>Nikki Goth (nikki@herring.com)
is an editor at The Red Herring, a San Francisco-based
monthly publication that covers technology and the entertainment
business. She has been with The Red Herring for about a
year, writing about private and public companies in various technology
sectors, including Web content and Internet software tools. She
has previous work experience in the securities industry at Donaldson,
Lufkin, & Jenrette in San Francisco. She completed a B.A.
in political economy and German studies at Williams College in
Massachusetts.
Steve Greenberg (slgreen@leland.stanford.edu)
received his engineering degree and M.B.A. in finance from Cornell
University and is currently pursuing his J.D. at Stanford Law
School. After a brief position in IBM's Westchester sales group,
he served as vice president of a private equity group, where he
was responsible for managing acquisitions, strategic alliances,
and business development in a variety of industries. Greenberg
has also headed his own consulting firm. Most recently, he has
worked in the legal, finance, and business development groups
at Madge Networks, a provider of LAN and WAN products. He is currently
studying the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and its effect on
various new technologies, including Internet telephony and video-conferencing.
Matthew J. Handy (handy@intraactive.com)
is an independent software engineer specializing in the development
of Internet and intranet systems for corporations throughout the
United States and Canada. He graduated from Queens University
in Kingston, Ontario with a B.S. in computing and information
science. He subsequently worked with a number of high-profile
organizations to create powerful and effective solutions using
many disparate technologies, including object-oriented software
design and development in C++ and Java, client/server development
with Wayfarer QuickServer, WAN/LAN systems and integration, Windows
NT, and Lotus Notes. He is currently developing new intranet technologies
at IntraACTIVE, Inc. Prior to escaping the frozen north for a
better life in the States, Handy spent countless hours helping
the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan develop and implement a wide
array of financial systems. He also served as a project coordinator
at IBM-Canada, and he has started a software development and consulting
firm (Handy Computer Consulting). Working as an independent consultant
in the mid-Atlantic region, he has helped a number of companies
and organizations, such as the American Institutes for Research
and Wavelength Technologies, maximize the potential of today's
available information technology.
Hal Herzog (hal@intraactive.com)
has acquired most of his computer expertise through self-instruction.
He is currently employed as an Internet consultant at IntraACTIVE,
Inc., where his work includes HTML programming and Web site creation.
He has been responsible for the design and redesign of IntraACTIVE's
InTandem intranet software. He is proficient in a wide range of
software packages, including Slirp 1.0c, RealAudio, Oracle 7,
Java, Web Edit Pro 2.0, FrontPage 1.1, PhotoShop 3.0.5., Visual
Basic 4.0, and Truespace 2.0.
Paul Itoi (itoi@start.net)
is founder and managing director of SWAN Internet Services, which
develops intranet content and functionality. Most recently, he
designed and implemented an intranet site to aid technical support
at Genentech, Inc. of San Francisco.
Art Klein (aklein@id1.com)
has been in the information systems arena for over six years.
He has been involved in application development, software optimization,
and systems and network management for a variety of firms in many
different markets. Most of his recent work has been with financial
services institutions. He has worked on a variety of systems,
ranging from CRAY supercomputers to PCs and Macintoshes. He holds
a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Northwestern
University in Evanston, Illinois. He currently is a senior systems
programmer in a large West Coast financial services firm.
Edmund Landgraf (elandgra@aol.com)
is a senior technical consultant for SuperNova Consulting of Manassas,
Virginia. His skills include data modeling, front-end development,
middleware implementation, data warehousing, data mining, three-tier
client/server architecture, intranet deployment, decision support,
enterprise information systems, and relational and object-oriented
databases. In addition, he holds Microsoft certifications for
Windows, Windows NT, and SQL Server, and he has explored Microsoft's
Internet Information Server running on NT with data feeds from
SQL Server to ActiveX controls. He coauthored a paper published
at Client/Server West Exposition (1994) in San Jose on a phased-implementation
methodology to integrate distributed and replicated databases.
His research interests include secure electronic commerce, object-relational
databases, and reusable middleware components. Landgraf has worked
in an extensive number of business areas, including health care,
telecommunications, large-scale manufacturing (Fortune 10), education,
food management, financial services, banking, and professional
consulting. Most recently, he has worked to help a company specializing
in health care information design a system architecture that would
create custom client databases out of a large data warehouse.
