Using the Intranet for Knowledge Management ISM 6021 By: Diana DeFazio - Carro

Sharing Knowledge: The Intranet Seamless single point of access to information resources used to enhance employee productivity. Used to disseminate information, share best practices, communicate, conduct research, and collaborate. Employees can sign up for benefits, order supplies, take classes, track projects, manage their retirement plans, and handle numerous other tasks.

Intranet Applications Specialized portals can be used to help departments or individuals navigate through the various knowledge resources. Specialized portals can also be used to protect sensitive data by controlling who has access to the information.

Intranet Applications Sales & Marketing Sales rep’s can stay current with the strategic plans and product literature that marketing is developing. Sales rep’s can access the current versions of all the forms needed, while they are working in the field. Access to info about new products and services. Human Resources Publish employee benefit info. Provide access to all current employee benefit forms. Post job openings.

Intranet Applications Finance & Accounting Efficient monitoring of internal charging – Process time sheets online. – Faster payment from customers. – Monitor amount of work completed. Manufacturing & Production Coordinate the flow of information between controllers, inventory systems, and other components of a production system.

Intranet Applications Group Collaboration Host project-mgmt sites NetMeet - group project users, in various locations, view interactive presentation. Best Practices/Lessons Learned Distribute information on where things went wrong and how it was corrected. Facilitate networking, communication, and information sharing with a large number of people working in different locations.

Intranet Applications Separating Work from Location Ideal for organizations whose staff travel or work in different geographic locations. Employee can work from their home. Employees can work on their own schedule. New Training Opportunities On-line Training – This reduces the cost of staffing and hosting personal training sessions – gives employees the flexibility to begin, end, and resume training as their schedule permits.

Intranet Applications Automation of Paper-Shuffling Tasks Reduce paperwork. Eliminate having multiple out-of-date copies of important documents floating around the office. Information is made available to employees in real time.

Security How do you protect the content on the intranet? Can proprietary information on an intranet site be kept confidential? Is it safe to put classified or top-secret information on the intranet?

Security Firewalls are not necessary if the intranet has no external connection and is entirely contained within one building’s LAN. If the Intranet does have an external connection, firewalls offer perimeter protection. Comprehensive security policies and guidelines must accompany the use of firewalls. A firewall cannot protect you against traitors or uninformed people inside your network.

Security Users who reveal sensitive information over the telephone are good targets for social engineering. Firewalls can also be used to limit access within an organization. They can also be used to monitor and track incoming and outgoing traffic.

Speed of Access to Information The speed of all connections is limited to the slowest link. If the intranet is totally contained within a LAN, you can purchase whatever speed of connection is needed for your organization. If you connect to the Internet your speed is limited to not only your own hardware speed and the bandwidth of your own Internet connection, but also to the hardware speed of the site you are connecting to.

Speed of Access to Information If you are connecting remote locations and use the Internet as your transport, your speed becomes dependent on the Internet itself, and the speeds by which you connect to it. If performance is really an issue, you could run your intranet over private lines, such as frame relay. Frame relay gives the users who are connecting remotely, a direct link to the intranet site, allowing them to bypass the Internet.

Proprietary Groupware vs. the Intranet Cost? – Intranet is cheaper. Versatility? – Groupware is not as comprehensive as the intranet. Flexibility? – High-end groupware software such as Lotus Notes or Open Text LiveLink is more appropriate for applications requiring production and publication of documents by many authors and frequent updating and document tracking. Security? – Groupware-based networks are more secure than intranets.

Challenges of Implementing the Intranet Resistance to change. The intranet site should look different from the Internet site to help ease transition. Ease employees into using the intranet by initially only putting documents that people really want, like the cafeteria menu and the telephone directory. Once people learn to navigate the new system, incorporate business documents, regulations, and policies.

ROI for Implementing the Intranet Increased competiveness, better customer support, access to information, and reduced paper cost. Many of the benefits of using the intranet have so many effects on business that it is hard to assign an exact figure. The biggest beneficiaries are companies that are geographically dispersed, have a lot of mobile employees, or are burdened with big bureaucracies that impede workers' ability to be self-sufficient.

Using the Intranet for Knowledge Management By: Diana DeFazio-Carro Any questions? Thanks for your attention!