What is the purpose of an Extranet?

The purpose of an Extranet is to allow partners to access a secure network. An Extranet is essentially an extension of an organization's intranet that provides selected external users—such as business partners, vendors, or stakeholders—secure access to specific resources, applications, or data. This setup fosters collaboration and communication while maintaining security protocols, ensuring that only authorized individuals can access sensitive information.

The design of an Extranet focuses on facilitating the necessary data exchange and interactions between the organization and its partners, without exposing the entire internal network to external threats. This controlled access helps streamline operations and improve business processes, which is essential in various industries where collaboration with external parties is crucial.