INTRANET

Intranet is a private (or internal) computer network that allows to share

corporate information, company’s software, and other administrative services
among the authorized members (employees) within the organization using the
same standards and technology.Intranet is composed of two words, Intra and
net where the word Intra comes from the term internal. It is a private network
that can be accessed only from within a company or an organization.

Intranet makes use of the clients, servers, TCP/IP protocols and Internet
services such as web services, email services, file transfer services etc. to
build up a network that is only used by the authorized employees of a
company or any other organization. All the computers that form the Intranet
can extend from the same room or building to wide area so as to link together
multiple, geographically dispersed locations.

Intranet is separated from the rest of the Internet by firewalls that blocks
unauthorized traffic from entering the Intranet. The employees of the
organization can access information and its resources but unauthorized users
are kept away from sensitive company's information using firewalls.

Intranet is ideal for companies or organizations for a variety of purposes

including access to company policies, company events, product literature, job
postings, video conferencing, buying/selling goods and services and so on.
This helps in optimizing existing business processes thereby maximizing
productivity, reducing complexity, cost and time involved and thus increasing
profits.

FEATURES
Some common features of modern well-designed Intranet are,

 a) It should be provided as a mobile app so that employees can connect

to it from their mobile device, no matter of their location.
 b) It should be integrated with cloud based systems for efficient
document access and management at any location, anytime using
Internet using VPN.
 c) It should allow integration with external applications so as to assist in
various tasks. For example, Planning department may use Trello, Sales
and marketing department may use Zoom/Microsoft Teams, Human
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 resource department may use SharePoint community sites/Azure
Directory/Yammer Groups, and other may use collaborative suites such
as Google Workspace (all the Google apps) and Microsoft 365 etc.
 d) It should allow employees to write blogs and post information about
particular technologies or work-related information. Others should be
allowed to like, share, tag, comment or modify part.
 It should also provide support for instant messaging, video chats,
communities dedicated to specific departments, calendaring for setting
up meeting, projects or even common interests, following users etc.
 e) It should provide searching facility to quickly find the information,
people, and tools needed to get things done.
 f) It should be secured from hacking, viruses, security breaches and
malicious attacks from people, both within and outside the organization.
 g) It should provide multilingual support to ensures that all employees
across distant geographical locations have access to the same
information and tools.
 h) It should provide each employee, tailored personalized content
according to his role i.e. position, team, location, etc. and needs.
 i) It should add calendar that should show important dates, log
vacations, feature upcoming events, book appointments and meetings
etc.
 j) It should provide company recommended software and provide
notifications update.
 k) It should streamline administrative procedures such as allowing filling
leave forms and expense reports.
 l) It should include analytical tools that help to analyze employee’s
activity like who is using what, it is being used, what content is
viewed/searched, tools used, rate of engagement, contributions made
etc.
 It should include listing for staff profiles and organizations charts.
Employees should be allowed to make changes such as change in
address, qualification etc. It should also provide internal job opening for
projects.
 It should provide visual interface with attractive design and should be
easy to navigate. It should be a professional company website with
color combinations and multimedia that promotes that brand.

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WORKING OF INTRANET
The company’s Intranet web server is connected to the company’s Local
Area Network (LAN). An intranet software must be installed onto your server
that will enable you to generate the pages and insert the content. A content
management system (CMS) is the software that can build, deploy, and
manage your intranet ecosystem. MS-SharePoint, Wordpress are some of its
examples.

Companies usually design a website that generally contains web pages

providing softwares and information including company’s policies and
practices, product literature, company events, staff profiles, new recruits,
templates for sales proposals, financial reports, training manuals/videos etc.

A firewall is applied to restrict unauthorized access to company’s intranet. It

acts a wall between the outside Internet and the private intranet. It monitors all
incoming and outgoing data packets to ensure that any unauthorized request
is not allowed to access application servers that are part of the intranet.

An employee working remotely can gain access to the intranet through a

virtual private network (VPN). When an employee of a company needs to
access company's information then he sends a request to a web server using
a web browser. The web server retrieves the appropriate document (i.e., web
page) and sends it to the employee's web browser.

Many organizations make use of cloud hosted intranet servers. An online

hosting service is paid to host your Intranet website. Such intranets are easy
and quick to setup as they make use of in-built templates.

BUSINESS VALUE OF INTRANET

Businesses are increasingly turning to Intranet to improve the collaboration
and communication among employees. Intranet is ideal for all range of
businesses (small, medium or large scale). Some of the key reasons for the
use of Intranet in businesses are:

(a) It saves time and costs which results in increased profits. With use of
online mobile communication techniques such as video sharing and chats

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etc., team members (management and staff) working on a project can easily
communicate with each other. Besides saving time, software, printing and
other costs, it keeps employees in constant touch with management and other
team members. Person to person communication also improves knowledge
sharing.

