One of the newest and most powerful tools available to companies striving to achieve the seemingly contradictory goals of greater productivity and lower costs is the intranet, a private communications network created using the same hardware, software, and communications infrastructure used to build World Wide Web sites. Intranets make it easier than ever to share data documents and information; they offer the promise of workplaces where all employees have access to the up-to-date information they need exactly when they need it.
You use the same browser to access the World Wide Web page that you use to access the intranet. But whereas the World Wide Web is a public park, an intranet is a private club for members of the organization only.
Intranets are an entirely new way for organizations to conduct their day-to-day business.
Extranet
An Extranet is a collaborative network that uses Internet Technology to link businesses with their suppliers, customers or other businesses that share common goals. An Extranet can be viewed as part of a company’s Intranet that is made accessible to other companies or that is a collaboration with other companies.
