Intranet Solutions FAQs

What is the difference between an intranet and an extranet? An intranet is and internal corporate network. Intranets are now accepted as the next generation of networking. An intranet is a corporate network and the business applications that run on it, supported by internet technologies, and existing behind the corporate security firewall. In other words, an intranet is a secure, internal, single-company implementation of the Internet. All of the technology originally developed for the Internet (IP, or Internet Protocol, the World Wide Web, and browsers) are being applied inside the security of a company’s firewall. An extranet is an extension of an intranet. When team members outside the organisation are included (partners, customers, or suppliers) then the intranet has been extended. This extended business arrangement is known as an extranet. Extranets are natural extensions of intranets. Those outside of the organisation are granted password access to the entire corporate intranet, or they are restricted to parts of it.

Intranet Benefits

What are the benefits an intranet for my organisation? It is easy to build a business case for implementing an intranet. There are a considerable number of tangible benefits which relate to saving costs and saving time. Hard Benefits Intranets reduce printing costs Putting large volumes of corporate data online can often save considerable periodic printing costs. Intranets reduce communication costs Intranets as Virtual Private Networks and are much cheaper alternatives to public leased-line networks, with significant savings in the cost of data communications. Intranets reduce learning curves The common graphical interface of the browser gives computer novices ready access to the information they require in order to do their jobs, reducing the training required for them to get up to speed. Multiple applications can be built which share the same interface (document retrieval, email, bulletin boards, etc.). Intranets reduce the need to reconfigure databases There is often no need to port or reconfigure existing corporate databases to work on an intranet. Intranets reduce staff costs There is a low number of dedicated staff required for implementation and maintenance of an intranet compared to client/server implementations. Intranets are cross-compatible and standardised Internet standards such as TCP/IP, HTML, HTTP, and CGI can be leveraged across various client platforms such as Mac, DOS, UNIX, and Windows. Intranets leverage the existing network investment Intranets extend the investment in LANs and WANs and workstations that an enterprise is already using. Intranets are scalable Like the internet, intranets are scalable from small implementations to large ones, with larger corporate sites handling an enormous amount of users and transactions a day. Intranets allow evolutionary implementation There are discreet steps in implementing intranets. The first steps are relatively inexpensive and do not irreversibly commit the company to a course of action. This makes the initial decision to proceed much easier. Intranets do not threaten IT Intranet implementation does not require replacement of the IT infrastructure. Intranets reside on top of existing networks and can be implemented in an evolutionary manner.   Soft Benefits Intranets enhance communication, collaboration, and teamwork Intranets promote information sharing and distribution of responsibilities Intanets allow sharing of data that may have previously had to be duplicated or guarded by a few Intranets allow people to work in the manner that best corresponds to their personality, style, and work habits The intranets is the first stepping stone to the elusive "paperless office" Intranets can lead to conducting sales and business transactions automatically without human intervention It is for these reasons that every market research firm predicts astronomical growth in intranets in the years to come.

Reality's Solutions Strategy

What is Reality's Intranet Solutions Strategy?   Globally, the Internet / Intranet market is developing extremely rapidly with new generation products and functionality becoming available on a constant and aggressive basis. Many companies are now looking to third party organisations for their intranet solutions, to ensure they can benefit from this technology, while remaining focused on core business activity. Intranet solutions are organisation specific, making it difficult to combine and implement a standard solution with existing software. There must be room for custom design in each project. This problem is overcome by implementing part of the solution as standard, with the remainder provided as options through other applications. This is fundamental to IntraLink ST software. In order to quickly reach its selected marketplace, Reality Communications is now building on its existing distributor base by adding distribution partnerships in the UK, at different levels. It is planned to include diverse organisations, in order to ensure maximum market penetration, while maintaining product integrity.

What are Reality's Managed Services offerings for ISPs and Network Providers? Those organisations not in a position to develop and maintain their own intranet can benefit from intranet / extranet solutions, through Reality's ISP Programme. We provide IntraLink licences, and support to enable Service Providers to host intranet service on a rental basis.

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