Sharing information among staff members is critical to a fast-growing small business. Out of date information, difficult-to-find data, or poor channels of communications quickly drags quality and efficiency down. But management of this information can be expensive and time consuming.
Now, there is an inexpensive, high-quality solution to this problem: intranets.
Intranets are private networks that are open only to the employees of a company and act as an enterprise-wide information system. Intranets use Internet technology, which keeps costs down and makes them efficient. Users can easily and efficiently navigate the network with browsers such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. Index tools can be used to assemble searchable databases of documents. Threaded newsgroups and other collaborative tools let your staff work together more effectively, and powerful search engines can help users find key documents through simple concept inquiries.
Although intranets are private and internal, they aren't only at one site. An intranet connects employees whether they are sitting across from each other's cubicle or are based thousands of miles away from each other.
The content posted on intranet's varies by company. One small software development company, for example, has programmers spread across the country. The programmers use their company's intranet to post information about current projects and seek advice from their counterparts. A small public relations agency uses an intranet as a central corporate information point as well as for coordinating client media campaigns.
Any corporate information that employees need to access can sit on an intranet: an employee newsletter published by Human Resources, a marketing campaign for a new product, 401k investment options and performance, or a mission-critical database of customers.
Whatever the content, intranets are making it easier for companies of all sizes to conduct business; that's why a lot of companies have invested in them. In a recent survey by IDC, 59% of U.S. organizations had intranets. With the price of technology dropping, more and more small businesses are looking to intranets as a way to increase their productivity and give themselves a competitive edge. Businesses have an almost insatiable thirst for Internet/intranet products and services, and that thirst won't be quenched any time soon. Zona Research Inc., Redwood, CA, estimated the market at $34.97 billion in 1996 and says it will top $100 billion during 1998.