With countless options when selecting the best Intranet Software – all offering different feature packages, how do you make the important decision to invest in the right intranet for your business?

Here are some smart tips to guide you through the decision making process, helping you to select the best intranet software suited for your business.
Getting started…
Choosing the right Intranet Software requires careful planning, as each business has unique requirements for their communication platform. Given the potential expense of Intranet software, it's crucial to identify key business goals to ensure the software benefits your organization. Reasons for implementing an Intranet solution may include boosting efficiency, creating a central resource hub, or improving employee productivity.
However, there are some essential factors that need to be taken into account when opting for the best Intranet solutions:
1. The Type of Intranet Solution

The first step is to decide on the sort of company Intranet software that is the best suited for your business and has the features that are able to meet your requirements.
One of the most important decisions is choosing between a self-hosted on-premise or cloud-based Intranet hosted with a secure provider (SaaS).
On-premise Intranets can prove to be expensive due to the costs involved in running and maintaining them, so can sometimes be suitable for larger enterprises. On the other hand, SaaS intranet solutions are quick and easy to implement, affordable and can be fully customized to meet your specific requirements. Moreover, because they are hosted with the intranet provider, and not on your premises, these cloud-based intranets offer you a hassle-free solution without any technical implementation or maintenance on your part.
2. What's the Pricing Structure?

There are different kinds of payment models when it comes to Intranet solutions and this depends entirely on your company’s budget.
Many intranet providers offer modular price packages structured around feature sets and support access. This modular pricing can get expensive, as the price increases as you unlock better support and more feature functionality.
However HUB is different. We believe in a single price that unlocks everything - every feature, integration and report, along with the same high standard of responsive customer support, cloud hosting and all maintenance. Having a one-price package provides greater affordability and value, and puts you in the best position functionality-wise to ensure your intranet succeeds from Day One.
3. Smooth Integration with Your Systems

Intranet software must be able to seamlessly integrate with a whole host of existing systems to help make your digital workplace more holistic and efficient. Integrating with Microsoft Active Directory or Office 365 helps businesses access their emails, meeting rooms and calendars within one online space, plus provides useful Single Sign-On (SSO) to make integration to these systems effortless.
Depending on how you want to utilize your new digital workplace, you will want to ensure that your intranet provider has the flexibility and expertise to offer you bespoke features and functionality built around your organisation’s unique systems. Your new intranet needs to be able to adapt as your business grows, and offer you the features and integration that can help support that growth.
4. Check the Capabilities of Your Team to Maintain the Content

When selecting an Intranet solution for your business, it's crucial to be realistic, as your internal team needs to support the platform and foster content growth after implementing the company intranet.
Whether you opt for an off-the-shelf solution or develop a customized Intranet software, ongoing support from your team is necessary for enhancements and content creation to maintain a dynamic intranet and keep users engaged over time. Without this, your intranet risks becoming obsolete and underutilized.
5. Scalability

Scalability is a crucial factor when selecting an Intranet platform for your business, given that your company will likely grow and expand its user base in the future. It's important to consider your company's corporate structure, especially if there are teams or internal/external divisions that may need their own distinct intranet interface to support growth or unique content. If this is the case, ensure that the intranet software you choose can support multiple private communities and separate intranet interfaces for each division/team. The Hub offers this capability at no extra cost.
Intranets enhance company efficiency by streamlining business processes and communications, providing employees with tools for high productivity and engagement. They connect suppliers, partners, customers, and colleagues, and link remote employees with resources, improving teamwork, collaboration, and knowledge sharing, thus boosting organizational productivity.
