Intranets and Extranets

According to Mack et al (2001) Internet technology is also used within an organization and its business partners by creating an Intranet and Extranet. An Intranet is an organization’s private Internet that enables employees to share information and access corporate data. An Extranet is also a private Internet, but it is used to link business partners, such as key vendors, and to track orders, sales, and other information typically exchanged by business partners

Businesses are finding other uses for Internet technology besides communicating with anyone in the world. Two of those new uses are to use this technology to communicate within an organization and among business partners.

The term Intranet is used to describe Internet technology used on a local area network to provide e-mail, Web pages, and other communication methods to employees. Employees use the same browser used to access the Internet to access the company’s Intranet.

Importance of Intranet and Extranet in corporate communication

Charles (2007, pp. 11-19) sees successful corporate communication as a goal-oriented function requiring both communication know how, knowledge of business and language skills. As suggested by her, communication know how is an essential component of business knowhow, and by improving communications, employees sharpen the competitive edge of their companies. Accordingly, as argued by Trkman and Trkman (2009, p. 1087), companies need efficient and reliable ways of communicating and transferring information and knowledge among their employees.

Charles (2009) explain the following importance of intranet and extranet

It improves morale and foster goodwill between employees and management, that means through the use of intranet and extranet, it improve morale of the employees and develop goodwill between the employees and management.

It informs employees about internal changes that mean the employees are able to receive different information. Whereby the management can decide to inform the employees by communicating through intranet

Easy monitoring of use. The nature of the technology allow relatively of use. It possible to determine what content is being accessed by whom, and through what pathway.

Easy publication and sharing information. That means you can easily publish and share information using web technology

It increase employee understanding of the company and its products and services, organization, ethics, culture, and external environment

Also change employee behavior to be more productive, quality oriented, and entrepreneurial.

It encourage employee participation, are all played by today’s intranets, thus leaving a minor importance to other internal communication channels, such as personnel magazines, face-to-face meetings or e-mails. 

                 by Shayo Issa