Chapter 14 Intranets

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Chapter 4Intranets and Extranets
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OBJECTIVES

• Introduction
• Technical Infrastructure
• Planning an Intranet
• E-mail and Intranet
• Extranets

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WHAT IS AN INTRANET?

• An organization-wide software and information
  distribution system applying Internet technology
  to a closed network
• Intranet operation is a communication project
  designed by technical staff
• A network of people, not wired machines
• Usually runs in a client/server environment and a
  local area network configuration

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BENEFITS

• Links employees and managers together
• Automates a lot of intraorganizational traffic
• Enables a company to gain better access to its
  primary resources knowledge and experience
• Serves as a creative and empowering tool
• Establishes the foundation for developing
  enterprise-wide information systems

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BENEFITS (Contd)

• Provides a model for new internal information
  management collaborative computing
• Prepares a wealth of Internet knowledge to
  employees
• Eases process integration
• Allows company to expand the system

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APPLICATIONS

• Human Resources
• Employee handbook
• Benefits information
• Employee surveys
• Internal/external recruiting
• Candidate screening
• Organizational charts
• Newsletters
• Company calendars

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APPLICATIONS (Contd)

• Sales and Marketing
• Product information
• Market research
• Prospecting
• Managing sales contacts
• Sales training

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APPLICATIONS (Contd)

• Accounting and Finance
• Financial reports
• Expense reports
• Accounts receivable/payable processing
• Asset management
• Policies and procedures
• Payroll

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APPLICATIONS (Contd)

• Manufacturing and Operations
• Inventory control
• Production schedules
• Quality assurance
• Part order/requisition system

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WHY DOES A COMPANY NEED AN INTRANET?

• A company has a large pool of information to
  share among hundreds of its employees
• Intranets are cheap, robust and fast
• Intranets operate across platforms
• 24/7 to employees
• Information in intranet can be updated quickly

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TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

• Client/Server Basis
• Client/Server software architecture a versatile,
  message-based, and modular infrastructure
  intended to improve usability, flexibility,
  interoperability and scalability
• Mainframe architecture all intelligence is
  within the central host computer

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TYPES OF CLIENT/SERVER ARCHITECTURE

• Two-tier architectures
• For an organization with 12-100 users
• Three-tier architectures
• User system interface
• Processing management
• Database management

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TWO-TIER ARCHITECTURE DESIGN
User System Interface
Database Management
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THREE-TIER ARCHITECTURE DESIGN
User System Interface
Process Management
Database Management
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BASIC INTRANET-ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES

• Server and Client PCs
• Web Server
• Browsers
• TCP/IP Electronic Mail
• Graphic and Multimedia Files
• Network File System (NFS)
• Internet Relay Chat (NRC)
• HTML Authoring Tools
• HTML
• Portable Electronic Document

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USING FIREWALLS

• Proxy
• Go-between agent that acts on behalf of another
• Packet Filter
• Checks each packet at network level

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PLANNING AN INTRANET

• Plan ahead
• Provide justification with management support
• Build an intranet in-house or outsource it
• Form an Intranet team
• Build and test a prototype
• Ensure effective maintenance

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E-MAIL and INTRANET

• Spamming
• Sending unwanted advertisements or literature
  through e-mail
• Flaming
• Responding to a message or a call in anger

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E-MAIL ETIQUETTE

• Write in different color to express attitude or
  mood
• Keep sentences short
• Be aware of your office and organization culture
• Avoid flaming
• Dont use e-mail to send bad news
• Dont type in capital letters

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EXTRANETS

• Lets limited, controlled business partners
  interact with the firm for all kinds of exchanges
• System designers must collaborate to make sure
  there is a common interface with the company they
  are dealing with
• Benefits faster time-to-market, customer
  loyalty, increased partner interaction, and
  improved processes

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KEY CONSIDERATIONS

• Identifying users
• Listing technology components
• Specifying security requirements
• Discussing administration of extranet
• Understanding usability of extranet

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OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

• Security
• Type of users
• Sensitivity of information transacted
• Communication lines used
• Manageability / administration
• Usability

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ROLE OF CHAMPION

• Ensures accountability for the organization
• Promotes more effective collaboration with
  business partners which improves potential for
  increased revenue
• Provides a long-term investment in competitive
  advantage

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Chapter 4Intranets Extranets