Insider information: companies protect, share information through intra- and extranets.

• Author: Stevenson, Brooks
• Position: E-business

IN RECENT YEARS, technology has become the driving force behind nearly every aspect of business, in virtually every industry. Businesses of all sizes have pushed to streamline processes, speed up communication, integrate suppliers and customers, and generally bring everyone together. Unfortunately, e-mail and the Internet can only do so much. With all the cyber criminals lurking on the World Wide Web, it's a scary proposition to put important, company-specific information "out there."

Instead, companies are turning to another solution: "Intranets" and "Extranets." Corporate Intranets and other internal knowledge-sharing systems have become a "must-have" in today's fast-paced, tech-heavy work environment. (Oh, for the days of the interoffice memo, on a piece of paper and in your in-box.) Companies are relying on these unique information-sharing platforms to survive in a knowledge-driven global economy. In fact, research has shown that Intranets have a significant effect on workforce efficiency and productivity So all aboard--there's a new ride on the information superhighway.

Quite simply, an Intranet is designed as a private network completely contained within your company. It can only be accessed while an employee is logged on to your network. The main function of an Intranet is to share company information such as employee handbooks (which may change yearly), retirement fund information, knowledge databases of important strategic information, or minutes from past meetings.

The Intranet also brings people together. Employees from international corporations can all access the same information at the same time, keeping everyone up to speed on the inner workings of the business.

While the Extranet works on the same premise as the Intranet--an internal network designed to simplify processes--the Extranet extends this technology to trusted business partners, such as vendors, key customers and suppliers. With a stout Extranet in place, orders can be completed online, in a more timely fashion.

"Over the past few years, Intranets have been evolving into more sophisticated resources for employees," says Jeff Johnson, internal business manager for Intermountain Health Care. "Intranets and Extranets allow companies to streamline business processes by taking out expensive paper-based processes. Well-designed Extranets allow employees and business partners to get to the information they need, see only the information that they should see, and allow...