GB2367395A - Managing e-commerce - Google Patents

Abstract

A personal commerce manager client-side agent 710 establishes customer information, one or more customer rules, and one or more customer policies for the customer site. A data exchange between the customer site and a vendor site is managed based on the customer information, the customer rules, and the customer policies for the customer site. A server-side agent 706, 720 stores customer information, at least one customer rule and at least one customer policy, all received from the client-side agent 710. The server-side agent is able to recognise a request in the form of personal commerce manager information transmitted from the client-side agent and verifies with the server-side policy whether it is able to fulfill the request. If it is, the server-side agent carries out a customer rule and carries out a customer policy.

Description

2367395 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EVOKING POLICY BASED E-COMMERCE The present

invention relates generally to electronic commerce (e-commerce). Still more particularly, the present invention provides a 5 system and method that allows an e-commerce customer to establish personalized and individualized shopping policies under the direct control of the customer.

E-commerce is expanding rapidly as customers overcome initial doubts 10 or fears about ordering on-line. The advantages of e-commerce are many.

Often customers can avoid paying state sales tax which, for many items, may exceed any shipping charges encountered. Also the customer can shop a wide variety of vendors nationwide and find prices substantially lower than prices for the same item available off-line.

is Customization of the on-line interaction with a customer by an e-commerce vendor is often limited or nonexistent. For example, a book vendor may use a current purchase to direct a customer's attention to similar books. However, every customer purchasing the same book would 20 receive the same referral information, so this is hardly personalized.

Accordingly, the invention provides a method in a distributed data processing system for managing electronic commerce, the method comprising the steps of: establishing a personal commerce manager client-side agent at 25 a customer site, wherein the personal commerce manager ciient-side agent establishes customer information, one or more customer rules, and one or more customer policies for the customer site; and managing a data exchange between the customer site and a vendor site based on the customer information, the one or more customer rules, and the one or more customer 30 policies for the customer site.

The invention yet further provides a computer program for managing e-commerce comprising program code means adapted to perform the method described above when the program is executed on a computer.

According to a preferred embodiment, a system and method are provided that allow the customer to establish personalized, individualized shopping policies that can be applied automatically for the customer and those associated with the customer, such as members of a family or coworkers in a 40 business.

Preferably, a system and a method for managing electronic commerce in a distributed data processing system is presented. The primary component is a personal commerce manager (PCM) client-side agent at each customer site. This client-side agent establishes a set of customer information, a set of customer rules, and a set of customer policies. A PCM at a customer site can manage multiple participants, such as members of a family, coworkers in a business, or colleagues at a university. A primary account 5 holder sets rules and policy for other participants. Customer information typically includes a customer name, a list of participant names, a billing address, a shipping address, and account information. Customer rules are based on yes-no decisions about conduct of e-commerce, such as whether customer information can be sent to a trusted third party site. A customer 10 policy may determine a list of approved vendor sites for each authorized participant, an association of an account with a particular vendor site, a spending limit associated with each participant, and a filter for incoming information from a vendor that determines which information is to be displayed. These are only sample policies; a wide variety of other 15 policies are possible. There is also a personal commerce manager server-side agent at each vendor site. These client-side and server-side agents exchange information and manage the e-commerce activities in accordance with the rules and policies established at each customer site.

20 In a further aspect, the invention provides a method in a distributed data processing system for managing electronic commerce, the method comprising the steps of: establishing a personal commerce manager server-side agent at a vendor site wherein said server-side agent stores customer information, at least one customer rule and at lease one customer 25 policy, all received from a personal commerce manager client-side agent; recognising a request in the form of personal commerce manager information transmitted to the server from the personal commerce manager client-side agent; verifying with said customer information, at least one customer rule and at least one customer policy whether said request can be fulfilled; 30 responsive to a successful determination, carrying out a customer rule, and carrying out a customer policy; and managing a data exchange between the vendor site and a customer site.

The invention yet further provides a computer program for managing 35 e-commerce comprising program means adapted to perform the method described in the preceding paragraph when the program is executed on a computer.

In a yet further aspect, the invention provides, a client-based commerce management system, the system comprising: an initializing means 40 for establishing a personal commerce manager client-side agent at a customer site, wherein the personal commerce manager client-side agent establishes customer information, one or more customer rules, and one or more customer policies for the customer site; and a managing means for managing a data exchange between the customer site and a vendor site based on the customer information, the one or more customer rules, and the one or more customer policies for the customer site.

