An e-business model is simply the approach a company takes to become a profitable business on the Internet. There are many buzzwords that define aspects of electronic business, and there are subgroups as well, such as content providers, auction sites, and pure-play Internet retailers in the business-to-consumer space.
Given the carnage among dot-com stocks recently, what type of online business models are expected to succeed in the future? Businesses need to make more money than they spend. The new model is the old model, but technology is essential to maintain a competitive advantage, and cash flow is more important than ever.
For example, Yahoo Inc. in Santa Clara, California, has always operated a successful portal site, providing content and an Internet search engine. However, many portal sites, such as Go.com, MSN.com, and AltaVista.com, have fallen on hard times.
The idea behind portals is the same as that behind television advertising: aggregating eyeballs and directing them toward advertisements. But, television viewers are passive, and people need to wait through the ads to see the shows they want to watch.
However, the Web doesn’t work that way. Content presentation is not serial. Viewers are active, not passive. There are always millions of places to go. No Web advertisement can match a 20-second TV spot.
Dinesh Thakur holds an B.C.A, MCDBA, MCSD certifications. Dinesh authors the hugely popular