This is a fundamentally different technical alternative. If your advisors try to tell you that your only choices are canned packages and custom-developed applications, then you should look again. OK, maybe not. No, the possible actions that are suggested by these developments are all focused on technology planning. It seems pretty evident that intranet technology is defining the nature of where office computing is headed.
Many offices find that there's some e-publishing application that's completely compelling.
By the way, one of the other pervasive changes in desktop computing during 1996 was the steady acceptance of Windows95. But during the year, Win95 has proven itself. It's a stable environment that's much better than Windows 3.1. If you're still using DOS, there's almost no justification for switching to Win 3.1 instead of Win95. Of course even with such protections, the security risks and confidentiality issues raise serious doubts about whether an extranet in a legal setting would be feasible.