Concerns the financial interaction, initiated by a consumer, between a consumer and business.

The financial interaction between non-business entities using the web. Traditionally, C2C e-commerce has been conducted through both trading forums and intermediaries such as auctions, classified advertisements and collectibles shows.

A folder on a computer that stores pages already visited on the Web. Used to reduce download times, especially when clicking the "back" button on a web browser.

Capacity planning determines the amount of capacity or resource availability necessary to produce goods in the future. Capacity planning can be performed at different levels including: master-scheduling (rough-cut capacity planning).

Capacity Requirements Planning is a detailed procedure that checks capacity against production plans produced from MRP systems.

Common ISDN Application Programming Interface is a standard used to access ISDN equipment. When an application wants to communicate with an ISDN card, it sends a standard series of commands to the card.

Certificates are issued to companies and organisations that are accessible via the Internet . They are issued for certain periods of time and are used as a guarantee of the security of a web site.

CGI is not a computer language but a set of rules, which specifies how web servers and software should communicate with each other. CGI scripts are written in any computer language and are most commonly used to process information in online forms and to generate dynamic content.

A dynamic information-delivery source. A web site becomes a web channel when it dynamically broadcasts its content to users who have expressed an interest in receiving that information. Users can select channels they want to receive so they do not have to type the address for each site every time they want that information. It's ready for them when they want it, stored in a cache for easy viewing offline. See also Push.

CIFS is a remote file access protocol, which allows different computers and platforms from a large network to share files. Files can be opened and shared through Web browsers or applications.

Computer hardware or software used by an end user on a computer network or the Internet to query a remote server. A web browser is an example of client software.

A networked computing architecture where a single application is distributed across multiple computers and where each system acts as a requestor (client) of services or a provider (server) of services to the other. This is a setup that splits the processing of an application between two distinct components, a "front-end" client and a "back-end" server. The client and server machines work together to accomplish the processing of the application. All the heavy stuff lives on the server, and the client uses only what it needs from it.

Client/Server Processing is a form of cooperative processing in which the end-user communication is through a programmable workstation (desktop) that must carry out some part of the application logic over and above the simple display of the data from the server.

Client -Side is the section on the client/server system where input and output occurs by the user.

A content management system (CMS) is a system used to manage the content of a Web site. A CMS consists of two elements: the content management application (CMA) and the content delivery application (CDA). The CMA element allows the content manager, who need not be very technically skilled, to manage the creation, revision, and removal of content from a Web site. The CDA element compiles that information and updates the Web site. The main features of a CMS system include Web-based publishing, formatting, revision control, and indexing, search and retrieval.

An arrangement between two or more companies where they agree to jointly display content and perform joint promotion using brand logos or banner ads.

Commands and filters allow users to prioritise and organise incoming email messages and discussion group postings.

Common Gateway Interface is a specification for the way that variable data can be transmitted from a browser to a server. The information sent back will be interpreted by a program within or external to the web server and may be used to tailor the next page.

A site oriented around linking or networking individuals or groups who have a common interest. In an online community users interact, share ideas, interests, history and experiences using a variety of mechanisms, such as email, chat rooms and discussion groups.

Repeated application of assessment and adjustment of processes to increase quality.

The act of bringing the Internet to devices that previously couldn't access it. This could include the merging of the Internet with television, cellular phones or even kitchen appliances.

These are small pieces of information that are downloaded onto the computer of the user. This information can be accessed by your Web Server and allow you to create customised pages for your users and track how they use your site.

The essential set of activities that create business value and competitive advantage.

The Local Area and Wide Area data communication networks used to communicate across the enterprise.

Corporate Planning System is a decision support system that holds and obtains knowledge applicable to planning decisions that cut across organisational units and involve all of an organisation's functions.

The speed at which a computer operates is dictated by the Processor in the Central Processing Unit (CPU), which is the processing part of the computer. The CPU, clock and main memory make up the basic computer.

CRM services use proven methodologies and e-business technologies to help enable companies to identify, select, acquire, develop, and retain profitable customers, building the lasting relationships that are key to long-term financial success.

