City

This demonstration page accessable only with passwords by Officials, Employees and Staff.
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Official's City of Shreveport Kiosk

Learn about this new and exciting technology to save the local government significant money and time.

Savings do not end here, the public benefits from increased access and accelerated service time as well as the convenience of access to services through the Internet. City Employees may perform their duties from anywhere including home and remote locations.

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Intranet Inside

Introduction --

Imagine Intranet; life inside the firewall.

Your Intranet can be custom tailored to your special needs. Imagine a remotely controllable computing network providing Staff, Employees, and the Public, secure password protected access (even encrypted access) to your Information Systems, Databases and innumerable Resources. This "Intranet" is constructed of variations of commonly used "Internet" technologies familiar as Web Browsers, Servers, Sercurity Firewalls and Password-protected schemes. All your information may be distributed via the Intranet/Internet with only one Channel for distribution. Your Information Systems can expand client services, standardizing your information and storing it anywhere. All you have to do is add this new layer of connected standards that "just runs", independent of vendor or platform. No longer do you have to be fettered by fat and rigid clients, that require expensive upgrades and redundant training. No longer will your IS have to contend with multiple client applications, all with different interfaces. Your intranet offers the advantage of one interface for all clients. This creates the advantage of thin Clients and Fat Servers. The intranet provides Non-proprietary links with Consistent look and feel, a Vendor in-specific Client interface, consisting of one set of looking glasses, feeding the same viewer. It eliminates the need for training with each new corporate information product, you can use the same product to lookup, for example, Personnel records, Orginization Charts, Research reports and Directories.

This is because the interface is identical for all tasks. Nothing like this has ever before happened in Business History permiting "Double Dip" infrastructure efficiencies. It Grows the "Top Line", increasing revenue by increasing Customer Base and "Shrinks Expense Structure", bolstering Infrastructure Efficiencies with better Communication Collaboration and Internal Publishing. Now you can invest in sweetening your servers. Your clients can "Thin" as the interface to all of your systems fatten in your servers instead of fatter and fatter Clients.

Like the Web itself, an intranet combines computers running browser software, servers hosting various types of content, and networks linking them all together. An intranet can house a variety of information resources (content) to meet your company's needs - from product information that's available to the public on your Web site to sensitive internal resources like the company telephone and e-mail directories.

Your intranet is protected from outside access by a secure firewall. Authorized users at remote locations can access all or portions of the intranet using modems with password protection.

Intranets save money, time, and paper, by reducing or eliminating the printing and re-printing of information that can easily be produced, distributed, and accessed electronically. An intranet also allows information to be updated and distributed immediately, to improve productivity and competitiveness. Perhaps most importantly, intranets open up the opportunity for enterprise-wide collaboration, to make your company more of a community, spanning time zones and locations.

To investigate intranet applications and benefits, visit "City of Shreveport Public Kiosk," a fictitious demo with a "real" intranet on the World Wide Web, at http://www.salsburg.com/City. The site will give you ideas and examples.

For starters, you need Web, E-Mail, database and other application servers, as well as a network that would support TCP/IP (the standard Internet protocol for communications), Domain Name Service (DNS) specification, and firewalls to prevent unauthorized access.

By laying the Intranet interface across the top of Legacy systems you can:
· Operate the Legacy system without changing Legacy system
· Access legacy information through 3270 to HTML translation
· Implement Scaleable interfaces rather than be shackled by existing non-scaleable interfaces
· Operate the Legacy system with no need to rebuild your Legacy Databases
· Create instant interfaces for all clients without impacting Legacy Databases

·· Ask yourself "Should we do this? If so, why?"

· Communications? - An intranet provides a central repository for internal and select external communications, at a lower cost and with greater flexibility and more manageability than traditional methods like printed memos and office bulletin boards.
· Information Sharing? - An intranet gives employees access to the same versions of current and historical information, ensuring consistent communications and a greater sense of community.
· Workflow? - An intranet allows employees to initiate and track the status of transactions, such as requests for vacation days, confirmation of employee benefits, and purchase orders.
· Complexity explosion? - Are the number, size and complexity of your Client systems growing uncontrollably? If so your decision to move to an Intranet is clear.
· Concerned about restrictions on interfaces to information? No need to be Concerned.
Standard Server technology provides full service client interface with no barriers between Intranet and Extranet guarded by fully secure Firewall for secure traffic on Intranet providing wide bandwidth access to Servers on Extranet.

