Developing Intranets-A Financial Industry Case Study

Bernadette Hyland, Director Plugged In Communications Pty Ltd, 385/c Coronation Drive, Brisbane, QLD 4066, AUSTRALIA Phone +61 7 3876 7140 Fax: +61 7 3876 7142 Email: bhyland@plugged.net.au Home Page: Bernadette Hyland [HREF 1]
World Wide Web, WWW, Intranet, Finance, Financial, Bank, Business Opportunities, Executive Information System, Systems Support

Introduction

In 1994 web technology was starting to gain momentum. California businesses are often early adopters of technology due to their close proximity to Silicon Valley.

At that time I was responsible for the systems architecture, implementation and support of Unix based trading applications for BZW Barclays Global Investors [HREF 2], formally known as Wells Fargo Nikko Investment Advisors.

Having just spent five years developing systems for Wall Street investment banks, I had learned the lesson that small is definitely beautiful. I had witnessed numerous large, well funded projects, with overbloated, unrealistic goals come crashing down 6 - 24 months later. The projects in many cases did not achieve the original business objectives, were delivered late and significantly over budget.

The trading systems team at Barclays believed that using Internet technologies within the corporation, we could rapidly develop very useful applications. We developed the first intranet applications using existing computer and network infrastructure, freely available web server and client software, in 2 months with the part time efforts of 3 developers.

The focus of this paper are the technologies, business and organisational issues we faced when building an intranet. We'll review how a small team of developers at Barclay's Global Investors tackled the challenges of building intranet applications. The success of these systems paved the path for numerous other intranet applications and Internet access.

Pressure for Technology

Technology to a large extent has enabled world financial markets to be what they are today. As the financial services industry becomes increasingly global, better systems to handle multicurrency transactions, from trade execution through settlement and reporting are being developed.

Systems required to handle global transations and support evolving financial strategies and products are a tall order for any IT department and impose unique systems demands. Delivering useful applications, even equipped with well funded budgets, the best rapid application development tools and methodologies, is a huge task for IT departments.

The track record for successfully implemented projects is worse than one might imagine. Software Development (November, 1995) reported thirty one percent of U.S. software projects are canceled before completion, costing US$81 ($108) billion annually; 53% of projects overrun their cost estimates by 189%, costing US$59 ($78) billion annually; and only 16% of projects are considered successful! The US based Standish Group revealed these shocking statistics.

The Technology

Intranets Emerge

Simply put, intranets are the use of Internet technologies (i.e., electronic mail, and the WWW model on a TCP/IP network) within an organisation.

Equipped with freely available server and modestly priced client software, we were able to provide a single window across mulitple desktop computers to disparate data. While this may not sound like much, it had and continues to have, significant ramifications for businesses that have a heterogeneous systems environment and literally hundreds of different applications which support core business functions.

Financial services is a prime example of an industry that is rewarded for its ability to adapt systems quickly for emerging business opportunities. We viewed Web technologies, combined with a solid understanding of the business processes, as a powerful mechanism to provide information throughout the global organisation. This was the impetus of our first intranet project.

Intranet Architecture

We implemented our intranet applications using a three tier architecture.
  1. The browser is the GUI tier.
  2. The web server is the middle tier containing application logic with ties to back end databases.
  3. Application servers are the third tier.
Scalability is enhanced with the addition of multiple web servers.

Intranets are an excellent innovation because they:

Putting the Pieces Together

Intranet applications in their most basic form require: For comprehensive information and a checklist of what is required to put together an intranet, see An Intranet Checklist by David Wood [HREF 3].

Web browsers

The browser is a desktop application that provides user-friendly access to information on the web server. Browsers are a powerful application because they run on a wide variety of computing platforms, including Windows (all variants), Unix (all variants), Macintosh, IBM OS/2, and many other platforms.

Intranet applications leverage web browsers as the singular window onto vast stores of corporate and government data. People have mastered "point and click" on hyperlinks and are able to quickly access data.

LAN Running TCP/IP

Internet communications are based on TCP/IP. For this reason, your corporate LAN must be capable of running the TCP/IP protocols between server(s) and clients.

Web Server

A web server handles publishing hypermedia information, secure transactions, access control, server authentication and much more. A web server can be a PC running Windows NT through a high end Unix server with multiple processors and multi-gigabytes of disk capacity. We were running the NCSA web server on low end Sun Sparc 2's with 32 Mb of memory, 2 Gb harddrives, which we configured as a server.

