In Fall 2001, Cal Poly Pomona launched a new e-business concentration for a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration to address an overwhelming need for employees who are trained and experienced in e-business theory and practice.

E-business has the potential to streamline business systems and save operating costs. It uses Internet-centered technology in business activities, both internally (such as real-time inventory control) and externally (online marketing and sales).

The “e” in e-business stands for electronic network —the application of electronic network technology to relevant business processes to improve or change those processes. The “e” in e-business means the replacement of paper-based, human-agent based or telephone-based personal transaction with transactions over electronic networks. The networks could be proprietary networks, like EDI, or electronic fund transfer networks between companies, or Lotus Notes, or the internal networks embedded in ERP, or they could be the Internet or its cousins like extranets or intranets.