·· How Can I Visit Someone's Intranet? You can't.

Intranets are behind firewalls to protect internal information from unauthorized access by outsiders.

Intranets can be designed to offer maximum control over information access. As with World Wide Web sites, intranets can be constructed to accept or reject entry from unauthorized users - coming in via modem, or through the Internet.

Maintain secure communication between departments and provide consistent, uniform interface between departments. Intranets, for greater security, can be partly or completely inaccessible via dial-up connections. Your intranet and network manager can implement multiple password levels and configure the server for tracking, checking, admitting or rejecting attempts to access intranet resources. Track all Client Activity with realistic real time Server Demographics.

Survey your employees, record what kind of information they need, and their network access requirements. Three areas of top importance surface (others may apply for your organization):
· Communications
· Human Resources and Benefits
· Product Development and Management

Like a good Web site, an intranet solution requires products from a variety of vendors. Building an intranet may require an experienced systems integrator who knows how to successfully combine products from different vendors.

·· Tips for Your Intranet

Make sure each area of importance to your colleagues is represented on your intranet, and easily accessed on it. If users from any one department don't see it as useful or engaging, they will be slow to accept the advantages and benefits of universal intranet access in your organization.

Make your intranet fun to use. Company-related contests, a suggestion box, and event promotions foster communication, familiarity with corporate computing resources and employee relations.

··Feature Technique: Webcasting

Webcasting is a powerful and effective communications tool that uses computers and networks to deliver real-time or time-sensitive content and events. "Webcasting," or "broadcast" of events like executive presentations to intranet users via their computers are done instead of via satellite television or telephone conference call.

Webcasting is a term used for real-time or near real-time reporting on the Internet and world wide web. Sometimes it is used in a more restrictive sense-making real-time audio and video available to multiple watchers over the Internet. Thus some webcasts mix frequently updated photos, text, and movies, with interactive chat sessions, and real-time audio and video.

QuickTime TV is an example of the real-time audio and video. QuickTime TV multicasts originate with an AV Power Macintosh. The material is copied to each client using one of two technologies. The first is IP Multicast (used on the Internet MBone); in this technique, packets are copied efficiently at low-level using routing algorithms optimized for this function. IP Multicast is not yet widely deployed. The alternative technique, also supported by QuickTime TV, is reflector programs, which replicate packets to clients, or other reflectors. Reflectors run on UNIX machines, such as the Apple Network Server 500 or 700, which are ideally suited to this function.

Each client must, of course, be connected to the Internet and have the appropriate applications or plug-ins to watch QuickTime TV. Webcasting is enhanced by technologies like QuickTime, QuickTime VR and QuickTime TV. There are also threaded discussions for communications around the world. They combine the conveniences of e-mail with the ability to participate in and track discussions on specific topics.

·· Feature Technique: Accessing Corporate Databases

Your intranet can house numerous directories, including telephone, Fax, E-Mail and other information that is typically distributed in paper form. But with an intranet, you can allow users to browse, search, and subdivide various directories according to specific interests. Employee directory entries can include personal interest information to generate community building within a company.

Build and manage flat-file and relational databases. Include features that make databases accessible via the Web or your intranets for fast, easy, and well-managed access and updating. Easily access, view and modify databases through the Web or an intranet, eliminating the need for additional applications and scripts. User may build Structured Query Language (SQL) compliant databases. SQL is the de facto standard method for building and using computer databases.

Effective management is the key to organizational success. Your intranet development should focus on management functions like quality assurance, bug identification, tracking and correction, and overall team support.

Priorities for the Management section of your intranet should included contact information for management staff, a library of management resources and access to a threaded discussion area.

Resources and Benefits for Users:
· On-line resources can support collaboration across time and space, and allow dispersed individuals to work as team members.
· Faster time to finish.
· Reduce, correct and eliminate defects quickly.

