10 Intranet Myths

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The initial costs in setting up an intranet might seem low. You find a spare PC lying around, add some memory and disk space, install as web server software, network card and your are on your way. This might be a bit misleading. If you expect your intranet to grow, be prepared for the costs involved with the growth. Before you know it you will need one or more of the following :

a. A faster web server

b. Increased disk space and memory

c. Better applications like database connectivity, interactive forums, multimedia support

d. Increased bandwidth

e. Support staff for managing your intranet

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A lot of intranet projects don't take off as expected. Sometimes for a simple reason. People don't know or don't remember. You will have to use a lot of promotional techniques not only to get people to visit your intranet, but for them to keep coming back.

a. Request the help of your marketing department and use their expertise.

b. Promote your intranet through management. Have them mention it at all meetings and with all correspondence.

c. Hold an "intranet day". Give away prizes. Make a huge banner with your URL.

d. Update your content regularly with useful information. Add local news, weather, press release etc.

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Not really. Even if your company has a handful of employees, you could use and intranet to your advantage. The success of an intranet depends on the cost savings an increase in productivity. Also smaller companies may find it easier to cut through all the hype and use intranet technology right away.

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Nope. Believe it or not. Intranets are here to stay. We will see different variations of intranet technology over time and we will also see this technology evolve but its definitely here.

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Granted, Intranets will work across a number of platforms. Your pages can be viewed by browsers on UNIX boxes, Macs, Windows and a number of other platforms. But once you get into advanced applications and start using the latest technologies (Java, ActiveX etc.) you will realize that you have to fine tune your applications to support a "certain" type of browsers. Vendors are working to resolve conflicts and establish standards but then we all know how that works.

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Nope. Your intranet can be up and running by itself without and connection to the outside world. You will still be using technologies prevailing on the Internet like web servers, browsers, chat scripts, news and mail servers etc. but you do not have to be connected to the Internet unless you want your intranet users to access content from the Internet.

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If you still believe this, you are in for a lot of surprises. Intranet can grow real fast. If you do not have a good plan and growth strategy in place, be prepared to spend a lot of time on small, routine maintenance tasks. Adding new publishers, adding users, maintaining the user database, keeping the content and technology current, coping with growing demand for bandwidth, applications and information. These are just a few issues you will have to deal with. You will also need a good set of policies in place. Be prepared !

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If your intranet is not connected to the Internet (see myth #6) and you do not provide dial in access, you have a lot less to worry about. Even with an incoming connection, you have a number of options to secure your intranet. Firewalls, SSL, password authentication, IP blocking and other techniques are available to secure your intranet from intruders.

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Leave the control of your intranet in the hands of the chosen few from the IS support group and you might be restricting its growth. Do not make it a free-for-all publishing method either. Let IS setup and manage the content publishers but also allow the publishers to use their own judgment and creativity to come up with content.

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An intranet is not limited to a web site. The technology is adapted from the Internet and the Internet is a lot more than web sites. You can use simple technology like enterprise-wide email, push technology, newsgroups, chat etc. which are all based on TCP/IP protocols, within your intranet. Why limit yourself to web sites only ?

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Let us know how you feel about this article. We would love to hear from you at myths@intrack.com

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