As my role has expanded beyond online marketing to application development to eBusiness strategy, I looked for a definition to help define the question so many people ask: What is it you do?

eBusiness is more than eCommerce.

eBusiness refers to more strategic focus with an emphasis on functions that occur using technology (eCommerce is a subset of an overall eBusiness strategy).

eBusiness involves business processes spanning the entire value chain:

• customer service & customer relationship management (CRM)
• integration with business partners
• interfacing with consumers
• order placement & order processing (”order to cash” as referred to by ERP vendors)
• product data management
• supply chain management

Leveraging Technology to Solve Business Problems

Today’s eBusiness leader must understand customer service, consumer marketing, information architecture, and how to leverage technology to solve business problems. An eBusiness leader is passionate about his or her end-users — whether it be in a B2B (business-to-business) or B2C (business-to-consumer) environment. In fact, an eBusiness strategist should be passionate about any customer touch-points (print, in-store displays, websites, etc.)!

Related Posts

I’ve made some related posts to strategy and further defining roles such as eBusiness leaders and CIOs that may be helpful in understanding eBusiness:

• Positioning yourself as the “go to” person for your department or team
• What does a CIO do?

Related Quotes & Insights

“Your information technology staff is a great resource for competitive advantage, but only if you help your employees understand how the company makes money.” (CIO.com)

“CEOs will increasingly demand that IT leaders excel in leadership, strategic thinking, marketing IT, business and communication.” (CIO.com)