<s>
An	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
for	O
sharing	O
information	O
,	O
easier	O
communication	O
,	O
collaboration	O
tools	O
,	O
operational	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
computing	O
services	O
within	O
an	O
organization	O
,	O
usually	O
to	O
the	O
exclusion	O
of	O
access	O
by	O
outsiders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
is	O
used	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
public	O
networks	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
but	O
uses	O
the	O
same	O
technology	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	B-Protocol
protocol	I-Protocol
suite	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
organization-wide	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
can	O
constitute	O
an	O
important	O
focal	O
point	O
of	O
internal	O
communication	O
and	O
collaboration	O
,	O
and	O
provide	O
a	O
single	O
starting	O
point	O
to	O
access	O
internal	O
and	O
external	O
resources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
its	O
simplest	O
form	O
,	O
an	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
is	O
established	O
with	O
the	O
technologies	O
for	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
(	O
LANs	B-General_Concept
)	O
and	O
wide	O
area	O
networks	O
(	O
WANs	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
modern	O
intranets	B-General_Concept
have	O
search	B-Application
engines	I-Application
,	O
user	O
profiles	O
,	O
blogs	O
,	O
mobile	O
apps	O
with	O
notifications	O
,	O
and	O
events	O
planning	O
within	O
their	O
infrastructure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
is	O
sometimes	O
contrasted	O
to	O
an	O
extranet	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
an	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
is	O
generally	O
restricted	O
to	O
employees	O
of	O
the	O
organization	O
,	O
extranets	B-Architecture
may	O
also	O
be	O
accessed	O
by	O
customers	O
,	O
suppliers	O
,	O
or	O
other	O
approved	O
parties	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Extranets	B-Architecture
extend	O
a	O
private	B-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
onto	O
the	O
Internet	O
with	O
special	O
provisions	O
for	O
authentication	O
,	O
authorization	O
and	O
accounting	O
(	O
AAA	O
protocol	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Increasingly	O
,	O
intranets	B-General_Concept
are	O
being	O
used	O
to	O
deliver	O
tools	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Intranets	B-General_Concept
are	O
also	O
being	O
used	O
as	O
corporate	O
culture-change	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
large	O
numbers	O
of	O
employees	O
discussing	O
key	O
issues	O
in	O
an	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
forum	O
application	O
could	O
lead	O
to	O
new	O
ideas	O
in	O
management	O
,	O
productivity	O
,	O
quality	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
corporate	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
large	O
intranets	B-General_Concept
,	O
website	O
traffic	O
is	O
often	O
similar	O
to	O
public	O
website	O
traffic	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
better	O
understood	O
by	O
using	O
web	O
metrics	O
software	O
to	O
track	O
overall	O
activity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
User	O
surveys	O
also	O
improve	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
website	O
effectiveness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Larger	O
businesses	O
allow	O
users	O
within	O
their	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
to	O
access	O
public	O
internet	O
through	O
firewall	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
is	O
made	O
accessible	O
to	O
customers	O
and	O
others	O
outside	O
the	O
business	O
,	O
it	O
becomes	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
extranet	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Businesses	O
can	O
send	O
private	O
messages	O
through	O
the	O
public	O
network	O
,	O
using	O
special	O
encryption/decryption	O
and	O
other	O
security	O
safeguards	O
to	O
connect	O
one	O
part	O
of	O
their	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
to	O
another	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Intranet	B-General_Concept
user-experience	O
,	O
editorial	O
,	O
and	O
technology	O
teams	O
work	O
together	O
to	O
produce	O
in-house	O
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
commonly	O
,	O
intranets	B-General_Concept
are	O
managed	O
by	O
the	O
communications	O
,	O
HR	O
or	O
CIO	O
departments	O
of	O
large	O
organizations	O
,	O
or	O
some	O
combination	O
of	O
these	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
scope	O
and	O
variety	O
of	O
content	O
and	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
system	O
interfaces	O
,	O
intranets	B-General_Concept
of	O
many	O
organizations	O
are	O
much	O
more	O
complex	O
than	O
their	O
respective	O
public	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Intranets	B-General_Concept
and	O
their	O
use	O
are	O
growing	O
rapidly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
Intranet	B-General_Concept
Design	O
Annual	O
2007	O
from	O
Nielsen	O
