case study 5

Online trading started in 1987, but it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the Internet emerged as a popular tool for investors to gather information, research companies, and trade stocks. Merrill Lynch ignored this trend toward online trading until new competitors, such as Ameritrade and E-Trade, emerged and were eating away at their client base with free research, access to up-to-the-minute trading information, and a price advantage—a small fraction of the Merrill Lynch price. To deal with this online move of their customer base, Merrill Lynch created a  financial portal—a one-stop shop for investing, shopping, information, and even auctions.

In this week’s case study, you will be investigating how they managed the change to an online portal with the switch to distributed systems. Major focus should be given to the e-business applications they incorporated in the portal. There is one specific reference given for this case study to provide some background information to help you in your research. It is suggested that in your research you pay particular attention to their deliverables and what their competition offered.