Student CA & CS
1397 Points
Joined April 2008
What is the difference between extranet and internet?
Intranet is a type of information system that facilitates communication within the
organisation, among widely dispersed departments, divisions and regional locations.
Intranets connect people together with Internet technology, using web browsers, web
servers and data warehouses in a single view. With an Intranet, access to all information,
applications and data can be made available through the same browser. The objective is to
organise each individual’s desktop with minimal cost, time and effort to be more productive,
cost efficient, timely and competitive.
Extranet is an extension of an Intranet that makes the latter accessible to outside
companies or individuals with or without an Intranet. It is also defined as a collaborative
Internet connection with other companies and business partners. Parts of an Intranet are
made available to customers or business partners for specific applications. The Extranet is
thus an extended Intranet, which isolates business communication from the Internet through
secure solutions. Extranets provide the privacy and security of an Intranet while retaining the
global reach of the Internet. An Extranet extends the Intranet from one location to another
across the Internet by securing data flows using cryptography and authorisation procedures,
to another Intranet of a business partner.