Characteristics
Scalable. Web-based intranets are fully scalable. From 10 documents to 10 million, an intranet can serve its constituents faithfully, as long as network bandwidth suffices to meet user demands. As more intranet applications become available and more organizations and users begin to appreciate what they can do, demand will rise dramatically.
Open. The Web is platform neutral and global, and Web browsers function as universal clients. Web technology is based on open standards (necessary for interoperability and utility), is available for nearly all leading operating systems and hardware platforms, and can leverage legacy database systems.
Standards-based. Internet and Web technologies are based on Open Systems technology standards and have two basic premises: ensure the viability of the Internet network and be scalable on a global basis. The fundamental Internet protocols used are the following:
* TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) The set of open networking protocols that is the common language of the Internet.
* HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) The standard document markup language that defines how text, images, and sound are presented to a user.
* HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol) The foundation of the Web that enables users to access documents on the World Wide Web.
* SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) The protocol that enables basic text-based electronic messaging between users.
What the pre-requisites of a successful Intranet:
* Easy to use. Among the most fundamental innovations compelling people to use Web technology is hyperlinking, which allows users to easily navigate and find information by simply clicking a word or graphic.
* Cost effective. Intranet applications are surprisingly inexpensive in initial purchase, training, and deployment. And the intranet's platform independence eliminates the need to distribute client software or create different versions of the same applications.
* Centralized source. Internet technologies lead to a central marketplace where users can actively produce and consume information, communicate, and collaborate with others. With information provided on demand, the data is most likely to be the latest and most accurate available.
* Flexible. Intranets can deliver access to many different types of applications which can be installed on a wide variety of hardware and operating system platforms and deployed on Web servers or as Java applications.
* Extendable. Extended intranets offer organizations the opportunity to communicate and transact business with key vendors, partners, and remote workers through controlled access to internal information. This can help make the organization more responsive to customer needs and enhance the productivity of the company.
