Using A Client Extranet For Efficient Online Collaboration

Any service business needs to be able to work well with its clients. In the past, working together meant meeting face-to-face and using email to share work in progress.

In the past few years, the client service extranet has become a more popular tool. Face-to-face meetings are still the best and most important way to work together, but extranets have replaced email as the best way to share and organise the huge number of documents that need to be done.

Any service business needs to be able to work well with its clients. In the past, working together meant meeting face-to-face and using email to share work in progress.

In the past few years, the client service extranet has become a more popular tool. Face-to-face meetings are still the best and most important way to work together, but email has been replaced by extranets as the best way to share and organise the huge number of documents that are part of every client-agency relationship.

Service companies are using extranets more and more as a way to share work with clients in a safe and quick way. They let clients log in to a secure workspace and get to the things that are important to them.

With an extranet, clients can:

1. Approve or comment on draughts of documents
2. Look at art or multimedia presentations before approving them or giving feedback

Before the project starts, get important background information from the client.

1. See a record of all project communications
2. Get information about time and billing
3. Save old projects so you can compare them easily

Reduce or get rid of the need for face-to-face meetings. This will make it easier and cheaper to serve remote clients.

Most clients are busy, so using an extranet can save them both time and stress. It can also help the agency provide better service, which makes the client happier in general.

How is an extranet set up?

You can set up your own extranet or pay a monthly fee to an application service provider to host your extranet for you.

Putting together an internal extranet

If you choose to do it in-house, you will need an intranet infrastructure that is already set up. Then you can buy the equipment and software you need and hire or train people to keep the system running. The start-up costs can be high and may be out of reach for smaller businesses.

When compared to using a hosted (ASP) solution, building an in-house extranet has the following pros and cons:

Advantages

1. Direct access to everything a user does
2. Integration with systems inside the company
3. Be able to change how things work for each client
4. Full control over the design of the user interface

Disadvantages

1. Ongoing commitment of internal staff for hosting, maintenance, and upgrades, as well as support for internal and external clients.
2. Needs staff with knowledge of how to make extranets.
3. A lot of training for both employees and clients
4. Commitment of internal staff for six months to a year for planning, execution, review, and implementation
5. High costs to build up front

Using a solution that is hosted

If you decide to buy the extranet from an application service provider, you will have to pay a monthly fee for as long as you use the service. The infrastructure, security, setup, and maintenance of the system are all taken care of by the hosting company. You don't even need to have a network inside your company. Many will also teach your staff how to do their jobs.

When compared to using an in-house extranet, using an Application Service provider (ASP) has the following pros and cons:

Advantages

1. Fast action in as little as one day
2. No commitment from internal staff to support, hosting, and maintenance for internal and external clients
3. Low cost to get started and costs that are known over time
4. Savings on the use of an internal server
5. Upgrades available at no cost
6. Simpler to learn and use
7. Web-based application with a track record

Disadvantages

Less freedom in making user interfaces

1. Fixed how things work

Whether you build and manage your own extranet or use a hosted solution, your firm will improve client services by making it easier for clients to get to important documents and by shortening the time it takes for documents to be reviewed and approved. Which one you choose will depend on the needs of your business and the resources you already have.