Town of Cochrane Strategic Plan – Final Report October 2014
Appendix G: Encouraging SME Adoption of E-Business Operations
1. Introduction
This document provides background research regarding the adoption of E-business applications
within small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It was undertaken in order to assist the Steering
Committee of the Town of Cochrane’s Strategic Plan make an informed decision around the
prioritization of potential projects therein. Specifically, it seeks to address the feasibility of fostering
adoption among Cochrane’s SMEs of E-business and E-commerce functionality.
As such, this report evaluates E-business applications in the context of their growing relevance to
modern business operations in Canada. It does this while remaining cognizant of the evaluation
criteria of the Strategic Plan and of Cochrane’s vision and mission. Cochrane’s industry/sectorspecific SWOT analyses carried out in Phase I of the Strategic Plan’s development inform this
evaluation, as these indicate contingencies that impact the feasibility of growing this sector of
Cochrane’s economy.
The report analyses the technical requirements of a web-enabled business, and places these
requirements in the c ontext of Cochrane’s specific competitive advantage. That is, namely in terms
of the community’s information communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and related services
provided to residents via Cochrane Telecom Service (CTS). The assessment provides an analysis of
the Cochrane business community’s current uptake of E-business operations by utilising data from
NEOnet’s Broadband for E-business and Marketing (BEAM) program, and provides a brief overview
of a number of local success stories. From there, general feasibility is addressed, in addition to a
number of considerations revolving around potential implementation strategies.
2. What is E-Business and Why is it Important?
This section provides a conceptual breakdown of the two broadest categories of online business
activity. It then places online operations within the context of healthy community economic
development and as an essential means of businesses to reach new markets. The section closes by
examining the reasons why SMEs would consider investing in E-business functionality and the
benefits of a number of common applications.
2.1 E-Business and E-Commerce172
At their most basic level, both E-business and E-commerce refer to the implementation of electronic
processes for the facilitation of business applications. The potential scope of these processes
available to businesses is vast. For this reason, it is helpful to consider the two concepts
independently.
2.1.1 E-Business
The larger of the two categories, E-business refers to both internal and external operations. E-business
encapsulates not only the drive for online sales and revenue growth, but also focuses on internal
practices, targeting efficiency, productivity, and cost. There are four primary means of integrating Ebusiness operations:
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Andrew Bartels, Computerworld. (2000). The Difference Between E-Business and E-Commerce. Available at:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/53015/The_difference_between_e_business_and_e_ commerce
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