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The Top Intranet Myths Debunked
All around the employee break room the news is spreading. Intranets are only the latest fad - they’re bound to die out within a few years. Even worse, they are insecure solutions designated only for big businesses.
Is there any truth to the intranet rumors? It’s said that every rumor starts out with a little bit of truth - so what is fact and what is speculation?
Intranets are Just a Fad
When intranets first began to surface as an efficiency and organizational tool, speculation was present. A lot of cost-benefit analysis had to be done by companies to see if intranets truly were worth an investment.
What was found was astounding. Big names in business such as Cisco saved millions of dollars through excellently designed intranets. Since big businesses have implemented intranets to cut costs, and as intranets have since become main-stream, even smaller businesses are starting to take advantage of them.
While the skepticism that intranets are just a fad might be valid years ago, it is now history. It isn’t a matter of if intranets can work for you, it’s a matter of can you implement them well enough to get a return on investment.
Intranets are for Large Businesses
While it is true that large businesses such as HP, Cisco, and Xerox have made public comments on their vast successes with intranets, smaller businesses can easily report the same. The biggest drawback to small businesses seems to be cost, which larger businesses can of course easily shrug off their budget. But what most small businesses don’t take advantage of is what they already have. An intranet can be setup with old computers and resources - you certainly don’t have to buy all new equipment just to run a simple intranet.
Another pitfall to smaller business intranets is impact. No matter how you cut it, efficiency will see benefit if intranets are implemented properly. Since smaller businesses have fewer employees, a smaller efficiency bonus is gained. In some cases this efficiency bonus isn’t enough to combat the investment costs, even if old resources are used.
Despite these minimalistic benefits, the key factor is return on investment over time. On a long enough time scale, return on investment is just a matter of how long - not if. The benefits of an intranet are immense, so even applying for tax cuts as a result of buying new intranet resources might be worth the trouble. We’ll be the first to admit that dealing with taxes can be arduous at the very least - but just think: you could be doing your taxes this time next year using the organizational tools of your new intranet.
Intranets are Insecure
When we assume the utmost employee loyalty and responsibility there are only two things that could compromise intranet security: internet access and remote dial-in access.
Dial-in access is commonly setup for employees who work at home or for a means of accessing company material when you can’t make it to the office. It’s a great convenience and creates a nice efficiency bonus to enjoy, but it also brings security risks with it. What happens if an employee leaves his or her connection to the company open, and someone with more dastardly deeds on his or her mind takes advantage of the situation? It isn’t good for the company’s health, and certainly opens up a wide security hole in the very heart of the company.
Next we have internet access. This should be self explanatory: if you give employees the ability to receive viruses via email, accidentally download malware, and set themselves up for attack - well, Murphy’s Law says it’s going to happen. The most secure connection to the internet is one that doesn’t exist - although a hardy firewall and the proper internet education amongst employees is usually sufficient.
Yet, the above examples are assuming that employee loyalty and responsibility are exemplary. Now take the example of the disgruntled employee who was fired last week but still has their credentials in the employee database. If the employee still has his or her login information, consider your intranet security compromised.
Intranets Require Internet Access for Best Benefit
As stated earlier, internet access can actually be a burden. The security risk it imposes might not be something smaller organizations are prepared to handle. In fact, many intranet applications don’t need internet access at all to run many helpful and efficiency-boosting applications.
What is generally confused with this myth is a misconception on connectivity. All the devices on the intranet can still communicate much like they were connected to the internet. Chat applications, message boards, email, and many other services will still work over an intranet. The only thing lacking in this instance is a physical connection to the outside world. Yet, intranets are established primarily for efficiency and cost cutting techniques - so what good is a connection to the outside world, other than a distraction to employees?
Although, we’ll be the first to admit internet access is necessarily for some applications. A customer support branch of your organization may need internet access to email customers back. Other examples like this exist to prove that while not always necessary, internet does come in handy - but it certainly isn’t required for reaping the benefits of an intranet.
Closing Comments
Next time the gang from the break room starts up a new round of intranet gossip, you can debunk their stories before they are spread. After all, an intranet with a negative reputation won’t be popular among employees.
As time tested results have proven, these myths may be false, but keep in mind an intranet is only as good as its network administrator - these myths can certainly come back to haunt an intranet with an inexperienced staff. In the properly designed intranet, however, expect these myths to be nonexistent.
