With the development of the Internet, the technologies underlying it (for example, such as marking up hypertext in HTML and using the widespread TCP / IP network protocol) have become increasingly used for developing network applications within companies and organizations for use exclusively in their private computer networks.
Modern server solutions from leading manufacturers of operating systems support all Internet protocols, such as SMTP (email transfer), FTP (file sharing), and allow you to host WEB sites of any complexity on internal servers.
Thus, we can say that the intranet is a “private” Internet for working with internal information that can be accessed through a regular browser. The intranet allows you to work through secure VPN communication channels using the Internet. In addition to the company's internal website, many information processing applications can operate through its network, for example, accounting programs or contact management systems (CRM). Access to the intranet from the “external Internet” is controlled by a firewall and antivirus software.
Intranet Access Rights
It is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of intranet and extranet. In principle, there is nothing complicated, especially if you look at the first part of the compound word. If the intranet is the “internal Internet”, then the extranet is part of the intranet, to which only some internal and selected “external” users have access. Typically, this is access to financial and business information that is closed to outsiders, internal systems of work and mutual settlements with partners and customers, access to other intranets for maintenance, etc. An extranet can combine parts of two independent intranet networks. Access can be made by external identification devices, such as smart cards or USB tokens.
Benefits
The transfer of information flows to the internal network of the company gives an obvious benefit:
- Increased employee collaboration.
- Provides instant and flexible access to any internal information in a familiar format via a standard Internet browser.
- Improving supplier and customer relationships by creating an extranet.
- Reduced installation and software development costs. It is no longer necessary to install client software on each computer, just place it on an internal WEB server, and any improvements will be available to everyone instantly.
- The network operates on any equipment and operating system. Transferring programs and information is quick and easy.
disadvantages
Like any other software system, the internal network, in addition to advantages, has its drawbacks, which must be taken into account at the design stage:
- The entire internal network or a separate intranet site can be hacked through the Internet and used by hackers for their own purposes. Therefore, the choice of antivirus software and firewall must be approached with great care at the very first stage. It is unacceptable to leave these external security issues for later.
- Uncontrolled placement of unverified information on the intranet is a source of constant conflict and problems. It is necessary to think over a control system of the received data and a list of persons entitled to it. The use of an electronic digital signature for identifying authorship is recommended.
- Transferring information and programs to central WEB-servers may require their modernization and changes in the licensing policy of the installed software when implementing the intranet system. This may require additional financial costs.
Intranet Information
The most important part of the internal network is the intranet portal, which will publish all the important information, such as a list of employees, rules and job descriptions, news and training courses, etc. This also includes the website that represents the company on the Internet.
The portal is easily expanded with new functions, and when you create it, there is no need to create a new information structure of the organization. The intranet will unite in a single information space all heterogeneous data sources. Access to the intranet portal can be through a secure VPN or HTTPS connection from any computer or mobile device. Intranet service software packages provide a large number of information portal templates for quick launch.
Social Networks and Intranet
Social networks have become an integral part of our lives, and the intranet is no exception. Joint work on projects, communication between employees, partners and dealers on the internal network led to the emergence of a separate concept - the social intranet. This is not just software, but a new tool to increase the effectiveness of collective activities. It is a kind of symbiosis of a social network and programs for collective discussion and development of projects.
Improving teamwork
The intranet allows you to bring company teamwork to a new, more effective level. The working models of the social Internet can be very diverse: from the ability to communicate on personal pages to the complete transfer to selected users of the function of organizing teamwork. At the same time, it doesn’t matter what size the company is and what its management structure is. Management and social relations can be changed at any time to achieve greater effectiveness of joint activities. Working groups arise dynamically and can themselves determine the internal hierarchy of relationships. It is safe to say that with skillful use, the intranet is a powerful tool to increase the profit of any company.
Software
So, we figured out what an intranet is, now let's look at the software for its creation. First, we call the basic software requirements:
- Development and support tools for internal intranet sites.
- Messaging between network participants.
- Internal social intranet.
- Support for the joint development of projects and documents.
- Tools for business analysis and working with databases.
- Providing protection against viruses and external intrusions.
As you can see, the list of requirements is pretty standard, and if you want, you can always find a separate set of programs for each option. Moreover, there are clear leaders in their market segments, whose products are much better than the "large" software packages. On the intranet, this is especially true for security. For example, Kaspersky Anti-Virus or the Comodo Internet Security firewall are still able to cope with their functions much better than similar Microsoft utilities.
Back to the software. As already mentioned, you can always find a separate software package for each intranet feature, but it is much more profitable and reliable to install a package from one provider. Among universal solutions, we single out Microsoft and 1C: Bitrix.
Microsoft SharePoint Products
This is a whole package of programs for organizing collective projects on the Intranet. These are software for creating corporate portals and sites, searching for information in databases and documents, managing work processes at the enterprise level, and business analysis functions.
SharePoint is one of the most powerful and expensive intranet software packages. It is used both in the basic version and as a means of developing third-party unique applications for the internal network. The main advantage is full integration with Microsoft programs, which reduces the cost of implementation and support; the disadvantage is the high cost. But with the advent of the cloud-based SharePoint service, the price is becoming affordable for medium and even small companies.
"1C: Bitrix." Corporate Portal
1C provides strong software positions in the CIS through its accounting automation programs, which are installed in almost every organization. Full integration with 1C products is a definite plus, of the minuses we note insufficient functionality. Despite the fact that the program supports the requirements for intranet software, it is still only an intranet portal, and it will be difficult to develop something that goes beyond its scope. Among the advantages, we note an adequate pricing policy for our conditions and ease of installation.