Systems Requirements for E-commerce Server - Essay Example

Table of Contents Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………..2 Online shop ………………………………………………………………………………2 Technological Infrastructure …………………………………………..2 Underlying Hardware …………………………………………………..3 Server specifications recommendations ……………………………….3 Accounting system ………………………………………………………………………4 Cost Break-Down table …………………………………………………………………6 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………….7 References………………………………………………………………………………..8 Geek Gadgets Introduction This is a mail order store business that deals with various tech toys such as LED shower lights, palm sized radio controlled helicopter and USB digital microscopes among others. The company operates in Australia and it is seeking aggressive expansion whereby part of its new business strategy is to tap on international clients from various parts of the world in the most cost effective way. In order to achieve this, the organization has been forced into adopting an online business model that is accessible at any location across the world. Traditionally the business has been operating through remote methods such as telephone calls or website view followed by ordering, a business model whereby merchandize is delivered to the client’s addresses or a nearby retail location for the customers to pick them up personally. This practice today is outdated and with increasing globalization and business competition, the organization finds itself in a situation that it is forced to device new ways of conducting business so that it may compete directly with its competitors. These include upgrading its existing internet infrastructure and deploying new business models. Online shop Technological Infrastructure The organization has to upgrade its technological infrastructure. It has to begin by developing a website that embraces the latest online technologies with the capabilities of initiating global transactions. This requires a system that is simple and easy to use, reliable, scalable and comes bundled with numerous features such as multiple online payment formats such as accepting credit/debit cards, PayPal, web money, E-Gold, telegraphic transfers, western union integration among others. The system should also have an inbuilt shopping cart that will assist online shoppers manage their items while conducting their shopping. An electronic shopping cart also enables online shoppers to save their purchases and return later to the website to complete their shopping, its provides an opportunity of removing items from the shopping cart without deleting the entire order, it also connected to the order inventory and sellers may easily know whether they have enough products to fulfill their orders, sellers can easily track what has been purchased by the clients thus anticipating their future demands (Michael Moshkovich, 2010). The website should come with exchange rate feature that will enable shoppers from various parts of the world compare while viewing item prices in various currencies. This particular website will act like a small shop but with global audience capabilities, it will feature items that are available at Geek Gadgets, and other information that will be feature include item prices, shipping costs to various destinations, methods of payments, delivery time. There will also be an integrated portal that deals with contacts and a dispute resolution system which will embrace the latest charting and telephone support features. Underlying Hardware In order to support the above mentioned application considering the fact that it is likely to have global users operating on it simultaneously, we recommend a dedicated in-house server that will house the electronic shop or the main website. This is so because with an in-house dedicated server, it becomes easier maintain, upgrade or repair incase of technical breakdowns. Due to the sensitivity of the customers personal information such as social security numbers, credit card and bank account details and the fact that the application will also be run in a PHP engine, it is better that the server is only monitored by internal companies staff. Server specifications recommendations Systems requirements for E-commerce server Software Windows server 2008 operating system Hardware A rack mount server with six core 3.0 GHz and 16 GB of DDR2 memory with management tools that enables the administrators to maintain the server without disrupting the entire network. The system should also have capability of adding more Intel xeon six core processors with a higher capability RAM upgrade of at least 64 G.B. It should have light path diagnostics technology that informs administrators of imminent adverse effects enabling them to take action before the problem affects the performance, and also tools that enable remote network management while the server is running (CompUSA, 2010). These features will enable geek gadgets to avoid downtimes and since it will be an online store operating in various time zones respective of their international clients, it becomes very difficult for them to shut the network, because impatient clients may direct themselves to their competitors such as E-bay and Amazon which means lost business opportunity for Geek Gadgets and poor reputation for its service provisioning. We also recommend a high bandwidth for the web application because a huge number of visitors will be visiting the website on a daily basis, this is so as to avoid a denial of service that arises as a result of insufficient bandwidth. The system should safe for clients use and it should come secured using the latest encryption techniques and clients sensitive personal information such as credit cards, PINs among others, should be protected by installing an SSL certificate which can be