But the commodity market in free and low-cost tools is still there, and much of it is perfectly capable of running a small business intranet. In this article I'll describe two low-cost options:

1. A virtual dial-up Intranet for Small Businesses Without an existing network of personal computers
   
   
2. A workgroup Intranet for a Small or Medium Business with PC's Connected to an Internal Network (LAN).

To make the discussion concrete I will assume the small business is using the Windows 95/98 operating system. A plethora of high-quality intranet tools is available for this platform. There is no reason, however, that the ideas in this article would not apply to a company using Macintosh, Unix or Windows for Workgroups desktops.

Option 1: Virtual Dial-up Intranet

for a Small Business Without an IP Network

Small organizations typically have personal computers, but may not have a network in place to connect them - at least, not an internal network. They do have connections to the larger network of the Internet and they do have phone connections to their offices and employees. And - the outcome of DOJ v. Microsoft notwithstanding - every desktop user will have access to some brand of web browser.

Without a network in place, how can employees use these browsers to obtain internal information quickly from their PCs at home, on the road or in a small branch office? How can they access a web server?

The answer: By participating in a virtual intranet using dial-up phone connections and the public Internet.

A small business can deploy web technologies throughout the organization much more quickly than a large company that must overcome many cultural, technical and financial barriers. In most cases, a fully functional intranet that is a resource for all employees in a small business can be built in less than two months.

The quickest and easiest way to publish information on a web site accessible to every employee is to put the information in a web server connected to the Internet and enable employee access via dial-up. Dial-up internet access is widely available in most cities worldwide for $10 to $25 per month.

A "virtual" web site provider is a company that sets up a web server connected to the internet and rents space on the server for a low, monthly rate. These virtual web sites create a fully functional Internet presence for any organization. By adding content to directories on the server that are access restricted, you have created a virtual intranet that can only be accessed by your employees. (See the sidebar, "Virtual Web Site Providers" for a few recommendations.)

A fully functional "virtual" web site is available for $10 to $40 per month, with costs rising as server utilization (traffic and storage) increases. To create intranet functionality, you can create a virtual web site with internal content, publish the information to your virtual web server under your own domain, and limit access to the content to your authorized employees. Most web servers allow you to set up basic username / password security on either a directory or per-file basis.

Your employees can dial into the Internet from a PC at work, home or on the road and view internal information on the "intranet." Selected employees can also be given access to the virtual web server to add and update intranet content.

The same virtual server can host your company's public web site and private virtual intranet. Simply leave the public content in directories with no access limitation, and put your intranet content into directories that require usernames and passwords.

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