Companies as small as 5 employees are now reaping the rewards of intranets by discovering a better way to deliver coordination and collaboration to their employees which in turn streamlines business processes and increases productivity.

What is an intranet?

An intranet is a private computer network based on the communication standards of the Internet. It is essentially a web-based application that only the members of an organisation can access. These internal "websites" are growing from an explosion in the use and understanding of Internet technology.

The past few years has seen exponential growth in companies connecting to the Internet. Companies began the use of Internet technology by setting up e-mail and websites and are now able to use the same tools that publish information to the world to publish information internally across a private network.

Why set up an intranet?

Companies are looking for an open-architecture and cost-effective solution for distributing information throughout their organisation. In addition employees want better information faster and more efficiently.
An intranet offers this beneficial solution and is surprisingly inexpensive to implement. It can also be maintained by the employee's themselves.

Just as on the Internet the Web browser is the universal interface for the intranet. This universal interface decreases the learning curve of new applications, and provides a common look and feel to all applications.

What are the benefits of an intranet?

The intranet provides a way for employees to gain better access to more time-sensitive information. The intranet can end the paper trail of many office applications. Now that information is published on the intranet the employee can make faster, more informed decisions. In summary, the benefits on an intranet include:

1. Easy to set up and administer
2. Open Architecture
3. Universal interface
4. Inexpensive
5. Connects all operating system platforms
6. Cost effective savings
7. Faster access to information
8. Better Decision making
9. Build and share knowledge
10. Enhanced Productivity

Next month we look at who can use an intranet (and how) and the internal requirements to host an intranet for your business. We'll also be including a case study of just one of our clients who now relies on an intranet to completely manage the workflow of their business!