The intricacies of e-business are complex, vast and often misunderstood. Despite the often-heard saying "e-business is just business," the concepts of e-business are new, and just because you understand business, there is no guarantee that you know your way around e-business.
Why the book "e-Business Essentials: Successful e-business practices", penned by the editors at PC Magazine and published by Que, is such a godsend. In its 230 pages, everything you`ve ever wanted to know about e-business but were too afraid to ask is revealed.
The book covers a variety of topics, including business-to-business, business-to-employee and business-to-consumer issues. It takes the reader from the basics of e-business concepts, all the way to different products and methodologies for implementing e-business strategies.
The book`s biggest benefit, in my opinion, is its ability to look at e-business as a holistic entity, as opposed to the fragments that we are usually exposed to. The conceptualisation of the bigger picture is what is often lacking in e-business knowledge, and the book goes a long way to bridge the gap.
Written in a conversational style, the authors presume no previous knowledge about e-business, although even an advanced audience will be able to gain much knowledge from it. Buzzwords are explained both in the margins of the book, as they are introduced, as well as in a glossary.
The only detractor is the poor quality of diagrams in the book. Many of the concepts can be better explained with the help of a good schematic, however, the diagrams in "e-Business Essentials" are so cluttered that they are more likely to cause confusion than clarity. They are so poor that they juxtapose the concise, clear textual content in a jarring way. While reading the book, I quickly learnt to ignore the diagrams entirely, which I doubt was the authors` intention.
This book will appeal to managers and managing directors actively deploying or looking to deploy e-business in their companies, as well as IT managers who will have to perform the implementations. I would also encourage IT staff to read the book as it will provide an insightful window into the e-business world and create a better understanding of the bridge between "just business" and "e-business".
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