An extranet extends a company’s network beyond its boundaries to predetermined business partners, customers, suppliers and others. Extranets allow companies to make selective information residing on their network available to these key players. Given the fact that the average small business deals with 35 to 45 vendors three to four times per month, efficiencies gained through online collaboration can cut costs and improve a business’s competitive position.

 

Despite their differences, intranets and extranets often are used for similar applications. Intranets simply enable these applications within a company, while extranets extend them to select third parties. These applications include: Collaboration content: Through intranets and extranets, companies can make a wide variety of information available to users, including e-mail, company news, discussion groups and training courses. Many companies use the technologies to provide access to a wide range of publications, including product catalogues, price lists, product bulletins, HR benefits, cafeteria menus and so on.

 

Transactional content: Database applications, reports and forms all can be accessed through intranets and extranets.Process-related content: Intranets and extranets are perfect vehicles for accessing workflow procedures, project-management tools, schedules and order status.Directories: With intranets and extranets, users can quickly retrieve search tools, company phone directories, resource management tools and much more.Utility content: Information backups, security tools, network development, management and technical support knowledge bases all can be made available through intranets and extranets.

 

Ultimately, these technologies can vastly improve the way a company operates and communicates both internally and externally.

As a result, intranets and extranets:Encourage better decisions, as they tie together computers, data and the experience and knowledge of people within an organisation or across organisations.Dramatically reduce the costs of routine tasks and of producing, accessing and distributing information.Enable extremely rapid, just-in-time delivery of information.Improve collaboration and foster a sense of community.Encourage distributed decision-making and virtual organisations. By better connecting workers and business partners, company productivity can soar, as information is available 24/7 throughout the world. Meanwhile, travel costs are reduced or even eliminated.

 

There's no doubt that the Internet, intranets and extranets are remaking the workplace, bringing about new levels in efficiency, productivity and global reach.

 

Over the coming years, they'll only gain in importance.Therefore, small businesses are advised to contact Neon Digital to see how we can help.