Business Use of the Internet

Nowadays research is one of the major uses of the internet. The internet has vast amounts of information and is faster than most research methods, with access to articles & databases from multiple libraries. Search engines use association to help locate sources you may not even know about. It saves paper, time and money. Businesses can make use of this information to evaluate current market trends or keep check on similar products and services from competitors. The internet benefits employees of organisations such as IT support technician to find out how to fix problems relating to computers and their networks (Campbell)

The internet has a negative effect on research also. With all that information available it can be difficult to find a topic, or sort through all the information available. With that comes the validity if the information found, the user should use reputable websites such as BBC or Government sites and avoid using Wikipedia. Another disadvantage is that the internet can cause the user to get distracted and waste time on social websites such as facebook or seek information for personal use wasting, company time. There is always the possibility that an employee will view and download inappropriate material. Of course as with doing anything on the internet there is a security risk from viruses, spyware and hackers.

Using the internet to send email is now common place within the business world. There are 144.8 billion emails sent daily around the globe, but only 14% of these are deemed important (2012, mashable.com). Text based documents can be sent instantly within an organisation or to a company on the other side of the globe. This is much quicker than posting it in the letter box and waiting for return mail. Thes...

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...onferencing over the internet at no extra cost. Chat room technology allows for voice connection without telephones and works out at a fraction of the cost of telephone calls.

Users of chat rooms are open to abuse or online bullying and can become involved in an online argument. If the chat rooms are being used for text messages only the face to face meeting is lost just like email and true intentions can be misinterpreted. Any text sent over the internet can be intercepted or corrupted. Security risks such as hackers, viruses and spyware are high and various malicious programs can be downloaded by clicking on recommended links. Inappropriate use by employees is another disadvantage, which could include personal communication or the sharing of inappropriate material. Users can become addicted to using chat rooms and in an employee capacity, may become unproductive.