He was the lead database architect for a custom 4GL-based application
that handled large amounts of data, from 100 to 600MB, and that
included over 350 entity relationships. Landgraf had previously
worked for American Management Systems, Inc. of Fairfax, Virginia.
He has a B.S. in computer science engineering from Cornell University.
Cliff Majersik (cliff@intraactive.com,
www.intraactive.com) is the
president, CEO, and a founder of IntraACTIVE, Inc., a full-service
intranet solutions provider, Web developer, and consulting firm.
He has overseen development of IntraACTIVE's InTandem intranet
software and helped design numerous intranets and Web sites. He
frequently writes, teaches, and speaks on applications of Internet
and intranet technology. His first programming experience was
on an Atari 400 15 years ago. Prior to founding IntraACTIVE, Majersik
worked for National Strategies, Inc., a Washington, DC political
consulting firm that specializes in communications and environmental
issues. While there, he worked on behalf of several trade associations.
Majersik lives in Washington, DC and is a graduate of Williams
College.
Mike Mazan (mmazan@theserver.com)
has significant experience with servers and operating systems.
He has been involved in server projects covering almost every
server architecture and type over the last 16 years. His clients
have included government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, associations,
labor unions, and many small businesses. Currently, Mazan is president
and CEO of The Server Company, Inc. in Reston, Virginia. TSC was
founded by Mazan in 1994 as a company providing specialized servers
to industry and government. TSC growth has been driven by providing
state-of-the-art server systems preconfigured as specific application
servers. These servers build ready-to-run applications, including
Internet and intranet Web sites, Lotus Notes, and Microsoft Exchange,
Telephone, Imaging, Fax, and Accounting. Mazan has founded a number
of other technology companies over the past 16 years, including
Chesapeake Technology Group, Inc. CTG provides technology consulting
in groupware and messaging. Mazan continues to provide ongoing
technology consulting to long-term clients via CTG.
Jim Noland (jnoland@criticom.com)
has significant experience in PC, Macintosh, and UNIX construction
and networking. His networking experience includes software support,
systems administration, and network design and architecture using
computer-aided design applications. Specifically, his work experience
includes 10 years with RF broadband systems data and video network
design installation and maintenance for various organizations,
including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Air Force
7th Comm Group Pentagon, Information Systems Command-Pentagon,
and Intermedia Cable Network. In addition, he has seven years
of experience with networking systems administration of Torus,
Windows, TCP/IP, NetWare, and OSI. He has provided technical support
and LAN administration for DigiCon Corporation, Information Systems
& Networks, CritiCom, Inc., and Deputy Chief of Staff/Operations
and Planning, U.S. Army. He has extensive experience in systems
integration of many networking technologies. Noland also has extensive
knowledge of ISDN, T-1, frame relay, broadband, and other wide-area
network services. He currently provides supervisory-level management
and overall project management for network installations and integrations
for a diverse list of clients. He has received and given numerous
training classes in computers, networking technologies, systems
administration, and broadband technologies and applications.
Frank C. Pappas (fcpappas@aol.com)
is a freelance consultant and author who specializes in the development
of user interface, content, and management solutions for Internet-based
systems and corporate intranets. He graduated with degrees in
political science and Spanish language and literature from George
Washington University in Washington, DC. He has worked with federal
agencies and private organizations to integrate modern technology
into established systems in order to enhance productivity and
information distribution. Since leaving behind the fires, floods,
and earthquakes of Southern California in late 1992, Pappas has
assisted a number of organizations in the Washington, DC area
and abroad in the exploration of the limits and potential of evolving
Internet and computer technologies, including The American Institutes
for Research, America OnLine, George Washington University, the
U.S. House of Representatives, and Bush-Quayle '92. An accomplished
author who writes on both technical and popular issues, his articles
have appeared in a number of newspapers and other publications
across the country, including the Glendale News-Press and
The Commercial User's Guide to the Internet. Pappas is
currently pursuing a master's degree in Latin American Studies
at George Washington University's Elliott School of International
Affairs.
Laura Sandage (laura@intraactive.com)
is a multimedia consultant for IntraACTIVE, Inc. while she pursues
an active interest in film and other visual media. She has also
produced and written several short pieces, some of which aired
on a PBS affiliate station, and another of which was used as a
national training video for basketball players involved in the
American Athletic Union. While in college, she became interested
in multimedia computing as a computer lab advisor for American's
law media center. Like other students, she found the Internet
not only a source of communication, but also an excellent opportunity
for an enjoyable career.
