Enhancing Enterprise Communication and Collaboration with Intranets

The term "intranet" refers to a network of distributed applications implemented on a dispersed wide area network, primarily developed and used by members of a single organization. Essentially, it is an internal internet closed off from the outside world, and many companies leverage the cost benefits of internet technologies.

An intranet can significantly improve communication and collaboration within an enterprise. One critical advantage is the easy integration of legacy documents and databases into the intranet structure. This integration ensures that valuable historical data remains accessible and usable within the new system. In its simplest form, the intranet can archive commonly used forms, newsletters, and memos, making them readily available to employees.

Intranet groupware features enhance team and project collaboration through discussion groups, chat rooms, and audio and teleconferencing services. These tools foster real-time communication and enable seamless collaboration, regardless of team members' locations. Linking the intranet closely to collaboration tools, messaging solutions, and overall workflow is essential for maximizing efficiency and productivity.

With information residing in a single location on the web server, adding new information or updating existing content becomes relatively easy and affordable. Updates can be made instantly available to all users, ensuring that everyone has access to the most current information. This centralized approach reduces redundancy and minimizes the risk of outdated or conflicting information circulating within the organization.

In summary, an intranet is a powerful tool for enhancing communication, collaboration, and information management within an organization. Its ability to integrate legacy systems, support various collaboration features, and provide centralized, up-to-date information makes it an invaluable asset for modern enterprises.
Enhancing Enterprise Communication and Collaboration with Intranets

Enterprise Collaboration

The internet phenomenon has permanently changed the computing mentality of business people.

As global market opportunities and competition increase, collaboration is becoming more and more essential for improving productivity and accelerating innovation at the personal team, group, enterprise, and business coalition levels.

With this expansion comes the need for a robust and comprehensive language for pinpointing locations of globally distributed information systems and knowledge workers.

Basically, the concepts of enterprise collaboration started in early 1990s, when dominant firms extended their boundaries and developed relationships with small companies, customers and services.

Today’s user expects any computing experience to include on demand internet access and tools for collaborating with other people.

Most of us have to interact with others to get things done. Information technology is changing the way we work together. With the acceptance of internet technology and the resulting range of cooperation chances the scope of an information system must be extended beyond the firewall of the single enterprise.

Information technology especially internet technologies, provide tools to help us as collaborator – to communicate ideas, share resources and coordinate our cooperative work efforts as members of the many formal and informal process teams and word groups that make up of many today’s organizations.

The main purpose of an information system should be to enable efficient and effective collaboration between individuals and groups.

The goal of enterprise collaboration systems is to enable us to work together more easily and effectively by helping us to:
*Communicate: sharing information with each other
*Coordinate: Coordinating our individual work efforts and use of resources with each other.
*Collaborative: Working together cooperatively on joint projects and requirements.

These characteristics can be further refined into available channels such as synchronous or asynchronous, the medium of sharing information through repositories or real tine interaction and work flow management to coordination steps in a decision process or protocol.
Enterprise Collaboration