Orion's lawyers set confidentiality standards for Internet and extranet Web content, and those standards are enforced by a strategic communications person, he says.

CNN: Does your Web site reveal too much?

Building on technology from McDonnell, he developed secure, extranet systems that let large corporations share information with key suppliers and customers at remote locations.

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Orion's competitive edge stems from certain innovative business processes that are available to a network of independent agents via a password-protected extranet, according to Buffington.

CNN: Does your Web site reveal too much?

Last year a product development manager named Suibin Zhang at wireless-hardware maker Netgear allegedly spent two hours downloading 78 documents from Marvell's extranet, a site restricted to customers.

FORBES: Technology

For firms that differentiate by delivering maximum client convenience and relationship transparency, the right solution will extend internal client and project-specific intranet portals into external (extranet) portals accessible by members of the client organization.

FORBES: Practice Development In An Age Of Transformation: Part Two