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Abstract
These days Intranets are becoming more and more popular throughout the
business world and other types of organizations. Many companies and organizations are
already making this change and many more are considering it. The advantages offered by
Intranets when compared to other types of networks are many, at a reduced cost for the
owner. Less maintenance, less programming and more flexibility on the network platform
make this change interesting. Unlike other types of networks, Intranets allow different
types of machines and operating systems already at hand to be operating on the same
network platform. This reduces the cost when trying to implement this type of network
because the machines and operating systems already at hand can still be used throughout
the network without conflicting with one another. Quick access and easy programming is
also another consideration that is made when considering this type of network.
Intranets have just started to be implemented throughout the world and
already a big change is being noticed. Companies are keeping track of all of their
important information on web sites, which are restricted to users, unless they have the
security code to access them. Thanks to Internet technology, companies and other types of
organizations are able to keep all of their information organized and easily accessible
with a click of a button.
The Internet, how has it changed the world around us? Government, education, business is
all wrapping around it. Is this because of all of the information on it, simplicity or is
it the quickness, with a simple point and click and the information appears on the screen.
The first intention of the Web, as it is referred to, was not to create a sea of web
servers and surfers. The Department of Defense created it for it's own use, to keep
contact with all of the locations throughout the world, making it easier for them to
retrieve and send information when desired. As businesses, government and education
discover the advantages of the Internet and web technologies they are starting to
implement it for internal use. This is better known as an Intranet, which represents a new
model for internal information management, distribution and collaborative computing and
offers a simplistic but powerful implementation of client/server computing.
Intranets are private Web-based networks, usually within corporation firewalls, that
connect employees and business partners to vital corporate information. Thousands of
organizations are finding that Intranets can help empower their employees through more
timely and less costly information flow. They let companies speed information and software
to employees and business partners. Intranets provide users with capabilities like looking
up information, sending and receiving e-mail, and searching directories. They make it easy
to find any piece of information or resources located on the network. Users can execute a
single query that results in an organized list of all matching information across all
servers throughout the enterprise and onto the Internet.
As recent as two years ago, Intranets didn't exist. Now the market for internal
web-servers is rapidly increasing. Intranet technology is beginning to be used all over
the world. Intranets present the information in the same way to every computer. By doing
this they are doing what computer and software makers have been promising but never
actually delivered. Computers, software, and databases are pulled together into a single
system that enables users to find information wherever it resides. Intranets are only
logically "internal" to an organization but physically they can span the globe,
as long as access is limited to a defined community of interests.
Countless organizations are beginning to build Intranets, bringing Internet and Web
technologies to bear on internal organizational problems traditionally addressed by
proprietary data base groupware and workflow solutions. Two-thirds of all large companies
either have an internal web server installed of they are considering installing one.
The organizations to use Internet technologies on the corporate network generally move
traditional paper-based information distribution on-line. Other types of information that
might be put on-line would be the following:
� competitive sales information
� human resources/employee benefits statements
� technical support/help desk applications
� financial
� company newsletters
� project management
These companies typically provide a corporate home page as a way for employees to find
their way around the corporate Intranet site. This page may have links to internal
financial information, marketing, manufacturing, human resources and even non-business
announcements. It may also have links to outside sites such as client home pages or other
sites of interests.
Both the Internet and Intranets, center around TCP/IP (Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) applications. These applications are used for the
transport of information for both wide area and local area. Enterprise networks nowadays
are a mixture of many protocols. The most popular ones being IPX, IP, SNA and many others.
This is all beginning to change by replacing these protocols with one typically being the
IP Protocol. IP can handle both LAN and WAN traffic, it is supported by the majority of
computing platforms from Macintoshes to Windows NT to the largest mainframe and on top of
it all it is the protocol used by the Internet. There are three types of protocols
considered under the TCP/IP applications. These are FTP (File Transfer Protocol), SMTP
(Simple Mail Transport Protocol) and HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol). HTTP, or
Hypertext Transport Protocol, is a newer Internet Protocol designed expressly for the
rapid distribution of hypertext documents. It uses minimum network bandwidth, in addition,
its simplicity makes it easier to design and implement an HTML server or client browser.
Once a server is set up, almost everybody can create web pages. From
top managers to employees are all able to create web pages with the use of HTML, which is
the World Wide Web universal language format. Converting documents into HTML format is
getting easier and easier with the use of new programs that do everything for one. This is
considered another big advantage of using web technology because fewer programmers are
required to maintain it therefor reducing the expenses of a company. Intranets allow the
programmers to make one copy of any information and run it anywhere, even across both
client and server platforms.
But why is this internal web so popular? There are typically three main
reasons. First, all internal webs contain text and non-text items, for example recorded
speech, graphics and even video clips. This allows the users to listen to speeches, watch
video clips and look at graphics ranging from pictures to graphs, etc. Second, web sites
can contain all types of information, depending on the content, author and effort put in
to them. Companies are able to make pages referring to the employee's payroll, to company
sales, client contracts, and many others without limitation. Finally, each Intranet web
server can be cross-linked to others, by means of hypertext links, whether they are
located around the world or just down the street. It is the ability that gives the
Intranet its power, and its attraction to many corporations.
Intranets are easy to implement, unlike most other types of networks
Intranets don't require the replacement of all of the existing system, databases and
applications. They embrace the already existing infrastructure investments, including
desktop computers, servers, mainframes, databases, applications and networks. Other types
of networks would not allow an organization to have different types of machines or
operating systems on the same platform. For example on a LAN or WAN network one would not
be able to use Macintosh computers on the same network as an IBM PC. These types of
networks would also not allow the users to use different operating systems on different
computers, on the other hand Intranets allow different types of machines and operating
systems to be used on the same platform.
Security is also a big factor on Intranets. Protecting information on a
private network is critical. Intranets security services provide ways for resources to be
protected against unauthorized users, for communications to be encrypted and
authenticated, and for the integrity of information to be verified. Corporations can issue
and manage a security key infrastructure to give their employees the ability to conduct,
company business securely across the network.
The full potential of Intranet technologies is far from being realized.
Over the next few years or so, Intranets will be enhanced with new services that will make
them the prime priority for any organization. Many companies and organizations are already
changing to Intranets, but as Intranets are becoming more and more popular many more will
convert their LANs and WANs to Intranets because of all of the benefits they offer. Money
is a big factor when deciding the change from an already existing network but when
considering Intranets this usually expensive change is drastically reduced making it very
interesting for companies to consider.
Bibliography
Cortese, Amy. "Here Comes The Internet." Business Week
26 Feb. 1996: 3
Carr, Jim. "Intranets deliver Internet technology can offer cheap, multiplatform
access to corporate data on private networks." Info World 19 Feb. 1996: 20
Strom, David. "Creating Private Intranets: Challenges and Prospects for IS"
Internet address: http://www.strom.com/pubwork/intranetp.html taken on Feb. 10, 1997: 1-8
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