No it's not a misspelling. Intranet is a logical extension of the world wide web applied to a single company network. The idea is to take the same concepts and technologies, which work so well to provide information globally on the world wide web and use them for sharing internal company information. Company networks have been around for a long time, so the idea of connectivity is not exactly leading edge thinking. So why all the hoopla about intranets? The answer is simplicity, economy, and flexibility utilizing the browser interface of the world wide web. Intranet can elliminate those things which are now very paper and labor intensive.
A company might use an intranet to provide information of interest to all company employees, such as employee handboods, benefit brochures, phone listings, and company newsletters. Intranets can also be used for job postings, special notices, and even to order supplies from a central supply system. The reason is that the intranet provide access to current information without the time delays and costs of printing, publishing, and distributing printed documents. Many company documents have a very short life and must be constantly updated to make them useful. Intranet documents can be constantly updated so that new information is always available with little or no additional cost. Additional cost savings accrue from the fact that some browsers, such as Mosiac, are free. The cost of providing software licenses for everyone using the system may not be a cost factor as it would be with proprietary software. Another savings is that many employees are already familiar with search, browsing concepts and hypertext and do not need to have additional training.
Another factor which impacts ease of use and cost is that the software which provides a standard interface between DOS, UNIX, and Macintosh machines is also free. Those employees in the accounting department with the PCs, the folks in the marketing department with their Macs, and the techees down in the MIS department with their Sun stations can all access the same company information without any difficulty or costly software.
The use of corporate intranets is growing rapidly. Many companies like AT&T, Boeing, Levi Strauss, Compaq Computer, and Ford Motor Company are leading the way and becoming examples for others to follow.