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Intranets and Extranets

Abstract

Intranets and extranets are powerful knowledge management technologies that can greatly affect the operations of an organizations. An intranet system is a tool to help with streamlined communication between employees, a central location for organizational information to be stored, and a great place for knowledge to be contributed and distributed. An extranet system is a network similar to an intranet, but it allows for authorized outside users to have access to the organizations knowledge and information. They both have their benefits and challenges, but important characteristics of both is that they are easily available, have good communication qualities, and operational performance. Not all organizations need to use an intranet and extranet system, but for those that do, they can promote a positive organizational culture by connecting all the employees.

Keywords: intranet, extranet, security, communication, availability

Introduction

Knowledge management is the process of capturing, sharing and effectively using knowledge. There are lots of knowledge management tools and technology that include from content and document management systems to warehousing and data mining. This paper will focus on the knowledge management technology intranets and extranets. It will cover the advantages and disadvantages to each system as well as studies that show how each can affect organizational culture.

Intranets

An intranet is a private enterprise network that is used to securely share information and resources within a company. Most intranet systems for companies require a user to be on location and using the company network via the company’s wi-fi or wired connection. As technology advances people are able to connect remotely with a virtual private network (VPN). This essentially gives them access to their company’s wi-fi from any other location. To connect to a VPN, the most widely used software is Cisco AnyConnect. Cisco allows for users to connect from computers, laptops, cell phones, and tablets, expanding how people are able to connect to their organization’s network. To allow full access to one’s workstation remotely software such as VMware is used. VMware can essentially mirror one’s computer from a different device even if it is different operating systems like a MAC OS to a Windows OS. Each of these programs require a high level of security to access. Smaller organizations may only require two-factor authentication. Whereas larger companies have technology that gives a unique code every couple of minutes to even be able to access the steps of putting in one’s password.

Once a user has been given access to the organization’s intranet through any of the ways mentioned above, then they are able to use the intranet. There are some advantages and few disadvantages to mainly using an intranet for organizational information.

• Security: The most important advantage of using an intranet is the security it provides to the organization. If an organization only used internet-based software for their information storage and communication, it can be easily hacked by anyone with some effort and a minimal amount of skill.

• Ease of access to organization files: Organizations can have tens of thousands unique files across folders, thumb drives, and personal computers that once stored in a centralized shared drive can be accessed at any point. Also, by having a central place to store files, past files and versions can be pulled, reviewed, and revised to create new knowledge.

• Communication among employees: Organization’s intranets often include profiles of each employee. Those profiles will usually include their job title, employee id, photo and contact information. This system lets employees within the organization reach out to one another without having to come in physical contact and have to exchange contact information immediately.

Some the possible disadvantages for an intranet may include:

• Implementation Costs: Building an intranet can be expensive. A small organization may not have the means to implement an intranet network, or they cannot afford to train each user. Sometimes the content they have might not call for an entire intranet system, so the cost might not be beneficial in comparison to the actual need.

• Difficult to use if new: It is now common for large organizations to use an intranet, but for new or smaller companies that are starting an intranet network it could be difficult for current employees to successfully rely on the system. It becomes easier when new employees are initially trained to use the intranet network, and if it is the only thing available.

With the disadvantages and advantages of an intranet network listed, using an intranet looks like a great idea to use for a number of large organizations. A problem that could arise and that has been tested is the actual usage and quality of intranet software applications. Author Hareton K.N. Leung (2001)ran a study about the quality measurements of for intranet applications. The study used the Extended ISO model which included the following six characteristics and their sub characteristics.

• Functionality: Suitability, Accuracy, Interoperability, Compliance, Security, Traceability

• Reliability: Maturity, Fault Tolerance, Recoverability, Availability, Degradability

• Efficiency: Time behavior, Resource behavior

• Usability: Understandability, Learnability, Operability, Explicitness, Customizability, Luxury, Clarity, Helpfulness, User-friendliness

• Maintainability: Analyzability, Changeability, Stability, Testability, Manageability, Reusability

• Portability: Adaptability, Installability, Conformance, Replaceability

Leung used those metrics with the categories simple intraweb versus interactive, distributed, and enterprise intraweb. In this case a simple intraweb is a server that publishes static HTML pages, interactive contains tools to take input from the user before connecting to the server, distributed uses data sources throughout the organization with automated actions, and enterprise refers to using an applet that has its own connection to the server as well as external databases.

The full study consisted of comparing, ranking, and estimating costs of the metrics. Reliability, functionality, and efficiency were ranked as the top three quality characteristics. Within those, availability, accuracy, and security were ranked as the most important sub characteristics.

