Sheena Takhi

E-services (Electronic services) is a concept developed by Hewlett Packard. It is a term for services on Internet. It refers to services over the information – communication technologies(ICTs).

E-services help as an alternative communication channel to customers, accessing a greater customer base. It broadens market reach and lowers entry barrier to new markets and cost of acquiring new customers. It increases services to customers. It helps in enhancing perceived company image, gaining competitive advantages, enhancing transparency and increasing customer knowledge.

“E-Service constitutes the online services available on the Internet, whereby a valid transaction of buying and selling (procurement) is possible, as opposed to the traditional websites, whereby only descriptive information are available, and no online transaction is made possible.” (Jeong, 2007).^[5]

The two main application areas of e-services are E-business/E-commerce and E-government.

There are six basic types of e-commerce — Business-to-Business (B2B), Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C), Consumer-to-Business (C2B), Business-to-Administration (B2A) and Consumer-to-Administration (C2A).

The four types of e-government services are Government-to-Citizen (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B), Government-to-Employee (G2E), and Government-to-Government (G2G).

Unlike traditional shops E-shops are open 24 hours a day. There is no need to travel to the malls or wait at the checkout counters. There is usually a wide selection of goods and services. It is easy to compare prices and quality by using the E-shopping tool. Price reduction and discounts are electronically conveyed. and one can pay for these through online transactions.

Information technology is a powerful tool for accelerating economic development. Developing countries have focused on the development of ICT during the last two decades and as a result, it has been recognised that ICT is critical to economy and is as a catalyst of economic development. So, in recent years there seems to have been efforts for providing various e-services in many developing countries since ICT is believed to offer considerable potential for the sustainable development of e-Government and as a result, e-Services.^[13]

There are many challenges to E-services now. Low penetration of ICT especially in the developing countries is possible. Fraud on the internet space is estimated around 2.8 billion USD. Privacy have become essential due to the emergence of various types of spyware and security holes. E-service can also become intrusive as they reduce time and location barriers of other forms of contract and customers may not like to be contacted with the service providers at any time and at any place.

It also impacts on individuals’ rights and privacy, as more and more companies and government agencies use technology to collect, store, and make accessible data on individuals, privacy concerns have grown. Technological advancements are also making it much easier for businesses, government and other individuals to obtain a great deal of information about an individual without their knowledge. There is a growing concern that access to a wide range of information can be dangerous within politically corrupt government agencies.

by Sheena