E-commerce, which involves linking legacy systems and their attached databases to new Web-based applications and distributed databases, is emerging as a key way for private and public sector organizations to deliver products and services to their customers and constituents. This research paper examines the technical and business ramifications of linking legacy systems, which traditionally have a low degree of connectivity, to the Web. It concludes that the high demand for e-commerce requires a more organized and structured method for developing Web-based applications.