Online Activities between Businesses
Online activities between businesses focus on information sharing and communication via e-
mail, online meetings, instant messaging, andextranets. An extranet is the part of an intranet
that is made available to business partners, vendors, or others outside a company. It allows a
business “to share documents, calendars, and project information with distributed employees,
partners, and customers” and “it enables 24/7 private, secure access to collaborative tools with
just an Internet connection.” They make communication easier, eliminate redundant
processes, reduce paperwork, increase productivity, provide immediate updates and
information, and provide quick response times to problems and questions.[12] The result is
money and time saved for employees, the company, vendors, and your customers. Commercial
transactions typically do not take place on extranets.
As integral as e-business may be to many small businesses, however, there will be small
businesses that choose not to go the e-business route. Small businesses that are nonemployers
and/or are very small operations that choose to stay that way—for example, local delis, gift
shops, restaurants, dry cleaners, and ice cream shops can be and are successful without having
to make a commitment to e-business. Therefore, a small business can choose to incorporate all,
some, or none of the e-business components. Given the ways in which the Internet continues to
transform small businesses, however, it would be virtually impossible for a small business to
operate totally outside the realm of e-business.