Norman	O
Group	O
,	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
pages	O
on	O
participants	O
 '	O
intranets	B-General_Concept
averaged	O
200,000	O
over	O
the	O
years	O
2001	O
to	O
2003	O
and	O
has	O
grown	O
to	O
an	O
average	O
of	O
6	O
million	O
pages	O
over	O
2005	O
–	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workforce	O
productivity	O
:	O
Intranets	B-General_Concept
can	O
help	O
users	O
to	O
locate	O
and	O
view	O
information	O
faster	O
and	O
use	O
applications	O
relevant	O
to	O
their	O
roles	O
and	O
responsibilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
help	O
of	O
a	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
interface	O
,	O
users	O
can	O
access	O
data	O
held	O
in	O
any	O
database	O
the	O
organization	O
wants	O
to	O
make	O
available	O
,	O
anytime	O
and	O
—	O
subject	O
to	O
security	O
provisions	O
—	O
from	O
anywhere	O
within	O
the	O
company	O
workstations	O
,	O
increasing	O
the	O
employees	O
ability	O
to	O
perform	O
their	O
jobs	O
faster	O
,	O
more	O
accurately	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
confidence	O
that	O
they	O
have	O
the	O
right	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Time	O
:	O
Intranets	B-General_Concept
allow	O
organizations	O
to	O
distribute	O
information	O
to	O
employees	O
on	O
an	O
as-needed	O
basis	O
;	O
Employees	O
may	O
link	O
to	O
relevant	O
information	O
at	O
their	O
convenience	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
being	O
distracted	O
indiscriminately	O
by	O
email	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Communication	O
:	O
Intranets	B-General_Concept
can	O
serve	O
as	O
powerful	O
tools	O
for	O
communication	O
within	O
an	O
organization	O
,	O
vertically	O
strategic	O
initiatives	O
that	O
have	O
a	O
global	O
reach	O
throughout	O
the	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
providing	O
this	O
information	O
on	O
the	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
,	O
staff	O
have	O
the	O
opportunity	O
to	O
keep	O
up-to-date	O
with	O
the	O
strategic	O
focus	O
of	O
the	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
great	O
real-world	O
example	O
of	O
where	O
an	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
helped	O
a	O
company	O
communicate	O
is	O
when	O
Nestle	O
had	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
food	O
processing	O
plants	O
in	O
Scandinavia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Nestle	O
decided	O
to	O
invest	O
in	O
an	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
,	O
they	O
quickly	O
realized	O
the	O
savings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
McGovern	O
says	O
the	O
savings	O
from	O
the	O
reduction	O
in	O
query	O
calls	O
was	O
substantially	O
greater	O
than	O
the	O
investment	O
in	O
the	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
each	O
business	O
unit	O
can	O
update	O
the	O
online	O
copy	O
of	O
a	O
document	O
,	O
the	O
most	O
recent	O
version	O
is	O
usually	O
available	O
to	O
employees	O
using	O
the	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	O
operations	O
and	O
management	O
:	O
Intranets	B-General_Concept
are	O
also	O
being	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
platform	O
for	O
developing	O
and	O
deploying	O
applications	O
to	O
support	O
business	O
operations	O
and	O
decisions	O
across	O
the	O
internetworked	O
enterprise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cost-effectiveness	O
:	O
Users	O
can	O
view	O
information	O
and	O
data	O
via	O
web-browser	B-Application
rather	O
than	O
maintaining	O
physical	O
documents	O
such	O
as	O
procedure	O
manuals	O
,	O
internal	O
phone	O
list	O
and	O
requisition	O
forms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
HRM	O
company	O
PeopleSoft	O
"	O
derived	O
significant	O
cost	O
savings	O
by	O
shifting	O
HR	O
processes	O
to	O
the	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Shifting	O
this	O
process	O
to	O
the	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
reduced	O
the	O
cost	O
per	O
enrollment	O
to	O
$21.79	O
;	O
a	O
saving	O
of	O
80	O
percent	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cross-platform	O
capability	O
:	O
Standards-compliant	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
are	O
available	O
for	O
Windows	O
,	O
Mac	O
,	O
and	O
UNIX	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Built	O
for	O
one	O
audience	O
:	O
Many	O
companies	O
dictate	O
computer	O
specifications	O
which	O
,	O
in	O
turn	O
,	O
may	O
allow	O
Intranet	B-General_Concept
developers	O
to	O
write	O
applications	O
that	O
only	O
have	O
to	O
work	O
on	O
one	O
browser	B-Application
(	O
no	O
cross-browser	O
compatibility	O
issues	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
intranets	B-General_Concept
are	O
user-specific	O
(	O
requiring	O
database/network	O
authentication	O
prior	O
to	O
access	O
)	O
,	O
users	O
know	O
exactly	O
who	O
they	O
are	O
interfacing	O
with	O
and	O
can	O
personalize	O
their	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
based	O
on	O
role	O
(	O
job	O
title	O
,	O
department	O
)	O
or	O
individual	O
(	O
"	O
Congratulations	O
Jane	O
,	O
on	O
your	O
3rd	O
year	O
with	O
our	O
