Intranets: A Guide to Their Design, Implementation and Management

Citation

Fourie, I. (2002), "Intranets: A Guide to Their Design, Implementation and Management", Online Information Review, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 221-222. https://doi.org/10.1108/oir.2002.26.3.221.3

Blackmore offers a very comprehensive and accessible guide to the core issues related to the successful management of intranets and extranets. This work is therefore an excellent point of departure for information professionals, as well as anyone else needing an overview on intranets.

The 22 chapters are divided among the five phases of deploying an intranet. Under “Initiation” Blackmore deals with the meaning of intranets, models for implementation, financial implications and the issue of outsourcing. “Contagion” covers the barriers to access, information supply and retrieval, filling the intranet with content, business applications and services. Under “Control” the following aspects are considered: procedures and standardisation, content management issues, enhancing Web content, publishing policies and information overload. “Integration” deals with the integration of knowledge management, the intranet strategy, groupware, extranets, the implementation of an extranet, transnational intranets, extranets and security. Under “Pervasion” a number of future developments are dealt with. On the back cover it is further claimed that the publication addresses practical business concerns and technical issues, best practices, a staged model for successful intranet/extranet deployment, key issues concerning the content and knowledge management, e‐learning, legal and cultural issues, the future of intranets, and advice and commentary from professional experience in the deployment, operational management and continuing development of intranets.

Although the publication is packed with useful content, the actual presentation seems rather confusing. A number of chapters, for example, consist of one page only. (It may be that the author tried too hard to keep to the division according to the deployment phases.) The table of contents also appears rather untidy and confusing. Chapters vary between those with unnumbered headings, a combination of numbered and unnumbered headings, one heading only, and those where all subheadings are numbered. Although there may be a rationale behind this, it appears very odd to me. The index is also disappointing. Apart from the fact that it will take time to get used to the new Aslib style of one‐column entries, a number of subentries are not arranged in alphabetical order. I could further spot only one see and one see also reference. The technical representation of the rest of the book is, however, acceptable: I could spot only a few other typographical errors.

The publication concludes with a very extensive 11‐page bibliography that should certainly point the reader looking for more information in the right direction. This book should appeal to information specialists, as well as anyone else requiring an overview of intranets. If considered as recommended or prescribed material for undergraduate or postgraduate students the publication should, however, be carefully assessed to ensure that it contains sufficient material to support curricula dealing with information management and systems, ICT project management, strategic information management and knowledge management.