(b) It keeps employees well informed about latest updates across

departments, organization policies, project timelines, company news such as
changes at the corporate level, important events, financial reports, listing
names of performers of month etc. This promotes sense of belongingness
amongst company employees and they feel highly motivated about the
company and promote the brand value.

(c) It automates various tasks, enabling employees to self serve and

streamline daily administrative activities such as filling leave form, filling log
in/log-out time, on-boarding activity of new employees, set reminders for
meetings, plan for meetings, submitting expenses for company visits, take
online training etc. using available tools and applications. This automation of
activities streamlines administrative procedures thereby increasing
employee's engagement which also promotes effectiveness.

(d) It provides centralized location (a platform) where employees can engage

and remain updated with the company's latest information, software, and
collectively contribute to the company's goals. Various documents, project
management and customer relationship management tools, calendars,
contacts, work flow and other company's data can be found at a central place.
It provides employees with latest updated information. To facilitate employees
to search information quickly and easily, search features are also
incorporated. This makes different departments integrated and creates single
integrated business environment.

(e) It improves employees' interest and hence enhances their participation as

it is very easy to use. This is because it uses the same standards and
technologies as that used with the Internet.

(f) It helps to maintain security of business documents as all the business

related information is visible to authorized employees within the organization.
Each employee is allowed to view contents based on his/her role i.e. position,
team, location, etc. and needs.

(g) It helps business run across different parts of the world. A cloud
based intranet allows employees to work from any location and gives access
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to all the tools and widgets they need on their mobile device. Also, most of
modern intranets are mobile applications that can run from any mobile device,
so employees can connect from anywhere and anytime.

(h) It helps in addressing the needs of various departments such as HR,

Sales & Marketing,"Planning. Thus it is because it can integrate various sets
of external applications and tools for Sales and marketing department may
use Zoom/Microsoft Teams and human resource department may use
LinkedIn/Azure Directory/Yammer etc.

(i) It helps project managers in effective team formation for various projects as
best employees within the organization can be easily located. This is because
intranet sites lists the employee profiles like skills and expertise, training
taken, previous roles and qualification.

(j) It helps businesses to evaluate employee's performance by measuring

employee engagement using various analytics tools.

(k) It helps in addressing employee's concerns based on feedback collected

from surveys conducted from time to time.

APPLICATIONS OF INTRANET
Intranet offers a number of applications that enable employees of an
organization to work collaboratively and efficiently. The Intranet applications
focus on significantly improving internal business capabilities, processes and
operations to reduce costs, improve product service and quality, expand sales
and accelerate individual and organizational learning etc. The various
applications offered by Intranet are divided into various categories:

1. Human Resource Applications: Human Resource applications reduce

large amount of paper work involved in updating and distributing corporate
procedures, manuals and policies by publishing them on the internal network.
All employees of the organization can access the latest versions of the
procedures, manuals and policies without any consultation with the HR
managers. Some of the Human Resource applications are:

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  Corporate Policies and procedures published can be accessed by the
employees of the organization. Thus online information saves time as
well as money.
 Addresses of the employees, their telephone numbers and emails can
be stored on internal network. Thus it is easy to search and access up-
to-date information.
 Employees can get information about the current job vacancies in the
organization.
 Employees can get information about the timings of the meetings and
the latest news related to the company.
 Employees surveys can be conducted that help to rank the employees.
 Online training can be given to the newly joined employees using visual
aids.
 Improved communication among employees. The latest and important
news can be posted on the internal network. Employees can see their
personal information as well as of other employees.
 Employee's personalized webpage."

"2. Sales and Marketing Applications: Sales and marketing staff requires
up-to-date accurate information about the products and services which is very
crucial in this competitive environment. Some of the sales and marketing
applications include:

 Information about products, their price listing and their description can
be easily accessed from company's internal network.
 Demos of products using visual aids such as slide shows, images etc.
can be provided on company's internal network.
 On the basis of previous sales information, one can predict new sales
targets and information can be retrieved from company's databases.
 Feedback can be received from the sales staff which can help to check
for various problems and hence improve the sales.
 Comparison charts of the pricing and the quality of products is available
on Internal network that helps to boost sales.
 Information stored helps to plan sales campaigns, discounts etc.

