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| Connecting
to Your Customers: Extranets |
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"Extranet"
is, of course, a pun on "Intranet" which, in turn,
was a pun on "Internet". The idea, however, is as
simple as it is powerful.
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| With
the advent of the World Wide Web, people became aware of how
readily information could be shared
using Internet tools that were already widely available. Everyone,
from the president to the cleaning people, knew how to browse
the web - and if they didn't, they could ask their children
to show them. So companies everywhere set out to establish a
"presence" on the Internet by creating and maintaining
web sites.
In
much the same way as the Internet could make company information
available through the "world wide" web, internal
web sites could make information available within the company.
These in-house networks quickly became known as "intranets".
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the process of developing tools and procedures for intranet
users, people began to see how the same tools could be used
to provide information to selected external users, giving rise
to the "extranet". These external users are typically
important customers and vendors, allowing them instantaneous,
real-time access to business data.
One of
the on-going challenges for the wholesale distributor is demonstrating
to customers the value added by the distributor. This will
become increasingly critical - and increasingly difficult
- as more manufacturers offer products directly to end-users
through the Internet. Extranets are an important way of giving
customers the extra level of service and support that only
a wholesale distributor can provide.
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