The use of databases in e-Commerce

E-commerce is a container where a website provides space to carry out various forms of online transactions in the form of trading activities and making purchases; on the one hand, it also utilizes internet facilities as an important role in following up on the process. The development of technology is increasingly sticking a high impact on the systematic performance of e-commerce to provide opportunities for the formation of good communication and interaction of one person or with others around the world to offer an efficient impact on various objects. In E-commerce, of course, it is impossible if apart from the use of databases, where the database has a role as a container to store all forms of data related to transactions carried out on the website in e-commerce.

Processing various database forms results in accelerating the acquisition of information that can improve service to customers. Because the workings of a database are to do a similar record consisting of many interconnected fields, it deals with e-commerce that performs many types of activities, such as sales, purchasing planning, exchange of businesspeople from one businessperson to another, and the internal processes that companies use to support the running of the business. Therefore, using databases in e-commerce can make it easier to access and store all forms of data information contained in e-commerce. In addition, this is also to provide a fortress for all forms of operational activities so that parties from e-commerce can act swiftly and appropriately in dealing with problems.

Other supporting databases are analogous as actors of standardization of data types in e-commerce to determine the initial steps when creating a database. The next step, e-commerce itself, can provide scientific system intuition following the management of the utilization of these data. After the database management is completed, the operational party of e-commerce can always supervise its ongoing operational activities to minimize multiple activities that have a fatal impact on the effectiveness of database system performance.

Description of the use of databases in e-commerce has a major influence on the sustainability of the methodology, which can be described as follows:

a. Maintain file structure changes in databases in E-commerce.

This is done to inhibit efforts when other people access the data in the sense of not making changes.

b. Reduce data redundancy in E-commerce.

The role of the database is also to minimize the occurrence of duplicate data or repeated storage of data from a system to impact some of the same data in different locations. For example, suppose a buyer wants to change the type of item before making a transaction. In that case, it is necessary to use the database to read the record so that the previous transaction does not experience duplicate buyer transaction data.

c. Maintaining customer Data security in E-Commerce

One of the very important uses of databases is to maintain the security of data forms and all kinds of information attached to buyer data, sellers, operations, and so on so that the data is not easily accessed intensively by random people.

d. Make it easy to access the Data.

In E-commerce, databases provide convenience for the user to access data in the system because the database has recorded the stored data neatly and well.

To determine the types of databases that is suitable for your e-commerce business, you need to know first that there are generally two types of databases which are:

a. Relational database

This database uses tables, rows, and columns, similar to spreadsheets, to organize and retrieve data. It is built using the standard query language (SQL), and all the data in this database are related to each other. Examples of relational databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Microsoft SQL, Amazon RDS, and Azure SQL Database.

b. Non-relational database.

This database is a non-tabular database with a flexible schema that is suitable for storing unstructured data. Even if the name is ‘non-relational,’ this database can store related data by nesting the related data within a single data structure instead of putting them into different tables. Examples of non-relational databases: are MongoDB, Apache Cassandra, Amazon DynamoDB, Azure Cosmos DB, and Couchbase.

The database helps e-commerce store and organize important data digitally. Types of data that databases in e-commerce sites help to store and the tracks are:

a. Product information

Databases in e-commerce help to update and hold data about product information, including detailed product descriptions, prices, specifications, reference numbers, promotions, and availability. By doing so, it saves time from changing and updating data individually by keeping up all sites up to date with the same information.

b. Customer information

With databases, customer information such as names, contact details, spending patterns, and other information can be held for use in marketing later. It also helps to create distinguished target markets and improve customer communication, allowing e-commerce companies to focus on customers’ wants and needs.

c. Transactional information

One of the most important jobs that databases do is to track and manage transaction information. Databases can keep your inventory up to date after each transaction, such as a product in or out of stock, billing, shipping statuses, purchase order, and many more.

Therefore, organizing data in a good structure will make it accessible efficiently through e-commerce applications. People nowadays rely much on technology; it comes out to be an opportunity for e-commerce firms. There are types of databases that have their function. SQL has covered the data structure and has small scope. Otherwise, NoSQL works well in unstructured data and effectively manages large catalogs. Many types of data can be stored. The database will help to manage and track all of the transactions on e-commerce.

Database, e-Commerce, Type of Database, Database Usability

References:

Nuryadin, Aman. (2012). Aplikasi Database pada Web E-Commerce. (Institut Sains dan Teknologi AKPRIND Yogyakarta). Diakses dari https://www.academia.edu/10820496/APLIKASI_DATABASE_PADA_WEB_E_COMMERCE

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