutionhasavailedawiderangeofpowerfultoolsandsolutions,thebusinessworld;inparticularthemicro-businesses,didnotgainmuchbenefitsespeciallyinthepromotionofproductsandservices.
Thismaybeduetotheunbearablecostsofacquiring,operatingandmaintainingane-commerceinfrastructureandfacilities.
Tobenefitfromthecloud-basedservicestheauthorsproposeamodel,cloudstacks,whichenablesthemicro-enterprisestopromotetheirrespectiveproductsandservicesontheweb.
Thismodelisreferredtoasorganicproductcatalogs(OPC),whichaimsatprovidingane-commerceplatformforthemicro-enterprisesthatcouldsuccessfullyanswertheneedsoftheend-customerswithcost-effectiveoperations.
Yet,theOPCneedsaminimumcostofparticipationstoensureitssuccessfulapplications.
TheOPCstacksprovidewhatiscalledaproductdescriptionlanguage(PDL)thatcanbeusedtodescribetheproductsandservicesofeachenterprise.
Theyalsohavethecapacityofstoringallproductdescriptionsthatamicro-enterprisemaintainsaswellasarepositoryofcustomizabletemplatesfortheproductsandservices.
Inconclusion,theauthorsarguethatthemicro-businessescouldbenefitfromtheOPCbyhavingtheirproductsdescribedelectronicallywhileexposingthemtoahugeamountofpotentialcustomersatthesametime.
E.
Influencesofcloudcomputingone-commerceThisarticle[6]discussestheadoptionofcloudtechnologyforpromotinge-commercerelatedactivitiesandhighlightsitsbenefitsforthee-commerceenterprises.
Cloudcomputingoftenoperatesina"pay-per-service"modeltosupplyanddelivertheend-userswithintegratedICT-basedservicesuponrequest.
Theprocessesofsuche-servicesaretransferredtothecloudplatform,whichleadtothenewserviceparadigmssuchasIaaS,PaaSandSaaS.
Thecloud-basedservicesaimatmakinge-commercetransactionseasierandhelpingtheend-userstocontroltheirownresourcesincludingstorage.
Accordingly,thecloudeffectivelysupportsthedynamiccomputingpower,storagecapacity,networkexchanges,andinformationservicecapabilitiesfortheclients.
Usingcloudcomputingthee-commerceenterpriseswillhavegreatabilitiesandopportunitiestoexpandtheirbusinessovertheInternet.
Theauthorarguesthattheemergenceofcloudcomputingandrelatedtechnologieshascreatedmanynewserviceecosystemswithinwhichallthee-commerceresourcesareintegratedforfacilitatingthenewservicemodels.
Forthee-commerceenterprisesthecloudiscreatingbetteropportunitiestoenhancetheirbusiness.
Inaddition,forthetraditionale-commerceenterprises,itisanopportunityandanappropriatestrategytomovetothecloudandembracethanresistit.
F.
Hybridcloudarchitecturesfore-commerceThearticle[4]remarksontheemergenceofe-commerceanditspotentialeffectsontoday'sbusinessworld.
Theauthorprovidesacomprehensiveoverviewofthedefinitionandintegrationscenariosofthecorearchitectureandcomponentsofthehybride-commercesysteminwhichthetraditionalITservicescouldbeblendedwithcloud-basedservices,withspecialemphasisonthefunctionalities.
Theauthordefinescloudcomputingas"theapplicationsdeliveredasservicesovertheweb,andthehardwareandsoftwareinthedatacentersthatprovidethoseservices.
"TheseserviceshavelongbeenreferredtoasSaaS.
Moreover,thearticleshedslightoverthepotentialadvantages(e.
g.
promotingweb-basedbusiness)andthedrawbacks(e.
g.
uncertaintiesaboutservicequality)generatedfromthehybridclouddesign.
Itprovidesvariousillustrationsofthehybridarchitectureatdifferentphasesandattemptstoprovethatthehybridcloudarchitectureshavemanybudgetadvantagessuchasreducingthecostofimplementationandmaintenanceandthelifetimeofthecomponents.
Therefore,itstressesontheimportanceofcloud-basede-commerceinenhancingonlineshoppingwithsecuretransactions.
Inthisarticle,theauthortriestoinvestigatetheimportanceoftheintegrationofcloud-basedservicesinseveralfieldssuchasinpaymentservicesandusertrackingthatareusedine-commerce.
However,itacknowledgesthatdataprivacyandsecurityandthedependencyonconnectivityaremajorproblemsanddrawbackstothesystem.
TheargumentisstillfoundregardingusingtheSocialWebforcollaborationwithconsumers.
G.
Anewtrustedandsecuree-commercearchitectureThearticle[5]highlightsthevalue-addedopportunitiesintroducedbythecloudtechnologiesforfacilitatingthesharingofinformationresourcesandserviceswithinthewidercommunityandworldwide.
e-Commerceisoneofthecloudbeneficiaries;itnowadaysrepresentsavitalbusinesstrendintoday'seconomicactivities.
