The Extended Intranet: Integrating the Virtual Enterprise for Business Success
By Dennis Passovoy
The analysts and news media have declared 1996 the Year of the Intranet. Certainly, the speed with
which Intranets have been adopted by U.S. enterprises has been phenomenal. A widely quoted
survey by Forrester Research in late 1995 indicated that 62% of the Fortune 1000 has either
deployed internal Web servers or are investigating doing so. More recently, a survey by Zona
Research concluded that Intranet development will cause twice as much growth as Internet
development over the next three years.
A recent survey by Amicus Networks of Web activity in a key segment of the financial services
industry confirmed the growing importance of electronic tools. Fourteen percent of survey
respondents report their companies already have Web sites, and 84% of the companies currently
without a Web site are seriously looking at developing a secure, interactive site to communicate
and disseminate information to customers. Of the respondents planning to develop systems,
approximately half (54%) expect to implement these systems within the next nine months.
There is growing documentation of the impact that Intranets can have on corporate productivity and
costs. However, the true potential of open, Web-style information systems based on standard IP
protocols rests in the ability to integrate the virtual enterprise -- the company, its chain of suppliers
and distributors, and its customers -- through Intranets that extend beyond the corporate walls.
These Extended Intranets (sometimes called Extranets) offer the potential to solve many of the
problems of cross-platform compatibility and organizational information sharing that have plagued
inter-enterprise communication for many years.
A succinct summary of the potential is offered by Troy Eid, executive director of Infotest, a coalition
of major corporations and government agencies. Eid is quoted in recent articles saying, "The big
net story for 1997 and beyond will be the ability to tap the power of tomorrow's Extranets ... These
new networks take a company's existing Intranet and extend it beyond the enterprise to enable
collaborative operations, such as electronic commerce and supply chain management."
Extended Intranets can assist enterprises address many of the most essential and costly activities
that a business must contend with. For example:
Information Sharing: Sharing and distributing content has become one of the most dominant
applications on the Web. For business, the application of Web technology can help manage
the mountains of paper that drive modern commerce.
John Warnock, CEO of Adobe Systems, recently told a CyberCommerce Conference sponsored
by Goldman Sachs that companies and publishers in the U.S. produce three billion pages a day of
information and publish 18 billion catalogs annually. Certainly, the distribution of information plays
an essential role in marketing, purchasing, finance, human resources, and every other aspect of
corporate enterprise.
Much of the information is intended to keep partners and employees well informed and up-to-date,
but the cost and lead time associated with publishing often results in the opposite effect -- outdated
materials, poorly prepared, often unavailable. Creating an Extranet is an exceptional way to
address this basic function of business.
For example, Financial Service Corporation (Atlanta), one of the nation's largest brokers/dealers of
financial products, has established an Extended Intranet that provides up-to-date information about
financial products, by category, to its national network of over 1,500 independent financial advisors
and brokers.
In another example, Resource Financial Group, an employee benefits outsourcing firm from Austin,
Texas, establishes a free, individual Intranet Web site for its clients, designed to provide up-to-date
information on each client organization's employee benefit programs. And Horner Towsend and
Kent, a subsidiary of Penn Mutual, uses its Extended Intranet to provide a forms-on-demand
service for its partners and associates. Every form required to do business with HTK is readily
available, and changes to these forms can be made instantaneously accessible to the entire
extended Intra-network.
In each of these cases, the implications for cost, quality and convenience are significant.
Furthermore, in highly controlled or regulated industries, the ability to quickly change and
disseminate information can help avoid compliance problems. The result is information that is
timely, easily updated, and widely accessible to any authorized individual with a Web browser --
wherever they may find themselves.
Strategic Communication: In John Warnock's address to Goldman Sachs, he also pointed out
that there are approximately 2.5 billion phone calls made each day in the U.S. Clearly,
business is driven by the ability to effectively and efficiently communicate. Here again, the
Extended Intranet can provide an effective forum for strategic communication among
partners, employees, and customers.
One obvious communication application that has become the "killer ap" of the Internet is electronic
mail. E-mail has become a standard tool in today's business. But e-mail is just the beginning of the
communication potential offered by Web technology.
The popular chat facilities are quickly giving way to online conference rooms, where partners can
meet and share plans, data, and opportunities. An added benefit of the online conference room is
the ability to archive discussions for later reference.
The Financial Service Corporation site, for exanple, includes a conferencing area where brokers
can meet and share ideas real-time. The site also includes bulletin boards for non-real-time
discussions, enriching the information sharing process further.
Distributed Collaboration: As modern tools and networking make location less important to
performance, the need to conduct business across great distances, including on a global
basis, makes the Extended Intranet an ideal meeting place for geographically dispersed or
mobile executives. With current information no further away than a browser, and the ability to
search and access data and, increasingly, to conduct transactions, the Extended Intranet will
grow to become a major commerce pipeline.
Like any Internet-based communication, the basic tools of the Extended Intranet include an IP
backbone, system and communications hardware and software, Internet access, and a Web
browser. The functionalities that enrich the Extended Intranet application include:
Security Mechanisms: To protect those portions of an enterprise's Web site that constitute the
Intranet or Extended Intranet from public access. Web sites can easily accommodate both
public and private areas. Even within private areas, differential levels of authorization and
access can be managed. Security is, of course, always a concern, but high levels of security
can be achieved, making it possible to allow access to sensitive information.
Easy-to-use Publishing Tools: The true value of the Extended Intranet can be realized when all
parties can contribute to the content in the community. To do this, individuals must not be
required to learn special programming languages or master difficult software. Instead, tools
must be available that permit information to be posted with no more difficulty than using a
standard word processing program. This way, the collective experience of the extended
enterprise can be shared.
Opportunities for Interaction: Conference rooms, capabilities to broadcast via audio special
events or meetings, easy-to-use e-mail, and effective directory services are essential to
productive communication and interaction. Although these kinds of interactive services are
not yet widely used in many Intranets, many believe they represent one of the most significant
growth areas in Intranet tools and applications.
Tracking: The ability to track who is using the site and what elements of the site are being
effectively used will help Intranet managers optimize the structure and content of the site.
Extended Intranets need not be exotic, glitzy, or filled with cutting edge applications. Most often, the
simplest interfaces and applications are the best, supporting efficient access and productivity. The
key is that the site reflects the business model of the enterprise deploying it, and reinforces the
sense of community among the organization's stakeholders.
About the author:
Dennis Passovoy is president and CEO for Amicus Networks. Amicus is dedicated to supporting the financial services channel. Amicus Networks is the leading provider of Internet-based communication systems for disseminating information and communicating with financial services constituents within a secure environment. Their premier product to accomplish this is Tool BeltŪ. In addition to Financial Service Corporation, Amicus Networks clients include Hornor Townsend and Kent and Resource Financial Group, among others.
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