3. Research and Development Applications: Intranet is used by the

research and development team to provide information related to the project
schedules, post research specifications, information about competing
products, get feedback from the sales and marketing on proposed new
product specifications. Some of this information is protected from

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unauthorized users so that they cannot see company plans and schedules.
The various applications of Intranet related to research and development are:

 Information can be circulated to various other departments to get new

ideas so that they can be launched.
 Using internal network, technical questions can be asked to the
members so that the solution can be chosen for a particular project.
 Latest information can be provided to research and development staff
so that they can improve and expand their knowledge and skills to meet
the requirements of rapidly changing business environment.

4. Accounting Applications: Intranet can help the finance department to

post their open positions to staff all around the world. The company's annual
reports, stock prices, current price of IPO can be published which can be
viewed by various employees and the stakeholders of customers.

5. Online discussion forum: Using online discussion forums, the employees

of the organization can share their ideas and discussions on various topics
that helps to improve the efficiency of the company and its employees. This
automated method of discussion in the organization helps to save paper work
and time.

6. Online chatting: Using the organization's internal network, employees can

chat with each other on a particular topic at predetermined times by logging
into a corporate chat.

ADVANTAGES OF INTRANET
1. Platform Independent: Intranet is based on Internet technologies and
protocols that are designed to be platform-independent. So any type of
computer can be used by the employees of the organization to access
the information using a web browser.
2. Scalable: Corporation can scale their computing resources upwards to
Wide Area Networks or downwards to small, medium-sized local area
networks as conditions shift.
3. Ease of Publishing: Intranet technology is an excellent way to publish
large numbers of frequently changing documents within your

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 organization. Intranet is easily deployable as web browsers are
available for virtually every operating system.
4. Easier to setup: Intranets are easier to setup and maintain than the
traditional networks as one has to only add web servers to the
organization's already existing TCP/IP network.
5. Ease of use: Corporate users already have web browsers that are
available for virtually all operating systems and hardware combinations.
Users are already familiar with it so they can instantly access the
information from internal websites. Users do not need any specialized
training for operating the web browsers.
6. Maintenance is very easy: As the information resides only at a single
place i.e. Web Server so it is very easy to add, modify or retrieve the
existing information.
7. Cost Effective: Intranets reduces paper, distribution costs, software
costs. It also reduces employee training, sales and marketing, office
administration and accounting costs.
8. Easy to adapt new features: Developers can easily adapt to new
advancements in HTML authoring tools and new features to desktop
applications. Webpages can be easily created for adding new features.

9. Improving Communication : Intranets contains the information at a

central place that includes company's documents, group scheduling tools and
distributed software. The up-to-date information is available to the employee
from a single location thus improving the communication.

10. Enhancing Collaboration : As the information is stored at central location

and is easily accessible by all the employees so it enhances data sharing and
improves collaboration.

11. Streamlining of business processes : Employees get the clear picture

about going on in the entire organization as information is stored at one
central location, redundant work is eliminated and work effectiveness is
improved.

12. Information retrieval in timely manner : With Intranet, employees can

access information at any time that suits them rather than waiting for emails.

DISADVANTAGES OF INTRANET
1. Security Concerns : Security features are not sufficient to manage all the
information. For instance, an employee might have posted sensitive
information that all employees see.
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2. Intranet may cause information overload : Too much information
available on Intranet makes it very difficult for the employees to navigate and
find data that is actually relevant to them.

3. An Intranet is based on Internet technologies so it requires a TCP/IP

protocol to work with other existing protocols.

4. Collaborative applications for intranet are not as powerful as groupware

applications such as Lotus Notes. For instance, Intranet doesnot support data
replication or offline services for remote users but groupware does.

5. There are limited number of tools for connecting an Intranet server to a

database. There is not a development language and you will have to use CGI
(Common Gateway Interface) or Java programs to access legacy database
systems.

6. Organizations using Intranet have to set up and separate applications such

as mail or web servers instead of using one unified system as with the
groupware.

PEOPLE INVOLVED FOR RUNNING INTRANET

A group of persons are involved for running the Intranet. Some of these are
technical and non-technical. Here is a list of people involved in maintaining
Intranet.

 Web administrator - He is responsible for overall working of the

Intranet. He monitors the usage logs, makes backups and system
upgrades as per requirements. He also adjust the configuration as
needed by others.
 Content authors - These people are responsible for creating the
content to be used on the Intranet. They are responsible for submitting
new material and updating old material when changes occur within the
organization. These people may be non technical people but are able to
prepare and write HTML documents.
 Script developer - They are basically the programmers who develop
code to make the website look great. They develop scripts that are
helpful in adding animations, sounds to the website.
 Webmaster - Webmaster manages all the emails sent to the website.
He is responsible for replying to complaints and suggestions as well as

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coordinating with other sites. The webmaster address is usually an
email alias setup to forward email to an existing account or a set of
accounts.