Today, available web servers include:

Remote Secure Access to an Intranet

If management determines that they would like to provide secure access to intranets for remote users, there are two options:
  1. Dial in access via a terminal server
  2. Internet connection to the intranet via a firewall

Regardless of which path you take, be sure to implement necessary security precautions. If your firm elects to have an Internet connection to your corporate LAN, a firewall is required. For additional information on the topic of security, see an Internet Security Brief, David Wood, August 1995 [HREF 4].

Secure access via a dial-in line or the Internet require the following:

Remote Access Server

A multi-protocol access server links remote users to corporate resources on an intranet. An array of communications ports are required to provide access for dial in users, usually at the rate of 10 - 15 users per port. A remote access server would enable authorised users, e.g., travelling sales staff and executives, and telecommuting staff to gain access to the corporate network.

Client Dial-in Software

Remote dial-in client software would be installed on remote user PCs and laptops. This software is initiates the telephone call to the corporate network, negotiates the connection, and terminates the connection when the remote session is over.

Connection to the Internet

There are several ways to connect to the corporate network to the Internet. After an initial trial, most Australian organisations find an ISDN or multiple ISDN lines are an efficient and cost effective solution to support any significant amount of Internet use. Any ISP that provides commerical Internet connections will be able to arrange for ISDN connection(s) through your prefered telephone company.

Firewall Security

Internet connectivity creates an array of new security concerns for every organisation. This paper does not attempt to address this important topic.

Security issues are well understood and can be addressed with a high degree of confidence. Nevertheless, architecting a secure environment is complex and requires a high degree of network and operating system specific expertise. Simply put, few organisations have internal resources with the depth of knowledge on Internet security. This is not an area that should be left to the systems staff to "come up to speed on" in their "spare time."

Contract a security consultant who will work with your business and systems management team to develop a security policy and plan appropriate for your organisation. Perform regular audits and keep up to date with security alerts from organisation such as the Australian Emergency Response Team [HREF 5], and NCSA's Security Concerns on the Web Page [HREF 6].

Our Intranet Solutions

Large versus Small

The firm had just embarked upon a huge, three year US$30+ million dollar systems infrastructure project. This multicurrency trust and accounting project was attracting all of the limelight.

The project required a massive business and systems coordination effort by all levels of the organisation over an initially proposed three year development cycle. A large influx of contract business analysts and systems developers were hired.

Managers were busy using Microsoft Project on their PCs to plan the project, developers beavered away on Unix workstations and the executive management developed PowerPoint presentations on their Macintoshs. No one could electronically share information with anyone else! No one was electronically sharing schedules, business requirements and technical specifications. Worst of all email was not even fully roled out throughout the organisation!

Appreciating the merits and power of Web technologies, my systems group decided to try a different tack. Initially, we stayed very quiet about our intranet development efforts. Our efforts were focused, but informal, since we didn't even have a business case to do it. We used the existing Sparc 2 servers that we had at our disposal and downloaded web server and client software off the Net.

While the huge US$30+ million dollar project tried to determine the organisational chart for who was working on the project, we were humming away building an intranet. Such is the power of distributed computing on the Web!

Our First Intranet Applications

Using Internet technologies, a team of three developers dedicating only part-time effort, successfully implemented two intranet projects:

  1. An Executive Information Intranet in just 2 months

    Within the Capital Markets we pulled data from a number of different hardware platforms, in a variety of forms, and created nicely formatted HTML documents to be viewed by Capital Markets managers.

    The trading data was gathered from a UNIX file server, UNIX database and a PC file server. The information was formatted using Perl and Sybase Perl scripts and served up via standard CGI scripts to the Sun Sparc2 Web server.

    Managers now had access from the web browser running on their Macintoshes, Unix workstations and PCs to view information that they would have previously cull through stacks of paper or held meetings with staff in multiple departments to obtain.

    Multiple data sources presented via the Executive Information Intranet

  2. A Systems Support and Documentation Intranet in 2 months

    This application originally started as a means for my systems team to improve documentation and systems support. In the end, this intranet application allowed us to:

    Application developers and systems administrators that supported the trading floor all contributed to the development of this comprehensive documentation system. Using this systems support intranet, developer and user questions were addressed quickly. Ease of systems maintenance was dramatically improved.

    The systems support intranet contained standards for GUI design, naming and coding conventions, best practices for designing, coding and testing applications. One person was appointed the "systems librarian" and was responsible for setting up the object repository for GUI and applications code, business rules and data objects.

