Once upon a time, the budding entrepreneur was often stopped in their tracks due to the lack of financial resources needed to invest in the traditional brick and mortar store.  This no longer has to be the case as both the internet and e-commerce are in full swing, providing companies of all sizes with an opportunity to move up several notches on the competitive ladder.  However, finding the right e-commerce solution is never as easy as it sounds.  A countless number of companies claim to have exactly what you need, but the harsh truth is that you can never be certain until giving it a try for yourself.  Unfortunately, the trial and error approach can turn out to be very risky, especially if you are trying to establish a business online.  To help in your search efforts, we have a compiled a list of some features that must be present in order to make up a complete e-commerce solution.

Compatibility with Existing Systems - Launching an e-commerce site is a tremendous process.  Therefore, you should not make it even more complex by setting yourself up to encounter technical problems.  Whether it is a shopping cart or payment gateway, make sure any e-commerce component you plan to integrate is compatible with your existing hardware, operating system and applications.

Ability to Support Existing Data – An ideal e-commerce solution is one that allows you to easily import data from one location to another.  This becomes a must for large stores that maintain databases in environments where it could be complex and costly to manually transfer large amounts of data into a new system.  Keep in mind that this feature is usually included in high-end enterprise solutions but may not be included in cheaper, entry-level systems.

APIs with Linking Support – Integrating inventory management and finance systems is one of the most challenging aspects of e-commerce.  If this is something you wish to do, you may want to look for a solution that offers flexible APIs.  Short for application programming interfaces, these APIs enable developers to write code that will connect your legacy system to your e-commerce server.

Functional Shopping Cart - The shopping cart is the most obvious and important feature of any e-commerce solution.  You need to put special emphasis on this application as it will allow visitors to browse your store and purchase the items they want to purchase.

Diverse Payment Systems – Most consumers prefer to shop online with credit cards or third-party services such as PayPal.  On the other hand, a complete e-commerce solution goes that extra mile and supports additional payment options.  This will give you the opportunity to maximize your profits by catering to a broader range of customers.

The features listed in this article are just a few that must be obtained to form a complete e-commerce solution.  This means you need to keep your eyes peeled for several more qualities.  Despite how insignificant some of these features may seem, each is equally critical as they will determine the failure or success of your venture with e-commerce.

People are using the internet to commit malicious crimes everyday.  And while virus infections and scams pose a significant threat, one of the biggest problems of all is website hacking.  If you’re running a business online, losing sensitive data to a security breach could be enough to shut you down for good.  If you truly want to know how secure your business website, we suggest posing the following questions to yourself:

What are your trying to secure? For most companies, this includes confidential data such as customer records and payroll information.  However, you shouldn’t forget all the essentials like staff morale and most importantly, your company’s reputation.

What are your risks? The scope of today’s threat model is larger than it has ever been.  Not only do you have to worry about malicious software and hackers, but internal theft and physical threats as well.

Who is responsible for security? Do you have an experienced system administrator or are you going at it alone?  Many companies leave themselves wide open all because they do not have the internal resources needed to enable adequate security.

What are your doing about security? What are your plans for security?  Have you installed the appropriate software technologies to protect your network?  Are you enforcing security policies and training staff to make sure they know the risks?

Making sure your business website can be a full-time job.  Fortunately, there are several preventive measures that can be taken to prevent a disaster.  While some of it only seems practical, far too many companies overlook the intangibles and increase their likelihood of being victimized.  This checklist will help you understand what you need to do right now to start protecting your business.

Invest in Physical Security - While cyber crimes have become highly sophisticated, the easiest way to disrupt any business is to still their PC or server.  You can make this far more difficult by physically locking your office and coupling that with motion detectors and alarms.

Frequent Backups - The importance of data backups is something that just can’t be stressed enough.  Even is disaster does strike, you can ensure a speedy recovering by regularly backing up critical data and storing it in an off site location.

Implement Access Controls – As unfortunate as it is, everyone can’t be trusted – even some of the members on your staff. You should only provide employees with access to confidential data on a need-to-know basis in accordance to their role in the organization.  Nothing is guaranteed but this can dramatically minimize the risk of sabotage and data theft.

Continuous Training and Policy Enforcement – The mere behavior of your staff can be a major security risk.  Make sure your staff has a clear understanding of what they are and are not to be doing online.  Put some policies in place to ensure that everyone is operating with security in mind and come up with some repercussions for those who don’t comply.

Protect Your Website - When doing business online, the website is what forms the foundation for your organization.  The more you rely on your site, the bigger target it will become.  Therefore, it is critical to do everything to possible to make sure your applications and the site itself is secure.

Source: http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/04/14/is-your-business-website-secure/

People are using the internet to commit malicious crimes everyday.  And while virus infections and scams pose a significant threat, one of the biggest problems of all is website hacking.  If you’re running a business online, losing sensitive data to a security breach could be enough to shut you down for good.  If you truly want to know how secure your business website, we suggest posing the following questions to yourself:

What are your trying to secure? For most companies, this includes confidential data such as customer records and payroll information.  However, you shouldn’t forget all the essentials like staff morale and most importantly, your company’s reputation.

What are your risks? The scope of today’s threat model is larger than it has ever been.  Not only do you have to worry about malicious software and hackers, but internal theft and physical threats as well.

Who is responsible for security? Do you have an experienced system administrator or are you going at it alone?  Many companies leave themselves wide open all because they do not have the internal resources needed to enable adequate security.

What are your doing about security? What are your plans for security?  Have you installed the appropriate software technologies to protect your network?  Are you enforcing security policies and training staff to make sure they know the risks?

Making sure your business website can be a full-time job.  Fortunately, there are several preventive measures that can be taken to prevent a disaster.  While some of it only seems practical, far too many companies overlook the intangibles and increase their likelihood of being victimized.  This checklist will help you understand what you need to do right now to start protecting your business.

Invest in Physical Security - While cyber crimes have become highly sophisticated, the easiest way to disrupt any business is to still their PC or server.  You can make this far more difficult by physically locking your office and coupling that with motion detectors and alarms.

Frequent Backups - The importance of data backups is something that just can’t be stressed enough.  Even is disaster does strike, you can ensure a speedy recovering by regularly backing up critical data and storing it in an off site location.

Implement Access Controls – As unfortunate as it is, everyone can’t be trusted – even some of the members on your staff. You should only provide employees with access to confidential data on a need-to-know basis in accordance to their role in the organization.  Nothing is guaranteed but this can dramatically minimize the risk of sabotage and data theft.

Continuous Training and Policy Enforcement – The mere behavior of your staff can be a major security risk.  Make sure your staff has a clear understanding of what they are and are not to be doing online.  Put some policies in place to ensure that everyone is operating with security in mind and come up with some repercussions for those who don’t comply.

Protect Your Website - When doing business online, the website is what forms the foundation for your organization.  The more you rely on your site, the bigger target it will become.  Therefore, it is critical to do everything to possible to make sure your applications and the site itself is secure.

Source: http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/04/14/is-your-business-website-secure/