e-business guides, tools and further information

The Small Business e-business guide contains information and resources relating to e-business for small businesses in Australia. The following sections are essential reading and may be bookmarked for future reference:

• Quick tools - understanding, planning, building, and managing a website. Each step is written in a way that is easy to follow and provides practical tips.
• e-business references - contains lists and resources covering e-business related government support agencies and programs, and private sector vendors and e-business services providers.
• e-business training - links to various providers of e-business training courses.

Reports

A joint Austrade and University of NSW School of Marketing project 'The impact of e-commerce on export business' involving 340 Australian exporters being surveyed provides a wealth of information on the latest developments in e-commerce for export business.

Case studies

The e-business case studies are taken from DCITA. They include Australian companies working across a variety of industries, both products and services, who have used the Internet and e-business tools to enhance their business activities.

Useful websites

• .au Domain Administration Limited (auDA) - www.auda.org.au - A non-profit company providing information on the .au namespace (Internet names ending in .au).
• Australian Electronic Business Network - http://www.ecommerceadvantage.com.au/ausenet.htm -
  A website focussed on providing resources to assist SMEs in the uptake of e-commerce.
• Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT) - www.ausit.org - Australia's peak professional association for translators and interpreters.
• Brint - www.brint.com - A portal for information on e-business, information, technology and knowledge management issues.
• Datamonitor - www.datamonitor.com - Produces reports on e-business and analyses consumer attitudes towards the Internet and e-commerce.
• econsumer.gov - www.econsumer.gov - Information about international consumer protection laws and activities, as well as providing a mechanism for cross border e-commerce complaints.
• eMarket Services - www.eMarketservices.com - An Internet portal on business-to-business e-commerce, includes a directory of business-to-business electronic marketplaces.
• Ernst & Young - www.ey.com - One of the world’s leading professional service organisations, assisting companies to identify business opportunities, and the impact of the Internet.
• European Union’s Information Society E-commerce website - http://europa.eu.int/information_society/topics/ebusiness/ecommerce/index_en.htm - Keep up-to-date on e-commerce developments in Europe, including policy and legislative updates.
• Exporting Online - www.exportingonline.gov.au - A website dedicated to e-business issues as they relate to export.
• Forrester Research - www.forrester.com - Forrester analyses the impact of technology change and its impact on consumers, businesses and society.
• ICANN Watch - www.icannwatch.org - Useful news site on issues pertaining to ICANN and .biz.
• Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) - www.icann.org
  The organisation that sets the rules about the ways domain names are sold and authorises registrars to do business.
• interNIC - www.interNIC.net - Established to provide public information regarding Internet domain name registrations.
• Line56 - www.line56.com - News, analysis and research on business-to-business e-commerce.  The website includes a global database of e-business companies and players.
• Oanda Currency Converter - www.oanda.com/converter/classic - Multi-lingual foreign exchange converter for over 164 currencies.
• Systransoft - www.systransoft.com - Online translation tool for European language translations.
• Time and Date - www.timeanddate.com - Useful guide for time zones and calendars.
• Usability - www.usability.gov - A resource for designing usable, useful, accessible websites and user interfaces.
• Usable Information Technology - www.useit.com - Jakob Nielsen is a leading professional in the area of website usability and his website provides comprehensive resources and recommendations.
• World lingo - www.worldlingo.com - This web site assists companies to focus on website localisation, globalisation and translation.