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What is Intranet?
The intranet is a private, secure network that the internal employees of an organisation can only access.
It serves as the single focal point where employees can access internal and external resources and enable people to collaborate, communicate, share documents, and receive business information.
An intranet is a computer network for sharing information, collaboration tools, operational systems, and other computing services within an organisation, usually excluding access by outsiders.
Read more on Intranets on Wikipedia.
How is Intranet Used in an Organization
1. Connecting People:
Large organisations face challenges in connecting with staff working across a range of office locations or remotely.
A company portal helps colleagues find, connect, and communicate with one another irrespective of what device they are using, where they are, or their role in the organisation.
2. Accessing Information:
Intranets can centrally host and access information that employees require to perform their roles, and store important corporate information, news, announcements, documents and policies.
It can also act as a training platform to provide training content to employees, facilitates sharing of resources and aids in collaborative working.
3. Internal Communications:
Acts as a communication hub between staff and management through effective communication and social tools such as forums, discussions, blogs and wikis.
It consists of an active content management system integrated with the organization’s document management system, which delivers internal communications, including events, news, announcements, blogs, videos, etc.
4. Knowledge Management:
Intranet-based Knowledge Management allows an organisation to store and tap into the vast levels of knowledge generated by its employees and retain it even after individual leaves the organisation.
Employees can utilise the knowledge of their peers via an intranet portal through forums, idea boards, discussion areas and team areas.
5. Workflows and e-forms:
Corporate Portals are an excellent employee self-service tool that makes it easy for staff to complete standard processes such as submitting leave application, undertaking internal training or submitting expenses.
Intranet can automate a range of administrative functions like
- staff performance reviews & appraisals
- meeting room and equipment booking
- holiday requests
- and many more
Business Benefits of Intranet Portal
- Higher workforce productivity
- Streamlined collaboration
- Better internal communications
- Boosts employee engagement
- Remote work capabilities
- Centralized information resource
- Enhanced employee experience
- Secure transfer of data
- New ideas and improvements
- Fast information search
- Provides organizational clarity
- Encourages knowledge sharing
- Enriches company culture
- Better business efficiency
Which Intranet Software is Best for My Business?
From a tool for top-down communication between management and staff, intranets have adapted and evolved according to trends and demands into a collaboration platform where individuals can share knowledge. Teams can have open discussions, leadership can stay in touch, and departments can provide updates.
With the increase in globalisation and remote working culture, restricting access to resources from a single location is no longer an option.
Keep employees on the go; hence mobile app versions, responsive sites and integration with cloud-based systems such as Office 365 and SharePoint Online need to be considered.
Also, an efficient intranet should include public API or third-party integrations to work seamlessly with existing and future business applications.
Please speak with one of our experts to learn how your organisation can achieve incredible benefits and savings by moving to a SharePoint intranet or for information about successful intranet portal implementation for your organisation.
Read further:
SharePoint has genuinely revolutionised the way companies use intranet and extract value from it.
Deploying a SharePoint intranet makes it easier for employees to work together as a team while encouraging employee engagement. Read More.
SharePoint Online Intranet Portal implementation is much cheaper initially, starting at about $3000 and going up based on the features you want to implement.
Generate maximum value from an intranet portal; start from your company’s business objectives.
