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There was an interesting post recently on Intranet Journal's Discussion Board from someone wondering about the viability of hosting an intranet via a third-party hosting service provider.

Although, traditionally, an intranet is thought of as a private and restricted internal Web-based network that's only accessible to users within an organization, there are those who choose to host their intranet with an external, third-party hosting service provider — either an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or Application Service Provider (ASP). Note that this shouldn't be confused with an extranet, whereby an intranet, or part of an intranet, is shared with external users by way of a virtual private network (VPN) that creates a secure and encrypted "tunnel" through the Internet.

So what's the big difference between internal and external intranet hosting? Well, it's basically the same as the differences between buying your own house and renting an apartment. As a homeowner, you're responsible for all repairs and improvements. Whether you decide to do this work yourself or contract it to someone else is up to you, but you're basically responsible for everything yourself. However, when you rent a home all you need to do is call your super to have something done — of course, you may have to wait a while until they get to you.

Many ISPs and ASPs offer both hosting and development services but whether you decide to develop an intranet yourself or outsource it, there are many things you need to consider before putting your intranet on someone else's real estate.

Why Third-Party Hosting?

While some may consider an externally hosted intranet a contradiction in terms, preferring to call it a secured Internet site, there are cases where hosting externally is more desirable, or even perhaps the only option to consider. For instance, hosting externally would be a good option if you don't currently have your own intranet infrastructure set-up and simply need to find a quick home for your system where all of the security and network infrastructures are already in place. This is especially useful if your intranet is going to have a very short lifespan and is only being put into place to serve a specific time-sensitive event, after which your intranet will be discarded.

Then there are cases where hosting externally is the only feasible solution because of a lack of resources to implement and maintain an intranet infrastructure. Many smaller operations that lack a dedicated IT staff or the technological know-how may view the learning curve required to efficiently maintain an intranet too steep for their purposes.

Whether you house your intranet internally or through a hosting service provider is a decision that's based on one key question: Do you currently have an intranet infrastructure in place? And when I say "intranet infrastructure," I mean a real intranet infrastructure. Don't mistake a simple Windows server with a pre-installed Internet Information Server (IIS) for an intranet infrastructure. It needs to address issue such as (but certainly not limited to):

• The security mechanisms, such as firewall and proxy servers, that need to be in place to protect the network from external threats.

• Internal security mechanisms and policies, user authentication, and access control lists (ACL) to define multi-level, granular user access to view and update intranet resources.

• System availability and integrity measures such as backups, security, data and server redundancy, hardware architecture, and disaster recovery procedures.

Like all things, there are pros and cons to hosting your intranet externally:

Advantages of Third-Party Hosting

• Pre-existing infrastructure: You don't need to worry about infrastructure maintenance and administration since it will be handled by the hosting provider.

• No need for dedicated IT: An excellent option for smaller operations who don't have their own dedicated IT staff to handle day-to-day system maintenance, or those whose IT staff are already overtaxed with other projects.

• Focus on software and content: Allows developers and content owners to focus solely on the development and design intranet and its content and not infrastructure issues.

• Shorter schedule for deliverables: Will help cut down turnaround time for development and deployment since third-party hosting providers will have all of the necessary infrastructures in place.

• Less initial investment: Best option for those who don't have enough money up-front to invest in new hardware and software to host in-house.

Disadvantages of Third-Party Hosting

• Security concerns: Secure content and perhaps sensitive information regarding the internal operations of your company will be exposed to the hosting providers. This is discussed in more detail later on in this article.

• Requires a lot of homework: With all of the choices available, it may take a considerable amount of shopping around time and interviewing to find a host suitable for your intranet and support needs at the price you're willing to pay.

• Limited support of technology: Your hosting provider may not support some, or all, of your chosen technologies and/or platform.

• Technical and user support: You're at the mercy of a third-party technical support staff and turnaround time for problem resolution may not be up to par.

• Higher total cost of ownership: The initial cost benefits of housing your intranet through a hosting service provider may be offset by the long term costs of the hosting and support fees. This is discussed in more detail later on in this article.

Page 2: Security Issues Related to Third-Party Hosting