E-commerce means doing financial transactions on the Internet, at an online store or over a secure business-to-business extranet.

The next big thing — e-commerce is online shopping, both wholesale and retail. Every day, more people gain access to the Web, and every day, more of them are shopping online. It provides a level of convenience they want, need and will soon demand.

E-commerce is a unique opportunity for businesses of any size. And for those who automate their supply chain, the opportunity for business-to-business e-commerce is even greater.

E-commerce can expand your marketplace and consequently, your customer database. By linking your Web site to your database, you can track visits, sales, buying trends and product preferences all at the customer level. You can then present your customers with products they're most likely to buy on an individual basis. It's the ultimate direct marketing tool.

In order to sell your products and services on the Web, you will need a foundation built on scalable, reliable and secure offerings.