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 EXTRANET
Extranet is a private network which provides access only to authorized users
of the organization, it allows access to a subset of corporate information on
the intranet servers to people outside the organization over Internet while
maintaining complete security and control over who is accessing what.

Access is generally provided to a group of vendors, suppliers, customers,

business partners and others who have a requirement to access
organizational information.

An Extranet uses the same infrastructure components as that of Internet

including servers, web clients, Mail Servers, TCP/IP protocols etc. However,
extranet uses the Virtual Private Network Technology to allow authorized
outsiders to partially access the company’s internal network. Using an
extranet business partners, suppliers can enter the company’s internal
network via the Internet by providing a valid username and password. Once
they enter the valid id and password, they can access that corporate data to
which they have access, place orders, check status of orders and exchange
emails.

An extranet is a type of inter-organizational network which can be used to

 Exchange large volume of data using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).

 Share news of common interest exclusively with its business partners.
 Share product catalogues exclusively with wholesalers or those in trade.
 Collaborate with other companies to develop and use training programs.
 Offer customer with discussion forums to report for problems and
suggestions about product.

 instantly provide information to your clients, partners, distributors and

other business community members for business-to-business
transactions.
 allows secured access to the company's information with exclusive
partners.
 collaborate with other companies to develop and use training programs
thus avoiding setting up training costs which would be required to make
clients, partners understand the working.

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FEATURES OF EXTRANET

Following are the features of the extranet:

1. Data security: Sharing confidential data is of utmost priority and the
extranet provides a safe environment for data sharing between the
organizations. This decreases the chance of loss of confidential data and
increases productivity.
2. Faster communication: Extranet allows to connect multiple
organizations and escalate the communication between them.
3. Flexibility: Extranet provides a flexible and scalable environment to work
on for everyone involved, which also increases the productivity of the
organization.
4. Cost: It may decrease the cost of paperwork and travel to some extent.
5. Authentication: It provides authentication mechanisms like username
and password. Therefore, only authorized users can access the network.

WORKING OF EXTRANET
To develop an extranet, a company needs a local area network with Ethernet
cabling, database application that contains important information, Internet
access, dedicated server, firewall security etc.

When a customer want to search information such as a price list of a

particular product or place order to a particular company, he first goes to
company’s website and provides a username and a password. The username
and password validation is checked by the firewall. If it is valid, only then the
request is transferred to the extranet server of the company which provides
the requested information back to the user.

An extranet is implemented as a Virtual private network (VPN) that provides

secure communication between the organizations. VPN creates a secure
connection over a public network such as the internet. The VPN is formed on
Internet Protocol security (IPsec) which provides an extra layer on the
already present TCP/IP i.e. Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol.
The IPsec connection (tunneling) provides:
 Privacy: To maintain confidentiality between the sources.
 Integrity: To protect and share the data securely between the resources.
 Authentication: To allow only authorized users on the network.
IPsec Protocols: It makes use of two protocols Authentication Header (AH)
or Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP). One or both of them could be

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used to protect the IP packet. Which protocol to used depends on the
security needs of the network.
 Authentication Header (AH): It is used only for authentication and does
not provide encryption. Data origin authentication, integrity, and anti-
replay services are provided.
 Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP): It provides authentication, data
integrity, anti-replay, and encryption. Both authentication and encryption
services can be used or only one of them could be used while using these
protocols.

8.3.2 ADVANTAGES OF EXTRANET

The organizations are using extranets to share information with customers,

suppliers, and partners. The following advantages are offered by extranets
which are quite similar to those offered by Intranet:

1. Faster communication - Several users can be connected with the use of

extranet. It allows information to be accessed quickly and securely with
customers, suppliers and partners.
2. Improved Customer Service - With extranets, companies can offer
better customer services by allowing customers to place orders as well
as communicate with sales and customer service representatives easily
and directly by Intranet.
3. Improved interactions - Multiple item to provide accurate and updated
information.
4. Reduced processing cost and other overhead - Cost of entry documents
and processing cost can be reduced enough, reduced paper documents
and reduced cost.
5. Flexibility - As extranet access is available at any time of the day so
business partners and customers can access information according to
their convenience, thus eliminating the need of scheduling meeting and
phone calls. It thus eliminates the cost associated with person to person
information exchange.
6. Offers online training - Organizations can provide online training and
course materials to their customers over the extranet.
7. Reduced Inventory - Extranet links your inventory system directly to
supplier, you can thus process order as soon as the system knows you

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 need them. This reduces the stocks you keep on hand and makes the
delivery process more efficient.
8. Overall improvement in business effectiveness - Use of extranet
enhances business opportunities. Organizations can get their products
to market more quickly by making proposals and specifications available
to suppliers and customers.
9. Increase in productivity - As a result of automation of processes, critical
information will not be lost and the productivity of the organization
increases. Extranet monitors business activities and other specific
actions such as automatically place an order with a supplier when
stocks drops below a certain level.

