Set Up an Intranet

Are you planning to install an Intranet? Do you know what steps you'll need to take to get the process underway? Corporate Intranets represent a truly revolutionary impact on the way we conduct business today. Intranets are not just a technological solution to a problem, but a tool that can be used creatively by its users. The improved communications capabilities provide an organizational infrastructure that allows the people closest to the work to collaborate and quickly share knowledge, resulting in increased productivity towards organizational goals.

One benefit of Intranets is the ability to customize the system based on your needs. Unfortunately, this requires a product search in a market that is extremely immature. New products are being introduced daily. Products can be broken down into two broad categories: infrastructure and content.

Infrastructure

The first step in analyzing Intranet products is to determine what your current infrastructure is relative to your computer network, network operating system, and desktop operating systems and software suites. Products have been developed to work best, or exclusively, with certain setups. The goal is to salvage what we’ve built to this point. For example, if you have a Novell based Local Area Network (LAN) and predominantly use Windows 95 and the Microsoft Office suite, this will determine the starting point for the product search.

The following components fall into this category:

• Web Server Hardware - These are computers that drive the network and house most of the Intranet content. Most Intranet applications of any size are made up of multiple servers to handle volume and data storage requirements. Most major hardware vendors are bundling hardware and server software.
• Web Server Software - The software on the server controls the features and functionality available on your Intranet. Server software is available to run in a UNIX, Windows NT, Novell Netware, OS/2, and on a limited basis, Macintosh environments.
• Browsers - The browser arena is where the main battles are being fought in the software vendor wars. The two main contenders are Microsoft, with Internet Explorer (free), and Netscape with Netscape Navigator (very low cost per user). Browsers are the gateway to the Web and Intranet information. Choosing a browser comes down to a corporate inclination toward a particular vendor and the relationship to the server software configuration that will best meet your needs.

• Routers and Firewalls - Routers and firewalls are important components of networks and act as gatekeepers protecting corporate information from the outside world.

Content

Products in the content category manage the data we see on screens and the collaboration features we utilize.

• Authoring Packages - It is no longer necessary to program Web pages directly in hypertext markup language (HTML). A number of products running on various platforms are available to translate data into HTML format quickly and reliably. Throughout an organization, multiple authoring packages may exist to accommodate different needs for usability and features. The major software suites contain HTML conversion components, which allow easy translation from word processing documents and spreadsheets to the Intranet.
• Corporate Database Connectivity - As described earlier, our goal is to not start over in our technology base. Various tools exist to allow for connectivity to corporate databases that run on existing mainframe or client/server environments. This allows for queries to corporate databases directly from the browser.
• Online Forums - There are Web server add-ons that provide the ability to hold online forums, as well as manage the organization and security of discussions.
• Document Database Packages - Document databases provide access to flat file databases of corporate documents.
• Search Engines - Search engines are necessary to allow easy access to Intranet data without having to know the exact structure of the data. The high-end products can search across formats, have the ability to rank results on relevancy and number of occurrences, and can automatically index documents.

The keys in evaluating Intranet product solutions include ensuring compatibility with the current infrastructure, adherence to industry standards, configurability, and workable security approaches. It is advisable to institute a product research team to keep up with the offerings, download and test the software, and determine usefulness. It is critical that all products introduced to your Intranet be thoughtfully and thoroughly tested under all user platform conditions. The Intranet is, after all a production system. A key to our Intranet solution is usability. The test team should include a good cross-section of the user community. Remember though, search out products as solutions to business needs rather than attempting to fit a cool product into your Intranet without a defined purpose.

Intranets provide a way to increase productivity within our organizations, assisting with today’s turbulent and ever-changing business environment. The implementation of a corporate Intranet solution also represents a major organizational change. Understand that Intranet implementation requires a great deal of effort. Early returns indicate the rewards are well worth the effort.