Lab #12 Business Analytics Proposal

Brick and Mortar E-commerce Business Proposal


There are several ways to build an Ecommerce site and a variety of different software to make things easier. However, finding the right type of software can be difficult without knowing what’s out there, how much you wish to expand your business, what types of resources you already have access to, or what types of products would best suit the needs of your business without going over your budget. This is simply an example of some of the software that is available to business owners and consumers who wish to broaden their horizons and expand to a larger group of clients. Hopefully after reviewing the different programs listed here it will be much easier to make an informed decision about which E-commerce website tool is best for your business.


Magento: Magento is one of the many E-commerce building tools out there. It is free to download and offers a variety of options for those trying to manage their own E-commerce sites. Here are some examples of the services that Magento provides to its users. Keep in mind that although Magento is free to use the free edition only provides a limited number of resources to its users where as the Professional and Enterprise packages which are paid services provide much more options to the users of the site. Overall it comes down to how much control you want over your businesses site and how much you’re willing to spend to get your product out in the E-commerce market.

Magento Community Edition:
Price: free
License: Open Source
Support not included
Warranty not included
Identification not included

Magento Professional Edition:
Price: $2,995 USD/Yr
License: Commercial
Support: PCI Data Security Standard coming soon
Warranty included
Identification included

Magento Enterprise Edition:
Price: $12,990 USD/Yr
License: Commercial
Support: PCI Data Security Standard. Complete end-to-end product support
Warranty included
Identification included


Out of the 3 packages listed above the Professional edition is probably the best way to go since it provides all the tools needed to create and maintain an effective E-commerce site for an entire year without investing a large amount of time or expense into the site.
Clicktale: Unlike magento clicktale has more visual elements included in its E-commerce site design that allow users get more in depth views of what their clients are looking for, which places on the site received the most views and mouse clicks, and which parts of the site were uninteresting and caused clients to leave or not purchase an item. Clicktale also offers 3 different service plans ranging from simple to complex and based on price but there is more flexibility given to the user since clicktales plans go on a monthly payment basis instead of a yearly basis as seen with magento but there still are yearly packages set up that offer discounts to those who purchase that particular plan for a year.

Free Edition:
Customer Support: Online Resources
Custom Email Alerts: Weekly

Bronze Edition: $99/month $890/year
Customer Support: Email
Custom Email Alerts: Daily

Silver Edition: $290/month $2600/year
Customer Support: Phone
Custom Email Alerts: Hourly

Gold Edition: $990/month $8900/year
Customer Support: Priority
Custom Email Alerts: Hourly

Although all of these plans provide a great number of tools to manage your E-commerce site the best plan would be the Bronze edition mostly since it is geared very much towards smaller business by providing the essential tools and services needed to manage an effective E-commerce site without getting to complex in scale with tracking and monitoring of clients.


Prestashop: This is another E-commerce tool that allows you to create an online store but unlike the other 2 E-commerce programs Prestashop is completely free to download and use as you see fit. Although it is free to use initially you can still purchase modules, themes, and other programs to make your online store flow better and give you more access to better tools as your online business expands without having to pay a large amount just to keep your online site active. Also Prestashop has a very large support network from E-commerce users around the world. It has been translated into several different languages and has implemented several tools to make setting up your E-commerce page very simple. The entire site is comprised of many features that make tracking customers and visitors to your site easy and Prestashop has contracts with most international shipping carriers so getting your product to your customers is hassle free when using Prestashop. Overall this is probably the best E-commerce setup for your business at this point in time to use.

Out of all the E-commerce services I visited I believe that Prestashop would be best suited to get your online business started. You have the greatest amount of flexibility and support with Prestashop and you don’t have to invest a large amount of time and energy into creating your E-commerce page. Also if for any reason your E-commerce pages proves not to be successful you can rest easy knowing that you didn’t invest a large amount of money into setting it up and you won’t be locked into a commitment of continuing to pay for your E-commerce site until your payment plan is finished.

Lab #8 Podcasting

Here are 10 podacsters who provide podcasts about media and technology news. Their field of expertise runs from anywhere from video games to the latest consumer products to gossip on the latest technology scams. Here I will provide a lot of information that you can use to help decipher what Podcasts would cater to your interests and needs.




The Big Web Show (Video)
The Big Web Show features special guests and topics like the future of publishing, art direction online, content strategy, web fonts and typography, CMS shootouts, HTML5 and CSS3, building an audience, and more.


Who Produces the Podcast: Dan Bengamin and Jeffrey Zeldman
Format of Podcast: Interview & Information
Publication Frequency: About once a week
Intended Audience: Anyone interested in today's news and new technology
How Popular is the Podcast: 5 Stars with 34 Ratings
Commercial Sponsors: mailchimp.com




Tech Radio on Rockland USA (Audio)
An irreverent, entertaining review and comment of the latest tech news headlines without the slanted media bias. If you love the News with Robin on the Howard Stern show, you will love Tech Radio.