8.3.4 DISADVANTAGES OF EXTRANET

The following are some disadvantages of using extranet:

1. Extranets are very costly to implement in the organization as the cost of

hardware, software and employee training is very high.
2. Lack of face to face meeting with the customers as online transactions
are performed.
3. Security of extranet is big concern if it is not fully controlled.
Unauthorized users may access the valuable information of the
company.
4. Complex Security: Extranet needs an additional firewall if hosted on
its own server which expands workload and complex security
mechanism.
5. Hosting: Hosting could be an issue as it requires a high bandwidth
internet connection. A High bandwidth internet connection may not be
possible for everyone, which would lead to inefficiency in work.
6. Expensive: It is costly compared to intranet due to the extra layer of
security and hosting charges.
7. limited: It can only be accessed through the internet. So, the work
would came to halt or slow down if the internet goes down.

APPLICATIONS OF EXTRANET
1. Customer Service Portals

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Extranets allow customers to access their account information, track orders,
and communicate with service teams. For instance, insurance companies use
extranets to let clients review policies, file claims, and interact with
representatives. Companies can also integrate chatbots, helpdesks, and
support ticket systems into their extranets. Customers can download
important forms, make online payments, and request service upgrades
without visiting a branch. This improves customer satisfaction, builds trust,
and reduces the operational burden on service departments. By providing
round-the-clock access, extranets significantly enhance customer loyalty and
engagement.

2. Virtual Sales Platforms

Sales teams utilize extranets to conduct product demonstrations and

presentations remotely. This facilitates efficient sales processes, enabling
representatives to engage with clients regardless of location. Through
extranets, businesses can offer customized catalogs, dynamic pricing models,
inventory availability, and order tracking options. Sales representatives can
also use extranets to quickly access marketing materials, proposals, and
customer data during client meetings. Virtual product tours, videos, and case
studies can be shared securely with prospects, making the sales pitch more
persuasive. As a result, extranets help shorten sales cycles and boost overall
revenue generation.

3. Document Sharing and Collaboration

Organizations use extranets to share documents like invoices, shipping

schedules, legal agreements, and product updates with external partners.
This ensures that stakeholders have timely access to relevant information,
without depending on slow email chains. Version control features allow
multiple users to work on documents simultaneously without the risk of
overwriting important changes. Teams can also comment, suggest edits, and
track modifications through the extranet platform. Important data such as
contracts, blueprints, or research findings are encrypted for security.
Document collaboration through extranets improves speed, accuracy, and
seamless teamwork across different geographic locations.

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4. Vendor and Supplier Collaboration

Extranets facilitate communication between companies and their vendors or

suppliers. They can be used to share product specifications, delivery
schedules, invoices, and quality guidelines. Suppliers can update stock
availability, track purchase orders, and provide shipment updates through a
single portal. Manufacturers can adjust production plans based on real-time
inventory reports from vendors. Alerts and notifications can also be set up to
prevent delays or stock shortages. This level of transparency leads to better
supply chain management, reduces operational costs, and fosters stronger
supplier relationships based on trust and efficiency.

5. Training and Certification Portals

Organizations, especially in sectors like healthcare, IT, and finance, use

extranets to provide training modules and certification processes for external
stakeholders. For example, a pharmaceutical company might offer an extranet
platform where medical professionals can access training videos, attend
webinars, take online tests, and earn certifications. Training material can be
updated regularly to reflect regulatory changes or new product launches.
Users can download manuals, access interactive quizzes, and track their
certification status over time. Extranets make it easy to train thousands of
people across the globe simultaneously, saving on travel and venue costs.
This ensures that all partners, employees, and clients are well-informed and
compliant with industry standards.

6. Project Management

Extranets are commonly used in project management to collaborate with

external partners such as contractors, consultants, and clients. Project
managers can share work schedules, Gantt charts, deliverables, and
performance reports securely with all stakeholders. Milestones can be
tracked, tasks can be assigned, and progress can be visualized using
dashboards on the extranet platform. Stakeholders can comment on tasks,
upload feedback documents, and discuss issues without relying on long email
threads. Time-sensitive alerts and notifications ensure that no critical

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deadlines are missed. Using an extranet for project management increases
accountability, transparency, and the success rate of complex projects.

