Chapter 9
Intranets, Extranets, and Enterprise Collaboration
LECTURE NOTES
SECTION I: The Intranets and Extranets in Business
9-1 The Intranet Revolution: [Figure 9.2]
Many businesses realize that intranets enable them to use Internet and World Wide Web technologies to support communication, collaboration, and business processes throughout the internetworked enterprise.
Analysing U.S. West Communications
We can learn a lot how companies are using intranets as a key technology platform to support their business processes, as well as enterprise communications and collaboration
from the Real World Case of U.S. West Communications.
Take a few minutes to read it, and we will discuss it (See U.S. West Communications in section XI)
Intranet characteristics include:
1. An intranet is a network inside an organization that uses Internet technologies (such as web browsers and servers, TCP/IP network protocols, HTML hypermedia document publishing and databases, and so on) to provide an Internet-like environment within the enterprise for information sharing, communications, collaboration, and the support of business processes.
2. An intranet is protected by security measures such as passwords, encryption, and fire walls, and thus can be accessed by authorized users throughout the Internet.
3. A company’s intranet can also be accessed through the intranets of customers, suppliers, and other business partners via extranet links.
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