Electronic CommerceAt the beginning of the 1990s, no one had heard of the Internet, apart

Electronic Commerce

At the beginning of the 1990s, no one had heard of the Internet, apart from a few researchers and academics. Increasingly, no matter what business you are in, whether it be services, manufacturing, or the primary, sector, the capacity to access and process information, and to interact more directly and speedily with suppliers and customers, is becoming the central means of creating value.

Today, electronic commerce is having an effect on the way many New Zealanders do business. (8) .It has become clear that younger people especially are creating their own Internet-based businesses instead of working for someone else. Equally, a growing number of New Zealanders of all ages and from all walks of life are grasping the opportunities the Internet offers. All these businesses are creating exciting new products and services and are adding value and dynamism to the economy.

(9) .Markets are changing and customers are becoming more demanding. Labour, products, and services flow ever more easily across international borders.

(10) .Just ten years later, some 360 million people around the world have Internet access, and the number of Internet users continues to grow rapidly.

In 2000, IDC, a research company, estimates that the value of New Zealand's Internet-based electronic commerce will exceed $800 million. That is not counting New Zealand's wholesale electricity market, which in itself is worth a billion dollars annually, and which operates the first electricity trading system in the world accessible through the Internet.

E-commerce is available to a multinational company. (11) .

(12) .The software that makes the Internet work is in the public domain. Anyone can install it for free. The Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who sell you Internet access are often owned by large companies, which also own the telecommunications networks over which the Internet runs, but they don't own the Internet itself. No one does.

A．Although this new environment provides opportunities, it poses risks as well.

B．The Internet, On the other hand, is an open network.

C．At the beginning of the 1990s, no one had heard of the Internet, apart from a few researchers and academics.

D．It means that our business can operate in the global environment, participating in global networks and e-commerce means on-line trading, that is, buying and selling goods and services over electronic networks.

E．New opportunities for exporting, for creating new businesses, and for growing established businesses are resulting.

F．In 2000, the government launched an e-commerce strategy to encourage economic growth and innovation in New Zealand through promotion of e-commerce and technology-based business.

G．The emergence of the Internet in the 1990s has fuelled the recent rapid growth of electronic commerce, and this in turn is changing the nature of business.

(8)