The Internet can be an incredible means to connect with potential clients; locate invaluable support vendors and necessary research material. But what if you just want to communicate with the people inside your law firm? Many places use their e-mail programs to talk to not only the outside world but also to the people working in the same building as a form of electronic interoffice mail. You might ask, “What else can I do to improve internal communication?”

Many businesses are seizing the web as a swift way to streamline their organizations. These private Nets, or “Intranets’’ use the infrastructure and standards of the Internet and the World Wide Web but are cordoned off from the public Internet using “firewall” software programs: Employees can venture out onto the Net, but unauthorized users can’t come in.

WHAT IS AN INTRANET?

There is no one definition; it really depends on what you want it to be. For some businesses it is simply a way to get information to employees-a replacement for the company newsletter. For others it is more extensive and includes access to information, and interactive forms or applications. The key points are that it is Internet-based within an organization, and provides some level of integration and access.

An Intranet is an inexpensive yet powerful alternative to other forms of internal communications, including conventional computer setups. One of an Intranet’s most obvious virtues is its ability to reduce the need for paper. Because web browsers run on any type of computer, the same electronic information can be viewed by any employee. That means all sorts of documents including internal phone books, procedure manuals, training materials and requisition forms can be converted to electronic form on the web and can be continuously updated for almost nothing.

Printed copies of out-dated information will never be left lying around.

But Intranets can do something far more important. By presenting information in the same way to every computer, they can do what computer and software makers have frequently promised but never actually delivered: pull all the computers, software, and databases that dot the corporate landscape into a single system that enables employees find information wherever it resides. Traditional office networks offer access to data and information arranged in folders as an extension of their personal computers file structure. The Intranet can do the same thing while adding improved searching abilities and a more user-friendly environment. It can also present information to staff members based on their level of access and stored profile.

Universal reach is what made the Internet grow so rapidly in the first place. But instead of focusing on how to link far-flung people and businesses an Intranet can link all your staff members together.

Employees connect to a web server, allowing them to share information with colleagues and quickly sift through volumes of data that might have taken days to find in the past.

Staff members can log in to the server and access calendar information, their personal information, including available sick or vacation time. Forms can be used to turn in expense information, vacation requests or meeting announcements. Often used forms can be placed online and printed on an as needed basis. Depending on how the Intranet is set up and what tools are available on it, you can also have meetings online, reallocate investments in 401(k) plans, or allow employees to create their own home pages to sharing details of their projects with the rest of the staff

DOING THE SAME JOB FOR LESS

Not only has the web’s HTML (hypertext markup language) standard emerged as a universal electronic communications medium but it also serves as a standard user interface. By now, millions of PC users have become familiar with the drill: Click on a blue, highlighted word or a graphical button and jump to another web page. To retrace your steps, simply click on an arrow at the top of the screen. All web pages, no matter what their appearance, work this way. It requires little if any training and makes finding electronic information simple enough for everyone in an office.

Most Intranet websites can be called a success if they are used for basic information sharing: publishing job listings, benefits information, and phone directories. But it is certainly worth your time to sit down and examine the other ways an Intranet can improve the way you communicate and share information in your office.

More sophisticated Intranet tools are coming. They will make the more advanced tools easier to obtain and use. They will add the ability to let employees fill out electronic forms, query corporate databases, or hold virtual conferences over private webs.

Having an office Intranet will connect your office to its most valuable resource, each other.

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