Intranet

The intranet is a private network that belongs to a particular organization. It is designed for the exclusive use of an organization and its associates such as employees, customers, and other authorized people. It offers a secure platform to convey information and share data with the authorized users. Confidential information, database, links, forms, and applications can be made available to the staff through the intranet. So, it is like a private internet or an internal website that is operating within an organization to provide its employees access to its information and records. Each computer in intranet is identified by a unique IP Address.

It is based on internet protocols (TCP/IP) and is protected from unauthorized access with firewalls and other security systems. The firewall monitors the incoming and outgoing data packets to ensure they don't contain unauthorized requests. So, users on the intranet can access the internet, but the internet users can't access the intranet if they are not authorized for it. Furthermore, to access the intranet, the authorized user is required to be connected to its LAN (Local Area Network).

Some of the benefits of the intranet are:

• It is cheap and easy to implement and run.
• It enables the company to share its data, information, and other resources among employees.
• It provides a secure space to store and develop applications to support business operations.
• It improves the efficiency of the company by speeding up workflow and reducing errors.
• It offers a testing platform for new ideas before they are uploaded on the company's internet webpage.
• Information is shared in real-time or updates are reflected immediately to all the authorized users.
• Modern intranets also offer a mobile app that allows employees to stay connected on the go.

How the Intranet Works

Intranet basically comprises three components: a web server, intranet platform, applications. The web server is hardware that contains all the intranet software and data. It manages all requests for files hosted over the server and finds the requested files and then delivers it to the user's computer.

The intranet platform, which is software, allows communication tools, collaboration apps, and databases work seamlessly with each other. It is tailored to specific needs of a business.

The applications are required to enable users to work smoothly. They are the computing tools that allow users to do their work, communicate, and coordinate with each other and retrieve and store information.

Furthermore, the user who wants to access the intranet is required to have a special network password and should be connected to the LAN. A user who is working remotely can gain access to the intranet through a virtual private network (VPN) that allow them to sign in to the intranet to access the information.