Describe the telecommunications applications that can support electronic commerce and electronic business?

Answer 1

Telecommunications applications that support electronic commerce and business include electronic mail, groupware, voicemail, facsimile machines, digital information services, teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and electronic data interchange.

Electronic mail is the computer-to-computer exchange of messages. Groupware is a specialized form of teleconferencing and dataconferencing that allows individuals working in different locations to work together on common documents and projects. Voicemail is a system that digitizes spoken messages, transmits them over a network, and stores the message for later retrieval. The system includes a range of capabilities including saving messages and routing them to other parties. Facsimile machines transmit documents containing both text and graphics over ordinary telephone lines using a scanner to digitize the document.

Teleconferencing refers to the ability to confer with a group of people simultaneously using the telephone or electronic mail group communication software. Dataconferencing refers to teleconferencing in which two or more users are able to edit and modify data files simultaneously. Videoconferencing is teleconferencing that includes a video portion so that the individuals can actually see each other despite their distance.

Digital information services enable users to retrieve information, such as Stock Market data, periodicals, competitor data, legal research, and news articles, from outside the firm. Distance learning refers to education or training delivered over a distance to individuals in one or more locations. E-learning refers to instruction delivered online using the internet or private networks. Electronic data interchange is the direct computer-to-computer exchange between two organizations of standard business transaction documents such as invoices or purchase orders.