Richard Simon (simon@intraactive.com)
is the director of networks and systems for IntraACTIVE, Inc.
He has been performing user support and system administration
for the last four years. His specialty had been PCs, but he's
also added UNIX and Macs to his repertoire. He came to IntraACTIVE
from the Software Productivity Consortium, where he was a systems
analyst for PC and UNIX environments. Simon attended the Louisiana
School for Math, Science, and the Arts. He earned a B.A. from
Williams College, and he now resides in Washington, DC.
Nova Spivack (nova@earthweb.com)
is cofounder and executive vice president of new business at EarthWeb.
He has more than 10 years of experience in the software and new
media industries. At EarthWeb, he is responsible for fostering
strategic alliances and partnerships and managing the company's
marketing activities, strategic planning, and design of new technologies.
Spivack plays a vital role in the development of Gamelan: The
Directory for the Java community, which is endorsed by Sun Microsystems
(www.gamelan.com). He was
also instrumental in the development of the first Java-related
online store, Gamelan Direct. Prior to EarthWeb, he was an editor/reviewer
at Individual, Inc., where he produced daily industry intelligence
reports for a number of Fortune 10 and Fortune 1000 clients. Spivack
also acted as a consultant to Thinking Machines Corporation and
Kurzweil Electronics in areas related to artificial intelligence,
scientific visualization, parallel computing, multimedia, online
help, user interface design, and distributed databases. He holds
a B.A. in philosophy from Oberlin College and a C.S.S. degree
from the International Space University, a NASA-sponsored graduate
and professional program.
Mary I. Woodell (miw@bivwood.com)
is cofounder of Bivings Woodell, Inc., a Washington, DC-based
consulting firm specializing in controversy management. She is
a recognized expert in the organizational impact of emerging and
mature technologies in highly regulated industries. She is the
author of Guidelines for the Implementation of Process Safety
Management, published in 1994 by the American Institute of
Chemical Engineers, as well as numerous technical and general-interest
articles. She is a frequently cited commentator in the news media
on the subjects of crisis management and risk communications.
Anne Marie Yerks (ayerks@intraactive.com)
is a graduate of North Carolina State University, where she majored
in writing and editing. She attended graduate school and taught
English at George Mason University. Her work has been published
in both local and national publications, including Southern
Exposure, The Independent Weekly, Bust, and Pediatric Nursing.
She now works as a writer and multimedia consultant at IntraACTIVE,
Inc., and is in the process of developing a resource guide to
intranets on the Web.
Tell Us What You Think
As a reader, you are the most important critic and commentator
of our books. We value your opinion and want to know what we're
doing right, what we could do better, what areas you'd like to
see us publish in, and any other words of wisdom you're willing
to pass our way. You can help us make strong books that meet your
needs and give you the computer guidance you require.
Do you have access to CompuServe or the World Wide Web? Then check
out our CompuServe forum by typing GO
SAMS at any prompt. If you
prefer the World Wide Web, check out our site at http://www.mcp.com.
| Note |
If you have a technical question about this book, call the technical support line at (800) 571-5840, extension 3668.
|
As the team leader of the group that created this book, I welcome
your comments. You can fax, e-mail, or write me directly to let
me know what you did or didn't like about this book-as well as
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|
In March of 1995, while working with my friend Jack Hidary (now
of EarthWeb, LLC), Cliff Majersik and I built an intranet for
a large Washington DC-based trade association. It was one of the
first intranets of its kind. It was only accessible via the Internet,
it was totally password-protected, and it allowed members of the
association to communicate and trade files among one another as
well as view association documents. At the time, the word "intranet"
had not been introduced. However, we certainly saw the benefit
of creating resources for companies and organizations using this
technology. After all, if Web technology was the best way to display
and trade information on the world's largest computer network,
wouldn't it be perfect for smaller networks? At that time we also
were very interested in promoting open systems. Prior to this,
while EarthWeb was focused on developing advanced Internet technologies
and Java, Cliff and I had been busy building public Web sites,
creating powerful intranet tools, and consulting for companies
and organizations that were eager to unleash the power of intranets.
