Intranets aren’t what they used to be. Here’s why.

Originating back somewhere between 1994 – 1996, the intranet as we know it came to life for the first time. Closely entwined with the internet, the intranet aimed to connect employees with documents, increase productivity and foster effective communication. But for many businesses, the intranet would quickly become a wasteland of duplicate files, outdated data and search results that displayed everything but what you were seeking. 

But that’s no longer the case – the intranet has come a long way from the early 2000s era platforms that initially come to mind. Where stereotypically intranets were slow, clunky and cumbersome – many are now the complete opposite. 

Perhaps the most popular intranet on the market, Microsoft SharePoint – has come a long way in providing an optimum user experience that delivers on all of its promises. 

Here’s why businesses should invest in a modern SharePoint.

1. The opposite of an administrative nightmare.

While there is still some administration required to get your intranet up and running, there’s nowhere near the amount of upkeep and maintenance needed to keep things running smoothly. 

With the best implementation team and strategic vision in place, your intranet will still work as well as it did out of the box, as it will after a few years.  

2. They facilitate real collaboration.

The first intranets were built with collaboration and connectivity in mind but fell short by infrastructure that wasn’t yet ready. But with the power of the cloud and the speed of modern connections, your SharePoint becomes a central hub that hosts collaboration and effective remote working with ease. 

With SharePoint, your teams can work together in real-time from mobile devices, desktops and tablets without compatibility issues. Users can open the SharePoint site or Teams App and get to work – it’s as simple as that.

3. Anyone can create great-looking pages with little technical experience.

An intranet needs to be fluid and ever-evolving if it wants to remain relevant to your staff. While traditional intranets used templates that were difficult to code, modern SharePoints have built-in drag and drop functionality.

Meaning that users can create posts, pages and sites without coding experience. 

4. They help to build a culture among a remote workforce.

In the age of pandemics, working from home and social distancing – maintaining your organisational culture can be difficult. Building the social element to your business is difficult when relying solely on text or fixed media. 

SharePoint excels in giving your intranet the human touch by allowing additions of multimedia to your site. Allowing staff to connect on a visual level and break down communication barriers. 

Ready to learn more?

If your curious to learn more about how SharePoint can change your business, speak to one of our consultants today or alternatively, register for our upcoming webinar. The Art of the Possible webinar will take an exclusive look at how businesses can better take advantage of their existing Microsoft 365 licenses, of which SharePoint comes as standard. Hosted by our Head of 365, Ben Ward, this webinar is sure to be an insightful look at how businesses are benefiting from M365 throughout COVID and in a post-COVID world.

Register now!