In a yet still further aspect, the invention provides a server-based 5 commerce management system, the system comprising: an initializing means for establishing a personal commerce manager server-side agent at a vendor site, wherein said server-side agent stores customer information, at least one customer rule and at least one customer policy, all received from a personal commerce manager client-side agent; means for recognising a 10 request in the form of personal commerce manager information transmitted to the server from the personal commerce manager client-side agent; means for verifying with said customer information, at least one customer rule and at least one customer policy that said request can be fulfilled; means, responsive to a successful determination, for carrying out a customer rule is and for carrying out a customer policy; and a managing means for managing a data exchange between the vendor site and a customer site.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the following 20 drawings:

Figure 1 is a pictorial representation of a distributed data processing system in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented; Figure 2 is a block diagram of a server in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a block diagram of a client in accordance with a 30 preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 shows sample content for a Personal Commerce Manager (PCM) in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; 35 Figure 5 shows various ways to integrate the Personal Commerce Manager (PCM) into a client-side computer system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 6 illustrates two purchase transactions without using the PCM 40 system; Figure 7 illustrates the same two purchases as Figure 6 using PCM agents at both the server-side and the client-side in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; 5 Figure 8 is a block diagram of the client-side software to support the PCM system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 9 shows the flow of events in processing responses from a server in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 10 shows a block diagram of the server-side software to support the PCM system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; and 15 Figure 11 shows the flow of events in processing requests from the client in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.

With reference now to the figures, and in particular with reference to Figure 1, a pictorial representation of a distributed data processing 20 system is depicted in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented.

Distributed data processing system 100 is a network of computers.

Distributed data processing system 100 contains network 102, which is the 25 medium used to provide communications links between various devices and computers connected within distributed data processing system 100. Network 102 may include permanent connections, such as wire or fiber optic cables, or temporary connections made through telephone connections.

30 In the depicted example, servers 104, 114, 116 and 118 are connected to network 102. Storage units 106 and 122 are also connected to network 102, providing backup support for any or all of servers 104, 114, 116 and 118. Storage unit 122 provides dedicated backup support for server 104.

In addition, clients 108, 110 and 112 are also connected to network 102.

35 These three clients may be, for example, personal computers or network computers. For purposes of this application, a network computer is any computer coupled to a network, which receives a program or other application from another computer coupled to the network. Distributed data processing system 100 may include additional servers, clients, and other 40 devices not shown.

In the depicted example, servers 104, 114, 116 and 118 provide storage for data from clients 108,.110 and 112.These four servers also provide data, such as boot files, operating system images, and applications to clients 108, 110 and 112. Clients 108, 110 and 112 are clients to one or all of servers 104, 114, 116 and 118. Support for a particular application being performed on one of clients 108, 110 and 112 may be by 5 one of servers 104, 114, 116 and 118. Additionally servers 104, 114, 116 and 118 may provide backup support for each other. In the event of a server failure, a redundant backup server may be allocated by the network administrator, in which case requests directed to the failed server are routed to the redundant backup server.

In a similar manner, data backup support is provided by storage units 106 and 122 for servers 104, 114, 116 and 118. However, rather than the network administrator allocating a data backup storage unit at each use, data backup allocation is set, and data backup transfer occurs at low usage is times, typically after midnight, between any of servers 104, 114, 116 and 118 and storage units 106 and 122.

In the depicted example, distributed data processing system 100 is the Internet, with network 102 representing a worldwide collection of 20 networks and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite of protocols to communicate with one another. At the heart of the Internet is a backbone of high- speed data communication lines between major nodes or host computers consisting of thousands of commercial, government, education, and other computer systems that route data and messages. Of particular interest is the use of 25 distributed data processing system 100 for e-commerce (electronic commerce). This invention preferably allows clients 108, 110, and 112 to set up rules and policy when interacting with e-commerce servers, such as servers 104, 114-118.

30 Of course, distributed data processing system 100 also may be implemented as a number of different types of networks, such as, for example, an intranet or a local area network. Figure 1 is intended as an example and not as an architectural limitation for the processes of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 2, a block diagram is of a server, such as server 104 in Figure 1, is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Data processing system 200 is a symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) system including a plurality of processors 202 and 204 40 connected to system bus 206. Alternatively, a single processor system may be employed. Also connected to system bus 206 is memory controller/cache 208, which provides an interface to local memory 209. 1/0 bus bridge 210 is connected to system bus 206 and provides an interface to 1/0 bus 212.

