Web information systems: introduction to the minitrack

The scope of web-based applications has grown enormously, encompassing now four general kinds of Web-based systems: (1) Intranets, to support internal work, (2) Web presence sites that are marketing tools with the goal of reaching consumer outside of the firm, (3) Electronic Commerce systems that support consumer interaction, such as on-line shopping, and (4) a blend of internal and external systems to support business-to-business communication, commonly called Extranets.Thus, the web platform has transformed itself in the few years from a mere marketing presence to a platform that can support all facets of organizational work. As a result, more important IS efforts are geared towards exploiting the benefits of this platform, leading to the development of information systems based on Web technology, what we call "Web Information Systems" (WISs) [1]. We believe that this type of systems will become as commonplace as client/server systems did a decade ago, but with an exponentially higher impact on our lives, if anything, simply because the WWW has the potential of reaching a much wider audience than client/server systems based on proprietary networks.