Page 102 - DLIS408_INFORMATION_TECHNOLOGY-APPLICATIONSL SCIENCES

Unit 9: Intranet

Intranets have also contrasted with extranets. While intranets are generally restricted to employees of Notes
the organization, extranets may also be accessed by customers, suppliers, or other approved parties.
Extranets extend a private network onto the Internet with special provisions for authentication,
authorization and accounting (AAA protocol).
In many organizations, intranets are protected from unauthorized external access by means of a
network gateway and firewall. For smaller companies, intranets may be created simply by using
private IP ranges, such as 192.168.*.*. In these cases, the intranet can only be directly accessed from
a computer in the local network; however, companies may provide access to off-site employees by
using a virtual private network. Other security measures may be used, such as user authentication
and encryption.
Alternatively, the intranet domain may be publicly accessible, but users would need to log in
before they could view most of the content.

Self Assessment
Fill in the blanks:
1. An .................... is a computer network that uses internet protocol technology to securely
share any part of an organizations information or network operating system within that
organization.
2. The first intranet websites and home pages began to appar in organisations in the
year .................... .
3. FTP stands for .................... .

9.2 Uses of Intranet

Intranets are being used to deliver tools and applications, e.g., collaboration (to facilitate working
in groups and teleconferencing) or sophisticated corporate directories, sales and customer
relationship management tools, project management etc., to advance productivity.
Intranets are also being used as corporate culture-change platforms. For example, large numbers
of employees discussing key issues in an intranet forum application could lead to new ideas in
management, productivity, quality, and other corporate issues.
In large intranets, website traffic is often similar to public website traffic and can be better understood
by using web metrics software to track overall activity. User surveys also improve intranet website
effectiveness. Larger businesses allow users within their intranet to access public internet through
firewall servers. They have the ability to screen messages coming and going keeping security
intact.

Task Define role of intranet in corporate culture.
When part of an intranet is made accessible to customers and others outside the business, that part
becomes part of an extranet. Businesses can send private messages through the public network, using
special encryption/decryption and other security safeguards to connect one part of their intranet to
another.

Intranet user-experience, editorial, and technology go together to produce in-house sites, or some
combination of these.

Notes Most commonly, intranets are managed by the communications, HR or CIO
departments of large organizations.

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