Electronic commerce:: Enablers and implications

To many, electronic commerce appeared unannounced in 1997, much in the same manner that the Internet and the World Wide Web preceded it. Many are still wondering how the Internet succeeded while earlier attempts at ubiquitous packet networking failed. Simplistically, the answer is standards, but it really is the mechanism by which the user took control of those standards for the Internet, the Web, and now EC. Initial growth of EC has been exponential and continues despite the nay sayers. This special issue of IEEE Communications Magazine is devoted to providing insight into what is behind the explosion of EC. A few of the more important enablers and the associated implications are covered briefly in this issue, with appropriate references and links for further enjoyment of the reader.