What is an Extranet?

Controlled external access to parts of an organization's intranet, granted to trusted outside parties like partners, suppliers, or customers.

Extranet = Controlled external access to an Intranet

An extranet allows specific external users (partners, suppliers, customers) to access parts of an organization's intranet.

Access levels:

Public Internet    → Anyone
Extranet          → Trusted partners
Intranet          → Employees only

Examples:

• Supplier accessing inventory system
• Customer viewing order status
• Partner accessing shared documents

Memory tip: Extranet sits between the two — more open than the intranet, more restricted than the public Internet.

Go deeper:

• Extranet (Wikipedia) — a controlled private network extending an intranet to trusted partners, suppliers, and customers.