Once availability has been addressed and every member of an organization has their required access to the intranet network, the issue is having the users consistently use the network as a dynamic knowledge repository. Researchers Benedikt Morschheuser, Christian Henzi, and Rainer Alt did a study that looked into the use of gamification to increase engagement of the intranet system. They define gamification as using “video game elements in non-game systems and services…” (Morschheuser et al., 2015). Their main focus was on how to gamify a corporate intranet. It would start with a “check your knowledge” quiz with the option to skip the quiz and each participant was given the freedom to no longer participate in the study when they were tired. There were positive results from the study and the researches wrote, “This study shows that the usage of gamification elements can intensify the usage of a corporate intranet as information source for market information for financial advisors…This leads to the result, that not only more information was gathered (articles read), but also that those articles were read more carefully (number of correct answers and time spent per article)” (Morschheuser et al., 2015). This proves that small additions to an existing system that increases engagement and makes the user feel fulfilled can greatly improve the information learned.

Intranets are useful to organizations by being able to collect and share knowledge in a central location. It can streamline communication between employees, increase security of files within the organization, and aid further discovery of organizational knowledge.

Extranet

An extranet is a controlled private network that, with authorization, can be accessed by outside partners. Many businesses require collaboration with outside vendors or contractors that can rely on accessing some intranet tools and applications. An advantage that comes with having an extranet is improved customer efficiency. They are allowed to more effectively and freely communicate with partners and clients. An extranet also allows for better flexibility of information available to those outside entities. As expected with the implementation of most software, a disadvantage of an extranet can be the onboarding, training, and maintenance costs associated with it. Another disadvantage could be security. If one were to accidently gain authorizations to information that was not meant to be shared with outside entities, it could put organizational information at risk.

The key function of extranets is to essentially improve the relationship between the host organization and their clients or partners. One of the biggest indicators in how well an organization is doing in business is their customer satisfaction ratings. In their study “The Role of Extranets in Delivering Customer Service” authors Liz Lee-Kelley, Ailsa Kolsaker, and George Karadimas write:

“Within supply chain management customer service has long been recognized as a key driver of positive evaluation and future demand. However, metrics continue to emphasize operational flows, largely paying lip service to service outcomes. Emergent models of inter-organizational collaboration demand a relationship-based approach, of which service is a key component. Extranet technology emerges as eminently suited to the task with recent literature suggesting that companies employing extranets offer a better level of customer service than those who do not.” (2004)

This study that was done a while back shows the proven relevancy of how an extranet can improve positive customer service and satisfaction. The three characteristics in this study is very similar to the intranet studies. They are availability, operational performance, and communication quality. Of those the key components of great customer service were timeliness and quality of information. (Lee-Kelley et al., 2004)

Intranets and Extranets in a corporate office

My two summers of experience in a Fortune 500 corporate office showed me just how important the use of an intranet can be for a large business. How this company implemented this knowledge management tool will be defined in these categories: strategy, organizational culture and processes, management/leadership and politics, and technology.

Strategy

This company has been around for a long time and already has systems in place to effectively use their intranet system. Once you are employed you are given an ID to access your personal computer as well as the intranet applications once you are connected. They do not immediately allow for access to remote work. Each employee must complete the required trainings and be given access via their supervisors and the technical support team to be given a soft-token key. The company is very cautious about the safety of their information so they take every measure to ensure nothing can be shared to unauthorized users.

Organizational Culture & Processes

The culture at this company, because it is so large, differs between departments and teams. The B2B sales team and the experiential marketing team came with different sets of goals and challenges even though their overall goal was to get sales for the company. The sales team used a different and more dated form of online chatting while the marketing team preferred to meet in person or video chat. They both involved using the organization’s intranet application for their communication. In her article about intranet and organizational culture, Elisabeth Bennet writes, “Four thematic categories were discovered through inductive analysis. They indicated that the intranet, IAN, provided cultural learning opportunities through members (a) experiencing the wider organization, (b) recognizing and rewarding performance, (c) reinforcing organizational expectations, and (d) modeling corporate communication style.” (Bennet, 2014). Although the workloads and goals of teams may be extremely different, the intranet network defines the organizational culture and keeps them all connected.

Management, Leadership and Politics

The way this company implements their knowledge management is through a categorical and hierarchal structure. When it comes to access of files and content available on the intranet, all employees are able to freely browse and pull documents. The authorizations come with access to sharing organization knowledge. For example, each large department has their own knowledge and data manager as well as level 1-5 employees. This company tries to maintain an even relationship between level 1-3 employees and levels 4&5 seem to be on an island of their own. This company also makes it easy for lateral moves within the organization and when people move departments, they can take their knowledge with them or choose to not bring it into the new department.

