This book summarises all the basic guiding knowledge necessary to adopt any new information technology in organisations; in this case, the author tackles intranets at an introductory level. The book does not go in depth into technical matters, but it will prove useful to students in the pertinent areas of management of technology.
The organisation of the book makes use of the concept of stages of incorporating IT into organisations. This is shown to be an excellent instrument to discuss strategic planning in the implementation of information technology. It should be given special credit for the use of this concept when considering knowledge management. Intranets are treated as a way to reinforce the KM concepts of securing the organisation’s information and knowledge assets.
The first part defines intranets. The technical content in this chapter is a bit too short. It may have been useful to illustrate, for example, details of the ways the client‐server concept is implemented, through the known use of intranet services in organisations. The chapter covers the business benefits of intranets, by listing them, without going into well‐deserved detail. As noted above, this introductory section would be better served by a more detailed text for non‐technical managers.
The next chapter, about the cost of intranet implementation, lists the various items that should be taken into account. A return on investment case study is discussed but does not go into details of particular items, for example: licensing fees for Web server software and how it impacts on Web services. It would be useful to make clear here how (and/or why) these costs are different, for example, from the costs of intranet end‐user training. A gross comparison would have received a warm welcome. Outsourcing is another matter considered here, but scantily.
In the next stage (Chapter 5), a very interesting idea is introduced: the concept of “critical mass” for this technology within the organisation. This must be achieved in three areas: users, contents and utilisation. Users will only “use” information technology if it is less trouble to use it than not to use it. That is: if they overcome the barriers, they will use the technology. An excellent presentation of a case study illustrates the point. The author provides in Chapter 7 a well‐organised compendium of tools such as portals and other supply and retrieval engines. In Chapter 8, Blackmore touches on content and explains which motivation users should find to make them return to an intranet system again and again.
The author devotes particularly detailed attention to the control stage (Chapers 10‐14). It deals with procedures and standards which impact on content management, copyright issues, management structures, human technical resources, documents management, security and control access, backup procedures, etc. Diverse organisational structures involved in content management are considered in detail. These are the strongest chapters in the book.
Chapter 13 considers electronic publishing policies and the information overload mainly caused by electronic mail.
In the integration stage (Chapters 15 through 20) the author states that intranets are the enabling technology which brought about knowledge management more recently. It is recognised, though, that “to make tacit knowledge readily available to share … [it] can be considered more of a challenge for an organisation and the knowledge manager”. The author later provides a vast description of computer‐supported collaborative working systems and their different types. Extranets or Web‐based e‐commerce systems are then well presented, by quoting various examples from current experiences within companies.
The author lists the “advantages of using intranet/extranet connections:
Employees can use corporate/centrally based resources from everywhere in the world.
Support costs are significantly reduced as only one interface is used, i.e. the browser, as opposed to several different dedicated software clients required.
The use of a single piece of client software also means that in theory, at least, there are less technical problems that can occur for the remote user.
The “point and click” nature of the browser interface to legacy systems reduces the need for comprehensive training and allows quicker retrieval of resources.”
In chapters 17‐19, extranets are presented as an extension of intranets, or how they hinge upon each other for the achievement of the organisation’s objectives.
Security is the issue for chapter 20. This topic is given detailed coverage at the various sources indicated by the author, all of them current and up‐to‐date. The scope of the book would not allow coverage of this subject in depth.
Stage V pervasion takes the reader on a tour of the current status of the technology which integrates intranets (or Web technologies) to mobile and wireless computing, all varieties of messaging, application service providers, Voice over IP, etc. The message here is clear, intranets are here to stay and improve to facilitate working environments and organisational policies for knowledge management.
The author is very knowledgeable about the sources it cited. He also presents very practical appendices with a computer network and Internet access policy; and a complete classified list of information resources – most of them electronic‐ about the various subjects which did not receive enough coverage in the book. Departmental views on intranets direct the reader to a paper on intranets for libraries, presented at the 66th IFLA Council and general Conference. A combined Author and Subject Index closes this book.
In summary, the book is excellent for students of management science and professionals coming from areas other than information technology. For in‐depth technical treatment of intranets, readers should find it useful to explore the references.
