Overview
Hard Costs
Soft Costs
OVERVIEW:
An intranet is a private Internet. It uses the standards of the Internet to provide a wide variety of information resources to employees. The difference between the Internet and an intranet is that an intranet provides information to company employees only. An intranet resides on a company's existing network and is usually protected from the outside world by a firewall. This firewall prevents entry to the intranet from the Internet.
Productivity
Productivity gains can be attained through information and applications
accessible from an intranet.
Sales staffs can get current price lists off the intranet instead of having to rely on a printed list that might be slightly out of date. They also do not have to make phone requests for this information or go through the trouble of finding a manual.
The phone numbers on the intranet can be updated daily. This can be especially helpful to a growing company that has hired many new employees. Web-based access to internal applications can be consolidated onto a single Web page. By providing a Web interface, an application is easily invoked, by clicking the hypertext link. Employees will no longer have to guess the name of the files to invoke the application.
| HARD COSTS |
A collection of information-enabled employees creates an environment that lowers costs through quicker problem solving and more efficiency with less trial and error. Intranets also provide a very concrete cost savings in one particular area of the corporation-publishing.
Every corporation today produces print materials. Many of them are created in a long, multi-stepped process that makes updating very difficult, and outdates material even before it reaches its audience. Intranets provide a means to curb the paper glut. Intranets allow a more efficient publishing process that places the content closer to the author, and makes it more accessible to the audience.
Consider the case of publishing an employee telephone directory. A corporation might publish this document every quarter. If the company had 10,000 employees and it cost £15.00 per book, the telephone directory would cost the company £600,000.00 per year. However, if the employee directory were moved to an intranet, every new employee could be added automatically, and each employee could update their own records. The directory would be self-updating. It could also hold more information than could be easily captured in a published book. For example, each employee could add their own job description and current projects into the directory. If someone needed to find a particular contact, they could perform a keyword search by name, job, or project.
Intranets move companies closer to the paperless office. Money is saved in office supplies, printing, duplication, and file, shelf, and storage space.
| SOFT COSTS |
Intranets improve morale. Information-enabled employees achieve a feeling of self-empowerment, because they are not limited in their ability to access the knowledge they need. Also, employees enjoy improved communication with management via the intranet.
Individuals throughout the corporation become responsible for maintaining information resources relevant to their jobs, and therefore become stakeholders in the integrity and availability of information assets. Instead of being owned by the IT department, data is published closer to its source.
Corporate home pages on an intranet give every employee access to news about the company as a whole. This might include letters from the president, company news, recent customer wins, promotions/awards, job openings, and human resources information such as benefits programs.
Placing correct, up-to-date material, and providing cross-functional communication on the intranet create time savings. Information becomes instantly available instead of having to go through a publishing cycle. This can shorten project cycles and time to market new products, a vital concern in the business environment.
Company images can
also be improved via the intranet. For example, a customer service staff
can become very knowledgeable about the company's range of products through
consulting the intranet. This allows these employees to handle calls on
all the company's products, rather than just a select number of them.
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OVERVIEW
Extranets are systems that provide
external access to an intranet. Using a Web browser, remote employees,
partners, and even customers can gain mobile access to an organization's
internal applications. Most extranet users access an intranet through
the Internet, as shown below.
Why are Extranets Needed?
Just as intranets developed from the Internet, extranets often grow out
of intranets. Some of the reasons for this outgrowth include:
• Providing mobile employees (e.g., sales staff) with access to the
intranet using the Internet (no need for dial-in lines).
• Achieving cost savings on network access (it is often less expensive
for employees to use the Internet compared to dial-in or leased lines).
• Joint product development with partners (partners can access project
files and collaborate on product design).
• Resellers can consult product catalogs or search for information.
• Resellers can order parts.
• Business processes that were previously done by Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI) between companies can now be done using an extranet.
• Making EDI-like processing available to smaller companies and more
affordable for larger companies.
Typical Extranet Applications
Order entry (replaces
expensive EDI) through an extranet can be quick and simple, using the
following process:
1. A partner of the organization accesses the extranet via the
Internet.
2. After entering a password, the partner enters their order onto
forms.
3. The password automatically identifies the partner and the forms
interface with the necessary databases (inventory, accounting, etc.) to
complete the order.
Order tracking allows a client to check on their order. Packaging companies have begun to offer this type of feature to customers. A customer can check the status of a package over the Internet.
Order fulfillment (inventory management) can be completely automated given the proper applications and programs. When a customer places an order through the extranet, the shipping department sends the order and the inventory database updates itself.
Parts ordering and online parts lookup by resellers provides the flexibility to make orders and check inventory levels at any time, without having to speak to a representative.
Sharing of CAD drawings with partners on project development allows partners to collaborate on projects, from anywhere in the world. This is a very useful tool for construction projects that are being worked on by multiple contractors. This also reduces the need for one of the partners to travel, saving time and money.
Extranets provide savings in leased line costs. A leased line is a permanent
telephone connection used by companies to connect distant offices. One
of the main factors affecting the cost of this line is distance. With
an extranet, companies can communicate all over the world and reduce the
need for expensive leased lines.
Dial-in costs can also be avoided by using an extranet. Extranets do not require dialing in, thus there are no dial-in costs. Extranets can provide EDI functionality at a fraction of the cost. This is of more significance to companies that allow buy and sell transactions over their extranet.
Reduced project timeframes can be achieved through electronic sharing of data with distant project partners. As mentioned earlier, the need for travel can be reduced when partners collaborate through an extranet.
Improved partner and customer relationships are formed through an extranet.
Partners of an organization feel rewarded and trusted when privileged
with extranet access. Customers value the convenience of doing business
over the Internet.
The information provided over an extranet makes an organization's partners and resellers more knowledgeable (as with an intranet for employees). Partners and resellers can sort through and access only the information that they need.
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