Intranets, Extranets and the Internet

Abstract

E-Commerce is one of the most important facets of the Internet to have emerged in the recent times and involves carrying out business over the Internet with the assistance of computers, which are linked to each other forming a network. For e-commerce businesses that want to expand on sales and assets; knowing the difference between intranets, extranets and how the Internet is involved is vital when setting up a website. There are various markup languages that are used on top of being able to understand the improvement of technology on a day-to-day basis.

A lot of companies in today's time has gained a more business because of the Internet and the use of e-commerce (selling products on online). A business model for an e-commerce company has to be determined in order to see how the company will benefit through a webpage online that portrays the vision of the company. The idea on how company resources will be displayed and to who the company allows access is where intranet and extranet comes into play.

The Internet is "a global system of interconnected computer networks that is s not controlled by a central entity but relies on network devices and accepted conventions and protocols to relay the data traffic until it gets to its destinations (McFarlane)." When building a website for a business there are Internet Protocol addresses and a domain name must be created and tested to see if it is available for the company.

If you look at an example of how many companies have set up their web-based development environments you certainly would think the communications are separate and have no interrelationship: Internet web site development managed by marketing or corporate communications; the intranet team residing in IT under the infrastructure group; and no one really knowing who owns the development of applications to interface with vendors and distributors, perhaps because it's changed too many times to count or no one thought that far yet. "The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location (Leiner)."

The Internet represents one of the most successful examples of the benefits of sustained investment and commitment to research and development of information infrastructure. If there is going to be a restriction on gaining access about a company, then intranets is what will be used when creating.

Intranets are "a private network that is setup and controlled by an organization to encourage interaction among its members, to improve