Lists and catalogues of data enabled with search facilities.

Predicts future trends and behaviors, allowing businesses to make proactive, knowledge-driven decisions. Data mining is the process of analysing business data in a data warehouse to find unknown patterns or rules of information that you can use to tailor business operations. Data mining can find patterns in data to answer questions, such as what item purchased in a given transaction triggers the purchase of additional related items or what items tend to be purchased using credit cards, cash or cheques.

A data warehouse is an implementation of a database used to store data sourced from an operational database-of-record. Data warehouses contain a wide variety of data that present a coherent picture of business conditions. They give management the ability to access and analyse information about its business.

The on-going supervision of the data warehousing process.

A collection of programs that enable multiple users within a system to store, modify, and extract information from a database. The system maintains the integrity of the data (its availability and organisation) and permits only those with access privileges to use it. There are several different types, from small systems that run on PCs to large systems that run on mainframes.

Deep Linking is the practice of hyperlinking to interior pages on a website, rather than the front page of a site. Deep links enhance usability because, unlike generic links, they specifically relate to visitors needs. Incredibly, Jacob Nielsen, the American web usability guru, describes how Ticketmaster took legal action to force other websites to send users to their homepage instead of the interior pages where users could buy tickets to specific shows.

The next generation of HTML, the language that specifies exactly how text and images will be displayed on a webpage. DHTML, developed by Netscape and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), is based entirely on industry-standard HTML and Java. New features in DHTML, such as absolute positioning, give designers and developers greater control over the look and feel of web pages.

Calling up Internet access via analogue telephone lines or ISDN.

A method to connect a computer to a specified network or the Internet through a modem when a LAN connection is unavailable.

The digital equivalent of positive identification, such as a driver's license. Issued by various certificate authorities, digital certificates are used to prove that a web site, or a visitor to a web site, is the entity or person they claim to be.

A section of data appended to a message, which authenticates the information. Signatures are encoded by the senders private key and can then verified by the senders public key. Any unauthorised changes to the file will be reported by an invalid signature for that file.

A Digital Wallet describes encryption software that operates like a physical wallet during electronic commerce transactions. It usually contains the owner's payment information, a digital certificate to identify the user, and dispatch information to speed transactions.

Directories perform a similar task to search engines in that they hunt for information on web sites, but they differ in one important respect. Directories are hierarchical lists of information, which need a level of refinement not required with search engines. Among the most popular directories is Yahoo!

The elimination of the middleman to increase the direct buyer-seller relationship.

Distributed computing is any computing that involves multiple computers remote from each other. Each has a role in a computation problem or information processing. In business, distributed computing has meant putting various steps in business processes at the most efficient places in a network of computers. In the typical transaction using the 3-tier model, user interface processing is done in the PC at the user's location, business processing is done in a remote computer, and database access and processing is done in another computer that provides centralised access for many business processes.

Distribution Requirements Planning is the function of determining the need to refill inventory at branch warehouses. A time -phased order point approach is used where the intended orders at the branch warehouse level are "exploded" by MRP logic to become global enterprise replenishment orders.

The capture and management of documents within an organisation. A DMS includes Web access to support occasional users and work from remote sites as well as a secure document storage area (vault). Additionally a DMS includes search and retrieval, versioning, and content caching.

The DNS is a distributed, hierarchical system for resolving we addresses and names to IP addresses

A domain name identifies your website on the Internet . One of the first things that you should do when developing your site is register your domain name e.g. www.enterprise-ireland.com. Your domain name is a very valuable marketing tool and you should choose your domain name with great care.

When you view a website you actually transfer files from the website onto your computer. This is known as downloading.

A Digital subscriber line is a telephone connection using existing standard copper telephone wires to transmit data at speeds far in excess of conventional analogue telephone lines.

A web document that is created from a database in real-time or "on the fly" at the same time it is being viewed, providing a continuous flow of new information and giving visitors a new experience each time they visit the web site.

Allows users to automatically locate Internet or intranet sites.