    When new developers or support staff joined the project they were able come up to speed on the project much faster because they could read documentation, view the code and run the application all from their desktop computer.

Future Intranet Projects

The success of these two intranet projects laid the foundation for significantly larger Internet and intranet projects spanning across multiple departments and offices. We found intranet applications that enabled managers and executives to make better informed decisions, through access to accurate, timely information, were easy to justify.

Intranets integrate external and internal news

Later projects provided firmwide access to both external news and internal information sources including market news and prices, priced portfolios, account details, risk analysis, research reports and company announcements.

Internet technologies enhance internal and external communication

Most organisations rely on faxes, voice mail, notes left on desktops and chairs, and word of mouth to relay important information. These message delivery mechanisms leave much to be desired, especially for travelling sales people, executives and the growing telecommuting workforce.

Intranet applications, incorporating both email and search engine technology, deliver both significant improvements in productivity, as well as, the ability to make better informed decisions. Access from every desktop to the company directory, personnel handbook, peoples' calendars, domestic and international holidays, room booking reservation systems, travel and expense tracking, etc. are functions and resources well suited for deployment on an intranet.

Additionally, intranet applications provided a single repository for information on customers, trip reports, products and services, research reports, employee and department status reports.

Intranets are Not a Silver Bullet!

Intranets are a technical solution for a business problem. As such, they require the same good software engineering techniques that would be applied to any client/server application.

The Organisational Aspects of Internet Access and Intranets

Background

Two years ago my firm only had limited Internet access for a few systems staff. The CIOs rational was that only a few people required Internet access to email, ftp, telnet, gopher, veronica and the WWW for systems support issues.

As more systems staff starting requesting Internet access to perform their job more effectively, managers feared the security problems and support issues that would result in allowing access to a wider audience. Managers were also worried that productivity would drop because the staff would spend all day surfing the Net.

Both were valid concerns but were handled in short order. The first issue was addressed by building and maintaining a good firewall. From initial concept to implementation, building the firewall took approximately 4 months.

The second issue required education both for managers and staff. Managers had to reinforce work objectives and schedules. If the staff spent an hour web surfing but saved three hours by finding some useful information via the Web that helped them get their work done, the firm was ahead.

Managers' fears of the new technology were reduced by exposure. Additionally, acceptance was gained when managers saw the prompt resolution of problems by staff using the Internet and systems intranet. The WWW was an exciting new element added to the organisational mix and as with any new force, the organisation adapted and developed rules for its use.

Intranets connect people with information

It is worth mentioning that part of gaining business support for an intranet application is convincing people of the merits of sharing information. People are often protective of information. In some cases this is a legitimate concern. Certainly a significant portion of every organisation's information is sensitive and should be restricted to a "need to know" basis, e.g., personnel information, payroll, customer information, transactions and earnings reports, etc.

Restricted access to data may be ensured through file permissions, passwords, access control lists, and data encryption.

In other cases, separate data stores and systems have been intentially built to ensure control of content. These cases must be dealt with on an individual basis. Intranet technology wins people over fairly quickly. Once people see how an intranet applications help them to do their job more efficiently, they willing contribute valuable content.

Choosing an appropriate pilot project

Conventional wisdom recommends choosing a pilot project where the results are measureable. For example, the costs of producing the company directory or personnel resource manual are well known. Replacing these paper based resources would be a great intranet application candidate. The cost benefit ratio would be reasonably straightforward to calculate.

We happened to choose an intranet application where it was not easy to quantify the results, but it did capture the attention of the senior decision makers -- the ones who provide final approval for future projects!

Results of Our First Intranet Applications

We found intranets enabled managers and staff to make better decisions by providing up to date transaction information. The result of this improved information flow, using the existing network and computer infrasture, paved the road for funding additional projects. Later projects included search engines and are now utilising database server options that integrate relational databases with Web technology.

From a business perspective, managers appreciated having the ability to use their web browser to see well presented, compiled trading information. As an early adopter of Internet technologies within the organisation, we found we were able to differentiate their products and services from their competitors. Bottom line, efficient access to information saves time, money, improves the quality of decisions and increases marketshare.

Today's Intranets

Tools

Two years later, I am still focused on building intranet solutions, now as the Intranet Product Manager for Plugged In Communications Pty Ltd [HREF 7]. Plugged In is strongly in the forefront of Web applications development.