BUSINESS USE OF EXTRANET

An extranet provides businesses with a secure way to connect with external
parties such as suppliers, customers, and partners. It enables the sharing of
information, real-time collaboration, and efficient communication outside the
organization without compromising internal data security. Extranets enhance
productivity, streamline operations, and strengthen business relationships.

1. Supply Chain Management

Businesses use extranets to create a direct communication line with suppliers

and distributors. Vendors can view inventory levels, submit order updates, and
schedule deliveries in real-time. This level of transparency reduces errors and
delays in the supply chain. It ensures faster replenishment of stock and better
forecasting of inventory needs.

2. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Companies offer extranets to customers for accessing services such as

viewing account details, placing service requests, or tracking product orders.
Customers can also access support documents and personalized promotions
through these portals. This reduces dependency on call centers and
enhances customer experience. It strengthens loyalty by offering convenience
and transparency.

3. Collaboration on Projects

Organizations working with external agencies, contractors, or consultants use

extranets to share project plans, updates, and deliverables securely. Teams
can communicate, edit documents, and track milestones without relying on

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slow email chains. Everyone involved remains on the same page regarding
timelines and responsibilities. This leads to faster decision-making and
successful project completion.

4. Training and Development

Businesses use extranets to deliver training programs to external employees,

distributors, and clients. Online modules, videos, webinars, and certification
programs can be accessed anytime. This ensures everyone is up-to-date with
company policies, product knowledge, and compliance standards. It saves
travel costs and reduces the time needed for physical training sessions.

5. Secure Information Sharing

Sensitive information such as contracts, financial statements, patents, or

strategic documents is shared with selected external users via extranets. Data
encryption and access control mechanisms maintain confidentiality and
prevent breaches. Organizations can track who accessed or modified files,
enhancing accountability. This secure sharing builds trust and protects
business interests.

6. Sales and Marketing Coordination

Sales representatives and marketing partners use extranets to access

updated sales kits, product sheets, promotional materials, and customer data.
Teams can coordinate marketing campaigns, track leads, and share feedback
through a unified platform. It ensures consistent brand messaging across
different markets. This leads to improved sales performance and faster market
reach.

7. Vendor and Partner Portals

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Extranets provide vendors and partners with portals to place orders, view
payment statuses, submit invoices, and check delivery schedules. This
reduces the need for phone calls, paperwork, and manual tracking. It brings
more transparency into transactions and enhances the efficiency of
procurement processes. Companies can manage multiple vendors seamlessly
through a single portal.

8. After-Sales Support and Warranty Management

Customers can register their products, claim warranties, request repairs, and
track service tickets through extranets. Service centers and repair vendors
can also update the status of service requests. This improves the speed and
transparency of after-sales services. It builds customer confidence and
promotes long-term brand loyalty.

Summary:
By using extranets, businesses can expand their reach, build better
relationships, reduce costs, increase security, and accelerate workflows
across organizational boundaries.

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 DIFFERENCES
Feature Intranet Extranet
Also a private network, but it
Private network owned by a
Type of allows limited internal information
specific organization for use
network to be shared with customers,
only by its employees.
partners, and other people.
Can be viewed by customers,
partners, and other business
Can only be accessed by
Type of people outside the organization as
employees within the
access long as they have a valid
organization.
username and password.

Security is also provided by

firewalls that secure the
Secured by firewalls that
corporate's network from
provide restricted access to
Security unauthorized access from the
employees of the organization
internet. Firewalls separate
based on their role.
intranet from the internet
.
Is a combination of
Internet May be entirely disconnected Internet/Intranet technology to
used? from the public internet. serve as an extended enterprise.

Aimed at improving relationships,

To centralize corporate
security, and collaboration with
information, provide company-
customers, partners, and other
recommended software, and
business people outside the
Main aim improve productivity,
organization to streamline
collaboration, and engagement
business activities and
among employees within the
transactions.
organization.
Online banking, online tutor
services, business-to-business
A corporate like Ernst & Young,
services provided for purchase
Example TCS, Wipro provides an intranet
and services by large vendors like
for their employees.
Dell, Microsoft, HP etc. are
examples of an extranet service.

