esus services - intranet / extranet design

"Communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can't miss." Lee Iacocca - Former President of Ford Motor Company/CEO and Chariman of Chrysler Corporation

Intranets and Extranets are quickly becoming valuable tools within progressive companies.

With almost 75% of respondents in a recent poll agreeing that having an Intranet allows staff to work more efficiently and productively (source: Modalis), this is one web technology that is clearly coming of age. Previously seen as unnecessary adjuncts to an organisation's Internet site, Intranets and Extranets are now seen as bringing major benefits to companies by way of:

Efficiency Improvements
. Central staff communications tool
. Provides relevant and timely information
. Focal reference point
. Facilitates consistent work standards
. Minimises duplication of effort
. Facilitates better decision-making

Productivity Increases
. Shortens the learning curve for new staff
. Reduces stress and confusion
. Improves work quality
. Enables speedier production
. Reduces overall costs

esus have developed a library of specialised and scalable intranet and extranet components including:
·	Phone Book - Allows users to search for staff by name, department and phone number.
·	Meeting Room / Hospitality Booking Facilities - Allows staff to book meeting rooms and hospitality.
·	Canteen Menu - Staff can pre-order lunch or request refreshments for in-house meetings.
·	Search Engine - Allow staff to easily search for site specific information.
·	E-Classifieds - Staff can post classifieds to buy, sell and advertise goods.
·	Job Posting Systems - Allow staff to post and control jobs on line using a bespoke system.
·	On-line Staff Shop - Staff can purchase and pay for company goods on-line.
·	Training Management System - Records all staff training history with detailed reporting and analysis tools.
·	Web Publishing System - Allows for non-technical users to update content using a WYSIWYG (Microsoft Word-like) interface.
·	Web Enabled Databases - Controlling reports, incidents and staff information.
·	Restricted Access Areas - Allows pre-defined users to access restricted areas of websites using a user name and password.

Some of the issues that we take into account when looking at a suitable solution include:
.	Security - Ensure external access is secure and robust.
.	Scalability - The system needs to be capable of growth based on it and the company's success.
.	Personalisation - The ability to alter the message or the tools based on the user.