Intranet is the technology buzzword today as more and more companies use the Internet for internal and external communications.
An intranet allows companies to put as much information on their systems as possible. Users can access databases using web browsers.
This could eliminate the problems associated with maintaining different databases that needed constant upgrading, said William Yeung, senior manager of Internet and intranet services for Hongkong Telecom.
The company uses intranets internally and externally. Directory inquiries are available on the Internet and the billing system is scheduled to go on-line soon.
'We have all this information on our databases. We can decide what to make available to the public and what to circulate internally,' Mr Yeung said.
Intranets can also use multimedia in company memos so that an address by the president can be seen on video, rather than in the text and picture format. In addition, the system saves time and money through the use of computer-based training programs.