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Title: Intranets And Extranets Word Count: 807 Summary: It is amazing that many small and m edium sized organizations still thi nk of the Internet and the WWW as t he only way Ebusiness affects them. What many fail to recognize is that Intranets and Extranets using _int ernet protocol_ (IP) technology is perhapsthefastest and most certain way that they are likely to gain be nefits from Internet technology. First let_s just _teach Granny_: Intranet: an organization_s private network of computer networks used internally Keywords: Extra... intranet, extranet Article Body: It is amazing that many small and m edium sized organizations still thi nk of the Internet and the WWW as t he only way Ebusiness affects them. What many fail to recognize is that Intranets and Extranets using _int ernet protocol_ (IP) technology is perhapsthefastest and most certain way that they are likely to gain be nefits from Internet technology. First let_s just _teach Granny_: Intranet: an organization_s private network of computer networks used internally Extranet: an organization_s private network of computer networks used externally Intranets and Extranets can create value for organisations in a number of ways: - Decreased costs - Improved productivity - Improved customer service - Improved staff satisfaction - Better management controls and inf ormation Decreased costs Information is an important tool in business. Company-wide access to i nformation can determine the succes s of sales, time-to-market, custome r service and more. Intranets and E xtranets can improve this informati on delivery process. - Save time and money as users find better information faster - Reduce operational cost through e mployee self-service - Reduce print costs: instantly cha nge, edit, update sensitive informa tion - Cost reduction in meeting, travel and telephone time Improved productivity Improving productivity with faster and more efficient processing of tr ansactions and orders comes from a range of features and benefits; - 'Just in time', easy to find infor mation - Available 24/365 and so reduce ti me & distance barriers - Increased accuracy: personalized data for clients / customers / supp liers / partners (CCSP) - Improved knowledge: sales support , inventory / order status, recalls , promotions - Speed up supply chain list buying preferences and tender specificati ons - Reduced purchasing/inventory cost s, streamline processing, decrease space cost - Give CCSP the ability to initiate automatic re-stocking and invoicin g - Automated processes decrease bottl enecks - Allows users to view, print and w ork collaboratively on office docum ents (word-processed documents, spr eadsheets, presentations, etc.). - Improved time to market making pr oposals etc. available, speeding up approval Improved customer service Much customer service will always b e dependent on face-to-face contact and technology will never replace it. However, elements of the custom er relationship can improve via the use of Intranets and Extranets. - Give CCSP better access to sales / service - Strengthen working relationship wi th CCSP - Improve customer service forward queries directly to CCSP - Allow CCSP to view/comment work in progress - Offer research and information to specific CCSP - Improve tracking with CCSP - Reduce routine account manager wor k Improved staff satisfaction Staff tend to love Intranets. The ' self-service' concept and automatin g administrative processes empowers staff to manage holiday, sickness, expenses, timesheets, purchasing, surveys, room bookings, training or travel amongst others. This avoids costly and slow paper work on the administration side of a company. In addition to this, Intranets and Extranets improve the quality of wo rk-life for staff and deliver very effective computer based training s olutions. - Simple to support with minimal tr aining requirements - Puts users in control of their dat a - Easy to use, just point and click - Improved quality of life at work, reduced emails and 'email fatigue' - Improved productivity from 'just in time', easy to find information - Reduce communication costs and re duce meetings and phone tag - Better knowledge management via re levant sharing - Help build a culture of sharing an d collaboration - Improves decision making - Help organizational learning - Shorten cycle times for developmen ts - Reduced cost of training via CBT, available 'on demand' Better management controls and infor mation Perhaps the greatest soft benefit i s that for management by giving inv olvement and overview of processes, projects and teams even when absen t or _on the road_. - Reduces operational costs / risk sharing experience globally - Improves message accuracy - Reinforces central control of poli cy and procedure - Reduces duplication because there need be only one owner for each pi ece of information - Instant access to relevant databa ses such pricing, personnel - Better, faster feedback, adaptati on, correction via surveys and ques tionnaires Costs Of course there are costs to settin g up Intranets and Extranets but th ey are very small when compared wit h other expenditures _ starting in the low thousands can buy something really quite sophisticated that wi ll generally have a far greater ROI than many capital expenditures. The costs to consider are: - Start-up capital costs such as ne w PCs and providing network connect ions, web servers and server softwa re - Software applications - Design consultancy - creating a s tructural, navigational and graphic al design Promotion: the cost of la unching to your target population - Training: the total cost, per use r, of providing training - Ongoing capital costs for upgrades - Ongoing revenue costs Administrati on - Technical - Internet access - Maintenance, modifications and imp rovements - Ongoing training SUMMARY The benefits have already been note d and can be set against those cost s in a formal ROI cost benefit anal ysis if need be, but an Intranet or Extranet is really much more like a telephone system that other expen ditures. It is a major communications improv ement for the company and once ther e, like a telephone system, people wonder how they ever did without it. Just ask your self, by the way, wha t the ROI is on you telephone syste m. Do you know? Does the company or anyone in it? Probably not!