·· Feature Technique: Management Utilizing Intranet/Internet Technology

Create a "bug report" when a defect is found, and track resolution of all bugs reported. This provides a boon to development, because they can work together regardless of geographic distances or time zones.

An on-line Development Center gives special Internet access to select users - providing developers with low-cost, managed access developer tools. This enables developers to broadcast products that are compatible with new developments more quickly.

Create and track defects or customer complaints and their resolutions. Provide an area that your suppliers and vendors can access, giving multiple parties controlled use of your intranet for efficient creation of just-in-time solutions.

·· Tips for Your Intranet:

· Work closely with management and information systems managers, to ensure that your intranet's resources for defect reduction, developer/partner support, and other critical functions work well, comply with overall policies, and are easy and inviting to use.
· Support the computers and access methods used by outside individuals with authorized access to your intranet. Also, provide security to guard against unauthorized access.

Open select areas containing special information for contractors and suppliers that you used to distribute by paper.

Content that used to go unpublished can go on your intranet and can be shared with your Web site. Basic information such as general contractor profiles, catalogs, data sheets, price lists and lists of frequently asked questions (FAQs) can be provided. You can also offer search engines for part numbers and other resources like a calendar of trade shows, planned products, and news releases.

Your internal intranet makes it easy to access centrally located obscure information, allowing you to save money on document creation, duplication, and distribution.

·· Resources and Benefits for Users:

· Easy access to contract information, from contract data sheets and catalogs to part numbers, price lists and SKUs, for internal use and for preparation of presentations, proposals and other externally published projects.
· Access to on-line discussion tools, allowing users to collaborate, communicate, and find answers to questions without help from support personnel.

·· Benefits:
· Create publishable materials, update items easier, and distribute them faster and less expensively.
· Ensure that all employees share latest version of materials.
· Lower costs and workload involved in managing inventories.

Build a network application that lets employees help customers better. The best feature is that the physical location of the database doesn't matter- it can be remotely located - HTML pages are generated on the fly so that the Web site is as current as the corporate database. By adding search functions, graphics and an automatic E-Mail response system, you can leverage the interactive nature of intranets to positively affect customer service.

·· Tips for Your Intranet:

Since communication and publications materials are often graphical, it's important to maintain their excitement and vibrancy on-line. Several companies offer tools and suggestions to help with these decisions.

·· Internet Solutions Guide:

Make sure your intranet content managers work closely with the developers of your data sheets, lists, and parts lists. On-line and hard copy content must be the same, and updates must be universal and simultaneous.

Every intranet benefits from on-line discussions, both moderated and unmoderated. In moderated groups, one or more employees guide the discussion, while unmoderated groups have no overseer. A well-managed combination of both will give all users of your intranet the freedom to brainstorm and come up with new ideas, while keeping them focused on the company's overall goals.

Whereas you may have been sending monthly courier packages full of newsletters, press clippings, videos, audio tapes and other promotional material to all our sattelite offices, each office got these copies. This is extremely costly. That information can be maintained at a central location where it can be constantly updated and instantly accessed. Pay back is quick and all the offices get the information at the same time - no more waiting - which can be costly, not to mention
savings in shipping!

·· Feature Technique: Print To On-line

Important documents, descriptions and information are essential for almost every company. Creating documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) captures the look and feel of top quality marketing literature that can be posted on your Web site for use by any client computer without alteration. Posting PDF documents on-line allows users instant access, keyword search functionality as well as hotlinks to supporting documents.

Look and feel is very important you can maintain that across media.

·· Open Network Environment
· HTML
· JAVA
· Plug-ins
· TCP/IP

·· Move information same as E-Mail

E-Mail can now contain the same information as Web Pages providing the same advantages in communication as HTML whichcan include:
· Video
· Images
· Sounds
· Code (Applets)
· Tables

·· Reduces phone support requirements.

By providing information to your customers and the public, you can reduce the number of phone calls for customer support, publication, permits, licenses, billing etc.

·· Reduces employees and clients trips to site.

Telecommuting becomes a workable solution. Significant reductions in the cost of doing business can be realized with Telecommuting. Every large corporation has inplemented various forms and degrees of Telecommuting since 1992.

