By Gregory Dalton

IntraNetics Inc. last week introduced an upgrade of its software package for small and midsize companies seeking to build intranets or extranets.

IntraNetics 2.0 includes 20 customizable applications for functions such as customer management and the ability to create extranets with business partners. It also includes embedded links to the Web sites of Staples Inc. for purchasing office supplies and American Express Business Travel Services.

J.B. Lyon, VP of marketing at Staples' online division, Staples.com, says this is the first time the company has offered such a link to a software company, and it lets small-business customers weave basic online procurement into their intranets in an inexpensive manner. "It fills a void for those businesses that don't want to pay hefty fees to have customized [online] catalogs," Lyon says.

Graphic Technologies, a commercial printing company in Fort Worth, Texas, is using a test version of the product to provide employees a single point of access to six internal databases that track the status of printing jobs. "It's better than the weird URLs we used to have," says IT manager Darren Vader. Also, certain employees make travel arrangements or purchase office supplies via the password-protected links to American Express and Staples.

Vader wants to replace the company's scheduling and contact-management applications with an IntraNetics intranet, where the company can track sales agents and other employees. "We're also going to build an account status module for an extranet," says Vader, who hopes to have that application up by next month.