Increasingly, the term "extranet" appears in the everyday life of users of modern computer networks. What is it, some even have no idea. Nevertheless, such technologies are now gaining more and more development and application, especially when organizing corporate networks not only in small offices, but also in large enterprises.
Extranet: what is it generally understood?
If we talk about networks related to the class of extranets, you should initially start from an understanding of the organization of internal networks, which are usually referred to as the intranet.
What is the difference? The intranet as one of the types of local networks is a network or portal intended exclusively for internal use by employees of a company or enterprise with all the ensuing consequences. An external user does not have access to such a private resource or even public documentation.
An extranet, in turn, is a closed-type network or resource with limited access. But such access is allowed to both the employees of the company and external users, provided that they have the appropriate rights.
Such technologies were most widely used in the organization of high-quality interaction with partners or customers. That is, all those users who have the appropriate permissions can read the documentation, receive answers to their questions, etc.
The exact definition of the term "extranet"
But overall, some resources offer a more detailed explanation of the term "extranet." What it is? In fact, if you look at it, the same technologies are used here as for organizing intranet networks, so many tend to call extranet networks an extended variety of intranets with access from external networks, taking into account authorization.
The second definition also corresponds to the concept of intranets, but taking into account access based on tunneling used to transfer or exchange information over secure communication channels and the functioning of corporate applications.
Extranet Investment
It is not limited to the definition of closed corporate networks or portals. On the basis of such an organization, various services have recently begun to develop actively.
One of the largest is Extranet Investment. The service refers to the so-called hedge funds (investment funds), which offer registered users to invest in a business and earn money on it. Unlike large funds, which, as a rule, work with investments of one hundred thousand dollars and more, in this case you can even invest ten bucks.
Naturally, the investor himself must be aware of all the risks he is taking, because, according to statistics, organizations of this type should have a minimum period of existence of ten years. And all one-day companies can be immediately removed from the list (especially those that appeared in the last year or two).
Booking
Quite interesting is the service "Extranet Booking", presented by Dutch entrepreneurs.
Services belong to the organization of tourist tours and booking apartments and hotels around the world. By registering on the official website or resource of a representative office in a specific region, the user gets access to all services and can reserve a hotel room at will, indicating the necessary criteria.
"Island"
Extranet-Ostrovok is, in fact, a similar service with the only difference being that this service is Russian and is aimed at the appropriate audience.
On the official website, you can use either a search engine or special offers with payment directly when ordering hotel accommodation, booking seats, moving from the airport to a hotel, etc.
Other directions
Actually, the extranet organization in Russia or in any other country is not limited only to such platforms. For example, if we take the well-known Forex exchange for everyone, in essence the organization, after all, is also an extranet system.
Here you can earn money by trading in stocks or on the exchange rate, having previously invested a minimum amount.
The same copywriting exchanges on which many authors are registered offer users information on the latest materials and publications, as well as provide all kinds of support and conduct online consultations. Why not an extranet?
What is it, I think, is already clear. And, as it turns out, there are practically no restrictions on the use of such platforms for business interests today. Actually, anyone can create their own hosting and apply such an organization in order to attract customers.
A few words in the end
As you can see, an extranet (as opposed to an intranet) is the organization of network access to certain resources with advanced features. And there may be so many areas of activity that it is even impossible to imagine, since partnership is an integral part of any business. But such technologies are designed specifically for this, and, apparently, they have very broad prospects for development and further use in various fields.
As a brief conclusion, it is worth saying that the most correct definition of an extranet is the following: the organization of a corporate network or the creation of a similar closed resource with limited access and the ability to use some common elements of the network or resource with a preliminary obtaining of the corresponding rights (registration, authorization, authentication ), plus - additional opportunities for corporate communication, providing email addresses, etc. A striking example of this is the Bitrix system.