An Intranet on a shoestring

Introduction - what is an Intranet?

• It's the same as the Internet only different
  • The Internet is outward looking and the Intranet is inward looking
  • Both rely on a set of protocols TCP/IP, in order to communicate
  • Both make use of servers in order to store and disseminate knowledge
  • Both make use of browsers
  • Both use HTML to create pages of data
  • Both can use email, newsgroups, and discussion lists
  • Both allow real time conversations between people

• The Intranet is a private corporate network that makes use of Internet products, technologies and utilities.

• Control is exerted internally, and access/use can be strictly controlled

• A local area network for an Intranet looks like this

• A wide area network for an Intranet looks like this
  • Data can be obtained in this system either by leased line, via the Internet or by mirroring

What can we put onto an Intranet?

Any information that you or your staff have access to. This will include:

• Minutes

• Telephone directories

• Staff newsletters

• Training manuals

• Product sheets

• Vacancies

• HR forms

• Staff handbooks

• Internal databases

• Travel requests

• Diaries

• Annual reports

• Financial./business details

• Expense reports

• Insurance claims

• Staff details

• Mission statement

• Forthcoming events

• Organisational charts

• New employee information

• Travel information

• Software downloads and patches

• ISO 9000 documentation

What is the business case for an Intranet?

• Faster, more effective and easier access to data

• Increased and better communication

• Reduction in production costs

• Easier creation of teams, team working and collaboration

• Greater flexibility for staff to work in a variety of locations

• Centralisation of resources

• Online meetings reduce costs of travel

• Activity and task scheduling is more effective

• Document sharing and updating

• A common user interface allows better display of multimedia information

• Commonly used information sources can be catalogued for easy follow-up retrieval

• Monitoring (Intelligent) agents can be established to run an SDI service to staff

• Faster than using the Internet - don't relay on phones, fewer users

• Effective searching of small number of resources

And the case against?

• Cost
  • Resources
  • Staff time

• Treadmill

• Currency of data

• Need to constantly improve and introduce new utilities etc

• Employee resistance

• New skills required

Planning your intranet

A graphical representation is available here.

• Initiate
  • The backing of senior staff members is vital
  • Who's going to be in charge?
  • Who will be on the project team?
  • Set objectives

• Specify
  • What do you want to do?

• Design
  • A detailed plan of what you want to achieve and how you're going to go about it

• Create
  • Stage by stage

• Implement
  • Cross fingers and flick the switch

• Use and assess
  • Does it work?
  • How can we improve it?
  • Who is using it?

Initiate

• Obtain commitment

• Establish a team and team leader
  • Team leader
  • Webmaster
  • IT staff
  • Information person
  • Someone from each dept
  • An end user
  • Customer/supplier (?)

• Name the project
  • Gives it greater prominance in the organisation
  • Makes it 'real'
  • Easier promotion internally and externally

Specify

What is this thing going to do? Begin by running an information audit - who uses what information, where does it come from, where does it go? Does the information have a long or short term life? What information do people need in order to do their job?

• Software

• Hardware

• People
  • Management team
    • Who does what?
  • End users
    • How many, and when?
    • Training them
    • Time required for them to work on the Intranet

• Budget
  • All from IT?
  • Each department contributes?
  • Potential savings

• Objectives
  • Better communication
  • Better service internally and externally
  • Different ways of working

• Timing

Creation

Plan to introduce the Intranet in stages, rather than in one go Allow time for things to go wrong, identify and correct them prior to moving to the next stage.

Hardware and software

Hardware

• An existing network. This should be running TCP/IP (eg UNIX or Windows NT) If you're running NetWare with its IPX protocol you will need to implement an IPX to TCP/IP gateway or add an IP stack on top of the IPX protocol. Alternatively, upgrade to NetWare 5.0 which has native TCP/IP support.
  • Peer to peer
  • Web server
  • Web server with dynamic links; the browser acts as a front end to a variety of packages
  • External website linked by modem with password protection
    • Forte will set this up for between $20-$50 per month

• Check to make sure that the backbone is up to the job - look at 100Mbit/s switches (less than £50 each) or Gigabit Ethernet

• A web server could be anything from a desktop PC to a big multi-processor UNIX box. Treat it like a conventional network file and print server, though processor and memory are important, particularly when running CGI scripts and Java applications. Viglen have produced a small business intranet server for £999 is a low cost pre-configured server running Novell Intranetware.

• Hardware for backing up - tape streamer, CD-writable

• Firewall
  • Acts as a router/gateway between the intranet and the Internet. They filter traffic based on IP addresses, passing information on from trusted sources

Software

A graphical representation of the software is here.

• Browser.
  • This is responsible for connecting pcs to the server and displaying data
  • Stick to one browser for ease of creation of pages
  • If you just run Windows go for Explorer
  • If you have mixed clients go for Comunicator

• Web authoring tools
  • HotMeTaL Pro, Front Page, Word processor

• Security system
  • Password protection
  • Firewalls
  • Intruder detection
  • Encryption tools

• CGI scripts, Java applications - many available free to charge
  • CGI-Resources
  • HTML goodies

• Useage tracking

• Search software

• Mail software

• Software to run the Intranet
  • This may already be available - both Novell and Microsoft offer web server software bundled with their NOS
  • Apache deployed on top of LINUX
  • Lotus Domino
  • Buy in - Netscape's Enterprise server runs with flavours of UNIX and NT. Microsoft produce Site Server for NT systems
  • Website
  • Windows NT 4.0 server package
  • Microsoft Personal Web Server (free)
  • Omnicron from Harvard University (free)
  • Digicorp Internetcontroller £149 for 5 users, £20 for each additional user
  • Functionality is pretty much the same, so go for the option which fits your existing network - Lotus Domino compliments their Notes offering for example.

• Backup software/solutions

Create your pages

• Sensible useful home page(s)

• Broad and shallow

• Narrow and deep

• Avoid duplication

• Ensure links are correct - everything should go through the project team

• Graphics, mailto: links, currency information, meta tags

• Work with your browser

• Work with the computers staff will be using

• Who is responsible for what?

Management and Legal

• Internal promotion

• Run paper/electronic systems in parrallel to begin with

• Data protection

• Copyright issues

• Pornography

• Useage policy

• Training

Evaluate

• Does it do what you expected?

• Who isn't using it and why?

• Who is using it and why?

• What information is popular?

• What isn't popular?

• Keep it current

Cultural changes

• A flat structure

• Easier, faster comminication

• Better CAB/SDI via intelligent agents

• Just in time, not just in case

• Group creation and linking groups together

• Creating content

• Information centre moves to the centre of the organisation

Top 10 tips

1. Choose the technology early - a slow intranet is worth than none at all.
2. Who is in charge?
3. Get everyone on board - everyone needs to use it if its going to work correctly
4. Test it, and implement by stages
5. Run in conjunction with existing systems to begin with, but dump the paper whenever you can!
6. Set your goals and deadlines, allowing slippage time
7. The content should be interesting and valuable
8. Teach, train, demonstrate
9. Keep it current
10. Communicate the success

Other useful links

• Web page creation from www.philb.com

• How to build a low cost Intranet using Win95

• ZDNET magazine

• Intranet Journal

• Intrack Setting up a free intranet, 10 issues to address, myths, applications and so on.

• Cookware Intranet site technology and development, example sites.

• Internet World NN and IE compared. Dated, but still interesting.