The next step for the Internet was when businesses started performing real-live business transactions over the Internet. Customers came to a site and actually ordered the products or services that the company offered. Security over the Internet has become the biggest obstacle to online transactions. Next came the Intranet, where corporations saw using the Internet as a means to standardize the communication method to its employees. Intranets are not usually commercial based but are a medium to deliver information.
Businesses have many different types of systems.
Whether they are IBM, MAC, or UNIX based does not matter for an Intranet. The protocol used to communicate over the Internet standardized these three formats. Companies have transformed their internal processes by placing them on Intranets. These changes have made employee communication increase and lower costs through efficient use of this method. The next natural progression was to extend access to the corporate Intranet to customers, vendors, and business partners.