Classroom Companion: Business

ASP
buys copyrigh
content from CP
C
buys content or
application services
from ASP
C 
buys Internet
services from ISP
NP
ISP 
buys infrastructure
access from NP
Network
access
markets
Information
service
markets
. Fig. 17.2 Stakeholders and relationships in digital markets. (Authors’ own figure)
 
Chapter 17 · Digital Markets

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17
Most SLAs between consumers and providers are standardized. If the terms 
defined in the SLA are not satisfied by either party, some form of compensation 
might be requested.
Examples of the terms that may be covered in an SLA include specifications of 
maximum service delays, mean time between failures, service availability, security, 
and privacy. All these specifications describe the quality of the service (QoS) as 
perceived by the consumer. Examples of SLAs are the contract between consumers 
and Internet service providers for the delivery of network access, the contract 
between consumers and Spotify for the delivery of online music, and the contract 
between a provider of security alarm services and a mobile network operator.
17.3 
 E-Commerce Markets
E-commerce is the online trading of tangible goods, digital goods, and services. 
This is illustrated in 
.
Fig. 
17.4
. For all types of e-commerce trade, the consumer 
conducts and manages the trade using an online channel such as the Internet. The 
supplier handles the trade and ships the products or services to the consumer. 
Digital goods and services are delivered to the consumer over the Internet, while 
tangible goods are delivered to the consumer using traditional transportation.
Examples of e-commerce trading include buying books from Amazon, buying 
music from iTunes, purchasing electronics on eBay, and subscribing to services 
delivered by Spotify, Netflix, mobile network operators, and Internet access pro-
viders. In fact, all trading activities conducted online can be categorized as 
e- commerce. However, to categorize an exchange of goods and services between a 
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Service delivery
Provider
Consumer
. Fig. 17.3 Service-level agreement configuration. (Authors’ own figure)