Memory controller/cache 208 and 1/0 bus bridge 210 may be integrated as depicted.

Peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus bridge 214 connected to 5 1/0 bus 212 provides an interface to PCI local bus 216. A number of modems 218 (one shown) may be connected to PCI bus 216. Typical PCI bus implementations will support four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors.

Communications links to network computers 108-112 in Figure 1 may be provided through modem 218 and network adapter 220 connected to PCI local 10 bus 216 through add-in boards. With respect to the present invention, server 200 is preferably engaged in promoting e-commerce transactions with clients, such as clients 108, 110, and 112 in Figure 1. Connection of clients to the Internet may be low speed through dial-up modems or through faster technologies such as cable modems or DSL (digital subscriber line).

is Additional PCI bus bridges 222 and 224 provide interfaces for additional PCI buses 226 and 228, from which additional modems or network adapters may be supported. In this manner, server 200 allows connections to multiple network computers. A memory mapped graphics adapter 230 and 20 hard disk 232 are also connected to 1/0 bus 212 as depicted, either directly or indirectly.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware depicted in Figure 2 may vary. For example, other peripheral devices, such 25 as optical disk drives and the like, may also be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted. The depicted example is not meant to imply architectural limitations with respect to the present invention.

The data processing system depicted in Figure 2 may be, for example, 30 an IBM AS/4000 system, running the Advanced Interactive Executive (AIX@) operating system.

With reference now to Figure 3, a block diagram of a data processing system in which the present invention may be implemented in accordance with 35 a preferred embodiment is illustrated. Data processing system 300 is an example of a client computer. Data processing system 300 employs a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) local bus architecture. Although the depicted example employs a PCI bus, other bus architectures, such as Micro Channel and ISA, may be used. Processor 302 and main memory 304 are 40 connected to PCI local bus 306 through PCI bridge 308. PCT bridge 308 may also include an integrated memory controller and cache memory for processor 302. Additional connections to PCI local bus 306 are made through direct component interconnection or through add-in boards. In the depicted example, local area network (LAN) adapter 310, SCSI host bus adapter 312, and expansion bus interface 314 are connected to PCI local bus 306 by direct component connection. in contrast, audio adapter 316, graphics adapter 318, and audio/video adapter (A/V) 319 are connected to PCI local 5 bus 306 by add-in boards inserted into expansion slots. Expansion bus interface 314 provides a connection for a keyboard and mouse adapter 320, modem 322, and additional memory 324. In the depicted example, SCSI host bus adapter 312 provides a connection for hard disk drive 326, tape drive 328, CD-ROM drive 330, and digital video disc read only memory drive 10 (DVD-ROM) 332. Typical PCI local bus implementations will support three or four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware in Figure 3 may vary depending on the implementation. Client 300 is 15 depicted using modem 322 to connect to the Internet, but higher speed technologies such as DSL or cable modems are possible to connect a client to an e-commerce server on the Internet. Regardless of the connection technology, the system and method of the present invention is preferably designed to provide a robust environment to promote and stimulate the use 20 of e-commerce by the user at the client machine shown in Figure 3. The depicted example is not meant to imply architectural limitations with respect to the present invention. For example, the processes of the present invention may be applied to multiprocessor data processing systems in the event the user is conducting e-commerce from a work site that 25 contains more powerful client machines. The processes of the present invention may also be applied to hand held wireless devices that provide access to the Internet.

A major goal of e-commerce is to make the on-line shopping experience 30 convenient and flexible. This invention in accordance with the preferred embodiment, introduces a Personal Commerce Manager (PCM) that is designed to allow the customer to implement rules and policies for commerce applicable to the customer and those associated with the customer, such as family members, that share the same PCM. Preferably, these rules and 35 policies are under the direct control of the customer.

With reference now to Figure 4, sample content for Personal Commerce Manager (PCM) in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention 402 is shown. Stored data 404 contains familiar items, such as 40 name, date of birth, billing address, shipping address, and so forth. It should be noted that there can be multiple user accounts for each PCM, such as an account for each family member. PCM 402 also contains a plurality of rules 406. Only one rule is shown: automatically transfer registered user information to trusted third party sites. One common transfer of information would be to a credit card clearing site to approve a charge before a transaction is approved.

