Abstract
Technological advance of the last decades created an atmosphere in which the organizations are forced to look actively for new options for the cost reduction, in addition to, simultaneously, seeking to compete more effectively in their markets. This context requires focused, swift, more flexible and more competitive organizations which are forced, many times, to implement radical changes in the way they conduct business, employ people and use technology. Despite the recognition and the attention given to electronic business (or e-business) over the last years, this type of business hasn't yet achieved a desirable maturity stage. This problem, current and stated over the last years, demands research efforts so that a solution can be found to solve it. In this chapter, the authors explore a range of constraints which are suggested by the literature to influence e-business evolution, so that organizations could be better equipped in anticipating any difficulties while in progress through their e-business initiatives. © 2011, IGI Global.

Abstract
With the recent expansion of services available in the Web, the Internet is becoming more and more a network of services, at a global scale. These services cover the majority of business areas, such as: bank account management, trip reservation, hotel bookings, information search portals, social networks, etc. A related subarea is the georreferencing of objects and people. The appearance of services like Google Earth and Virtual Earth has created enormous Web based service creation opportunities, allowing the interconnection of the digital and real worlds. In this work we present a project intended for locating the physical places associated with a person, based on his email address. This project implements a search portal that associates a user to an email and a set of user defined locations.

Abstract
The Internet is extremely important for the publishing of information and for the interaction between the society elements. Due to this, it's essential that the web presents itself accessible to all, including those with any kind of disability. An accessible web may help the handicapped citizens interact with the society in a more active way, including the electronic public procurement platforms. This paper presents a study made with a universe of 8 Portuguese certified platforms (by CEGER), using a W3C referenced tool (TotalValidator), and presents some statistical results according to the Portuguese Classification of the Enterprises Activities.

Abstract
The Second Life platform unites various technologies: 3D virtual environments, virtual reality, Internet connection between participants and the possibility of customization of the three-dimensional content. It is a virtual collaborative environment that allows users to explore digital worlds and interact with others in real time. Increasingly, new peripherals to interact with virtual environments are emerging in the market, and good examples of this are 3Dconnexion's 3D controllers. These are designed to be easy to use, allowing users to zoom, move around in space and rotate 3D objects with a simple hand tap on the device. With this project we wanted to identify usability problems among 3Dconnexion's devices in Second Life 3D virtual environment. We created a usability test and implemented it. With its data we identified usability features of these 3D controllers.

Abstract
Companies that are present at multiple online locations may have difficulty staffing them adequately in terms of helpdesk services with efficient use of human resources. In this paper a technological architecture is presented that allows a team of people to staff several online locations simultaneously, providing to customers/users the indication of human presence to attend them. We also present details on a first prototype implementation of this architecture.

Abstract
In a dynamic and competitive world, understanding the knowledge, skills and competences that managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) require is an important endeavour, to ensure that both academic and business training institutions offer well formed programs/courses and curricula. Several studies, conducted by academic researchers and business associations around the world, focused on identifying managers' skills and competences, but there isn't an overall perspective on today's requirements of European SME managers. This is a critical aspect because managers' competences strongly influence enterprises' competitiveness and, therefore, the economic competitiveness of countries themselves. To help overcome this problem, the authors conducted a study in six European countries through a literature review and several interviews with business associations' executives. The result is a list of 34 competences, which the authors organized in four categories: personal; team management; business; and technical. These competences are presented and discussed in this chapterand show that an SME manager should be well prepared in a rich set of complementary areas to perform her/his job. The findings enable a better understanding of the profile of SME managers from the point of view of required competences, and may help in the design of new training programs to fulfil the identified needs. © 2011, IGI Global.