Intranet and the Internet

Intranet and the Internet are two distinct information spaces - the former is accessible for a particular group of people, may be of an institution, while the later is a website accessible on the open Internet. There are a number of differences between the two along various dimensions. It is always a good idea to have a separate user interface design to maintain such distinction. This is important because the users should readily know when they are on the internal net (Intranet) and the moment they access the World Wide Web. Further, a different design will also aid in better navigating, sense of place and a clear understanding of information management (information which is internal, secure and confidential vis-à-vis information which is freely shared).

Some of the major differences between an Intranet and the Internet are highlighted here:
Nature of Users: Access to Intranet is mostly open to employees of organisations having a fair idea about the company, its operations, organizational structure, terminologies and circumstances. Access is password protected and accessible only to employees or authorized users. Whereas an Internet site is more of a public face of an organisation accessed by customers with limited knowledge about it and not very keen to know about its day to day functioning.

Nature of Tasks: Intranet applies for facilitating the day to day work within an organisation, this may include complex applications whereas an Internet site maintained by an organisation is for the world to know what it does, product details et al.

Type and Quantum of Information: The Intranet verily by its nature will assimilate a variety of detailed information- draft reports, project status reports, HR information, internal progress and other information, whereas the Internet site primarily delves into more of marketing information as well as customer support information. The amount of information generated also differs. Typically, Intranet contains much more number of pages as compared to an organisation’s website. This can go even upto 100 times. This is chiefly because works by many departments are well documented on the Intranet even though they never publish anything publicly (on the internet).

Navigational System: An Intranet is generally supported by a stronger navigational system as compared to an Internet site. This is because Intranet encompasses a larger volume of information. A navigation system in an Intranet also facilitates movement between Servers whereas an internet public website is required to support within-site navigation.
Design: An Intranet design typically is focussed more on task-orientation and less flashy. There is generally a single Intranet design. An Intranet can be enriched with a large number of options and features without intimidating or overwhelming the users, which can be the case on the open Internet with rapid surfing between sites.

Bandwidth Specifications: Intranets may be accessible from the Internet but their speed is often much faster than Websites typically stuck at low-band or mid-band, server breakdowns and other problems. So it is not uncommon to see applications such as multimedia, rich graphics and other advanced high-bandwidth content, such as audio and video on Intranet pages.

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