The best intranet platforms have the power to transform your organization, but finding the right solution is complex. This articles outlines which features the best intranet platforms should have in 2022.
Choosing and launching the best intranet for your organization requires a substantial investment of time, money, and effort. To ensure that your choice is the right one, you need to gather information when choosing your vendor and creating the vision for your new platform.
There are many intranet software vendors and none of them will tell you they can’t meet your needs. However, each provider will naturally have particular strengths and areas of expertise based on their experience. As the person leading the intranet project, it’s your responsibility to find out which one is the best fit for your organization.
- Some are more suited to SMBs, others to enterprise level.
- Some products rely on SharePoint, others are independent packaged solutions.
- Some products have basic functionalities, others provide more advanced features.
- Some vendors are relatively new to the market, others have proven track records.
- Some are able to reach deskless workers more easily than others.
- Some have strong experience with healthcare or financial services organizations, for example.
The problem for most buyers is that unless you already know the market and the products, seeing beyond marketing hype and flashy sales demos can be tough.
Planning & deploying a successful intranet
The ultimate guide to everything you need to know when planning and deploying an intranet.
Independent advice on the best intranet platforms
Three things that help some buyers are:
- Software comparison sites (e.g., G2 and Capterra).
- User review sites (e.g., SoftwareReviews).
- Global consultancies (e.g., Forrester and Gartner).
All of these can be important places to check but you still may not have a full picture. Software comparisons may present an unfathomably long list of features, user reviews can be incomplete and biased, while reports from global advisors are often so expensive that they exclude all but the biggest organizations.
To help you as you research the best intranet platforms in 2022 then, we’ve curated a list of four categories that all of your potential intranet platforms should have. If you’re researching which solution is right for you, make sure they can cover these priority areas.
1. Content production and management features
Organizations look for a modern intranet because they want to create (and enable their employees to create) engaging content and internal communications. For this, they need advanced content creation tools that support the easy generation of appealing pages.
Additionally, for intranet content to stay fresh and relevant, content governance capabilities need to monitor and alert admins to expiring or duplicate material. These features stop your intranet from turning into the dreaded “dumping ground” of information.
With pointed questions, you can discover how well equipped an intranet is to provide these tools for you.
Consider asking:
- How does the system make it easy for communicators to produce engaging internal content?
- Can you communicate via the intranet to channels such as email, Teams, and Slack?
- Can employees personalize how they receive communications?
Planning & deploying a successful intranet
The ultimate guide to everything you need to know when planning and deploying an intranet.
2. Customization and design options
A reason intranets remain popular in successful workplaces is that they are uniquely customizable.
The business software products we all use every day are important in helping us to complete work, but only an intranet feels like a branded digital home for an organization.
Unlike most business apps, the best intranet platforms can be named and branded entirely in line with company guidelines, making them first choice as SharePoint alternatives. The UX can be customized to the needs of employees and the demands of the industry. The content and the design work together to increase employee engagement and embed brand values on every digital touchpoint.
Discovering how customizable the intranet you are considering is, requires investigation.
Ask your potential vendors:
- Can the platform be branded and designed to make it reflect the style and culture of the company using it?
- How does the platform make the user experience easy and enjoyable for all employees?
- Does the product support design templates that non-developers can create, share, and reuse?
3. Data storage, search, and integrations
All organizations store a wealth of resources that employees need to do their jobs. From HR policies to product information, a company intranet should be a well-organized repository that workers use to find up-to-date, authoritative material. In the biggest enterprises this can run to many thousands of pages, making content management a must.
Here are the questions you should ask to ensure your prospective intranet provider can support you in making that data easily findable.
- How does your intranet ensure that content is stored, updated, and accessed effectively?
- How does your system use metadata to improve content visibility and management?
- Does your platform’s search tool work with different content types, languages, and content repositories?
Planning & deploying a successful intranet
The ultimate guide to everything you need to know when planning and deploying an intranet.
4. Vendor information
The best intranet platforms are complex data ecosystems that mature over time. When implemented successfully they can become invaluable communication and collaboration platforms for employees. The best ones also improve employee experience and create communities of belonging based on an organization’s values.
This is an impossible amount to ask of software on its own, which is why buyers must understand as much about the company they’re buying from as the product itself. Not only should the vendor have a tried and tested methodology for planning and deploying your intranet, but their ability to fix bugs, provide advice, and develop exciting new features will ensure your continued success.
Here’s what the experts ask to understand a vendor’s expertise and experience:
- Where does your experience lie and what differentiates you as a company?
- How do you plan for the future?
- What professional services do you offer to support customer success?
Marry in haste, repent at leisure
Selecting a technology vendor and long-term partner is one of the most important tasks any organizational decision-maker undertakes. It can be complicated and time-consuming, but it is far better to take the extra time and ask important questions so that you get the information demonstrating how well a potential provider can support you.
