Understanding Intranets (Strategic Technology Series) [Paperback]

Tyson Greer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Strategic Technology Series | Publication Date: January 1, 1998

A powerful overview for technically savvy managers, entrepreneurs, and information professionals, this guide explores Intranets from the organization's point of view. Case studies sharpen the picture, and plenty of instructive diagrams and illustrations quickly make complex issues clear.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tyson Greer's clear writing and engaging personality make riding the intranet learning curve fun. She starts with a good-natured rant about the confusion caused by the term "intranet." Greer then gives you an overview of intranet basics, a brief history of how intranets evolved from "mainframe culture" and then a look at the considerations that should go into developing a corporate intranet. She examines the option to trade information with other organizations through extranets, publicizes the risks inherent in intranet systems, and discusses a variety of worthwhile uses for intranets, from corporate publishing to distance learning.

Greer then goes into more of the nitty-gritty of intranet development, including planning, developing a business case for the system, implementing a system, and performing ongoing evaluation and maintenance of an intranet. This book will not turn the average person into a technical whiz, but it will help a marginally technical businessperson understand what an intranet involves and what it can offer to the organization.

Aside from being well written, Understanding Intranets is also so well constructed that you can get all the key information within a half hour. Short summaries of each paragraph run down the book's wide margins, making it easy to skim for main ideas or quickly review a chapter. But don't just skim the summary lines--that would be cheating yourself.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572317027
• ISBN-13: 978-1572317024
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,367,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thorough Intermediate Intranet How-To, September 4, 2000

By 

Prof David T Wright (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding Intranets (Strategic Technology Series) (Paperback)

Aimed at students, managers and consultants who want a thorough overview of what an Intranet is about, `Understanding Intranets' covers in well presented chapters:

Intranet basics (definitions, applications, business case), from mainframe culture to Internet technologies (network topologies & management), the extranet option (security issues, applications), risks and mitigation strategies (security), using an intranet for quick publishing, using an intranet for information management, knowledge working, distance learning on an intranet, planning, launching a pilot project, building a business case, implementing your intranet, maintenance and evaluation, and looking further ahead.

Strengths are: the effective use of side-notes, side-bars, bulleted lists and illustrations; the broad consistent coverage of timely content; the attractive readable style; and enough guidance to actually implement useful intranets. Improvements could include reducing pagecount for the content; coverage of more advanced applications (e.g. business intelligence); a greater indication of global & sector business context; and more pointers to supporting material and further reading.

Overall I liked this book a lot, but suspect a new companion `advanced' text could bring things up to date, and offer readers more tools and insight to improve their corporate information systems.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book!, March 27, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Mamaroneck, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding Intranets (Strategic Technology Series) (Paperback)

I have searched and searched for a good book on intranets. It explains everything and has wonderful diagrams. A must buy!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that makes a difficult ( dry) subject easy to read., January 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Understanding Intranets (Strategic Technology Series) (Paperback)

The margin notes make finding topics of interest much easier. Most middle managers like to skim read books of this nature looking for the topic they are interested in. This is a book that should be on the desk of management available for constant referral.