INTRANET
A term coined from two words INTRA which means within or inside and NETWORK which is a system of several connections or branches. This gives a general idea of what an intranet is and shows the explicit difference between itself and the more commonly known INTERNET which is an unrestricted system. According to Alban intranet is (1999, p 25) a network within an organisation which adapts internet technology 4 use in its information setup. It is a private network that gives the organisation some form of privacy in the not so private internetwork which it has to be a part of these days in order to survive in the business world. Its uses however are not restricted to this but many automated operations now run on the intranet to give even more value to the business processes of these businesses which have been wise enough to adopt this system.
Some of these applications or processes which run on the intranet as their platform include Database management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) etc. The CRM for example is used to document and analyse customer information to generate enough data to improve business, determine potential/ target customers and form an even extensive bond with existing customers. The intranet also handles internet functions like email, file transfer and web services in general.
For WOU it is quite clear that a CRM is in order and a sure necessity in order for it to survive as a business even though its product is a gold mine and this needs the intranet up n running. For a small company which has a few staff an intranet with a CRM is preferred to one with an ERP also because the latter is a very complex methodology adopted by large firms with multiple operations looking to keep a standard on every level but for a sole proprietorship like WOU a system that handles customer relations is ideal especially when it enables real time feedback retrieval from the company’s website. In many ways intranet has saved people money and increased efficiency and the best part is it’s affordable and relatively easy to setup.
There are four (4) steps to Intranet mapping
- 1. Determine requirements of the business
- 2. Planning
- 3. Design
- 4. And finally implementation