Nearly two years after we built that first intranet, we were still
exploring how intranets could change the shape of work flow and
communications within an organization. We were eager to show businesses
how an intranet could form an internal business community that
would allow companies and organizations to grow and prosper in
the most efficient way that technology offered. During this time,
we found that businesses mainly used the technology of the Internet
for marketing and research purposes-and for good reason, as the
Internet provided a unique avenue to reach both resources and
consumers beyond the walls of the business.
But we wanted to equip businesses to use those same Internet technologies
to form their own "internal Internets," or intranets.
The potential we saw in building these "internal Internets"
was so great that along the way we founded a company, now known
as IntraACTIVE, Inc., to help organizations use this technology.
As of this writing, IntraACTIVE has more than 25 employees and
has developed a suite of intranet applications called InTandem
(discussed in this book). In early 1996, we were contacted by
Sams.net Publishing and agreed to write a comprehensive book on
intranets that would explore every concept and technology that
might find a home on a company's intranet. That comprehensive
book is the one you're now reading.
At its most basic level, an intranet is a place to post employee
handbooks and annual reports. At its most sophisticated level,
an intranet provides platforms for real-time Web chat and video
exchange across the network. In between, an intranet allows the
integration of applications such as PDF presentations, group document
creation and editing, and reference desks, as well as strategic
communications and workflow applications. Regardless of the level
of sophistication, however, intranets provide boundless solutions
to the constant task of refining work flow and communication channels
in an effort to make workplaces and workers more efficient.
The need to communicate internally and to know the customer will
be as important in the future as it was when the first proprietor
opened his door for business. Intranets will continue to increasingly
fulfill this unwavering need. Intranets allow any business, regardless
of its wares or size, to harness the intellectual expertise of
all employees and make it available to any authorized audience,
subsequently expanding the knowledge base of everyone involved
in the business. Any successful businessperson knows that a smart
business is a profitable business.
The power of intranets stems from the Internet itself, and it
is in this power that intranets' success lies. In fact, it is
the prevalence of the Internet and the overwhelming software and
hardware applications that have sprung from its success and popularity
that have spawned intranets and set the stage for their bright
future. Yet inherent differences in geography separate the Internet
from intranets. Like the once-untamed Wild West, there is no central
authority and little organization on the Internet. Anyone with
computer programming knowledge and $50 a month to pay for an Internet
account can put up a Web page. With intranets, there typically
is a hierarchy to organizing information and communications within
a business. An intranet reflects such organization, whether it
be from the more traditional vertical corporate hierarchy or from
the newer team approach.
This book is designed to help you first understand and then seize
the power of using and designing an intranet. The book offers
its readers the range of possibilities and opportunities awaiting
both the first-time builder and the administrator who is always
looking for ways to enhance and/or tweak an existing intranet.
Who Should Read This Book
Intranets Unleashed deserves a place on the desktop of
anyone who is contemplating (or delegated to) designing an intranet,
anyone who is exploring their organization's newly created intranet
for the first time, or anyone who considers himself or herself
a "seasoned" intranet user who intently explores every
turn of his or her business's intranet and eagerly awaits the
expansion of additional functionality to the intranet. This book
offers background, guidance, and value for any user interested
in the many applications of an intranet, whether that user is
the programmer or the systems administrator, the CEO or the customer
service representative, the technophile or the reluctant user.
It's written for people employed in any type of business-a corporation,
small business, university, government agency, trade association.
What You'll Get
Our goal in writing this book was to offer every reader a full
range of ideas as to what an intranet can offer, as well as how
to go about taking advantage of that functionality. My hope is
that after finishing this book, you will be able to envision every
aspect of your future intranet, or the enhanced functionality
or efficiency of your existing one. We also provide you with a
road map to get you from the conceptual level to a fully operational
intranet. Obviously we cannot provide you with every detail, but
we do provide the material and background so that you can know
what questions to ask and where to find the answers regarding
intranets.
To help you grasp and apply the concepts and technologies discussed
in this book, most chapters include sidebars of two fictional
organizations. Through these organizations-an accounting firm
and a membership association-we illustrate how the specific theories,
applications, and systems that are discussed might be applied.
(See the section in this Introduction titled "Helpful Sidebars:
McKeon & Jeffries and the Sporting Goods and Apparel Association.")
How This Book Is Organized
This book has eight parts. In the first two chapters of Part I,
Gary Bivings, Mary Woodell (both of the consulting firm Bivings
Woodell), and I introduce the intranet from the perspective of
where the Internet ends and the intranet begins. Then we discuss
the various information resource uses of an intranet. In the second
half of Part I, I examine the differences between intranets and
traditional groupware. I then set the foundation for intranets
with a detailed background of the client/server relationship.