Feature Internet Intranet

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 A public network that connects
Type of A private network owned by a
different networks of computers
network specific organization.
together.
A private network where access
A public network, so anyone with to limited information is provided
Type of an internet connection can access only to authorized employees of
access all the information available for the organization. Employees are
public access. provided access based on their
roles.
Visitors traffic is less on Intranet
Intranet is accessible to a limited
Visitors due to its private nature of
number of users (employees)
traffic access. Internet is accessible to
within an organization.
an unlimited number of users.
Being public, users need not
provide any username and Intranet is more secured than
password. On the other hand, the Internet. Firewalls are
Security
employees with valid username employed on Intranet to make it
and password are allowed to log secure.
into Intranet to make it secure.
Employees can quickly locate
Accessing information on the
information and relevant
Access Internet is slower in comparison to
applications on Intranet based
speed accessing information on an
on their roles and needs from
Intranet.
the company's servers.
Intranet is much smaller in size
than the Internet. In fact, it is a Access to Intranet is restricted
Size subset of the Internet as it is one exclusively to authorized
of the private networks whereas employees of the organization.
the Internet is a public network.
Intranet was introduced in 1995
Year of when commercial access to the
Internet was introduced in 1969.
origin Internet became possible.

Self-programmed websites for the

On the other hand, Intranet
Internet are designed basically
Created websites are nowadays created
using HTML, CSS, Javascript,
using using MS-Share Point,
and PHP. Besides, one can use
Samepage, Nuxeo, etc.
HTML editors and CMS.

Feature Intranet Extranet Internet

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 Also a private network,
Private network but it allows limited
A public network that
owned by a specific internal information to
Type of connects different
organization for use be shared with
network networks of
only by its customers, partners,
computers together.
employees. and other people.

Can be viewed by
customers, partners,
A public network, so
and other business
Can only be anyone with an
people outside the
Type of accessed by internet connection
organization as long as
access employees within can access all the
they have a valid
the organization. information available
username and
for public access.
password.

Visitors traffic is less

Access is granted to a
on Intranet due to its
specific group of
private nature of Accessible to an
Visitors external users in
access. Accessible unlimited number of
traffic addition to employees.
to a limited number users.
Traffic is controlled and
of users
limited.
(employees).
Being public, users
Security is also
generally don't need
Secured by firewalls provided by firewalls,
specific credentials for
providing restricted separating the
public content.
access based on corporate network from
Security Security risks are
employee roles. unauthorized internet
higher; relies on
More secure than access. Security
individual website
the Internet. measures for external
security.
access are crucial.
Is a combination of Is the global public
May be entirely
Internet Internet/Intranet network. Intranets and
disconnected from
used? technology, extending Extranets may or may
the public internet.
the private network. not be connected to it.
Access Generally faster for Speed might vary for Generally slower
speed employees external users compared to
accessing internal depending on their accessing information
resources. connection and access on a local Intranet.
permissions.
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 Vast and continuously
Larger than an Intranet
expanding global
Much smaller in as it includes
network. Intranets and
size, limited to the provisions for external
Size Extranets are subsets
organization's access but smaller
within this larger
needs. than the entire Internet.
network.

Provide widespread
Centralize internal Improve relationships
access to information,
information, provide and collaboration with
communication, and
company tools, external partners,
Main aim resources globally for
improve employee streamline business
public consumption
productivity and activities and
and interaction.
collaboration. transactions.
Internal company World Wide Web,
Online banking portals,
portals, employee email, file sharing,
supplier portals,
Example directories, internal online services
customer support
communication accessible to the
extranets.
systems. general public.
Developed after the
widespread adoption of
Year of
Introduced in 1995. the Internet, building Introduced in 1969.
origin
upon Intranet
infrastructure.
Designed using
Built using a HTML, CSS,
Nowadays created
combination of web Javascript, PHP,
using platforms like
Created technologies, often various content
MS-Share Point,
using leveraging existing management systems
Samepage, Nuxeo,
Intranet infrastructure (CMS), and other web
etc.
and extending access. development
technologies.

Difference Between Intranet and Extranet

Intranet Extranet

Intranet is a tool for sharing Whereas Extranet is a tool for sharing

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 Intranet Extranet

information throughout the information between the internal members

organization. and external members.

Intranet is owned by a single While Extranet is owned by either a single or

organization. a many organization.

Whereas in this, security is implemented

In intranet, security is
through a firewall in order to separate the
implemented through a firewall.
extranet and the internet.

Intranet is managed by an Whereas Extranet is managed by many

organization. organizations.

Intranet has a limited number Whereas in the extranet, connected devices

of connected devices. are comparable with the intranet.

While it is also a private network in which

Intranet is a private network
public network is used in order to share the
type for an organization.
information to the suppliers and customers.

Intranet is used in order to get

While It is used to check status, access data,
employee information,
send mail, place order etc.
telephone directory etc.

Intranet is the limited and

While Extranet is the limited and
compromised version of
compromised version of Internet.
Extranet.

