What's the deal with "e-business"?

E-business is re-shaping the information technology infrastructure of many companies. While the definition varies depending on whom you talk to, it is usually something like IBM's definition: the transformation of key business processes through the use of Internet technologies. On the surface, this definition sounds like what we've been doing all along with information technology. However, this transformation is much more pervasive and complete than it has been in the past. E-commerce (the buying and selling of goods and services using Internet technologies) is only a small part of this transformation. The larger transformation involves how companies interact with one another and how they use the ubiquitous Internet infrastructure. The bottom line is that the impact of e-business is really one of improving a company's productivity. Flexible business arrangements between different companies make this possible. They also directly increase the productivity of individuals, workgroups, companies and industries. E-business is re-shaping how companies look at information technology used to support the company. (In the past, most of these systems had been internal, isolated and secured.) For e-businesses to work, they must have the ability to work with external customers, be integrated and still be secure.