Therefore,manyenterprisesandevenindividualshaveadoptede-commerceasanewparadigmforbusinesstransactions.
e-Commerceattractedawidespectrumofaudienceinindustry,banking,andserviceswherethetransactionstakeplaceincyberspacefromremotelocations.
Thus,thecloudprovidesaplatformforarobustnetworkfore-commercetoconducttherequiredprocessesandtransactions.
Inaddition,itprovidesasetofinformationsecuritysolutions,whicharethecorecomponentsofe-commercetransactions.
Usingcloudcomputingtherewillbeagreatchancefore-commerceenterprisestoexpandtheirbusinessinasecuredvirtualenvironment.
Moreover,thearticleprovidesfurtherexplanationsaboutthenatureofthecloudenvironment,whereresourcesaresharedamongalltheserversandusersandthedataisstoredinthecloudtobecomeaccessibletoallusers.
Accordingly,thedataisbeingsecurelysharedamongthee-commerceenterprisesandtheircustomersandprotectedagainstthepotentialattacks.
However,anotherproblemmightencounterthebusiness-basedcloudusers,whichistheirinabilitytocontroltheplacewherethedataisstored.
Consequently,thecloudusersareforcedtousetheresourceallocationandschedulingprovidedbythecloudserviceprovider.
H.
3Gmobilee-commerceplatformbasedoncloudcomputingNowadaysmobilee-commercehasdevelopedenormously.
However,adevelopmentbottleneckhasbeenoccurred.
Inthearticle[2],theauthorsdiscussthepotentialimpactofthecloudfacilitiesonmobilee-commerce.
Tobenefitfromcloud-basedmobilee-commerceapplications,theauthorsproposedanewplatformfor3Gmobilee-commerce.
Thisplatformsolvesmanychallengesraisedinmobilee-commercesystemssuchasuserinterfaceissues,limitedbandwidthandtheconfigurationofthemobilephone.
Thisnewplatformaimstohavenewfeaturesthatincreasethebandwidth,speedofdataprocessing,andsecurity.
Moreover,itprovidesvividuserinterfacesandhighermobilebandwidthusing3GandacceleratesdataprocessingusingcloudcomputingbasedonPKI.
Thesystemcontainsthefollowingthreelayerframework:Databaselayer:UsesJBossastheapplicationserverandadoptsOraclelOgastheback-enddatabase.
Middlewarelayer.
Tiesthetwolayersandprovidesthenecessaryinterfaces.
Userinterfaceslayer:OffersHTTPinterfacestoaccesstheresourcesandservicesinthecloud.
Therefore,theprocessingresultisreturnedquicklytotheenduser.
Thisreducestheusers'needtoconfiguretheirtelephones,whichcouldincreasethenumberofusers.
Theimplementationwentthroughdifferentstagesandthetestsshowedthatthesystemisworkingefficiently.
However,someimprovementsneedtobemadeinthepaymentaspects.
I.
Cloudcomputinge-commercemodelsandtheirsecurityThearticle[1]discussestheimportanceofusinge-commerceapplicationsandtherelatedsecurityissues.
Italsoshowsthegreatbenefitsthate-commerceenterprisesmaygainiftheyusethecloudcapabilitiesinspeedinguptheirtransactionandincreasingthecapacityofthenetworkstorage.
Manycompaniesworldwidehaveagreatinterestinusingthecloudforimprovingtheirbusinessinahighlycompetitivemarket.
Thus,cloudcomputingisconsideredagreatadvantageforthee-commerceparadigmintermsofprovidingreliablecommunicationtoolstoconnectthecompanieswiththeirpeersaroundtheworld.
Thearticleshedslightonthepotentialrolesthatthecloudwouldbeplayingine-commercethroughenhancingthepromotionofonlinebusinesstransactionsandservices,whichinturnincreasesthecompetitionbetweenthecyber-companies.
Despitethate-commerceisapromisingtrendtobringmanybenefitstocompanies,itisnotcost-effectiveandthehighcostisconsideredasthemajorhindranceagainstthepopularityofe-commerce.
Asolutionforthatiscloudcomputingasitprovidesnewopportunitiestoe-commerceenterprises.
Insteadofestablishinganexpensivee-businesssystemin-house,manycompaniesfoundthatmovingtothecloudismorecost-effectivetohandlethecorefunctionsofe-commerce.
However,somecompaniesareworriedaboutentrustinge-commerceissuestoexternalcloudprovidersduetosecurityandprivacyissues.
Inotherwords,theprotectionofacompany'sinformationanddealers'privacyisstillakeychallengetobeaddressed.
VI.
DISCUSSIONCloudcomputingasanewmodelhasitsownopportunitiesinavariousareas.
Itisobviousthatcloudcomputingine-commerceapplicationspresentpromisingadvantagesthatwillenhancethequalityofe-commerceapplicationswithreducedcosts.
Onotherhand,thechallengesareserious.
Thesechallengesincludedatastorageandprivacy,servicequality,dependenceonconnectivity,trustandreputationsofusingthecloudforpaymentsine-commerceapplications,safetyandsecurityandservicestandards.
However,manyopportunitiescanbecapturedbyadoptingthecloudine-commerceapplications:1.
