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Intranet StrategiesIn business, an intranet strategy is the use of an intranet and associated hardware and software to obtain one or more organizational objectives. An intranet is an access-restricted network used internally in an organization. An intranet uses the same concepts and technologies as the world wide web and internet. This includes web browsers and servers running on the internet protocol suite and using internet protocols such as ftp, TCP/IP, HTML and email. Role of intranets Intranets are generally used for four types of applications: - 1) Communication and collaboration
- send and receive e-mail, faxes, voice mail, and paging
- discussion rooms and chat rooms
- audio and video conferencing
- virtual team meetings and project collaboration
- 2) Web publishing
- develop and publish hyperlinked multi-media documents such as:
- policy manuals
- company newsletters
- product catalogs
- technical drawing
- training material
- telephone directories
- 3) Business operations and management
- 4) Intranet portal management
- centrally administer all network functions including servers, clients, security, directories, and traffic
- gives users access to a variety of internal and external business applications
- it integrates many different technologies
Potential advantages of using Intranets - - reduces printing, distribution, and paper costs - particularly on policy manuals, company newsletters, product catalogs, technical drawings, training material, and telephone directories
- - easy to use - no specialized training required
- - inexpensive to use (once it is set-up)
- - moderate initial set-up costs (hardware and software)
- - standardized network protocol (TCP/IP), document protocol (HTML), and file transfer protocol (ftp) already well established and suitable for all platforms
- - can be used throughout the whole enterprise
- - reduces employee training costs
- - reduces sales and marketing costs
- - reduces office administration and accounting costs
- - ease of access results in a more integrated company with employees communicating and collaborating more freely and more productively
Potential disadvantages and limitations of Intranets - - it is an evolving technology that could require upgrades and could have software incompatibility problems
- - security features can be inadequate
- - inadequate system performance management and poor user support
- - may not scale up adequately
- - some media such as video is slow
- - maintaining content is time consuming
- - some employees may be without PCs at their desks
- - The aims of the organisation in developing an intranet may not align with user needs (see: further reading)
See also: Finding related topics Further reading - L. Tredinnick, Why Intranets Fail (and How to Fix Them), Chandos Publishing, 2004
- N. Cox, Building and managing a Web services Team, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1997)
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