Shift to Off-The-Shelf

Over the past few years, there has been a significant shift away from custom-designed programs crafted by in-house professional programmers. Instead, organizations are increasingly turning to off-the-shelf software packages offered by external vendors. This trend has gained momentum thanks to the emergence of affordable and user-friendly application software and multipurpose suites tailored for microcomputers.

One of the key drivers behind this shift is the evolution of software packages to incorporate web-enabled networking capabilities and collaboration features. These enhancements optimize the utility of software for end users and workgroups operating on the internet, corporate intranets, and extranets. Furthermore, the accessibility of software has been revolutionized by the ability to download, update, manage, and even rent or lease packages directly from software companies or application service providers via the internet and corporate networks.

In tandem with this shift, there has been a gradual departure from technical, machine-specific programming languages towards more user-friendly alternatives. Visual graphic interfaces for object-oriented programming and non-procedural natural languages are increasingly favored over traditional binary-based or procedural languages. This transition has been facilitated by the development of intuitive fourth-generation languages and advancements in object technology, graphics, and artificial intelligence, which are making programming tools and software packages more accessible to a wider audience.

Moreover, artificial intelligence features have become commonplace in various software packages, further streamlining user experiences. For instance, intelligent help features such as wizards are now integrated into software suites to assist users with common functions like graphing spreadsheet data or generating reports from databases. Additionally, intelligent agents are employed in certain software packages to carry out tasks based on user instructions, such as organizing and screening email messages.

These converging trends are paving the way for a new generation of software characterized by multipurpose functionality, expert assistance, and web-enabled capabilities. These fifth-generation software packages boast natural language interfaces and graphical user interfaces, supporting enhanced productivity and collaboration for both end users and information systems professionals alike. As technology continues to evolve, these trends are poised to reshape the landscape of software development and utilization in the years to come.
Shift to Off-The-Shelf

Trends in E-Business

Trends in E-Business
While there are many technical and business trends hare are few important ones.

E-business is crucial to business success
It is being proved in industry after industry that you must do e-business in order to be profitable, grow and even survives. E-business had proved to be more long lasting than the fad of reengineering, for example.

Technology focus is on e-business
If your consider the activities of the hardware, software and network vendors, they are directed toward providing the tools for e-business.

To them E-business is a natural extension of their products and services. In addition, new technology offers greater support for wireless and land based communications and networking – keys to the capability to do e-business.

E-business produces cumulative effects
E-business is long lasting. As you implement e-business, the nature of your relationship with customers, suppliers, and employees changes.

New dynamic forces are set loose that are not as not easily controlled and dealt with as compared to those of the standard internal business.

Dependency on business departments continues, but there is a greater dependence on IT resources.

E-business implementation results in many successes and failures
The literature abounds with examples of both success and failure. Failure tends to be more obvious and dramatic with e-business because is more visible externally.
Trends in E-Business

E-Commerce Application Trends

E-commerce is here to stay. In the new millennium, the Web and E-commerce are key industry drivers. It’s changed how many companies do business.

It’s created new channels for our customers, making leaders in many different industries sit up and take notice. Managers everywhere are feeling the heat: their companies are at the E-commerce crossroads and there are many ways to go.

Thus, E-commerce is changing how many companies do business both internally and externally with their customers, suppliers and other business partners.

How companies apply E-commerce to their business is also subject to change as their managers confront a variety of E-commerce alternatives.

The applications of E0-commerce by many companies have gone through several major stages as E-commerce matures in the world of business.

For example E-commerce between business an consumers (B2C) move from merely offering multimedia company information at corporate websites (brochureware) to offering products and services at Web storefront sites via electronic catalogs and online sales transactions.

B2B E-commerce, on the other hand, started with website support to help business customers serve themselves, and then moves toward automating internet and extranet procurement systems.
E-Commerce Application Trends

Trends in E-Business

Trends in E-Business
While there are many technical and business trends hare are few important ones.

E-business is crucial to business success
It is being proved in industry after industry that you must do e-business in order to be profitable, grow and even survives. E-business had proved to be more long lasting than the fad of reengineering, for example.

Technology focus is on e-business
If your consider the activities of the hardware, software and network vendors, they are directed toward providing the tools for e-business.

To them E-business is a natural extension of their products and services. In addition, new technology offers greater support for wireless and land based communications and networking – keys to the capability to do e-business.

E-business produces cumulative effects
E-business is long lasting. As you implement e-business, the nature of your relationship with customers, suppliers, and employees changes.

New dynamic forces are set loose that are not as not easily controlled and dealt with as compared to those of the standard internal business.

Dependency on business departments continues, but there is a greater dependence on IT resources.

E-business implementation results in many successes and failures
The literature abounds with examples of both success and failure. Failure tends to be more obvious and dramatic with e-business because is more visible externally.
Trends in E-Business

Software trends

There has been a major trend away from custom designed programs develop by the professional programmers of the organization. Instead, the trend is toward the use of off-the-shelf software packages acquired by end users from software vendors.

The trend dramatically increased with the development of relatively inexpensive and easy to use application software package and multipurpose software suites for microcomputer.

The trend has accelerated, as software package are designed with Web-enabled networking capabilities and collaboration features that optimize their usefulness for end users and workgroups on the internet and corporate intranets and extranets.

Also many software packages can now be downloaded, update, managed, and rented or leased from software companies or application service providers over the internet and corporate intranets.

Also there has been a steady trend away from technical, machine specific programming languages using binary-based or symbolic codes or procedural languages, which use brief statements and mathematical expressions to specify the sequence of instruction a computer must perform.

Instead the trend is toward the use of a visual graphic interface for object oriented programming, or toward non procedural natural languages for programming, that are closed to human conversations.

This trend accelerated with the creation of easy to use, nonprocedural fourth generation languages. It continuous to grow as developments in object technology, graphics and artificial intelligence produce natural language and graphical user interfaces that makes both programming tools and software packages easier to use.

In addition, artificial intelligence features are built into many types of software packages. For examples, software suites provide intelligent help features called wizards that help to perform common software functions like graphing parts of spreadsheet or generating reports from a data base.

Other software packages use capabilities called intelligent agents to perform activities based in instructions from a user. For example, some electronic mail packages can use an intelligent agent capability to organize, send, and screen E-mail messages.

These major trends seem to be converging to produce a fifth generation of powerful, multipurpose, expert-assisted and web-enabled software packages with natural language and graphical interfaces to support the productivity and collaboration of both end users and IS professionals.
Software trends