Next: 8.4 Improving Internal Communications
Up: 8 Appendix 8: Putting
Previous: 8.2 Introduction
Predictions for internal web growth spring from an examination of
current corporate needs and market demands. Organizations of all sizes
are facing major communication challenges, and in today's fast-moving
competitive environment, quick and easy access to departmental,
corporate, and customer information is essential.
Companies are realizing that many of their current communications
vehicles are too limited to cope with today's market environment.
Intuitive access to broad types of media make the web an ideal solution
to these communication problems. As more companies are realizing its
superiority, the number of internal web sites is quietly growing.
Enterprise web systems can provide information in a way that is:
- immediate
- cost effective
- easy to use
- rich in format
- versatile
But the internal web does more than just solve the problems inherent in
existing communications vehicles. It provides:
- Freedom of choice: web technology is based on open standards and
therefore doesn't lock companies into limited, costly choices. In fact,
web technology is available for nearly all leading operating systems
and hardware platforms and can also leverage legacy database systems.
- Security: protecting information, even within a private corporate
network, is critical. Netscape's secure socket layer (SSL) technology
encrypts packets of information so that information is transferred
securely. Netscape has openly licensed SSL, making it the leading de
facto security standard for web-related products.
- Ease of use: one of the most fundamental web technologies driving
more and more people to use web technology is hyperlinking.
Hyperlinking allows users to easily navigate and find information by
simply clicking on a word or graphic. In addition, with web clients
such as Netscape Navigator, a single front end is used to access all
internal and external resources - so users don't need to learn multiple
software packages. Ease of use is a critical factor for a corporate
information system - in fact, according to a recent survey, 56% of
managers said this was the single most critical factor.
- Cost-effectiveness: web applications are surprisingly inexpensive,
both in initial purchase, training, and in deployment. At less than $40
per user on an interdepartmental or companywide basis, they cost far
less than most other communications or workgroup systems.
Next: 8.4 Improving Internal Communications
Up: 8 Appendix 8: Putting
Previous: 8.2 Introduction
Denis Arnaud
12/19/1997