Customers are happy with an answer even if it takes eight hours, as long as they know they are going to get it. Further, with chat or Internet telephony linked to the site, customers can talk to representatives. The book shows that shows that smart companies use the Usenet News groups to answer questions. Many vendors, such as Dell , have people people assigned to answer the questions or complaints of users. Linux has grown on the support provided by users on Linux newsgroups and on chat groups.
Intranets allow connectivity and sharing across multiple hardware and operating systems platforms.
Intranets allow the use of groupware and teamware for collaborative work. Intranets are useful for sharing information, policies, e-mail, and information in the management information systems. Intranets can be part of supply chain management. Combining intranets with groupware and teamware such as Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino applications allow members of an organization to exchange ideas, share information, and otherwise work together on projects while geographically separated. Programmers and engineers may particularly find such collaboration useful.