Technology

This organization does not solely rely on outside companies to successful run their intranet and extranet services. This large company has their own cloud network and data centers that allows for even further security of its information. They use universal tools like MS Office, Skype, Q Messenger, Cisco, and VMware for documents, communication, and remote connection. They use their extranet system to allow the independent contractors they hire temporary and limited access to company materials.

These dimensions are specific to this specific large company with resources to implement their own intranet and extranet systems without it being a large cost for building and training of the networks. Other organizations may not have the means or even the need to have such an intricate intranet and extranet system.

Conclusion

Intranets and extranets are powerful knowledge management technologies that can greatly affect the operations of an organizations. An intranet system is a tool to help with streamlined communication between employees, a central location for organizational information to be stored, and a great place for knowledge to be contributed and distributed. An extranet system is a network similar to an intranet, but it allows for authorized outside users to have access to the organizations knowledge and information. They both have their benefits and challenges, but important characteristics of both is that they are easily available, have good communication qualities, and operational performance. Not all organizations need to use an intranet and extranet system, but for those that do, they can promote a positive organizational culture by connecting all the employees.

References

Peer Reviewed Journals

Angeles, R. (2001). Creating a digital marketspace presence: Lessons in extranet implementation. Internet Research, 11(2), 167-184. doi:10.1108/10662240110388206

Bennett, E. E. (2014). How an intranet provides opportunities for learning organizational culture: Implications for virtual HRD. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 16(3), 296-319. doi:10.1177/1523422314532093

Lee-Kelley, L., Kolsaker, A., & Karadimas, G. (2004). The role of extranets in delivering customer service. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 44(4), 78-84. doi:10.1080/08874417.2004.11647598

Leung, H. K. N. (2001). Quality metrics for intranet applications. Information & Management, 38(3), 137-152. doi:10.1016/S0378-7206(00)00060-4

Morschheuser, B., Henzi, C., & Alt, R. (2015). Increasing intranet usage through gamification -- insights from an experiment in the banking industry. Paper presented at the 635-642. doi:10.1109/HICSS.2015.83

Zorzi, M., Gluhak, A., Lange, S., & Bassi, A. (2010). From today's INTRAnet of things to a future INTERnet of things: A wireless- and mobility-related view. IEEE Wireless Communications, 17(6), 44-51. doi:10.1109/MWC.2010.5675777

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Universal Design Standards.

Universal design is defined as The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.There are seven principles that a group of architects, engineers, and product designers created for universal design which are; equitable use, flexibility in use, simple and intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, size and space for approach and use. Even the names of these principles are apart of universal design because they were made to be easily read, understood and remembered. Of these seven things, some are strictly physical and defines how everyone should be able to have access no matter their abilities or disabilities. The most important of the seven principles, as it is number one, is equitable use. Equitable use is basically making sure that the product or environment is Universal design also does not segregate any people and makes it to where the original is accessible without extra modification.

When it comes to product design, when using universal design standards, it is initially created with the the abilities of future users in mind (Burgstahler). Burgstahler points out in her essay Universal Design: Process, Principles, and Applications that all characteristics of a potential consumer should be considered such as age, race, ethnicity, height, and disability. Universal design can and should be apply to any product or environment so no one is left out; it focuses on making sure there is a environment focused in inclusivity and equality.

Retrieved from https://www.washington.edu/doit/sites/default/files/atoms/files/Universal_Design%20Process%20Principles%20and%20Applications.pdf

Retrieved from https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/26-255-guidelines/825-principles-of-universal-design

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Fair Use

According to copyright.gov, fair use is “a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances.” What this means is that there are some works that can be used, taught, and reported without obtaining official permission from the owner of that content. Fair use can be used in many different ways such as for posting criticisms, using a piece of work to teach a subject, or being used by entertainment outlets. A modern example of this is if a video that was posted on Facebook became very popular and a media company(for example) like Buzzfeed wanted to use the video, they could use it without permission because once it is posted to a public site, that video is open to the public. As of now most people do ask the owners to use their content, but is not required under the fair use doctrine.

When it comes to the subject of work for hire, which is basically saying that the work of an employee is owned by the company. Relating to the example above, a big controversy surrounding Buzzfeed, because it is a media company, is that the creators are not allowed to own any content outside of the company without it being the property of Buzzfeed. A lot of Buzzfeed employees have either left the company, or stepped back from being the face of some content because, even as the creator of a video, they are not credited in the description. It can be frustrating for some, but it is clearly stated when signing on with a company. If the content is owned by a company and not the ‘author’ or creator of a work, then it falls under the fair use doctrine that the author does not have to be directly compensated or credited when used by other people(if it’s not being monetized of course.

References

More Information on Fair Use.(2018). Retrieved from https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html