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05 November 2003, 05:46 PM
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This should cover it 
An intranet is a network within an organization that uses Internet technologies to enable users to find, use, and share documents and Web pages. Corporations use intranets to communicate with employees.
In some large companies intranets are used as the primary way for employees to obtain and share work-related documents, share knowledge, collaborate on designs, access e-learning and learn about company news.
Intranets use traditional Internet protocols, TCP/IP and HTTP (see IP, left, for more) to transfer data. They usually reside behind firewalls, for security, and are not limited by physical location—anyone around the world can be on the same intranet. Intranets also link users to the outside Internet, and with the proper security in place may use public networks to transfer data.
What are some examples?
Intranets have been around for awhile and their importance and functionality has grown steadily over the years as the Internet and the technologies it uses become a more integral part of business.
At Ford Motor Co., 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. Each business units posts employee specific job information on the intranet and each user can create a personalized view of the intranet. With more than 500,000 hits a day it isn’t surprising that Ford was one of CIO magazine’s (Darwin’s sister publication) Web Business 50 winners. Read “Calling All Workers” for more information about Ford’s intranet.
In a more unusual example that Darwin recently reported on, Hewlett-Packard used its corporate intranet to ask employees to take a voluntary pay cut. Employees went to the site and saw the announcement and a record of how many of their colleagues had signed on. There are 90,000 employees in 150 countries on the HP intranet and in the end 90 percent of their employees signed up for pay cuts.
Is it true that some intranets don’t work?
That’s true, some intranet projects are not successful. When an intranet does not have senior management support (and thus, funding), or is badly organized, employees can waste time using them, lowering productivity. Not good.
Since intranets are technically easy to put in place, the original creators just started putting everything on them without discipline or organization and they turned into a big mess where users could not find what they were looking for. But these mistakes are easily avoided when intranets are properly supported, planned, organized and managed. (For more see the Darwin article “Why Do Intranets Fail?” or visit the CIO.com Intranet Research Center.)
The benefits, especially in areas like knowledge sharing, collaboration and productivity, grow exponentially as more employees take advantage of the resources that intranets offer.
What if people outside our organization use our corporate intranet?
Then it is an extranet. Extranets are networks that connect companies with customers and partners. When it comes to extranets, a company has to work with the other organizations on the network, so that it’s available to specific people or groups outside of an organization. Extranets require more security and technical consideration because they have to send private information securely over public networks.
An intranet is a network within an organization that uses Internet technologies to enable users to find, use, and share documents and Web pages. Corporations use intranets to communicate with employees.
In some large companies intranets are used as the primary way for employees to obtain and share work-related documents, share knowledge, collaborate on designs, access e-learning and learn about company news.
Intranets use traditional Internet protocols, TCP/IP and HTTP (see IP, left, for more) to transfer data. They usually reside behind firewalls, for security, and are not limited by physical location—anyone around the world can be on the same intranet. Intranets also link users to the outside Internet, and with the proper security in place may use public networks to transfer data.
What are some examples?
Intranets have been around for awhile and their importance and functionality has grown steadily over the years as the Internet and the technologies it uses become a more integral part of business.
At Ford Motor Co., 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. Each business units posts employee specific job information on the intranet and each user can create a personalized view of the intranet. With more than 500,000 hits a day it isn’t surprising that Ford was one of CIO magazine’s (Darwin’s sister publication) Web Business 50 winners. Read “Calling All Workers” for more information about Ford’s intranet.
In a more unusual example that Darwin recently reported on, Hewlett-Packard used its corporate intranet to ask employees to take a voluntary pay cut. Employees went to the site and saw the announcement and a record of how many of their colleagues had signed on. There are 90,000 employees in 150 countries on the HP intranet and in the end 90 percent of their employees signed up for pay cuts.
Is it true that some intranets don’t work?
That’s true, some intranet projects are not successful. When an intranet does not have senior management support (and thus, funding), or is badly organized, employees can waste time using them, lowering productivity. Not good.
Since intranets are technically easy to put in place, the original creators just started putting everything on them without discipline or organization and they turned into a big mess where users could not find what they were looking for. But these mistakes are easily avoided when intranets are properly supported, planned, organized and managed. (For more see the Darwin article “Why Do Intranets Fail?” or visit the CIO.com Intranet Research Center.)
The benefits, especially in areas like knowledge sharing, collaboration and productivity, grow exponentially as more employees take advantage of the resources that intranets offer.
What if people outside our organization use our corporate intranet?
Then it is an extranet. Extranets are networks that connect companies with customers and partners. When it comes to extranets, a company has to work with the other organizations on the network, so that it’s available to specific people or groups outside of an organization. Extranets require more security and technical consideration because they have to send private information securely over public networks.
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