5 PCM 402 also contains a plurality of policies 408. The major distinction between a rule and a policy is that rules involve yes-no decisions that might be specified using a checkbox, whereas policies involve more detailed information, as illustrated by the two examples provided. The first policy, shown informally in policy 408, allows a 10 family member, a son, to spend his allowance of $50.00 per month at one or more web sites contained in a list of sites approved by the primary account holder. The credit card of the primary account holder will be billed.

Assuming the primary account holder has several credit cards on file, the second policy ensures a particular card, a platinum visa card, is used for 15 all shopping with a particular vendor, Bloomingdale's, in this case. It is easy to imagine a wide variety of policies implemented by the customer to facilitate the shopping experience by the customer and others named on the customer's PCM. A PCM is not limited to use by family members; the same approach could be used by coworkers in a business, employees of a 20 government agency, or colleagues at a university, just to name a few potential applications.

Users of the Internet have all experienced long download times of webpages due to bandwidth problems, particular when using modems. The 25 e-commerce provider wants to make the site as attractive and flexible as possible, but this often results in larger web pages and greater download time. The PCM system involves both server-side agents and client-side agents. By placing some of the components at the client-side, the bandwidth problems can be reduced and the policies can be applied to all 30 e-commerce vendors.

With reference now to Figure 5, various ways to integrate the Personal Commerce Manager (PCM) into a client-side computer system are shown diagrammatically in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the 35 present invention. Commonly, Personal Commerce Manager 504 is installed as plug-in 502 for an Internet browser. A browser plug-in is a third-party software product that extends a Web browser's capabilities. Other alternatives are to store the PCM on hard drive 506, store it on removable media 508, build it into system software 510, integrate it into IT software 40 512, or code it directly into browser 514. Such options are by way of example only.

The server-side component is preferably able to update the client-side agent and deploy new applications to the agent, as appropriate.

Since the rules and policies established by the PCM system allow information that is transmitted to the customer to be targeted to the customer's particular needs, information that is not needed or wanted by the customer can be eliminated. This helps reduce the bandwidth of traffic 5 between the server and the client.

The server-side agent is preferably able to notify the client-side agent about special purchases or other e-commerce of particular interest to the customer. When the customer starts a browser, the client-side agent 10 preferably displays all such communications received. If the customer decides to order a product that is listed, this is preferably done by a link to a direct buying system and bypassing the e-commerce vendor's web site altogether.

15 With reference now to Figure 6, a diagram illustrates two purchase transactions without using the PCM system. Suppose that customer 602 reads all John Grisham's novels and wants to buy the next book written by Grisham. Customer 602 continually monitors the web site of book vendor 606 via link 604. Eventually, after many weeks or months of monitoring this 20 site, customer 602 finds a new Grisham book at book vendor web site 606 and orders the book. Book vendor 606 forwards the order onto direct buying system 608 used by this vendor.

Customer 602 also owns a DVD player and wants to keep track of DVD 25 releases for new movies by browsing DVD vendor web site 612. When customer 602 finds a new DVD to order, the order is sent via link 610 to DVD vendor 612, who, in turn, forwards the order on to direct buying system 614.

With reference now to Figure 7, a diagram illustrates the same two 30 purchases as Figure 6 but using PCM agents at both the server-side and the client-side in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

The customer 712 has established two policies: she wants to be notified immediately about any new book published by John Grisham and she wants to be notified about the release of any new DVD for a movie that has appeared 35 in the cinema in the last twelve months. Book vendor 702 uses Direct Buying System 704. When Direct Buying System 704 stocks the latest Grisham book, Book Vendor 702 notifies the PCM server-side agent that a new Grisham book has been published. Server-side agent 706 notifies ail client-side agents about new book releases, but the policies implemented by Client- side 40 Agent 710 for this customer have specified that only books by John Grisham are to be displayed. Server-side agent 706 sends notification of the new Grisham book over link 708 to client-side agent 710. As shown in Figure 5, Client-side Agent 710 can reside in a variety of locations in the computer environment. Since the notification of the Grisham. book matches the policy in place, this information will be displayed to customer 712 the next time the customer activates her browser. If customer 712 elects to purchase the book, the order is sent directly via link 714 to Direct Buying System 704 5 bypassing book vendor web site 702 altogether.