With a commitment to ensuring cross-platform availability and network awareness, Plugged In has built all of its products on top of standard cgi-compliant Web servers. Plugged In Communications' Internet/intranet product range [HREF 8] runs on most flavors of UNIX using NetscapeTM, NCSA and CERN Web servers. Ports to Windows NT are underway. HTML Remote version 2.0 is now available and has been written entirely in JavaTM. It will run on any Java-capable platform with access to Internet electronic mail.

Many worthy products have been released from vendors since Barclay's original intranet applications were delivered. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but merely a launching point to allow you to become familiar with some popular commercially available Web products.

Tools that make existing content web-ready

Web Editors

Web Site Maintenance Tools

Intranet Application Suites Search Engines

Summary

Companies around the world are differentiating themselves from their competitors by providing timely information and more efficient services through corporate intranets.

Intranets allow you to use data in numerous formats, and leverage existing computer and network infrastructure. Intranets require a modest amount of new software. Intranet applications require a TCP/IP network, Web server and client software, data (all varients), and code to extract data and generate HTML.

Intranets are not a silver bullet! Build incrementally. Take a distributed approach to development, keeping in mind all the important lessons we have learned about client/server systems design and development in the last decade. Remember, small is beautiful in systems development.

Intranets lend themselves to rapid, iterative development and provide access to information across heterogeneous desktops -- this is a very powerful attribute in our increasingly systems dependent global economy.

Hypertext References

HREF 1
http://www.plugged.net.au/bhyland/ - Bernadette Hyland's Home Page
HREF 2
http://www.bglobal.com - BZW Barclay Global Investors' Home Page
HREF 3
http://www.plugged.net.au/white.html - An Intranet Checklist by David Wood
HREF 4
http://www.plugged.net.au/dwood/security/start.htm> An Internet Security Brief, David Wood, August 1995
HREF 5
http://www.auscert.org.au - the Australian Emergency Response Team Home Page
HREF 6
http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu/security - NCSA's Security Concerns on the Web Page
HREF 7
http://www.plugged.net.au/home.html - Plugged In Communications' Home Page
HREF 8
http://www.plugged.net.au/products/index.html - Plugged In Communications' Products Brief
HREF 9
http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/main.html - Adobe Acrobat
HREF 10
http://www.microsoft.com/msword/internet/ia/ia95/default.htm - Microsoft Internet Assistant for Word for Windows 95
HREF 11
http://wp.novell.com/busapps/win/mkwpippr.htm - WordPerfect Internet Publisher
HREF 12
http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/pagemill/main.html - Adobe PageMill
HREF 13
http://www.incontext.com - InContext Spider
HREF 14
http://www.microsoft.com/msoffice/frontpage/index.htm - Microsoft FrontPage
HREF 15
http://www.sausage.com/hotdog32.htm - Sausage Software's Hot Dog Web Editor for Windows '95
HREF 16
http://www.vmedia.com/softquadad/pr/pr2.html - Softquad's HotMeTaL Pro 2.0
HREF 17
http://www.qdeck.com/webauthor/fact.html - Quarterdeck WebAuthor
HREF 18
http://home.netscape.com/comprod/products/tools/livewire_datasheet.html - Netscape's LiveWire and LiveWire Pro
HREF 19
http://www.plugged.net.au/products/i_suite.html - Plugged In Communication' HTML Remote
HREF 20
http://www.plugged.net.au/products/i_suite.html - Plugged In Communications' Intranet Office Applications Suite
HREF 21
http://www.opentext.com/livelink/otm_ll_ll.html - Open Text's LiveLink Intranet
HREF 22
http://www.excite.com - Excite, Inc. Excite for Web Servers
HREF 23
http://harvest.cs.colorado.edu - Harvest Search Engine

Copyright

Bernadette Hyland, Plugged In Communications Pty Ltd ©, 1996. The author assigns to Southern Cross University and other educational and non-profit institutions a non-exclusive licence to use this document for personal use and in courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and this copyright statement is reproduced. The author also grants a non-exclusive licence to Southern Cross University to publish this document in full on the World Wide Web and on CD-ROM and in printed form with the conference papers, and for the document to be published on mirrors on the World Wide Web. Any other usage is prohibited without the express permission of the author.
Pointers to Abstract and Full Paper
Abstract Interactive Version Papers & posters in this theme All Papers & posters AusWeb96 Home Page

AusWeb96 The Second Australian WorldWideWeb Conference "ausweb96@scu.edu.au"