The e-commerce phase typically involves putting a catalog of items online and providing a way to order and pay for items. After the first few attempts at putting their products and services online, most companies realize that it is harder than it looks to get it right. It's not the look and feel that's important, it's the Web usability of the site. We're not talking about sophisticated security or a virtual private network. Extranets can often deliver productivity gains far in excess of the cost.
Virtual teams can share information in ways they've never been able to before.
Community An extranet has a specific, one-way purpose. But to be a real virtual community, there must be a two-way dynamic purpose. A community is made up of people who associate on the Web. The people in the community develop a relationship that is only peripherally related to the products and services they buy within the virtual walls of the community. Even the most product-based supply chain is really just a community, and if the people in the chain don't relate to each other, the chain gets broken and it costs the company money.