Extranet: bridging the Internet and Intranet

Introduction
In an era of intense competition, those companies with the best partner communication win in the marketplace. The Internet enables companies to communicate better with employees, customers, suppliers, and distributors. Companies have discovered the benefits of the Internet, and now are expanding its use in two directions---Intranet and Extranet.
Extranet is viewed as the “third wave” of the Internet revolution. First there was the original Internet, and then companies began creating intranets for transferring information within organizations. Finally companies extended the Intranet to the Extranet. Each step was based on the previous one.
An Extranet is a private network that uses the Internet protocol and the public telecommunication system to securely share part of a business’s information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses. An Extranet can be viewed either as a part of a company’s Intranet that is made accessible t...