Intranets Essays - Internet Privacy, Computer Networks, Intranet

Intranets These days Intranets are becoming more and more popular throughout the business world and other types of organizations. Many companies and organizations are already making this change and many more are considering it. The advantages offered by Intranets when compared to other types of networks are many, at a reduced cost for the owner. Less maintenance, less programming and more flexibility on the network platform make this change interesting. Unlike other types of networks, Intranets allow different types of machines and operating systems already at hand to be operating on the same network platform. This reduces the cost when trying to implement this type of network because the machines and operating systems already at hand can still be used throughout the network without conflicting with one another. Quick access and easy programming is also another consideration that is made when considering this type of network. Intranets have just started to be implemented throughout the world and already a big change is being noticed. Companies are keeping track of all of their important information on web sites, which are restricted to users, unless they have the security code to access them. Thanks to Internet technology, companies and other types of organizations are able to keep all of their information organized and easily accessible with a click of a button. The Internet, how has it changed the world around us? Government, education, business is all wrapping around it. Is this because of all of the information on it, simplicity or is it the quickness, with a simple point and click and the information appears on the screen. The first intention of the Web, as it is referred to, was not to create a sea of web servers and surfers. The Department of Defense created it for it's own use, to keep contact with all of the locations throughout the world, making it easier for them to retrieve and send information when desired. As businesses, government and education discover the advantages of the Internet and web technologies they are starting to implement it for internal use. This is better known as an Intranet, which represents a new model for internal information management, distribution and collaborative computing and offers a simplistic but powerful implementation of client/server computing. Intranets are private Web-based networks, usually within corporation firewalls, that connect employees and business partners to vital corporate information. Thousands of organizations are finding that Intranets can help empower their employees through more timely and less costly information flow. They let companies speed information and software to employees and business partners. Intranets provide users with capabilities like looking up information, sending and receiving e-mail, and searching directories. They make it easy to find any piece of information or resources located on the network. Users can execute a single query that results in an organized list of all matching information across all servers throughout the enterprise and onto the Internet. As recent as two years ago, Intranets didn't exist. Now the market for internal web-servers is rapidly increasing. Intranet technology is beginning to be used all over the world. Intranets present the information in the same way to every computer. By doing this they are doing what computer and software makers have been promising but never actually delivered. Computers, software, and databases are pulled together into a single system that enables users to find information wherever it resides. Intranets are only logically internal to an organization but physically they can span the globe, as long as access is limited to a defined community of interests. Countless organizations are beginning to build Intranets, bringing Internet and Web technologies to bear on internal organizational problems traditionally addressed by proprietary data base groupware and workflow solutions. Two-thirds of all large companies either have an internal web server installed of they are considering installing one. The organizations to use Internet technologies on the corporate network generally move traditional paper-based information distribution on-line. Other types of information that might be put on-line would be the following: ? competitive sales information ? human resources/employee benefits statements ? technical support/help desk applications ? financial ? company newsletters ? project management These companies typically provide a corporate home page as a way for employees to find their way around the corporate Intranet site. This page may have links to