What is an Intranet ?

In this ever-evolving world, the word Intranet seems to be something like an old frame archived in the books of these couple of past decades. At the time, it was undeniably one of the most advanced and crafted pieces of engineering that helped businesses around the world change their models and attain unprecedented growth. It allowed numerous enterprises to communicate within their system and add cohesion that their business model lacked before. As a result, everyone noticed an overhaul in terms of being on the same page and strategizing what's best for the company's future

However, today this technological greatness is under the shadow of its own past self! Innovative technologies and advancements promising even a more significant change have become the way to go. Solutions such as mobile apps, field service management systems, emails, and various other communication methods have put Intranet in the dust. And the way Artificial Intelligence is rapidly attaining strong footings in everything, Intranet is destined to become one of the past relics that we remember but don't want to have anymore!

It can be said that it was a technological marvel that gave room for other technologies, better and more updated, to emerge onto the surface and change the world for the better. However, in this blog, we will skim past the books of history and summon everything we know about it in a single writing. Now since you're hooked, let's get started and delve into the past!

What is an Intranet?

Before reaching out to the specifics, we want to ensure that everyone knows the basics and there isn't a lack of cohesion between you and us. Therefore, we will break the ice with what exactly is Intranet.

An intranet is a system of communication within a company. It uses a string of computers that communicate with each other and establish a private network of connections. In this way, whatever’s on the Intranet system remains constrained to only the users inside the particular enterprise or company, and nothing finds its way out to the world.

For many years, this has been the ultimate way to connect the workforce and exchange vast quantities of information. Information could be of any kind; it could be a link, message, text, or even an entire database. The prime objective of the technology was to keep that information and data secure

Inside the system, every computer has a unique IP address, which individually identifies every user and person. From manufacturing to a service-based company, every major enterprise has used the Intranet to end the manual workload and automate various aspects.

Every user who has access to the system is assigned a username to ensure that no outsider can play around with anything. Therefore, in its prime, it brought a revolution in terms of reliability as the more a company used it, the greater its coverage of data protection got.

Uses Of The Intranet

Intranet came with a vast quantity of uses, given how popular it became. It offered things that the business world had never seen before, at least in terms of quality! Even today, numerous companies have teams dedicated to taking care of the system.

Some of the uses of the Intranet include:

Communication

The Intranet provides what every business needs; effective communication! It lets a workforce connect using various forums, including blogs, chats, and emails. It keeps everyone be on the same page, without irregularities, therefore distancing any gap between the company’s different departments.

Collaboration

While allowing cohesion, using intranet means a workforce can collaborate in a much more enhanced way. With access personalized to every user, it lets every individual in the company access information based on his personal requirement.

Cost-Effective

The Inrarnet saves a lot of cash! Since every document and report can be shared across multiple users all at once, there isn't a need for printing. This saves the need to get everything printed physically before getting work done!

Enhances Productivity

With data easily accessible to everyone, the workforce can utilize the extra hours to get more things done and enhance its productivity.

Convenient Data Storage

Physical data storage equates to inconvenience. A company's data isn't just constrained to a single page. Instead, it entails thousands of different excel, word, and pdf files. Having all of this stored locally means anyone can lose his mind when searching for a particular file, and waste time. However, this can be solved with an Intranet system.

The intranet lets a company put its entire data in one centralized location. This data can be in multiple formats such as pdf, word, and excel. This allows for convenient data access and storage, putting unnecessary hassles out of the equation. It also lets the company heads supervise and have everything under control. Moreover, even communications and posts on an Intranet system are not lost; everything is there for you to see at any time.

An Excellent Content Management System

Content is valuable for any company. It can provide the latest updates on projects, assign particular duties to different teams in the organization, and share important messages. Therefore, Intranet is an excellent way to manage content as it keeps everything organized and central

How The Intranet Works

Intranet, first and foremost, uses a web server that manages all the information stored within the system. The web server takes care of every file request and its response. It does that using the IP addresses that locate all the users within the Intranet system.

Secondly, a content management system is needed to control all content-related tasks, such as adding new posts to keeping them organized and viewable at any time. Moreover, things like WAN and LAN help connect different computers while HTTP protocols get things running.

All users on the Intranet software must have a unique password to access the system, use its resources to see or manage the data. Whereas, VPN is needed by one who wants to access the system remotely and is a part of the company.

Furthermore, Firewall software enhances the system’s security by standing as a wall between the internet and this localized system. It checks every data package to inspect any malware or suspicious request, ensuring malicious activities are kept away from infiltrating the system.

Besides, if a company desires to give access to its intranet to users outside the system, it creates extranet extensions. So firewall becomes even more integral for the overall protection and security.

Benefits And Challenges Of The Intranet

The Internet doesn't just come with rainbows and sunshine! While yes, there are numerous benefits, it encapsulates some challenges too.

The benefits include Increased Return On Investment, thanks to the curtailed costs resulting from better implementation. It also improves employee engagement and leads to more enhanced cooperation within the enterprise while also helping the HR team better overview the employee records and details. Since every employee’s data is in the same place, the company heads can keep that information organized.

On the flip side, the challenges entail:

Lack of Intranet Users

Although some intranet users are still using the system today, most of them have switched to other communication and engagement methods. This has resulted in less content available on the intranet system, as well as documentation that can make it seem beneficial and increase the number of users availing the benefits.

Lack of Investment in Resources

Numerous companies remain shy of investing money in a team that will take care of the bugs and fixes within the intranet system. Therefore, whenever the system becomes the target of a bug, there is no one to provide the solution.

Continuous Maintenance

A reliable intranet system requires continuous maintenance and checks to keep things running. This results in a need to spend tremendous amounts on the system’s check and balance, making people move away from its use.

Where does the Intranet fit in the Digital Workplace?

Undoubtedly, Intranet is slowly losing the footing it once held. In the broader scheme of things, newer technologies are making their way to the top. One of the best alternatives to the intranet is employee apps that offer benefits that can overshadow an intranet system’s advantages.

Some of those benefits are:

• User-friendly interfaces
• Better user experience
• Greater ease of use

Today, numerous software development companies in Singapore create these employee apps, which are rapidly gaining popularity.

What’s Differentiates an Intranet, Extranet, and the Internet?

While intranet, extranet, and internet may sound alike, they are marked with fundamental differences that change how they work.

Intranet refers to a private network in which data is constrained to the selected users only. Simultaneously, the extranet adds an extension to allow users outside the company to access the intranet system. Simultaneously, the Internet brings global computers into use and forms a network accessible to every person in the world with internet access.

What this translates to is the fact that the intranet is the most secure way to exchange information while the internet sits at the lowest on the list!