In a similar manner, DVD vendor web site 716 orders all of its DVDs from Direct Buying System 718. Whenever any new DVDs of movies are released, PCM Server-side agent 720 notifies all client-side agents. In 10 the case of Client-side Agent 710, notification is via link 722. The policy at the client-side agent only displays DVD releases for movies produced in the last twelve months. Customer 712 is presented a list of recent movies released on DVD and can purchase those she wants. When a DVD is purchased, the order is sent from client-side agent 710 via link 724 to 15 Direct Buying System 718. By using the PCM system, customers are notified immediately of products she is particularly interested in. This approach uses the available bandwidth more efficiently compared with a customer continually "surfing the web" to find desired products.

20 With reference now to Figure 8, a block diagram is shown of the client-side software to support the PCM system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Client endpoint 802 comprises several components, as shown to the right. PCM can be running as part of browser 804, either as a plug-in or directly coded in the browser.

25 Alternatively, PCM can be part of application 806. The customer can access the PCM system through PCM Control Panel 808. This allows the user to enter or modify stored data, 404 in Figure 4, set rules, 406 in Figure 4, and establish policies, 408 in Figure 4. Entering data is through a type-in form that is completed by the customer. Setting rules is 30 accomplished by toggling between two alternatives, such as allowing automatic transfer of registered information or not. Setting policy is more complex, but wizards can guide the customer through the various options available when setting policy.

35 The PCM system sits on top of Application Layer 810. Since all input/output activities in a computer system are handled by the operating system, these software components rely on Operating System Layer 812 to accomplish input and output.

40 The block diagram in Figure 8 is best understood by examining the flow of events in processing responses from the server in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figure 9. A client will make a request of a server and receive a response (step 902).

This response is typically in a markup language, such as XML, and the response is parsed (step 904). Each of the XML tags is examined to determine if it is associated with PCM. If it is not a PCM XML tag (step 906: No), then the response is processed without using PCM (step 908) and a 5 reply is sent to the server (step 910).

If an XML tag is a PCM tag (step 906: Yes), then the response is processed as a PCM request (step 912). Typically this processing will involve checking PCM client-side policy (step 914). If the PCM client- side 10 policy does not allow the operation (step 916: No), then an appropriate reply is sent to the server (step 910). If the PCM client-side policy does allow the operation (step 916: Yes), then the customer will make a decision (step 918), such as to order an item or not to order an item, and an appropriate response is sent to the server (step 910).

is With reference now to Figure 10, a block diagram is shown of the server-side software to support the PCM system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Web Server 1002 comprises several components, as shown to the right. The PCM Server 1004 is the at 20 the top level. Application Server 1006 invokes the methods of PCM Server 1004. This is accomplished using Java' Servlets 1008 (Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc.). Although the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated using the programming language Java, as those skilled in the art will appreciate, the invention could be implemented in 25 other programming languages, such as C++.

Application Server 1006 sits on top of HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) Server 1010. Since all input/output activities in a computer system are handled by the operating system, these software components rely 30 on Operating System Layer 1012 to accomplish input and output.

The block diagram in Figure 10 is best understood by examining the flow of events, as shown in Figure 11, in processing requests from a client in accordance with a preferred embodiment (step 1102). After receiving a 35 request from the client, it is parsed (step 1104). The request is examined to see if any PCM data is present. If there is no PCM data (step 1106:

No), then the request is processed without using PCM (step 1108) and a reply is sent to the client (step 1110).

40 If there is PCM data (step 1106: Yes), then the request is processed as a PCM request (step 1112). Typically this processing will involve checkingPCM server-side policy (step 1114). For example, a request from the customer might indicate whether the server site is allowed to transfer registered data to trusted third party site, such as rule 406 shown in Figure 4. If the customer has indicated she does not want the particular policy action to be in effect (step 1116: No), then the PCM action is not carried out (step 1118). If the customer indicates the policy should be 5 invoked (step 1116: Yes), then the appropriate PCM action is carried out (step 1120). An appropriate reply, depending on whether the policy was invoked or not, is sent to the client (step 1110).

It is important to note that, while the present invention has been 10 described in the context of a fully functioning data processing system, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the processes of the present invention are capable of being distributed in the form of a computer readable medium of instructions and a variety of forms, for example as illustrated in Figure 5, and that the present invention applies 15 equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media actually used to carry out the clistribution. Examples of computer readable media include recordable-type media such a floppy disc, a hard disk drive, a PAM, and CD-ROMs and transmission-type media such as digital and analog communications links.

