Selecting Intranets, Extranets & Customer Portal Solutions

Get intoduced to Intranets, Extranets & Customer Portals. Learn why they are so important and what to look for in a solution.

By Pankaj Taneja, Consultant, HyperOffice

“Intranet”, “Extranet” & “Customer Portal” are fashionable techie jargon nowadays, and hailed as “must haves” for all varieties of businesses. It would be in order to throw some light on these topics.

INTRANET – Unlike the internet, an intranet is a private network which functions only within the boundaries of an organization. It also differs vastly from the internet in that its audience is the employees, & its objectives are to serve as an information repository, facilitate communication and collaboration, automate processes and help with training.

EXTRANET – Like an Intranet, an extranet is a private network. But rather than being directed internally, it is an outward facing network used to securely collaborate, share information or integrate operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers or other businesses. Since the abovementioned parties are spread over diverse locations, extranets use the internet as a vehicle to connect to these parties. A company might have multiple dedicated extranets for different key partners or clients and can also be seen as an extension of an “intranet”.

CUSTOMER PORTAL – A “Customer portal” is an extranet built specifically for an important customer. It is a unique environment created specifically for the needs of a particular client. The purposes may be collaboration needs of working jointly on a project for a client, to providing dedicated support and training materials to an important client, to merely a shared information area where documents, contracts, reports etc are shared with a client.

The benefits of the above software to any sort of business are obvious – increased productivity, enhanced communication and collaboration, satisfied vendors and partners, streamlined processes etc. Previously, such software were available only to mega businesses which could afford custom built solutions running into tens of thousands of dollars in cost. But since the advent of web based software-as-a-service applications, even the smallest of companies can afford such software for a monthly fee.

Analyze Feature Set

Companies offer from the barest minimum, skeleton structure, no frills solutions, to overwhelmingly complicated "all your needs under the sun" products. Certain features are essential in every intranet/extranet solution - document management, intranet/extranet page publisher, task management, contact management, integrated email, calendaring, & forums. In addition to these features, the solution should also allow for some degree of customization according to company needs.
Try: In terms of comprehensiveness of features to cost ratio HyperOffice is the best solution. If companies want to migrate away from the binding of MS Office tools, Google Apps is a good option. Other prominent names are BEA's WebLogic & WebOffice.

The Ease of Use Factor

An adoption & learning curve is involved with every new software purchase. It is important that these are short or it will lead to user frustration and resistance. Training provided by the software vendor acts as a good kick start. Sooner or later problems do crop up, so the level of support of the vendor (help engines, live support, or dedicated account personnel) helps. It is important that the software is low maintenance, and does not necessitate hiring of special staff.
Try: The new concept of "software as a service" (SAAS) hosted software solutions like HyperOffice, Google Apps or Sharepoint Online, scores in terms of ease of use, adoption & maintenance. The software is hosted by its developer, & buyers have to pay a monthly subscription to use it.

How Secure is the Application

Security is a top consideration because data critical to the company will be parsing through the intranet application. Moreover, with extranets and customer portals, so shall data belonging to partners and customers. Since with the new hosted SAAS approach, a letting go of control of our data is involved, we need to be double assured it is secure. It is important to check the company's track record. Have their security systems ever been compromised?
Try: Password protection is the first level and bare minimum security measure. Look out for providers who encrypt data using the SSL 128 bit encryption standard to safeguard data. Automatic backups ensure that your data is always backed up in case of loss. Anti virus and Anti Spam may be relevant depending on the type of software and where it is hosted.

The Cost!

Getting a custom built solution will consist of the costs of development & maintenance. These costs often run into the tens of thousands. Although such solutions may make sense for mega corporations with highly specific needs and the luxury of big budgets, they are simply out of the reach of smaller companies. Companies need consider not just the initial costs, but costs over the life cycle of the product (product cost, setup cost, maintenance cost etc). Moreover these costs need to be considered in light of the needs of the company and the range of features of the solution.
Try: The SAAS option is particularly beneficial for smaller companies. It allows them to get the power of big business solutions at reasonable monthly costs. Moreover it also saves them from the hassles of setting up, updating and maintaining the solution. A good resource comparing different SAAS intranet solutions is intranetresearch.com.