Intranet Development
Blue Cat Design can help your company implement a dynamic corporate intranet that can enhance your communication efforts, increase collaboration between employees and make timely information accessible across the entire corporation.The combined corporate Internet and intranet market will jump from $12 billion in 1995 to $208 billion by the year 2000. (Input research study). Two-thirds of all large companies either have a Web server installed or are considering installing one.
More and more companies are realizing the benefits and savings of implementing an intranet. From Levi Strauss to Hewlett-Packard, firms are using intranets - internal Web networks which are accessible only by employees - to distribute company news, update personnel records and connect far-flung workers. By the end of 1998, "every major Fortune 1000 firm" will have an intranet installed, predicts Dataquest, a market research firm in San Jose, California.
Netscape Communications Corp reports that more than 50 percent of its Web server sales are earmarked for corporate intranet use. IDC predicts that by 1998, 80 percent of Web servers will be used for internal sites.
Intranets run on the standard Internet protocols and technologies (TCP/IP, HTTP, and HTML) that are used for the World Wide Web. This allows companies to use the same types of servers and browsers, that they are currently using to access the WWW, for internal applications and distributed information over their existing LAN.
The same technology is used internally and externally. This can translate into thousands of dollars of savings by using existing Web technology and inexpensive - or free - browser software instead of paying about $150. per desktop to install IBM's Lotus Notes (a software program which allows individuals to communicate across networks). And because intranets are essentially just internal, non-public Web sites, most employees are already familar with the Web's interface and there is little or no learning curve.
Below are a few of the many cost-effective applications possible on an intranet:
- employee and group information such as employee benefit programs
- online training materials
- sales presentations
- product specifications
- employee development
- corporate policies and procedures
- company mission and goals
- searchable corporate phone directory
- conference room reservations
- project information
- corporate newsletters
- internal corporate announcements
- job postings
- events scheduling
- conferencing
- annual reports
Blue Cat Design's creative director, Christine Collie Rowland, will be happy to discuss your intranet project or any questions you may have about establishing a corporate intranet. She can be contacted at Blue Cat Design: 905-753-1017 (voice line) ; 1-888-BLUE-CAT or fax: 905-753-2777 or use our interactive reply form.