Part II, "Building Your Intranet," begins with my intranet
shopping list, a list of the basic ingredients you need in order
to set up an intranet, such as server hardware and software and
client hardware and software. In a later chapter I also offer
a shopping list of client machines, discussing specific requirements
for different intranets. In other chapters, Mike Mazan of The
Server Company and Eric Ashman of Ashman Consulting discuss servers
in depth, examining the hardware, operating system, and software
needs. Richard Simon of IntraACTIVE offers a detailed plan for
setting up a server. Jim Noland of CapitolNet spends three chapters
discussing the topic of connectivity. Richard Simon and Jerry
Ablan, a software engineer with the Chicago Board Options Exchange,
then examine security from all sides, including keeping hackers
out of an intranet, protecting data storage, and securing data
transmissions. Finally, Matthew Benson and Sweth Chandramouli
of Bivings Woodell share their insights on training intranet users
and administrators.
Part III is called "Using Your Intranet: Business Applications."
Hal Herzog of IntraACTIVE begins this part of the book with chapters
on browsers and authoring tools. Matthew Handy and Matthew Baird,
also of IntraACTIVE, spend two chapters exploring the topics of
creating dynamic sites and functional sites. Jobe Doody of IntraACTIVE
discusses creating cross-platform presentations with PDF presentations,
and Jim Miller of IntraACTIVE discusses SGML presentations. This
part also highlights communications technology for the intranet.
Anne Marie Yerks and Laura Sandage, both of IntraACTIVE, discuss
audio presentations and video presentations, respectively.
In Part IV, "Using Your Intranet: Corporate Data," Art
Klein takes readers through file transfer protocol and sharing
files on an intranet. In another chapter, Art talks about the
history and nature of Telnet and terminal connections and why
they're used. Also in Part IV, Edmund Landgraf of IntraACTIVE
and Frank C. Pappas of Interactive Applications Group, Inc., discuss
the role of databases in intranets.
Part V, "Using Your Intranet: Communication," explores
the four avenues of utilizing an intranet to communicate. This
section begins with me discussing e-mail. Nikki Goth and Paul
Itoi are the experts discussing WebChat and CU-SeeMe, while Steve
Greenberg and Josh Becker of IntraACTIVE offer their expertise
on Internet Phones.
Part VI, "Developing Intranet Applications," begins
with Frank C. Pappas offering an in-depth examination of tools
used to develop applications for intranets, while Matthew Benson
and I explore creating real-world applications. Anne Marie Yerks,
Cliff Majersik (president and CEO of IntraACTIVE), and I spend
the next 11 chapters discussing actual intranet applications,
beginning with group scheduling and finishing with reference desks.
In Part VII, "Administering Your Intranet," Edmund Landgraf
begins with a discussion of integrating existing applications.
In subsequent chapters Cliff Majersik and I offer insight into
maintaining a user database, file structures, and security. Cliff
rounds out Part VII with a look at hardware and software upgrades.
In Part VIII, the final section, Nova Spivack of EarthWeb discusses
managing and planning large Web projects. Cliff Majersik and I
then look at the future of the Internet and what's ahead for intranets
from both a systems and a concept perspective.
Appendix A offers resources, such as Web addresses and information
on the software, hardware, and other applications discussed in
the book. We've also included a glossary to help you understand
any unfamiliar terms you may encounter while reading this book.
Helpful Sidebars: McKeon & Jeffries and the Sporting Goods
and Apparel Association
To help you understand and, in some cases, apply the concepts
discussed in this book, most chapters include sidebars that follow
the intranet development of two very different hypothetical organizations.
The first is a medium-sized regional accounting firm, McKeon &
Jeffries; the second is an international trade association, the
Sporting Goods and Apparel Association. Hopefully, by following
these organizations' intranet development from chapter to chapter,
you will gain a unique first-hand understanding of how to develop
and implement your own intranet. Additionally, these sidebars
should help you immediately begin to apply-at least mentally-the
information within each chapter to your own intranet. Although
no two organizations are the same, and no two intranets are the
same, we try to cover as many potential issues as possible. Keep
in mind that while we have tried to provide as realistic a view
as possible, we address more options and possibilities with each
organization than most organizations will consider. Many intranets
will not be as complex as the two we build throughout this book,
but they certainly will be as effective and successful.
