When you hear "intranet", do you think of an outdated, hard-to-navigate internal portal with slow loading times?
Intranets were initially designed to share information within a single location. The "old" intranet was just a collection of files and company announcements. It lacked engagement and no way of engagement, interaction, or collaboration. That version of the intranet has no doubt died.
How are Intranets Used Today?
The modern intranet is alive and well, with many businesses evolving their intranets to include user-centric features. Some intranets even incorporate AI, automation, and mobile accessibility, which makes them a more interactive, integrated, and personalised experience.
Today's intranet can also be seen as a social and digital workplace. They are no longer static sites but dynamic systems that integrate communications tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Google Workspace. Intranets can let employees quickly share and access documents and edit them in real-time, all within a single, interactive platform.
These are some other ways intranets are used today:
Improving Productivity and Information Access: A well-designed intranet has the potential to significantly improve productivity by reducing the time employees spend searching and inputting information. With tracking, search and data integrations tools employees can quickly locate data needed.
Supporting Remote and Hybrid Work: With the rise of remote and hybrid work there is a growing need for remote connectivity among organisation employees. Modern intranets gives employees seamless access to essential resources like documents, HR tools, and internal communications regardless of location.
Centralising Communications and Resources: All company announcements, departmental updates, and other internal communications can be kept in one place. Modern intranets feature news feeds, live chats, and integration with email and messaging platforms to ensure employees receive timely updates. By consolidating resources and communications in one place, intranets help employees avoid missed announcements and remain informed.
Training, Onboarding, and Professional Development: Many modern intranets now serve as a hub for hosting online courses, training videos, and interactive resources, intranets allow employees to learn new skills and access professional development at their own pace.
Examples of Modern Intranet Solutions:
Slack and Microsoft Teams Integrations: These platforms can function as social intranets, providing messaging, collaboration, and easy file sharing.
Happeo and LumApps: These platforms focus on user experience and offer intuitive interfaces for content sharing, social engagement, and more.
Microsoft SharePoint: is widely used for document management and team collaboration. Verelogic IT Solutions has developed its own SharePoint Site Creator, Verasti, which allows companies to precisely define what lists of libraries, items, pages, web parts, and security they want. Verasti will create and configure the sites precisely as you define them from a single Excel Workbook. Get a free demo from the team by emailing sales@verelogic.com.
As technology advances and businesses grow, intranets must adapt to different working styles, include more functionality, and change user expectations. Intranets have successfully stayed relevant by evolving to meet the modern workforce's expectations for collaboration and access. They are still a vital resource for communication among organisations of all sizes.
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