Resumen
Web technology and applications are growing at a rate unprecedented for computer-based information technology. In 1996, Zona Research projected Web- and Internet-related revenue would double in 1997 and then grow about 30-50% through 1999. Company intranets--using the Web to support an organization's internal information needs--are expected to be the fastest growing component of that market. Yet, despite its impressive growth and apparent success, the immaturity of Web technology may be the most significant factor preventing its more widespread usage and adoption. This article looks at the use of the Web to support organizational work within one Fortune 500 company, Xerox Corp., to better understand the technology's limitations. The term Web has three connotations: physical network of servers and gateways, the actual information or content contained in the distributed web of links and nodes, and the Internet technology--an Internet operating system or computing environment with its tools--that is applied to the first two connotations. Another articulation views the Web as an interface, most often graphical, with the Internet. This article relies heavily on the second and third connotations.