The information system internal to an organization and built with Web-based technology. An intranet site is often referred to as a portal and has typically been found in large companies (having 15,000 or more employees) able to afford this information technology “luxury.”

An intranet site is actually a mini-Internet accessed through Web browsers. It is typically run on private local area networks (LAN) rather than public Web servers. Intranet sites have a variety of functions but most are intended to keep employees informed about a company’s important events, distribute software or company newsletters online, and provide routine company information online—such as policy manuals. Also, intranet sites can be accessed through the Internet. Thus, when employees are off-site they can still access company information using a secure login.

New intranet site software made by Microsoft Corporation and Plumtree Software Inc. has made the technology affordable even for small- and medium-sized enterprises. A number of open source software solutions such as XOOPS (http://xoops.org) or the JBOSS (http://labs.jboss .com/portal/jbossportal/index.html) portal are available as well.

See Also: Local Area Network (LAN).