By Rich Casselberry, et al.
The Internet has been growing in popularity at a phenomenal rate. Many television ads now contain URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) such as CNN's http://www.cnn.com/ and surveys commonly ask for an e-mail address. An even faster growing phenomenon, though, is the use of the Intranet.
An Intranet is an IP network designed for internal use. The growth of Intranets has been silent but rapid, and is actually where most sales of Web servers are used.
Intranets are used in many types of companies from high-tech computer firms to real estate companies to oil refineries. Everyone can benefit from the technology available.
Intranet technology is used in many different ways. It can be used to set up a central document repository or workgroup server. It can be used to integrate with existing databases, either by writing custom software or using commercial applications. Most database vendors currently have or are working on WWW interfaces to their products.
Intranets can also be used as a client/server combination, allowing quick building of distributed applications. Use of the Web can also allow develop-ers to quickly build cross-platform tools. Because HTML is an open standard, almost any computer will have a browser that can be used as a graphical user interface, or GUI.
Intranet-based tools also allow groupware applications to be integrated. Groupware applications can be built using free software, or commercial applications such as Lotus can be purchased and integrated.