Human Resources

The "Human Resources" section is one of the most visited parts of any company's intranet. Because every employee is a "human resource," this section is designed to attract everyone. By providing employees with tools to manage and track work-related tasks, and to update information in the corporate database, this intranet section can help a company manage and maintain up-to-date employee records, while saving time and money.

Resources and Benefits for Users:
· Rapid enrollment in or changes to selected employee benefits programs.
· Easy viewing and updating of personal information in the employee database.
· Access to calendars and schedules for company events.
· Viewing and responding via e-mail to job opportunity listings.
· Access to documents like the employee handbook and company phone book.
· Contact information and office hours for Human Resources personnel.
· Community bulletin boards where employees can buy, sell, and trade items.

Benefits for the Company:
· Central management of all employee-related data and benefits profiles.
· Rapid, easy maintenance of timely employee and benefit information.
· Lower costs of information production and dissemination.

There are many things that need to occur when a new hire comes aboard. Now, that person simply fills out an on-line form that gets sent electronically and the Human Resources Department can track it along the way if they have any questions.

·· Tips for Your Intranet

·Help users feel secure about personal data by requiring authorized entry through unique identification information like Social Security and/or employee numbers, PlNs, or passwords.
·Update your on-line listings frequently to encourage frequent visits.
·Ensure employee access to the intranet, by installing access kiosks in common areas such as the company cafeteria.
·Keep your webmasters and intranet managers educated and trained on the latest tools for managing and providing content on your intranet.

Finance/Accounting/Purchasing

The Finance/Accounting/Purchasing section draws visitors from every division and department. The ability to track personal payroll and retirement-plan information, file expense reports, or track sick days on-line makes it easy for employees to get clear pictures of their personal employee profiles. This encourages people to visit the site frequently and to keep their on-line personal information up-to-date and accurate.

·· Tips for Your Intranet:

· When viewing financial data, it is essential to require multiple passwords and create restrictions for access to specific types of information.
· Many companies already have months or years of accounting and other financial information archived on "legacy" systems which may require specific expertise from consultants and/or systems integrators to connect to your intranet.

·· Resources and Benefits for Users:

· A frequently updated calendar showing pay periods and up-to-the-minute information on days for illness, vacation and personal/emergency time off.
· Access to procedures, requirements and forms necessary for purchasing.
· Issuance and tracking of purchase orders and requisitions.
· Contact information for accounting and purchasing personnel.

·· Benefits for the Company:

· Incentive for all departments and employees to use the same tools, forms, and procedures, leading to streamlined operations and faster problem resolution.
· Easier, more efficient sharing and interchange of information among those who modify and depend on timely, accurate financial information.
· Timely information in forms easier to adapt to ever-changing legal/tax/reporting requirements.

Information System

An intranet can make support functions easier for Information Systems staff. Your intranet can be used as both a source of self-help for users and a channel for immediate or near-immediate communication with support staff when needed.

·· Resources and Benefits for Users:

· A single place to find out about company IS resources.
· A tool that can help users support themselves more effectively.

·· Benefits for the Company:

· A smart system to link users to the IS staff and resources.
· A set of tools for consolidating user and IS experiences into a database of questions and answers.
· The ability to diagnose true IS emergencies and differentiate problems that can be solved via e-mail, threaded discussions or other intranet resources.

The best example of on-line assistance is self help. By simply putting up a FAQ, everyone can easily access the answers they need without having to ask someone else for help.

Facilities

The "Facilities" section provides information about the company's policies for facilities use.

Users can also:
· Request use of facilities like conference rooms and projectors
· View a list of facilities-management staff and their office hours

Site Administration

The "Site Administration" section has on-screen forms that make request changes easy for users to:
· Submit articles to the newsletter
· Modify employee information records
· Add new employee profiles

Library

"Library" section lets employees browse a resource catalog, access and search corporate information services, and access news feeds relevant to the company. The on-line corporate library gives even the newest employee access to complete information about the company and its history. This builds a strong sense of community, and helps bring new hires up to speed more quickly.

Assists everyone doing their own research and allows employees all over the world to access your corporate library records. Your intranet places the keys to critical information and the means to access it on everyone's desktop. Every department and area may utilize the intranet. Even the cafeteria may put-up menu schedules.