company	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
Promote	O
common	O
corporate	O
culture	O
:	O
Every	O
user	O
has	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
view	O
the	O
same	O
information	O
within	O
the	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Supports	O
a	O
distributed	O
computing	O
architecture	O
:	O
The	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
can	O
also	O
be	O
linked	O
to	O
a	O
company	O
's	O
management	O
information	O
system	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
a	O
time	O
keeping	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
organizations	O
devote	O
considerable	O
resources	O
into	O
the	O
planning	O
and	O
implementation	O
of	O
their	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
as	O
it	O
is	O
of	O
strategic	O
importance	O
to	O
the	O
organization	O
's	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
planning	O
would	O
include	O
topics	O
such	O
as	O
determining	O
the	O
purpose	O
and	O
goals	O
of	O
the	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
,	O
identifying	O
persons	O
or	O
departments	O
responsible	O
for	O
implementation	O
and	O
management	O
and	O
devising	O
functional	O
plans	O
,	O
page	O
layouts	O
and	O
designs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
appropriate	O
staff	O
would	O
also	O
ensure	O
that	O
implementation	O
schedules	O
and	O
phase-out	O
of	O
existing	O
systems	O
were	O
organized	O
,	O
while	O
defining	O
and	O
implementing	O
security	O
of	O
the	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
and	O
ensuring	O
it	O
lies	O
within	O
legal	O
boundaries	O
and	O
other	O
constraints	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
wikis	B-Protocol
,	O
on-line	O
forms	O
)	O
desired	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
decisions	O
sit	O
alongside	O
to	O
the	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
considerations	O
(	O
like	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
)	O
,	O
participation	O
issues	O
(	O
like	O
good	O
taste	O
,	O
harassment	O
,	O
confidentiality	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
features	O
to	O
be	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Intranets	B-General_Concept
are	O
often	O
static	O
sites	O
;	O
they	O
are	O
a	O
shared	O
drive	O
,	O
serving	O
up	O
centrally	O
stored	O
documents	O
alongside	O
internal	O
articles	O
or	O
communications	O
(	O
often	O
one-way	O
communication	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
leveraging	O
firms	O
which	O
specialise	O
in	O
'	O
social	O
 '	O
intranets	B-General_Concept
,	O
organisations	O
are	O
beginning	O
to	O
think	O
of	O
how	O
their	O
intranets	B-General_Concept
can	O
become	O
a	O
'	O
communication	O
hub	O
 '	O
for	O
their	O
entire	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
end-user	O
should	O
be	O
involved	O
in	O
testing	O
and	O
promoting	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
,	O
possibly	O
through	O
a	O
parallel	B-Application
adoption	I-Application
methodology	O
or	O
pilot	O
programme	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
structure	O
needs	O
key	O
personnel	O
committed	O
to	O
maintaining	O
the	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
and	O
keeping	O
content	O
current	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
feedback	O
on	O
the	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
,	O
social	O
networking	O
can	O
be	O
done	O
through	O
a	O
forum	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
indicate	O
what	O
they	O
want	O
and	O
what	O
they	O
do	O
not	O
like	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
enterprise	O
private	O
network'''	O
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
built	O
by	O
a	O
business	O
to	O
interconnect	O
its	O
various	O
company	O
sites	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
production	O
sites	O
,	O
offices	O
and	O
shops	O
)	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
share	O
computer	O
resources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
and	O
propelled	O
by	O
the	O
growth	O
in	O
computer	O
systems	O
availability	O
and	O
demands	O
,	O
enterprise	B-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
have	O
been	O
built	O
for	O
decades	O
without	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
append	O
the	O
term	O
private	O
to	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
with	O
the	O
Internet	O
in	O
the	O
1990s	O
came	O
a	O
new	O
type	O
of	O
network	O
,	O
virtual	B-Application
private	I-Application
networks	I-Application
,	O
built	O
over	O
this	O
public	O
infrastructure	O
,	O
using	O
encryption	O
to	O
protect	O
the	O
data	O
traffic	O
from	O
eaves-dropping	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
the	O
enterprise	B-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
are	O
now	O
commonly	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
enterprise	O
private	O
networks''	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
clarify	O
that	O
these	O
are	O
private	B-Protocol
networks	I-Protocol
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
public	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
