Explain how the online environment helps market a business, and describe the types of business transactions that are supported by online commerce.

Sonja Pettingill is launching a start-up venture to sell a specialty vest to new moms. Sonja can sell her product through local boutique stores, but she knows she needs a strong online business component to succeed. How does being online change her marketing strategy? How does she take advantage of the latest online technologies?

List the functions of a company’s chief information officer (CIO) and information technology (IT) department, and describe how businesses transform data into useful business intelligence.

When Ian McGregor started working for a hardware store, he was amazed that the technology it used was so outdated. There was no website or customer database, and the cash registers weren’t even connected to an information system. How could advancements in technology benefit the store? Who is responsible for keeping the store’s technology current?

Understand the security challenges that arise with the increase of technology.

Although Kevin Fossbenner’s business, Flatland Frames, is doing well, he’s worried that a suspicious e-mail sent to his employees on any given day could result in the firm being hacked. How do businesspeople protect themselves against problems like this?

Explain how new advances in social networking and mobile technologies have impacted business.

You make the effort to stay up on current technologies. You add a social media component to your business. It begins to take off, but then one upset customer seems to begin to drive customers away. There are positive and negative ways to incorporate new technologies into your business, and they can make or break you.