CloudcomputingprovidestheITinfrastructureforthee-commerceapplicationsthatwillreducetheintegrationandimplementationeffortsandcosts.
Inaddition,cloudclientswillonlyneedtopayforwhattheyuse.
2.
Itprovidesenhancedonlinesecuretransactions,whicharesafe,efficientandprofessional.
Thiswillincreasetheprofitsfore-commerceenterprisesinreturn.
Asaresult,itwillbeeasytoexpandandintegratemoreservices.
3.
Itwillincreasethecompetitiveadvantagesinthecyber-marketbetweendifferententerprisesasaresultofthecloud'scontributioninimprovingthebusinessprocessesandleveragingthecosts.
4.
Throughtheclouditisexpectedthatthee-commerceapplicationswillbemoreflexible,scalableandavailable.
Manyconcernsarealsopresentandneedtobeaddressedwhenconsideringadoptingthecloudine-commerceapplications.
Itisimportanttounderstandthechallengesthate-commerceapplicationsareandmaybefacinginthefuture.
Therefore,e-commerceenterprisesshouldunderstandalltheissuesrelatedbeforegoingforthecloud.
Themainissueistheprivacyandsecurityconcerns.
Althoughalotofresearchhavebeenconductedtoprovideasecureandtrustede-commerceplatformonthecloud,therearestillconcernsandproblemsthatneedtobeaddressedtooffermoreeffectivesolutions.
Onemajorissuethatcomestomindisthepaymentpartinthee-commerceapplicationbasedonthecloud.
Manyquestionscouldbeaskedregardinghowsecureistheuser'sprivateinformationHowandwhereonthecloudthepaymentinformationisbeingstoredandhowwellisitprotectedAlthoughthecloudserviceproviderspromisetoofferacompletesetofinformationsecuritysolutionsfore-commerceapplications,trustmayposeabarriertomigratingtothecloudforthee-commerceenterprises.
Boththeenterprisesandtheircustomersmayhesitatetogoforthecloudbeforebeinggivingstrongassurancesofitssecurity.
Inaddition,itisalsoimportantfortheprovidersandcustomerstohaveagoodideaaboutallaspectsofcloudopportunitiesandchallengesandhowitmaybenefitthem.
Herecomesanotherchallenge,wherethelackofwrittenservicestandersposeanissueforenterprisesasaresultofnothavingenoughinformationfromthecloudproviderswithspecificdetailssuchasdatalocation,technologyused,staffsituation,andmodeofoperations.
Havingthisinformationclearanddocumentedbythecloudproviderswillgivetheopportunityforunderstandingalldimensionsofenvironmentguidelinesratherthanhavingcloudservicesinaninvisiblewayforthee-commerceenterprises.
However,thesechallengesandothershavebeensubjectedtomanystudiestoreachpracticalsolutions.
Someofthemproposedfinalsolutionsforparticularchallengesandothersofferedpartialsolutionsortheoreticalmodels.
However,mosthavenotbeenappliedinpracticeformanyreasonssuchastheimpracticality,limitedscope,complexmethodsorinefficiencyoftheproposedapproaches.
Asaresultresearchersneedtooffersolutionsthataddressmostifnotallchallengesinpractical,implementableandefficientways.
Thebestsolutionsneedtointegratevariousmethodsandapproachestosolvetheproblemswithoutincreasingthecomplexityofthesystemsandwithoutsacrificingtheirperformance.
Onlytheneffectiveandhighlyusablecloud-basede-commercesystemswillbeacceptedandadopted.
VII.
CONCLUSIONCloudcomputingofferstheplatformforthenewgenerationofe-commercesystemswheretheproviderswillrelyoncloudserviceproviderstosatisfytheirtechnicalneedstoimplementandoperatesuccessfulandtrustede-commerceapplications.
ThecloudwilladdvaluefortheenterpriseandsolvetheproblemofthehighcostofowningandoperatingITsolutionstosupporttheire-commerceapplicationsorthehighcostanduncertaintyofoutsourcingtheseapplicationstoathirdparty.
However,anumberofchallengeshavebeenidentifiedthatareslowingthisdesiredadoptionofcloud-basede-commerceapplications.
Theseincludesecurity,trust,dependenceonconnectivity,dataprivacyandotherswhichhavetobeaddressedandeffectivelyresolved.
Earlierworkinthefieldhasbeeninvestigatedtoshedsomelightonthemainaspectsofcloud-basede-commerceapplications,thepossiblesolutionsforthechallenges,andtheimplicationsregardingtheimplementationpartandhowitcanbeapplied.
Themainchallengethatmostagreeuponisthesecurity,whereitisveryimportanttoprovidesecuretransactionsine-commerceapplicationstoprotectsensitivedatafromdisclosuresandattacks.
Moreandmoreresearchisfocusingonprovidingsecureandtrustedsolutionsforcloud-basede-commerceapplicationswithoutcompromisingperformanceandefficiency.
However,cloud-basede-commerceapplicationsarestillevolvingandneedmoretimeandresearcheffortstomatureenoughtobethefirstsolutionfore-commerceenterprises.
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