A particular organization is the

While it is regulated by multiple organizations.
regulating authority for intranet.

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 Intranet Extranet

It is accessible to only the It is accessible to members of organization as

members of organization. well as external members with logins.

It’s restricted area is upto an It’s restricted area is upto an organization and
organization. some of its stakeholders.

It is derived from Internet. It is derived from Intranet.

Example: WIPRO using

Example: DELL and Intel using network for
internal network for its
business related operations.
business operations.

Difference Between Internet and Extranet

Internet Extranet

It is used as public network. Whereas it is used as private network.

An internet is less secure because it has zero While the extranet is more secure than
security level in the firewall. the Internet.

In the case of a extranet no one can

In the case of Internet anyone can access it
access it without a a valid username and
without the valid username and password.
password.

A large number of users can access the Whereas here, a limited number of users
Internet. can access the extranet.

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 Internet Extranet

It acts as the medium to share the

An internet acts as a tool for sharing
information between the internal and
information all over the world.
external members.

Whereas extranet is owned by a single

An internet is not owned by anyone.
or multiple organization.

An Internet is not managed by either Unlike the internet, it is managed by

authority. numerous organizations.

Whereas in the case of extranet, it is

An internet is the largest network in the case
small in terms of connected devices as
of number of connected devices.
compared to the internet.

Whereas in the case of extranet, it is

An internet is less costly than extranet.
more costly.

It’s users are the employees of the

It’s users are the general public.
organization which are connected.

It is owned by single or multiple

It is not owned by anyone.
organization.

There is no regulating authority for Internet. It is regulated by multiple organizations.

It is maintained by CIO, HR or
It is maintained by ISP. communication department of an
organization.

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 Internet Extranet

It is the network of networks. It is derived from Intranet.

Example: What we are normally using is Example: DELL and Intel using network
Internet. for business related operations.

Internet is the global network that connects Extranet is a private network that
the millions of a devices and computers connects specific devices and computers
worldwide. worldwide.

It is open to the everyone and allows access

The extranet is the closed network that
to a public information such as a websites
requires a authentication to access it.
and online services.

The Extranets are used for collaboration,

It is used for a communication and sharing
sharing of confidential information and
information, e-commerce, education,
conducting business between the
entertainment and for many other purposes.
organizations.

Users can access a Internet from any location Extranet access is restricted to the
with the Internet connection and a authorized users and it is limited to the
compatible device. specific devices and locations.

Security measures such as a firewalls or Extranets employs the similar security

encryption and secure sockets layer measures to protect against a
(SSL) protocols are used to protect against unauthorized access and ensure the
the threats like hacking, viruses and malware. privacy and a integrity of the shared data.

The Extranet services includes a supply

The Internet services includes email, social
chain management, customer relationship
media, search engines and online shopping
management (CRM) and project
sites.
collaboration tools.

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Difference between Internet, Intranet and Extranet
Point of
difference Internet Intranet Extranet

Accessibility
Public Private Private
of network

To share information
with suppliers and
Specific to an
Global system. vendors it makes the
organization.
use of public
Availability network.

Restricted area upto

All over the Restricted area upto an organization and
world. an organization. some of its
Coverage stakeholders or so.

Accessible only to
It is accessible It is accessible only the members of
to everyone to the members of organization and
Accessibility connected. organization. external members
of content with logins.

It is largest in The connected

No. of The minimal number
number of devices are more
of devices are
computers connected comparable with
connected.
connected devices. Intranet.

Single/ Multiple
No one. Single organization.
Owner organization.

Purpose of It’s purpose is It’s purpose is to It’s purpose is to

the network to share share information share information

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 Point of
difference Internet Intranet Extranet

information between members

throughout the
throughout the and external,
organization.
world. members.

It is dependent
It is enforced via
on the user of
It is enforced via firewall that
the device
firewall. separates internet
connected to
and extranet.
Security network.

Employees of the
Employees of the
General public. organization which
organization.
Users are connected.

There is no Policies of the Policies of the

Policies hard and fast organization are organization are
behind setup rule for policies. imposed. imposed.

It is maintained by It is maintained by
CIO. HR or CIO. HR or
It is maintained
communication communication
by ISP.
department of an department of an
Maintenance organization. organization.

It is more
It is less It is also less
economical to
economical. economical.
Economical use.

It is the network It is derived from It is derived from

Relation of networks. Internet. Intranet.

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 Point of
difference Internet Intranet Extranet

WIPRO using
What we are DELL and Intel using
internal network for
normally using network for its
its business
is internet. business operations.
Example operations.

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