Claims (22)

1. A method in a distributed data processing system for managing electronic commerce, the method comprising the steps of:

establishing a personal commerce manager client-side agent at a customer site, wherein the personal commerce manager client-side agent establishes customer information, one or more customer rules, and one or more customer policies for the customer site; and managing a data exchange between the customer site and a vendor site based on the customer information, the one or more customer rules, and the one or more customer policies for the customer site.

15

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the personal commerce manager is located in at least one of a plug-in for a browser, an implementation for a browser, a file on a system disk, a system software program, and a file on a removable media.

20

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the personal customer manager client-side agent includes information for each of a multiplicity of participants.

4. The method of claim 3. wherein at least one participant from the 25 multiplicity of participants is designated as a primary participant.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein only the primary participant can enter and modify the customer information, the one or more customer rules, and the one or more customer policies associated with the personal commerce 30 manager client-side agent.

6. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the customer information includes at least one of a customer name, a participant name, a billing address, a shipping address, and account information.

7. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the customer rules are based on a yes-no decision with regard to e-commerce functions.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more customer rules 40 includes authorizing a transfer of customer information to a trusted third party site.

9. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more customer policies determine at least one of authorized participants to conduct e-commence, approved vendor sites for each authorized participant, an association of an account with a particular vendor site, spending limits for the authorized participants, and a filter for incoming information from a vendor that determines which information is displayed. 5

10. A method in a distributed data processing system for managing electronic commerce, the method comprising the steps of:

establishing a personal commerce manager server-side agent at a 10 vendor site wherein said server-side agent stores customer information, at least one customer rule and at lease one customer policy, all received from a personal commerce manager client-side agent; recognising a request in the form of personal commerce manager is information transmitted to the server from the personal commerce manager client-side agent; verifying with said customer information, at least one customer rule and at least one customer policy whether said request can be fulfilled; responsive to a successful determination, carrying out a customer rule, and carrying out a customer policy; and managing a data exchange between the vendor site and a customer site.

ii. A client-based commerce management system, the system comprising:

an initializing means for establishing a personal commerce manager client-side agent at a customer site, wherein the personal commerce manager 30 client-side agent establishes customer information, one or more customer rules, and one or more customer policies for the customer site; and a managing means for managing a data exchange between the customer site and a vendor site based on the customer information, the one or more 35 customer rules, and the one or more customer policies for the customer site.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the personal commerce manager is located in at least one of a plug-in for a browser, an implementation for a 40 browser, a file on a system disk, a system software program, and a file on a removable media.

is

13. The system of claim 11 or 12, wherein the personal customer manager client-side agent includes information for each of a multiplicity of participants.

5

14. The system of claim 13, wherein at least one participant from the multiplicity of participants is designated as a primary participant.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein only the primary participant can enter and modify the customer information, the one or more customer rules, and the one or more customer policies associated with the personal commerce manager client-side agent.

16. The system any of claims 11 to 15, wherein the customer information includes at least one of a customer name, a participant name, a billing address, a shipping address, and account information.

17. The system any of claims 11 to 16, wherein the customer rules are based on a yes-no decision with regard to e-commerce functions.

20

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more customer rules includes authorizing a transfer of customer information to a trusted third party site.

19. The system any of claims 11 to 18, wherein the one or more customer 25 policies determine at least one of authorized participants to conduct e-commence, approved vendor sites for each authorized participant, an association of an account with a particular vendor site, spending limits for the authorized participants, and a filter for incoming information from a vendor that determines which information is displayed.

20. A server-based commerce management system, the system comprising:

an initializing means for establishing a personal commerce manager server-side agent at a vendor site, wherein said server-side agent stores 35 customer information, at least one customer rule and at least one customer policy, all received from a personal commerce manager client-side agent; means for recognising a request in the form of personal commerce manager information transmitted to the server from the personal commerce 40 manager client-side agent; means for verifying with said customer information, at least one customer rule and at least one customer policy that said request can be fulfilled; means, responsive to a successful determination, for carrying out a customer rule and for carrying out a customer policy; and a managing means for managing a data exchange between the vendor site 5 and a customer site.

21. A computer program for managing e-commerce comprising program code means adapted to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 9 when said program is executed on a computer.

22. A computer program for managing e-commerce comprising program means adapted to perform the method of claim 10 when said program is executed on a computer.