Intranet Vs. Internet

The personal computer and Internet have become an integral part of our daily lives. It is unbelievable how both had taken over our lives in their very short existence. One can even say that today they are ruling our lives.

It is therefore not necessary to explain what the Internet is - the mere fact that you are able to read this article is an indication you are well versed with the Internet and its mechanisms. But not so many people know what the Intranet is. It seems it is only those who daily come in contact with an Intranet who know its mechanisms.

So what is Intranet? Generally speaking, an Intranet is different from an Internet in the following ways:

Intranet is a network within and only for an organization (for instance a big business corporation) whereas Internet is a worldwide network and is public domain;

Intranet has access to Internet but not vice-versa; and

The design for Intranet is more task-orientated and less promotional.

Intranet, with sole purpose of internal communication, and a public website on the open Internet with purpose of public information are two different information spaces and also have two different interface designs. The two types of sites also differ along several dimensions:

Users differ: Intranet users are own employees of an organization who know a lot about that organization, its organizational structure and special terminology and circumstances. An Internet site is used by customers who would know much less about the same organization and also care less about it.

The tasks differ: The Intranet is used for everyday work inside the organization, including some quite complex applications. The Internet site is mainly used to find out about the organization's services or products on offer.

The type of information differs: The Intranet will have many draft reports, project progress reports, human resource information, and other detailed information, whereas the Internet site will have marketing information and customer support information.

The amount of information differs: Typically an Intranet has between ten and hundred times as many pages as the same organization's's public website. The difference is due to the extensive amount of work-in-progress that is documented on the Intranet and the fact that many organizations never publish anything publicly even though they may have many internal documents.

Bandwidth and cross platform needs differ: Intranets often run between a hundred and a thousand times faster than most Internet users' Web access which is stuck at low-band or mid-band, so it is feasible to use rich graphics and even multimedia and other advanced content on Intranet pages.

It is quite clear that the Intranet has become an integral part of managing big businesses and organizations. It is an easy and quick method of communication internally. Just like the Internet, the Intranet has become part of our daily lives.