News

Feature important news about the company, including announcements of new executives, recent Contacts, and upcoming deadlines.

Feature on-screen news for employees and company bulletins. The home page also includes graphics, buttons and icons that link to other pages and resources. It keeps employees interested with clean, easy-to-navigate combinations of text, images, sound and video.

Buttons linking to each major department or resource of interest are also featured on the home page.

On-line: Each button takes you to resources related to that topic area. The following pages focus on specific features and benefits of selected topics, and how they can help your company.

Corporate communications on your company's intranet have much in common with the information the Web-surfing public can find on the company's Web site. However, intranet resources add employee-only materials and an internal "spin" to available information.

Corporate communications includes news about company executives, products, and stock performance. Employees can also access the latest company news releases and press coverage, or review company policy on public and media relations.

Training

The "Training" section is a veritable on-line University. On-line training materials are available for employees to:
· Learn how to use the company's internal hardware and software
· Review Human Resource policies and procedures
· Learn about the company's services

Discussions

The "Discussions" section takes visitors directly to the intranet area where threaded discussion groups reside. Threaded discussion areas are places where employees can initiate and add to specific topics. Anyone can scroll through each on-going conversation and append a response at the end. Sometimes new ideas and opinions are formed based on these "chat" sessions. Employees find these unmoderated forms a helpful way to exercise their opinions freely.

Create a central repository of corporate information needed to publish, both print and on-line. Keeping everyone up to date on company issues is a challenge. Solve this problem by providing a central location so employees can access vital information and initiate processes from their desktop.

See the potential of the Web for community building. The community, flourishes because all employees can give real-time input in the private discussion area.

Resources and Benefits for Users:
· Easy, flexible access to current, recent and archival news, executive changes, and other information about the company and its employees.
· The ability to browse through text, graphics, sound, and motion in engaging ways traditional communications methods like brochures and conference calls can not match.
· An opportunity to gain experience using the company intranet while learning more about the company itself.

Benefits to the Company:
· Tools that enhance company messages, engage employees, and present a better company image when communicating internally and externally.
· A method of communicating with employees that trains them in use of the intranet.

·· Tips for Your Intranet

Develop on-line discussion groups. Make it easy for users to initiate and/or become moderators of discussion groups, and make sure that relevant staff and managers visit and browse these groups frequently. On-line discussions can be a valuable forum for employee feedback and can help point them to other useful resources.

Make use of technologies like RealAudio, Acrobat and QuickTime to emphasize important information and keep your intranet interesting. It is important to provide users with the software they need to play such features.

·· Spotlight: What are QuickTime and QuickTime VR?

QuickTime is software from Apple Computer that lets the software tool vendors and content creators integrate, edit, synchronize, store, and play back video, sound, graphics, text and music. It allows users to create stunning content and titles for delivery on CD ROM, Internet and professional video. It's available for Macintosh. Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT, OS/2 and other platforms, making it an "author once, playback anywhere" vehicle.

QuickTime VR allows a user to explore and interact with real-world spaces and objects. A user can walk through real-world space, looking around, zooming in for a closer look, or "picking up" objects of interest to examine them more closely. When the user navigates through the space and looks at objects, correct perspective is maintained.

QuickTime has technology that, when combined with enhancements like QuickTime VR and QuickTime Live, allows intranet and Web users to view live events and still images inside which they can "move" and change perspective, even while on-line. For more information, visit http://quicktime.apple.com/

·· Spotlight: Acrobat

Creation and distribute documents among users of different computer types. With Acrobat, documents that include pictures, multiple fonts, or even animation can be viewed by users with any client equipped with Acrobat Reader software.

Acrobat Reader software for a variety of computer platforms is distributed freely over the Internet.

·· Spotlight:

An Up-To-Date "Event and Contact" broadcasting system can reside on your Intranet. "Event and Contact" broadcasting users drag and drop events and important dates from Web pages to their desktop calendar. When users click on the event, its details are displayed, including the URL.

Integrate personal calendars with group, departmental and even conference room calendars on your intranet site. Track shared contacts and access information by user defined categories - organize your information intelligently."