Companies wanting to be on the Internet have many avenues to choose from. One such avenue is to develop an "on site" Internet system; in other words, rather than turning to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for web hosting services, a company can bring the Internet system in house. Of course, there are both advantages and disadvantages toward this approach. Any decision a company makes requires a careful assessment of their current requirements and expected future needs. StarCare Systems provides a series of Internet Development Plans; loosely developed schematics which are in turn tailored to fit your company's specific considerations.

How serious an Internet system does your company need?

Contracting a ISP to develop and "host" your corporate web site has the advantage of saving time, money and requires no computer investment. In this contractual agreement, the ISP agrees to develop your corporate image on the Internet and maintain the web pages from their computer network.

For companies committed to developing larger Internet systems, it can be advantageous to immediately bring development work in-house. Bringing the web site in-house allows for greater testing, more control and quicker implementation of an Internet system. Typically, an Introductory Internet is isolated from the internal corporate network. The development of a small staff who have the ability to directly interact with the web server dramatically increases the speed with which a company's staff can become "Internet ready."

This Internet scenario involves the purchase of a computer (perhaps two or three), corresponding software, a telecommunications connection to the Internet, hardware for accepting the Internet connection, training for a small group of employees, installation and configuration of an Operating System and Internet server, Web page development, domain naming, and graphic development.

A deciding factor in the expense of an Intermediate Internet System is the degree of security a company chooses to implement. Security can be as simple as user logons and passwords to complex implementations of multi-layered firewalls. [For a more detailed discussion of security considerations, please click here.] StarCare provides numerous options and solutions for ensuring the security of your company's information.

Additionally, an Intermediate Internet System signals a decision by a company that the Internet has now become a part of their corporate focus. Staff become more involved as individuals begin to submit information for publishing on the corporate Internet. Departments select individuals to act as liaisons between the staff and the Internet group as department heads now take an active role in deciding how information should be presented across the Internet. At this point, the Internet has become a vehicle for corporate expression.

As the Internet System continues to grow and employees increase their awareness, the need for increased functionality beyond that of static HTML pages develops. CGI (Common Gateway Interface) is the mechanism through which static HTML pages become dynamic and responsive. The introduction of CGIs to the corporate Internet occur in many fashions: JavaScript, Visual Basic Script, ISAPI, Active X, Perl, C++, etc.

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