Intranet solutions are essential for businesses, enabling seamless information flow and streamlining core processes. In an agile environment, a business intranet keeps employees connected over a secure network.
The decision to go ahead with a business intranet solution can be quite rewarding for companies in the long term. However, with plenty of intranet solutions available in the market, it can get quite confusing in knowing what platform best suits your requirements and how to make the best choice?
We’ve shared the key areas to focus on in the process of choosing the best intranet platform for your business.
Determining the right type of intranet for your business
There are many reasons to acquire an intranet solution for your company, including improved employee collaboration, faster file access and storage, and enhanced productivity. Most intranet platforms are highly flexible and can meet a variety of needs, allowing you to explore the most suitable options and features to achieve the best results for your business.
Identify the appropriate intranet solution and necessary features to meet your goals. Cloud-based intranets are popular for their accessibility and quick implementation, ideal for small businesses without IT staff or no infrastructure changes. SaaS intranets are affordable, customizable, and easy to implement, though they may require more IT staff involvement for on-site deployment.
> On-premise intranets
On-site infrastructure may be more suited for large organisations who already have a company server and a dedicated team of IT staff with all the technical know-how. An on-site intranet solution will most likely require significant investment with managing the maintenance and security issues related to the intranet software, which is probably why most people tend to opt for cloud-based.
> Cloud-based Intranet solutions
The cloud-based intranet software is hosted by external service providers, like the Hub is securely hosted on Google Cloud. This type of business intranet offers many interesting features and templates that can be customised according to the needs of the organisation. Cloud based Intranet software is easy to set up and does not require any technical expertise. The hosting company you purchase your business intranet from will manage all the maintenance and security issues, which frees up your companies time to manage other vital tasks more efficiently.
3 Steps for Choosing Your Business Intranet Solution
1. Decide on your budget
Cloud-based solutions may be economical for small businesses, but the overall cost structure may vary depending on the vendors. Make sure to discuss various options with different vendors and find out their charges and the kind of services which they would be willing to offer. Check out for any attractive offers that may be available through vendors with any extra features or services being offered. For instance, Hub gives you a cheaper price-per-user the more users you have on your intranet, plus free upgrades for life. Small things like this can help make your business intranet solution more cost-effective and efficient in the long term.
2. Assess Your Goals and Desired ROI
Will the intranet contribute positively to your bottom line? According to the recent report by Forbes, positive engagement of employees has a profound impact on sales, quality, safety, profits and shareholders returns. Most intranet platforms will have comprehensive reporting in place for you to track user activity and engagement, so you can optimize our business communication and collaboration, and help maintain a productive workforce.
3. Test and experiment
If you like the sound of any intranet solution, then it would be best to try to arrange an online demo or free trial periods (if the intranet vendor offers one). This will help you assess if this intranet solution is right for your business and will allow you to talk through the flexibility of the platform with the vendor, as many providers (like the Hub) can offer bespoke features and functionality which can be built in specially to suit your individual needs.
Discover how HUB can help you choose the right business intranet
Speak to our intranet specialists to see how a Hub could help you boost employee engagement and productivity, and make your office communications seem seamless.​​