Multi-Media Communications Internet Services -

What Does It Take

For the simple case of providing access to information that is stored as HTML documents, you need to do the following:

Set up a system that has access to the Internet or the local area network that provides access for the intended audience.
Install and configure a Web server
Define a process for converting the information you wish to serve to HTML documents stored in the document tree of the Web server.
Define a document tree which is the hierarchy of linked files that contain the information you are serving.
Create the first version of the document tree
Advertise the URL at the top of the document tree to the intended audience.

This assumes all the usual precautions for systems that are connected to the Internet, and may include special access limits for parts of the document tree.

For systems that will make use of the CGI interface, there are some additional requirements. Each form or search mechanism will require specific programming. In addition, the data that is collected, and indeed some of the information that you will want to serve, is probably best maintained as information in a database, so the CGI programming environment will need to have an interface to your database management system.

The programming environment should make it easy to transform data in any form, including database file information, into HTML documents on the fly.

The programming environment should make it easy to transform data in any form, including database file information, into HTML documents on the fly. This will allow you to present any kind of data as a Web document. Multi-Media Communications provides all the services that you need to start using Web technology to your organization's advantage. MMCIS has developed WebKit, a set of utility routines that makes it easy to develop a Web based application.

This will allow you to present any kind of data as a Web document. Finally, here is a bit of advice that may seem self serving coming from someone in the business of providing Web server consultin services, but I think it is as valid as an accounting firm advising you not to do your own auditing.

Leave It To a Professional

Like a lot of things in life, creating and maintaining a Web server is something that almost anyone can do if they take the time to learn enough about it. The question is, why would you want to do that when there are many professional consulting firms focused on Web server creation and maintenance who can use their knowledge and creativity to do the job for you? One of the qualities of a successful organization is a focus on their center of competency. If writing HTML (and then VRML, and so on) and httpd administration is not your organization's center of competency, then find a good partner to do it for you. One word of caution: there are a lot people out there who will claim they can do the job. Spend enough time with your prospective partner to see their work. Make sure that you understand how they will give translate your organization's needs into professional, effective Web documents on an ongoing basis. Beware of consultants that limit your ability to change the information on your server on a timely basis. And last of all see what kind of Web applications they can build for you in addition to static Web page creation. It is these Web applications that will turn the Web into a strategic tool that will reduce significantly the cost of doing business for your organization.

If any of this makes sense to you, then let MMCIS demonstrate to you that we can do the job for you, in less time, for less than you will spend in real dollars trying to do it yourself. email us or leave us an action request on our Web server , even call us at (508) 653-3392 and ask for Charlie Cornell, and we will be glad to show you how to use the Web to your advantage.

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