Intranet

An intranet is a private computer network that uses Internet protocols, network connectivity, and possibly the public telecommunication system to securely share part of an organization's information or operations with its employees. Sometimes the term refers only to the most visible service, the internal website. The same concepts and technologies of the Internet such as clients and servers running on the Internet protocol suite are used to build an intranet. HTTP and other Internet protocols are commonly used as well, especially FTP and e-mail. There is often an attempt to use Internet technologies to provide new interfaces with corporate 'legacy' data and information systems.

Briefly, an intranet can be understood as "a private version of the Internet".

Uses

A very common use of the terms "Intranet" and "Extranet" is to design the "private part" of a website, where "registered-on-site people" can navigate. The "login page" and the authentication mechanisms enable them. Generally in the sense that Intranet is for "employee exclusive contents", and Extranet for "customer/supplier exclusive contents".

There does not necessarily have to be any access from the organization's internal network to the Internet itself. Where there is, there will usually be a firewall with a gateway through which all access takes place, along with user authentication, encryption of messages, and the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) that tunnel through the public network. Through such devices, company information and computing resources can be shared by employees working from external locations.

Increasingly, intranets are being used to deliver tools and applications, eg: collaboration (to facilitate working in groups and for teleconferences) or sophisticated corporate directories, sales and CRM tools, project management, etc, to advance productivity.

Intranets are also being used as culture change platforms. For example, in IBM's "Jam" programme, large numbers of employees could discuss key issues in online forums, and key ideas surfaced with the aid of text analysis tools.

Intranet traffic, like public-facing web site traffic, is better understood by using web metrics software to track overall activity, as well as through surveys of users.

Intranet User Experience, Editorial, and Technology teams work together to produce in-house sites. Most commonly, intranets are owned by the communications, HR or CIO areas of large organizations, or some combination of the three.

When part of an intranet is made accessible to customers, partners, suppliers, or others outside the company, that part becomes part of an extranet.

Advantages

1. Workforce productivity: Intranets can help employees to quickly find and view information and applications relevant to their roles and responsibilities. Via a simple-to-use web browser interface, users can access data held in any database the organization wants to make available, anytime and - subject to security provisions - from anywhere, increasing employees' ability to perform their jobs faster, more accurately, and with confidence that they have the right information.
2. Time: With intranets, organizations can make more information available to employees on a "pull" basis (ie: employees can link to relevant information at a time which suits them) rather than being deluged indiscriminately by emails.
3. Communication: Intranets can serve as powerful tools for communication within an organization, vertically and horizontally.
4. Web publishing: The use of intranet, permits information to be published using hypermedia technologies.
5. Business operations and management: Intranets are also being used as a platform for developing and deploying applications to support business operations and decisions across the internetworked enterprise.

Disadvantages

1. Management could lose control of the material provided in the intranet
2. There could be security concerns with who accesses the intranet, plus abuse of the intranet by users.
3. Intranets may cause "information overload", delivering too much information to handle.

Requirements when Creating an Intranet

1. You must first create a web server. This requires certain hardware and software
2. Construct a web server access by building a Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol networks.
3. Installing the user programs on all required computers.
4. Finally, create a homepage in HTML for the system.[1]

What Makes Intranets so Popular in Today’s Workplace?

1. Usually, a company has all the computers and hardware already established on site to install an intranet, so the installation process is made easy.
2. It allows organizational members to broadcast organizational information. It gives access to internal databases, and internal collaboration
3. They scale well because the technology is the same as that used in the Internet
4. Intranets are secure from the Internet and are more secure than using the internet.[2]

Industry Examples

• KPMG moved all of its information assets to an intranet called KWorld.
• “The success of Cisco Systems has been largely attributed to its innovative corporate intranet” [3]
• The People's Republic of China (PRC) is attempting to build a national intranet while limiting access to information forbidden by Chinese Internet regulations. If they are successful on their attempt it will be the largest intranet. [4]
• Ford Motor Co has more than 175,000 employees in 950 locations worldwide have access to the company’s intranet, which is called Myford.com. The intranet gives employees information about benefits, demographics, salary history, general company news and human resources forms. [5]

See also

• Enterprise information portal
• Extranet
• Internet
• Intraweb
• LAN
• WAN
• Web portal

External links

• Creating Enthusiasm for your Intranet - Getting users to use your Intranet.
• What Are Intranets? - Small article as to what Intranets are.
• Intranet home page design - how the average intranet looks
• Intranet Trends to Watch For 2006 Intranet Trends at CIO Magazine