The Final

Throughout this journey of writing journals about eCommerce, I have come to the realization that eCommerce is not just a few topics you learn in class, and then forget sometime thereafter. eCommerce is truly universal, and despite whether we like it or even realize it, we are constantly using eCommerce and tech platforms to make our lives easier, and more enjoyable. Just recently, I was shopping online for some Christmas presents, and noticed myself asking what kind of firewalls or security measures PayPal had on it's servers. Then I began thinking about how PayPal would recover in that type of disaster, and whether they had a DRP (disaster recovery plan), and if so, how extensive was it, and how much of their brand equity would they lose if everyone's credit card information and identities were hacked. I understand that when I find and purchase a very unknown song on iTunes or Beatport, that has not once played on the radio, I have the Long Tail to thank. I have also learned copious amounts about the main types of softwares to be purchased in a company (COTS vs OSS) and the benefits and challenges to be faced by both. I have learned about the Cloud, and how the software can be integrated in most functions of the business, including CRM. Lastly, I have learned about the hardware behind the interface, and what goes on behind the scenes with encryption and IP Addresses and the information that gets sent between a server, a user, and the network.

Yet, although I have learned a great deal of topics and definitions, I have also developed and utilized soft skills in INSY440. I had the opportunity to be paired with 4 MBA grad-level students for a project of our choice, Butler Boots. I learned a lot from one student in particular, who had worked for Amazon just this past summer. He explained to me the different functionalities he would use to analyze platforms to suggest one to a company. This peaked my interest, as it was more of a consulting role, and proved to be more enjoyable. His analysis and thought process/breakdown was something I truly wanted to learn from, and proved to be very beneficial. Whilst I traded in some of my harder skills (PPT, Writing, real life experiences as an employee at an IT Consulting firm, and undergrad information technology course info), the lessons I learned were very enjoyable!

With all these thoughts running through my mind, I realize that through this class not only had I become wiser as an internet user and online shopper, but wiser as a student as well.