1. Unit 2 - Global Information
1.5 – World Wide Web Technologies

2. Objectives
Understand the different types of WWW network technologies and their characteristics.
Understand the purpose of each of the different technologies in a variety of context.

3. Task Complete this for Monday’s lesson.
You are to create an informative leaflet for a business about the different World Wide Web Technologies that are available.
The leaflet needs to be set out in an appropriate manner and must include information about the following WWW Technologies:
Internet
Intranet
Extranet
The leaflet for each of them must:
Give a description of what they are
Characteristics
Example purposes
Advantages and Disadvantages.
Give different business sectors as context and explain how each might be used.
Complete this for Monday’s lesson.
Will need to be handed in for marking.

4. WWW Technologies
Remember – Although they are closely link, the internet and the WWW are not the same thing
When it was first created the web used 3 main technologies to ensure that it could be used and accessed by all computers connected to the internet:
HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol
URL – Uniform Resource Locator
HTML – Hypertext Mark-up Language
These technologies create WWW technologies like intranets and extranets

5. WWW Technologies at a glance
WWW Technology
Description
Characteristics
Example of purpose
Internet
Worldwide network of interconnected networks
Public
Open Access
A web page on the internet provides customers with access to information they need and so can be seen as supporting the marketing process.
Intranet
A network that is not connected to the internet and is only available to those within an organisation (e.g. business or school). Intranets hold information needed by those who are inside the organisation but which is not intended for wider distribution.
Private
Closed Access
Can be used to provide resources that are only needed by employees or should not be shared with the general public such as sales information.
Extranet
A website that provides restricted access to resources for an authorised set of users from outside the organisation.
Shared Access
Can be used to provide access to a supplier for online ordering.

6. Types of Network that use WWW Software

7. Internet
Every has access, however, user registration is required for an account. Many Web-based services also require registration.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are companies who provide every-day users with the connectivity they need to get on the Internet. As seen earlier in this LO this can be done using a normal telephone and a home router.
Business requiring a faster connection use a leased line. Connection can also be made through the mobile phone network.
There are many major telecom companies that provide the ‘backbone’ of the system. They own the communication equipment, cabling, satellite and undersea data links that make it all work.
There are then ‘content providers’ in the forms of web sites, video services, telephone services that are the reason people want to use it in the first place.

8. Think of the internet as an ‘enabling technology’
Think of the internet as an ‘enabling technology’. It does nothing of itself, but brings people, companies and organisations together so they can interact.
The Internet is an open network because any computer with the appropriate communication equipment can connect to it.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Always available
Vast range of information
Easy to contact people
Access to other cultures
Up-to-date – information can be quickly updated eg: breaking news stories
Information overload
Information can be inaccurate
Access to Offensive material and fraudulent sites
Phishing sites
Cyberbullying
Addiction

9. Intranet Virtually the same as the internet but for internal use only.
They are not connect to the internet.
It is a private system and is only accessible to authorised people within the organisation.
An intranet can run over a local area network (LAN) where only staff in the same building or locality can use it. It can run over a wide area network (WAN) where staff around the world can log in.
Mainly used to hold information needed by those who are in the organisation, but information that isn’t for wider distribution.
Services include:
File Transfer
Real Time Chat
Web Pages
Video and Audio Streaming Services (could be used for staff training, or education)

10. Each of these would require at least one server to provide the service (eg. Web and email servers)
Access to the intranet would usually be accessed through the organisation's firewall.
Restrictions might be applied – for example to prevent access to social media/sports sites.
The point of the intranet is to make people more effective at their work rather than a means of entertainment or socialising.
The intranet for a university is offering many services that are only available to their students. No one on the web can access this page. It requires login and password details.
Commercial companies offer their own particular services for their employees
Example – an intranet for a building society might have a section explaining the different types of savings products so that staff could refer to these pages as a reference guide. There could also be a page with links to useful documents or templates, or another with internal telephone numbers/ addresses of staff.

11. Advantages
Disadvantages
Confidential or commercial data is kept secure within the organisation
s remain private and may also be encrypted
High bandwidth. No connection limits unlike the internet
Reliable – the company with have dedicated IT personal to keep things running smoothly
Information specifically tailored to the organisation or staff’s needs can be published
User weaknesses – the intranet could be compromised if one user has an easy to guess password or accidentally downloads malware. This threat increases if users can access the intranet from home computers or laptops.
Implementation costs – building and installing the intranet network can be expensive.
Sharing files and documents between users can boost productivity, but sharing files puts them at greater risk. When several people in teams are working on documents simultaneously, it's easier for those documents to be potentially deleted or damaged. Organisations running an intranet must be proactive about setting file and folder permissions to ensure simple mistakes don't damage a project.
Ongoing costs – maintenance of the intranet can be costly eg: software updates, server upgrades, training of new employees and consultancy on improvements and modifications. Also there is the cost of employing full time IT staff to maintain the network, keep the computers connected and deal with any problems.

12. Extranet
An extranet is where people from outside an organisation can connect to the internal Intranet:
Example – External suppliers may have been set up to allow them to communicate via the company intranet
Example – Remote business offices may be set up to use an intranet where employees on business travel may use an extranet.
A website can be used to provide restricted access to resource for an authorised set of users from outside the organisation.
They are not connected directly to the LAN or WAN but instead are able to establish a connection with the correct equipment and authorisation.
Examples of use:
Mobile phone – Salesperson on the road wants to connect to the company intranet. They use the mobile phone network to contact the company’s secure server.
Virtual Private Network – Connection to the company’s secure server is made through the normal internet, but now the secure server and the laptop will exchange secret keys used to encrypt all communications between the 2. No one can eavesdrop on the data exchanged. Many teleworkers (working from home using modern technology to keep in touch with the business) use a VPN to connect to their company intranet.

14. Advantages
Disadvantages
Increased Productivity - Critical information won’t get lost in the mail or buried in an inbox, and busy employees won’t miss or forget key events.
Reduced margin of error - especially when you use it to give specific groups access to internal applications. This could involve something as simple as giving customers access to their order histories, or something as complex as processing orders from distributors and suppliers.
Flexibility. When you use an extranet to make information and applications available to partners, clients, and customers, everyone can operate when and where it’s most convenient. This self-serve approach frees you from unnecessary meetings and phone tag, and it cuts down on the costs associated with in-person information exchanges. For example, an extranet may allow you to provide customer-service information outside of regular business hours.
Timely and accurate information. On an extranet you can instantly change, edit, and update sensitive information such as price lists or inventory information. Compared to typical paper-based publishing processes, an extranet offers a unique opportunity to get hot information into the right hands before it cools — and before it’s out-of-date.
Build customer loyalty. Extranets make business easier for your customers. The more you make timely, accurate information available to your customers, the more likely it is you’ll keep their business.
Extranets can be expensive to implement and maintain within an organization (e.g.: hardware, software, employee training costs) — if hosted internally instead of via an ASP.
Security of extranets can be a big concern when dealing with valuable information. System access needs to be carefully controlled to avoid sensitive information falling into the wrong hands.
Extranets can reduce personal contact (face-to-face meetings) with customers and business partners. This could cause a lack of connections made between people and a company, which hurts the business when it comes to loyalty of its business partners and customers.