Who Produces the Podcast: Craig Luecke and Jen Reynolds
Format of Podcast: Call-in Talk
Publication Frequency: Once a day
Intended Audience: People interested in an entertaining discussion and calling in their own opinions
How Popular is the Podcast: 4.5 Stars with 14 Ratings
Commercial Sponsors: Rockland USA seems to support this podcast without the help of sponsors




The Tech Guy (Audio)
The complete aircheck of Leo Laporte's technology call-in radio show minus commercials, news, and traffic.


Who Produces the Podcast: Leo Laporte
Format of Podcast: Call-ins and opinions
Publication Frequency: Once or Twice a Week
Intended Audience: People interested in "toy store" kind of technology.
How Popular is the Podcast: 4.5 Stars with 592 Ratings
Commercial Sponsors: CacheFly.com




Tech News Today (Audio)
Tom Merritt, former host of CNET's "Buzz OUt Loud," joins the TWiT network to bring you "Tech News Today." Tom and co-hosts Becky Worley (TechTV, Good Morning America), Sarah Lane (TechTV, Revision3) and others take you on a fun and friendly ride through the need-to-know tech news highlights of the day.


Who Produces the Podcast: Eric Lanagen
Format of Podcast: Audio, News, Interviews, Talkshow
Publication Frequency: Daily (Monday-Friday)
Intended Audience: Anyone looking for tech news
How Popular is the Podcast: 5 Stars with 220 Ratings
Commercial Sponsors: Cachefly, Audible.com, Slingbox.com




Buzz Out Loud (Audio)
Buzz Out Loud features Molly Wood, Rafe Needleman and producer Jason Howell, along with CNET's top tech experts reviewing the day's tech news. Each episode, the crew analyzes
interprets, and argues about what all the technology means and what it's doing to us. Fans can take part by calling, emailing, or commenting on the blog.


Who Produces the Podcast: Jason Howell
Format of Podcast: Audio, News, Interviews, Talkshow
Publication Frequency: Daily (Monday-Friday)
Intended Audience: Anyone looking for tech news
How Popular is the Podcast: 4.5 Stars with 999 Ratings
Commercial Sponsors: CNET.com seems to support this podcast without the help of sponsors




Attack of the Show (Video)
Attack of the Show gets you inside, underneath, around, and behind the newest tech, the hottest games, the fastest-breaking news, and the oddest oddities from the fringe. There's the inside track, and then there are those who pave the inside track.


Who Produces the Podcast: G4
Format of Podcast: Video, Talkshow, News
Publication Frequency: Daily (Monday-Friday)
Intended Audience: Consumers and common public looking for tech news
How Popular is the Podcast: 4.5 Stars with 323 Ratings
Commercial Sponsors: G4TV, Gcycle.org, other internal programs from G4TV


Buzz Report (Video)
Molly Wood uses her expertise and passion for the world of technology for ruthless analysis in column, blog, podcast, and video form. As host of the weekly Buzz Report video, Molly provides a fresh and funny perspective on the latest in consumer electronic products to hit the market, as well as commentary on the most buzz-worthy technology news.


Who Produces the Podcast: CNET
Format of Podcast: News/Opinion
Publication Frequency: Once a week
Intended audience: Technology consumers such as people looking to by new smartphones, digital cameras, and other devices.
How Popular is the Podcast: 4 Stars with 77 Ratings
Commercial Sponsors: Lexus (Only one acknowledged in the whole episode)




Apple Keynotes (Video)
The Apple Keynotes podcast offers video of the company's most important announcements, including Apple CEO Steve Jobs' annual keynotes from Macworld.


Who Produces the Podcast: Apple
Format of Podcast: News
Publication Frequency: Periodically (Ranges from 1 month to 2-3 months depending on any statements that Apple makes)
Intended Audience: Apple product users/Consumers
How Popular is the Podcast: 4.5 Stars with 2594 Ratings
Commercial Sponsors: Apple seems to support this podcast without the help of sponsors




The iPad Show (Video)
The iPad Show is a video podcast all about the Apple iPad, the applications, hardware reviews, and the latest news.


Who Produces the Podcast: Steve Bostedor and David Buchanan
Format of Podcast: News/interview
Publication Frequency: Weekly
Intended Audience: Geared towards Apple iPad users
How Popular is the Podcast: 4 Stars with 64 Ratings
Commercial Sponsors: http://www.gotoassist.com/ (Only sponsor mentioned during episode)




This Week in Tech (Audio)
TWiT is an audio (MP3 Edition) podcast that hold discussions about the latest trends in high tech by tech luminaries.


Who Produces the Podcast: Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, and John C. Dvorak
Format of Podcast: News and Opinion
Publication Frequency: Weekly
Intended Audience: Geared towards anyone that is interested in Technology
How Popular is the Podcast: 4 Stars with 1051 Ratings
Commerical Sponsors: AOL Music, http://www.spinner.com/, http://www.gotomeeting.com/, http://www.audible.com/, and http://www.carbonite.com/