Since its debut in 2001, Microsoft SharePoint has helped millions of people share documents and other types of information in their respective business environments. As an interactive enterprise software system, SharePoint accommodates two specific types of computer networks, known as intranet and extranet.
Keep reading to learn about the differences between the two…
Overview
An intranet enables people within an organization share information with each other. Thus, intranets can be seen as private extensions of the Internet—confined to a single organization for the exclusive use of its employees.
By contrast, an extranet allows people in one organization to share information with people in another organization. Extranets are a less restricted private extension of the Internet than the intranet, giving organizations the ability to select the parties that have access to their private network. This includes suppliers, employees, and even customers.
Web Accessibility and Infrastructure
The intranet and extranet capabilities in SharePoint differ in their levels of web accessibility. Since intranet is only available to individuals within an organization, it can only be accessed on the company level. This level of access is enabled by in-house servers.
In most cases, the company protects its intranet from unauthorized external access through a network gateway and firewall. If the organization has off-site employees, it can provide access to them by creating a virtual private network (VPN) or requiring user authentication and encryption. Determining who has access to the intranet is left to the company’s system administrator.
Although extranets use the same network security features as intranets, they grant a secure web-based area to select individuals and businesses, while blocking access to the company’s entire network.
SharePoint Features
The SharePoint intranet works as a centralizing portal which serves as a corporate network where all sorts of information—from documentation to applications—can be stored and accessed. Additional tools further enhance the intranet experience. Such tools include project sites for managing certain group tasks or specific projects, office web apps for real-time collaboration on office documents via a web browser, community portals for group discussions, and document versioning to prevent the duplication of files. There’s also task synchronization for managing tasks on SharePoint, as well as Microsoft Exchange collaborative software.
With its extranet feature, SharePoint grants access with a password-protected, web-facing area. This can be used to integrate the company’s collaborators into its supply chain or business processes. Also available is Alternate Access Mapping (AAM), which allows extranet access via various URLs. What’s more, AAM enables SharePoint extranet users to turn the area into an intranet on one network, while treating it as an extranet for outside users.