Internet vs Intranet: Difference and Comparison

The Internet is the most important part of the world. From professional to personal, it is used everywhere and most of the time. If anything has to be verified, it is checked on the internet.

Every piece of information, and detail, whether it is educational, historical, or everything is available online on the internet. A few terms are being confused as the same due to their similarities.

Example of such terms related to this is internet and intranet.

Key Takeaways

1. The internet is a global network accessible to anyone with an internet connection, while intranets are private networks restricted to specific organizations or groups.
2. Intranets offer a higher level of security and privacy compared to the public internet.
3. The internet provides access to vast resources and information, while intranets cater to an organization’s internal communication and collaboration needs.

Internet vs Intranet

The difference between the Internet and Intranet is that the Internet is used on a wide scale, whereas the intranet is used by a small group of people. The Internet is less secure when compared to the intranet which is relatively more secure. They both differ in terms of the number of users, number of visitors, types of networks, services they provide, etc.

The Internet is a network that connects electronic devices all over the world; people can share information and details about anything by using the Internet. It is also called a net. It can be used for sharing files, documents, information, etc. It is the biggest communication network.

It allows people to change their life by improving their quality of life.

Intranet is used by private enterprises for sharing information and data. It is used by the employees of the organization. It is important as, through this, every file can easily share by an employee even if he is not at the office presently.

This saves a lot of time and effort. It is a very cost-effective medium of communication and data sharing.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Internet	Intranet
No. of users	Multiple users.	Limited users
Security	Unsafe	Safe
Number of visitors	More visitors	Fewer visitors
Type of network	Public	Private
Provides	Unlimited information	Limited information

What is Internet?

The Internet is said to be the most creative and unique creation by humans. Its uses are not limited; it can be used for most things if not everything.

Advantages of the Internet include:

1. Communication Forum: it has led to the easiest and most effective way of communication. Anyone can communicate with a person anywhere in the world.
2. Abundant Information: it is a platform that provides resources and information about billions or more things in seconds. Everything is available on the internet, from cooking recipes to workout routines everything.
3. Educational purpose: it is used by students all around the world for educational purposes, exam preparation, making an assignment, doing homework, etc.
4. Online service and E-commerce: it is a platform for businesses too. Nowadays, several services and businesses are being online to avoid any offline costs and be more effective with different features such as customization and customer services.
5. Entertainment: it is a great source of entertainment too. The new generation watches series online more than they watch any TV shows. Besides this, there are social apps that are a good source of entertainment.

With all the above advantages, there are some disadvantages too that are associated with the use of the internet, such as it has become an addiction for youngsters, most of the time, they are on the internet, which has destroyed their social and personal life too, and cyber crimes have been increased, nowadays every information personal or professional is available online

and some people tend to misuse this information for their personal gain and therefore blackmail them or create a threat.

What is Intranet?

It is a medium for sharing data and information in a private enterprise. A private enterprise can have an intranet by making some changes and specific preparation for working on it.

Advantages of intranet:

1. Cost: it is less costly and, therefore, more affordable for everyone. No extra cost is required for printing, upkeep, etc. this makes it a very pocket-friendly option.
2. Accessibility: workers that use the intranet can have access to data anywhere they wish. They don’t have to sit at the computer for the same purpose.
3. Data exchange: data can be downloaded in a few seconds, and the same be connected with each condition of the organizational environment.
4. Time-saving: it saves a lot of time. There is no upkeep and particular information demanded by the representatives.
5. Web publishing: it licenses web distribution. It can be used for getting worker manuals and friends’ strategies.

Disadvantages of intranet:

1. Usage: if the number of clients is large, then the cost of actualizing it will also be high. Special preparation and designing have to be done to acquire the intranet connection.
2. Unpredictability: it is considered to be unpredictable due to its multifaceted nature.
3. Security: it is working to develop secure ways and techniques, but still, some outsiders can gain access to your information. Therefore, the security level is low.

Main Differences Between Internet and Intranet

1. The Internet is a network that connects electronic devices worldwide, whereas the intranet does connect computers but within a boundary.
2. Both of them have a different number of users that can use the network. In the case of the internet, multiple users can use the internet at the same time, whereas there are very limited users that can use the data on the intranet.
3. When it comes to security, the internet is less secure as compared to the intranet, as on the internet, all the information can be accessed by anyone. This leads to increases in misuse of the information sometimes, but this does not happen in an intranet that is way more secure in comparison.
4. More visitors can visit the internet, while a very few or a limited number of visitors can visit the intranet.
5. Both of them are indeed network that allows sharing of data and information, but they have different in types of network. The Internet is a public network, whereas an intranet is a private network.
6. Anyone in this world can have access to the internet after paying the cost, while not everyone can have access to the information or data on the intranet.
7. An intranet is a network that provides unlimited information. It has everything from study to dance, painting, new, etc., whereas the intranet does not provide this vast information; it only covers the information of the organization.

References

1. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/991324/
2. https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/libsci_facpub/112/
3. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10864415.1996.11518282
4. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2190/2XP7-3GXA-3PH2-NGMT
5. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/itt/2000/00000003/00000002/art00002
6. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/491309/