Conversely, the software behind blogs, forums and wikis on the Web have been around for a long time, establishing a reputation for solid performance under very heavy loads. Whilst they lack the complexity of enterprise solutions, they’re built on enterprise quality database management systems, rendering all that corporate intelligence easily searchable and secure.

The Internet is based on reliable, but inexpensive foundations; much of the software is free to use, even for commercial purposes; and where it isn’t the license fees are tiny compared with many proprietary packages.

I have an Intranet at home based on Apache web server, PHP and a MySQL database: all free to use and easy to install. It’s supported by a mixture of wired and wireless data connections that are common around many British homes and businesses. On this framework I’ve installed several copies of MediaWiki, the same software used by Wikipedia, both shared on the Intranet and privately on individual laptops.

Clare and I use these wikis to capture notes and the solutions to everyday issues. It provides a way for us to work jointly on these documents whilst maintaining a record of revisions. Everything is stored in a MySQL database rather than scattered around files on different drives. This can be quickly backed up and, best of all, it’s fully searchable from my browser; finding anything is really quick.

The bottom line is that bringing a little of the Internet inside the corporate firewall will make your intellectual property more agile, relevant, accessible and traceable: much more valuable!