The benefits of intranets to a small business, even a home business, do not substantially differ from the benefits reaped by larger firms. In fact, within large companies there often exist multiple smaller, segregated intranets. A small human resources intranet, for example, will tend to feature substantially different content than an intranet for engineers.

Whatever the scope -- organization-wide, departmental, or workgroup -- intranet services promise to grow institutional knowledge and increase employee effectiveness. Online news, secure document sharing, and email are just a few examples of intranet applications. Building intranets using common Web technologies can also dovetail nicely into an organization's external marketing and ecommerce strategies.

Challenges for Small Intranets

A canned approach for creating a small intranet appears deceptively simple. First, define the goals and specific applications the intranet will have. Then, select a few basic tools with which to build it. Once deployed, begin populating the intranet with electronic information. And watch the return on investment pour in!

Needless to say, such an oversimplified recipe includes many hidden details and potential pitfalls in practice. The process used to define intranet requirements will differ greatly from organization to organization. Wisely selecting the appropriate tools requires technical expertise. Securing employee acceptance and contribution can be challenging, but will also prove essential to the long-term success of the project. And maintaining content, tools, and infrastructure requires ongoing business investment and commitment.

Fortunately, numerous small businesses have successfully overcome these obstacles and have built productive intranets and related computer networks. Some companies, for example, used floppy disks to share files between computers until they modernized by adding a server, network hardware, firewall, and other internal network technology. Many others agree - intranets are not just for the big firms!