Chapter 13: Where to Go From Here - Remote Users

Overview

Author: Inigo Surguy

• Remote access

• Supporting handheld devices

In this book, we have described how the intranet can be of vital importance to a company and the day-to-day work of its employees. However, today's workers need to be able to work anywhere - from home, on the train, and on the plane. How can you ensure that they have access to the intranet wherever they need it?

In this chapter, we will answer this question by looking at various ways of accessing the intranet remotely, and accessing it offline. The solutions presented in this chapter are practical and useful now, but will become even more important as home working increases and the capabilities of mobile devices grow.

We will begin by looking at several methods of providing external access to the intranet for your organization's employees. We will go on to discuss the provision of offline intranet access, for those situations when a network connection of any sort is not available. Finally, we will consider handheld devices such as the Palm and Pocket PC, and access to the intranet via mobile phone.