Chapter 14 Intranets & Extranets

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 2 OBJECTIVES Introduction Technical Infrastructure Planning an Intranet & Intranet Extranets Intranets & Extranets: Objectives

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 3 WHAT IS AN INTRANET? An organization-wide software & information distribution system applying Internet technology to a closed network Intranet operation is a communication project designed by technical staff A network of people, not wired machines Usually runs in a client/server environment and a local area network configuration Intranets & Extranets: Introduction

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 4 BENEFITS Links employees & managers together Automates a lot of intra-organizational traffic Enables a company to gain better access to its primary resources – knowledge & experience Serves as a creative & empowering tool Establishes the foundation for developing enterprise-wide information systems Intranets & Extranets: Introduction

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 5 BENEFITS (Contd) Provides a model for new internal information management collaborative computing Prepare a wealth of Internet knowledge to employees Eases process integration Allows company to expand the system Intranets & Extranets: Introduction

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 6 APPLICATIONS Human Resources –Employee handbook –Benefits information –Employee surveys –Internal/external recruiting –Candidate screening –Organizational charts –Newsletters –Company calendars Intranets & Extranets: Introduction

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 7 APPLICATIONS (Contd) Sales & Marketing –Product information –Market research –Prospecting –Managing sales contact –Sales training Intranets & Extranets: Introduction

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 8 APPLICATIONS (Contd) Accounting & Finance –Financial reports –Expense reports –Accounts receivable/payable processing –Asset management –Policies & procedures –payroll Intranets & Extranets: Introduction

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 9 APPLICATIONS (Contd) Manufacturing & Operations –Inventory control –Production schedules –Quality assurance –Part order/requisition system Intranets & Extranets: Introduction

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 10 WHY AN INTRANET? A company has a large pool of information to share among hundreds of its employees Intranets are cheap, robust & fast Intranets operate across platforms 24/7 to employees Information in intranet can be updated quickly Intranets & Extranets: Introduction

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 11 TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE Client/Server Basis –Client/Server software architecture: a versatile, message-based, and modular infrastructure intended to improve usability, flexibility, interoperability & scalability –Mainframe architecture: all intelligence is within the central host computer Intranets & Extranets: Technical Infrastructure

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 12 TYPES OF CLIENT/SERVER ARCHITECTURE Two-tier architectures –For an organization with users Three-tier architectures –User system interface –Processing management –Database management Intranets & Extranets: Technical Infrastructure

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 13 TWO-TIER ARCHITECTURE DESIGN Intranets & Extranets: Technical Infrastructure User System Interface Database Management

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 14 THREE-TIER ARCHITECTURE DESIGN Intranets & Extranets: Technical Infrastructure User System Interface Database Management Process Management

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 15 BASIC INTRANET ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES Server & Client PCs Web Server Browsers TCP/IP Electronic Mail Graphic & Multimedia Files Network File System (NFS) Internet Relay Chat (NRC) HTML Authoring Tools HTML Portable Electronic Document Intranets & Extranets: Technical Infrastructure

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 16 USING FIREWALLS Proxy –Go-between agent that acts on behalf of another Packet Filter –Checks each packet at network level Intranets & Extranets: Technical Infrastructure

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 17 PLANNING AN INTRANET Plan ahead Provide justification with management support Build an intranet in-house or outsource it Form an intranet team Build & test a prototype Ensure effective maintenance Intranets & Extranets: Planning an Intranet

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 18 & INTRANET Spamming –Sending unwanted advertisements or literature through Flaming –Responding to a message or a call in anger Intranets & Extranets: & Intranet

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 19 ETIQUETTE Write in different color to express attitude or mood Keep sentences short Be aware of your office & organization culture Avoid flaming Dont use to send bad news Dont type in capital letters Intranets & Extranets: & Infrastructure

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 20 EXTRANETS Allows limited, controlled business partners to interact with the firm for all kinds of exchanges System designers must collaborate to make sure there is a common interface with the company they are dealing with Benefits: faster time-to-market, customer loyalty, increased partner interaction, & improved processes Intranets & Extranets: Extranets

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 21 KEY CONSIDERATIONS Identifying users Listing technology components Specifying security requirements Discussing administration of extranet Understanding usability of extranet Intranets & Extranets: Extranets

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 22 OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Security –Type of users –Sensitivity of information transacted –Communication lines used Manageability / administration Usability Intranets & Extranets: Extranets

Awad –Electronic Commerce 1/e © 2002 Prentice Hall 23 ROLE OF CHAMPION Ensures accountability for the organization Promotes more effective collaboration with business partners which improves potential for increased revenue Provides a long-term investment in competitive advantage Intranets & Extranets: Extranets

Chapter 14 Intranets & Extranets