The Electronic Office

1. The Electronic Office Some supplementary information Corporate websites Company intranet Office automation

2. Corporate Websites A Corporate website can be used to give the public information about an organisation – like an electronic prospectus. A website might include some of the following features: • Company services – background information/history of the company • How to contact them – tel/fax #s, email form, postal address, map • Support – download new software, answers to frequently asked questions, troubleshooting guides • CEO Blog – a weblog giving information about how the company is run What is a weblog?

3. Company Intranet A Company intranet allows the employees to exchange data and find up-to-date versions of documents when needed. Features could include: • Manuals – and other documents for staff training and support • Tools – and other interactive resources embedded within webpages • Front End – to databases and other information systems What is an intranet?

4. Office Automation Anintegrated approach to office automation enables users to easily share data between applications. • Word-processing – a common format to make communications between departments easier, a house style for all corporate documents • Spreadsheets – can export data and charts to word-processed documents and can be used to model business • Databases – common datafiles cut down on problems arising from redundant data, report formats can be re-used within departments and results shared across the company intranet • Presentations – can be quickly built from a word-processed outline, a corporate template can ensure consistent quality • Email – can cut down on lost/delayed paper memos

5. What is a weblog? A weblog is an online journal, updated regularly. • As it is based on a content management system, it does not need a great deal of technical expertise to set up or maintain. • As the data in the blog is held in a database, it can be re-formatted and linked to in a variety of ways. • It can also be easily shared with other websites, which can be automatically informed about new data uploaded to it.

6. What is an intranet? An intranet is a locally available set of resources, accessible in the same way that a website would be, but only by the users of a specific network. • It uses the same protocols as the world wide web (eg TCP/IP http etc) and is accessed with the same tools(eg a web browser). • Information stored on it may be company information that would not normally be made public. • Staff manuals and other documents that need to be regularly reviewed, can be updated regularly without wasting paper. • Users may also be able to communicate with eachother by internal email or instant messaging.