The first business is McKeon & Jeffries (M&J), a medium-sized
accounting firm based in Philadelphia. The firm has 75 CPAs and
55 support staff in three offices: 95 are in the main office,
20 are in Washington, DC, and 15 are in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The firm specializes in taxes and audits, so the CPAs spend much
of their time on the road in clients' offices. The majority of
the firm's client base is in the local areas that surround the
three offices. The firm currently has about $19 million in revenues.
M&J is looking for an intranet to solve some of their information
and communications problems. They want to exchange files, communicate
via e-mail, and access client and research data via the intranet.
They also need an avenue to carry on discussions among accountants
in the three offices to avoid the expense of conference calls,
training, and meetings. Additionally, the company wants its employees
to have access to the system from the road or from home. M&J
needs only cursory access to the Internet, mainly for e-mail and
research. The firm someday wants to allow clients to browse its
intranet in a limited fashion.
McKeon & Jeffries currently runs a Novell network in each
of the three offices. The Philadelphia office is connected to
the Washington, DC office via an ISDN line, but the Raleigh office
is not connected to the other two offices. The Washington and
Philadelphia LANs are accessible to one another. The Raleigh office
currently uses interoffice e-mail. None of the offices has an
Internet connection. Most of the accountants have 486 or Pentium
processors, and many have laptops. The support staff mainly uses
386 processors, although some have 486 processors now. All of
the machines are running Windows for Workgroups.
The technical staff consists of a partner with an interest in
and some knowledge of the technology, and a systems administrator
who is responsible for the networks in all three offices. The
budget for the development is $45,000 for the first year. McKeon
& Jeffries wants the intranet up and running in 60 days.
The second organization is the Sporting Goods and Apparel Association
(SGAA), located in Washington, DC. The SGAA is a multinational
organization of sporting goods manufacturers, distributors, and
retailers. There are 150 member companies in 40 states, Canada,
and Mexico. The members are very diverse, ranging from multimillion-dollar
manufacturers to small mom-and-pop retailers.
The SGAA plans to use its intranet to facilitate communication
and the exchange of information among members. It plans to discuss
everything from political and regulatory issues to marketing and
distribution. Additionally, it wants to use the technology to
announce new products, provide technical and pricing information,
discuss association issues, and share data among members. They
are very interested in making information accessible at different
levels, depending on the user. The SGAA's intranet will be accessible
to its members via the Internet.
Like all companies, the members have various levels of technological
proficiency. Some of the manufacturers have advanced computer
networks, while some of the resellers don't even have a computer.
The SGAA itself has 35 employees and is running a Windows 95 network.
It also has several Macintosh machines that are used for desktop
publishing.
The SGAA has hired a manager of information systems to develop
the intranet, and it will rely on the expertise of the information
managers of some of its larger members. The SGAA also has contracted
with an Internet Service Provider to provide technical assistance
with developing the more advanced software. The SGAA has budgeted
$225,000 for developing its intranet in the first year, and it
plans to have the intranet up in running within a year.
Conventions Used in This Book
This book uses the following conventions:
- New terms appear in italic.
- All code appears in monospace.
- Placeholders in code (words that stand
for what you actually type) appear in italic
monospace.
- When a line of code is too long to fit
on only one line of this book, it is broken at a convenient place
and continued to the next line. The continuation of the line is
preceded by a code continuation character (Â).
You should type a line of code that has this character as one
long line without breaking it.
Conclusion
Welcome to the future of network computing! Building this intranet
might be your first step toward using your computer as more than
an expensive typewriter. Think about the possibilities-the cost
savings, the efficiency, the flexibility you will enjoy when you
implement this technology. Never again will you need to have your
employee handbook printed hundreds of times whenever there is
a change. Never again will you have to update the corporate directory
every six months. Consider the possibilities of having your corporate
data updated instantly by any employee, or of having research
materials at your fingertips. Imagine looking up a phone number
or another important piece of data while conducting business from
out of the country or from a client or friend's computer. Picture
yourself sitting on the beach, sipping a mango daiquiri while
your work is done automatically as you get a really good tan.
Well, okay, maybe an intranet can't do everything, but it sure
would be an excuse to get that cool new computer you had your
eye on! Have fun!
dave@intraactive.com
