NEW PRODUCTS, SERVICES NEEDED
An interview with Vinton Cerf,
Cerf, recognized as one of the pioneer developers of the
Internet, says that in electronic commerce the real challenge is
to develop new products and services for this new form of
business.
Question: How will industry leaders convince those skeptical of
technology that electronic commerce is not a passing fancy, and
that it can be easier than a telephone toll-free number or direct
mail marketing?
Cerf: Part of the answer is making transactions secure. That, of
course, is only half the battle. The real challenge will take
place when and if business develops products and services that
are more than just digitized versions of traditional business.
Look at the automobile industry initiative which is aimed at
automating business transactions between the automobile
manufacturers and their thousands of suppliers.
Right now, the best example of success in electronic commerce is
Amazon.com, the online bookstore. But, eventually, we're going
to need to see the development of applications that are unique to
the Web, otherwise, electronic commerce will just be an engine
for replacement, not new economic growth.
Q: What are the privacy issues in electronic commerce? What are
the possible solutions?
Cerf: There is universal agreement that privacy needs to be
protected on the Internet, but agreement frays when deciding
exactly how this is to be done.
The current U.S. law protecting individual privacy is basically
sound, but there are many voices on this subject and not all of
them agree. In other parts of the world, privacy concerns have
led to legislated and potentially bureaucratic methods that do
not comport well with the fast-moving, highly connected Internet
environment.
Industry is working with with the Internet Privacy Working Group
and the World Wide Web Consortium to develop standards and
software to allow consumers to assert their preferences in the
use of personal information.
Individuals should be able to control what personal information
can be obtained on the Net and should be informed as to the use
that businesses intend to make of any personal information
obtained in the course of normal Internet interaction.
Q: How should the problem of encryption be handled to tackle both
commercial and security needs? Is there a compromise? How
important is this issue to the development of electronic
commerce?
Cerf: It is no surprise that, in today's wired world,
cryptography is most often being applied to the fledging field of
electronic commerce.
Despite the small chances of interception of confidential
financial information, such as a credit card number, many
individuals still do not trust shopping on the Internet. Mostly
this is owed to the relative youth of the process, but this does
not relieve us of the responsibility to develop structures that
authenticate both the identity of seller and purchaser, and
insure the confidentiality of the transaction contents.
It seems likely that the fastest growth area will be
business-to-business commerce. What many businesses are
discovering is that potential efficiencies will not be realized
without also including the potential for transactions between
companies. The relative sizes of the transactions dictate a
strong need for source validation and integrity protection to
resist hacking.
Q: How about the issue of Internet domain names? How will this
impact on development of electronic commerce?
Cerf: The current controversy on domain names (the registration
and use of domain names -- the names of companies, products,
government bureaus, etc., used in Internet addresses) is only
tangentially involved in the development of electronic commerce
-- mostly in terms of trademark law. It really has more to do
with ensuring the continued growth of the Internet, primarily by
introducing competition to the business of assigning domain
names.
In the long run, alternative ways of drawing attention to
corporate products without overuse of domain names for
trademarked product names may well relieve some of the pressure.
Other intellectual property issues also deserve attention,
particularly copyrights in an online, digitized world.
Q: Will PCs or network computers be the best access point for
electronic commerce in the future?
Cerf: I think either platform could serve just as well as a
public access point for electronic commerce. In general, I
believe anything that helps speed the delivery of the power of
the Internet into as many hands as possible is good for society,
and for business as well. When we talk about network computers,
we should be careful to also consider Internet appliances like
add-on connections through TV set-top box products.
The key here is making inexpensive access to the Internet
available as widely as possible. In this case, I think network
computers could, in theory, speed the growth of electronic
commerce by increasing the pool of potential customers. However,
it seems clear to me that both platforms will co-exist in the
future.
Q: What will happen to the virtual shopping malls on the Web that
were all the rage in 1995-96, but are petering out? Will they
evolve into other forms? How will the telecom carriers work to
reduce prices to make it easier to use a PC than a telephone and
mail catalog for the home shopper?
Cerf: I think the re-introduction of the virtual shopping mall is
just around the corner. The next logical step for electronic
commerce is in intra-business applications, involving corporate
intranets and immense vertical industries like auto manufacturing
-- say Chrysler ordering hundreds of thousands of windshields a
month from Pittsburgh Plate Glass.
In terms of the virtual shopping mall, those who captained the
initial foray into electronic commerce didn't fully take into
account how excessive download times made shopping by Internet a
trying experience at times.
Shopping, for many, is still an experience for the senses. And,
even being able to duplicate the efficiencies of a glossy
mail-order catalog online was nearly impossible when you're
relying on a 33.6 kbps (kilobytes per second) modem. Once we
solve the problem of delivering broadband access to the home,
most likely through the widespread deployment of cable modems in
the U.S. and other technologies in Europe, we will see the
resurrection of the virtual shopping mall.
In the meantime, products that require configuration and the like
will thrive because Web-enabled searching and selection and
configuration will assist buyers and relieve customer service
loads.
Q: Which countries will be the vanguards in promotion of
electronic commerce?
Cerf: By virtue of its head start in the development of Internet
infrastructure, it is safe to believe the United States will be
first in participating in electronic commerce.
But, the development of e-commerce is more than just a question
of infrastructure, it also is closely tied to the development of
Internet-friendly policies. All sorts of legal and regulatory
roadblocks stand in the way of the development of unfettered and
secure Internet commerce.
From copyright and intellectual property laws to the threats
posed by the over 30,000 taxing authorities in the United States
who could claim some jurisdiction over Internet transactions, to
the development of standards for digital signature that could aid
authentication, there are still many issues to be resolved.
At this point, it would be good to recognize the Clinton
administration for its work in encouraging legal frameworks
friendly to the development of electronic commerce.
__________
Cerf is the co-creator of the TCP/IP computer networking
protocols that became the language for Internet communications.
An expert in Internet development and technologies, Cerf was the
founding president of the Internet Society. Cerf's Web page can
be accessed at:
http://www.mci.com/aboutyou/interests/technology/ontech/cerf.shtml
In keeping with the information age, the journal's editors
interviewed Cerf through an exchange of e-mail messages.
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