CORE FEATURES OF THE INTERNET

There are some characteristics of the internet that gave it the potential to deliver a special
set of business benefits over and above existing IT technologies.
a) Simplicity of Use
The software that is used access the Internet (the web browser software) is comparatively
easy to learn and simple to use. It can operate on wide range of operating system platforms and
can access any mainstream application like SAP and oracle. The flexibility of the web combined
with the simplicity of the browser software has resulted in reduced staff training costs, lower
development costs and an increase in the range of users who can have access to the organization.
b) Breadth of Access
The internet is a global network like the telephone network. Its access is not conditioned
by geographic boundaries. Unlike the telephone network the cost involved in global connection
is not related to the distance involved. No other communication medium has had access to such a
large audience and range of people which increases the ability to leverage the value of
information to a scale that has never before been possible.
c) Synergy with other media
Apart from using the existing telecommunication technology, it supports or complements
other media. Internet services have demonstrated a high degree of synergy with other media as
can be seen from the following

Example:

Book, magazine and newspaper publishers have used the web to supplement and extend
their written products.
Publishers of CD-ROMs have used the web to maintain the currency of the information
they can deliver. Microsoft’s encyclopedias CD-ROM, Encarta, allows seamless interface to
information accessed from the company’s web site.
Publishers of software and games now deliver their products directly over the internet.
Entertainment companies regularly provide extracts of their films and music recordings to
promote the real products.
d) Low Relative Cost
The costs involved in conducting a process using internet technology is less than those
involving other methods. The internet access requires telephone line for most individual users.
The pricing of telephone service is one which is independent of distance. The charge for the
usage of telecommunication line is based on local charge rate irrespective of what is sent over
the line or how distant the recipient is.
e) Extension of Existing IT Resources
Resource sharing was underlying rationale for the development of the internet. It allows
the IT resources to be shared by multiple users in organizations and also with others related to
the organization such as trading partners.
f) Flexibility of Communication
The web browsers greatly extend the ways in which individuals can communicate. They
support text, voice and multimedia formats and can provide immediate access to shared
information. These facilities are available for intra-company communications as those between
individuals in separate organizations.
g) Security
Security has been a major issue in internet as any security breach can cause financial loss,
leak of sensitive information, etc. standards for secure electronic transactions have been
developed and reasonable security is in place now.
h) Speed and Availability
The transmission speed is very low and it takes a bit too long for downloading files.
However, compared to other means of communication, it is indeed fast. It also provides a wide
range of communication services that are inexpensive and relatively easy to access for millions
of users through a standard set of protocols.

An internet can be as big as a community of interest. Scale is an important factor in web
implementation, but it has no bearing on the logical association of clients that make up an
intranet. For example, a workgroup with one web server, a company with several hundred web
servers, and a professional organization with ten thousand web servers can be considered an
intranet.