obtained from established players such as Enetica and VeriSign. Accounting system Going by the company’s new strategy, activities should be professionally handled with professional staff being deployed in key areas such as finance, marketing and operations. This will require the company to automate some of its processes and also have a database of its assets, liabilities, employees and turnover. This information has to be prudently managed particular in the areas pertaining to finance which is the heart of most organizations, this calls for an automated financial solution and in this regard we have recommended the quick books accounting software. QuickBooks is an on the shelf accounting system which is quite popular among small business owners with no formal accounting training. It comes in industry specific versions with workflow processes and reports designed in unique ways and there are options available for the manufacturers, wholesalers, professional service firms and retailers such as Gadget Geeks (QuickBooks, 2010). In September 2005, QuickBooks had a market share of 74% among small and medium enterprises (Business week, 2005). The system also has different market support such as Canada, U.K vats legislation, and Australian Securities Exchange among others. The application can also seamlessly integrate online with enhanced features such as remote access capabilities, remote payroll assistance, electronic payment, online banking and reconciliation, and enhanced imports from excel spreadsheets and in addition to windows servers it can also run on Linux which means its deployment is a cost saving strategy in one way or another (Intuit, 2007). There is also an online version for the software whereby users only pay a subscription fee rather than the upfront and the same time users access the application through secure logon via internet browsers. The application manufacturing companies, intuit, host the user’s data, and provides critical patches while updating the software regularly automatically. There is also quick books point of sale that replaces a retailer’s cash register, tracks their inventory while providing report for managing businesses and serving their clients. Above the softwares feature, there is an add on program initiative that encourages developers to design programs that fill niche areas for specific industries and integrate with QuickBooks, this means each and every industry regardless of its status can be adequately represented by the QuickBooks system which means it is directly applicable to Geek Gadgets case. Cost Break-Down table Item Quantity Unit Price Total Amount Systems upgrade Consultancy Fees 1 20,000 Servers 2 10,000 20,000 Personal computers complete with 17” TFT monitors, Keyboard, mouse 15 1,000 15,000 Softwares 2X Windows server 2008, 15 X windows vista, 15 X office 2010, 15X antivirus solutions, 2 X QuickBooks Windows server 2008- $2000, windows vista-$170, Microsoft Office 2010- $150, Client Antivirus solutions- $30, Server based antivirus solutions-$ 150, Quick Books- $ 300 10,790 Network Installations, Telephony + Electrical cabling 1 20,000 Software installation costs 1 4,000 Furniture’s 3,000 Insurance costs 3,000 Per annum Office Rent and leases 12,000 per annum Office equipment e.g. telephone heads, faxes, printers and photocopiers 10,0000 Bandwidth Charges 1 36,000 per annum Marketing charges 60,000 Administration costs and employees salaries assuming Geek gadgets has 15 staffs earning an average of a $ 1,000 180,000 per annum NB: Figure quoted is in Dollars Total capital cost 393,790.00 We are projecting worldwide modest sales of A million dollars within the first year and if we subtract the cost of our initial capital of 389,790.00 and everything goes on as projected then Geek gadgets is going to break even in its first year of operation. $ 1,000,000.00 - $ 389, 790.00 = $ 610, 210 (Net Profit before Tax) This is quite encouraging. Conclusion With increased competition, internet business models are the way to go considering the fact that they are cost effective to deploy because they do not require large capital outlay such as renting and leasing office building in each and every location that they operate in not mentioning the costs saved through furniture’s, office administration fees, electricity costs among others. This gives these models a definite competitive advantage over traditional physical stores because they have fewer expenses which are passed on to consumers hence lowering prices for them. This model can also be reached anywhere across the world provided that there is enabling infrastructure such as internet, payment mechanisms and logistics in place. This in return will provide to geek gadgets a global audience in a most cost effective way enabling it to compete directly with established players such as Toy R US and E-bay which previously without such models would have been almost impossible. References Business week, 2005, How to face off against Microsoft, viewed 16th December, 2010 http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_36/b3949090_mz063.htm CompUSA, 2010, Intel Xeon MP Six core, viewed 16th December, 2010 http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5276696&CatId=2683 Intuit, 2007, Intuit QuickBooks Enterprise Solution Embraces Linux, viewed 16th December, 2010 http://about.intuit.com/about_intuit/press_room/press_release/2007/06-13.jsp Michael Moshkovich, 2010, Benefits of using shopping cart software, viewed 16th December, 2010 http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/123648/software/benefits_of_using_shopping_cart_software.html QuickBooks, 2010, No profit accounting software from QuickBooks, viewed 16th December, 2010 http://quickbooks.intuit.com/product/accounting-software/nonprofit-accounting-software/ Read More