Many companies are ditching the servers in favor of fully managed intranet solutions in the cloud , meaning these platforms require no coding , maintenance or backup .
In an ideal world , your intranet serves as the Main Street for your culture . It ’ s where employees can bump into each other , whether they ’ re separated by continents or sitting just a few cubicles away . By acting as a meeting place for conversations and collaboration , a channel for employees to share their voices and to hear from leadership , and providing processes for getting work done more easily , the intranet can become a conduit for cultural immersion .
If , that is , anybody ever goes there . In many companies , the intranet remains a repository for documents , many of which are rarely used . That ’ s because it can be difficult , time-consuming and expensive to build and maintain a robust intranet with a fresh stream of relevant and interesting content and active user participation . But that ’ s now easier than ever .
IT ’ S RAINING ON MICROSOFT ’ S PARADE
For years , Microsoft SharePoint has been the industry standard , much to the chagrin of many . Widespread criticism includes the lack of visual branding capabilities , few forums for user-created content , and an overall absence of personality . It also comes at a high cost , not just for implementation , but also for servers and maintenance . Dedicated staff or outsourced consultants represent additional expense . And then , once you ’ ve got the whole thing up and running , it ’ s generally a complicated user experience . It ’ s no surprise that the winds of change do not blow in Microsoft ' s favor , especially now that new technology and platforms offer some very good alternatives .
TO THE CLOUD
Many companies are ditching the servers in favor of fully managed intranet solutions in the cloud , meaning these platforms require no coding , maintenance or backup . These types of Software as a Service ( SaaS ) solutions offer fully managed intranets that are accessed through an Internet browser or desktop application .
One huge advantage of these platforms is that they don ’ t require a company to host their intranet on expensive onsite servers . They also boast many features that SharePoint does not , such as mobile adaptability , operating system-agnostic functionality and , best of all , traits that allow a company to comprehensively display and communicate their culture .
Two of these SaaS products seem to stand above the rest in Tribe ’ s research . Igloo and Interact are excellent solutions that meet most , if not all , of your intranet needs , though each has a unique style and process .
Both have exceptional security with 99 % uptime , APIs for numerous integrations , the ability to easily scale for growing or shrinking businesses and an out-ofthe-box implementation following the initial visual and structural development . And most importantly , they offer a variety of features that make communicating culture a breeze .
To begin with , both of these products allow for complete visual branding , so a corporation can remain consistent by presenting an intranet that matches their internal brand and emphasizes culture . Social features such as directories , @ mentions , forums , blogs and newsfeeds allow for the creation of user content and interaction among employees who may not otherwise have that opportunity . Both products are also easy to use and administer , with intuitive interfaces and easily accessible support and tutorials if needed , so you can focus on cultural communications instead of coding and quality assurance . Lastly , each is equipped with impressive analytics capabilities that allow for an intranet oversight team to see what is working and what isn ’ t .
This separates SaaS intranets from most other internal communication channels due to the fact that it is possible to measure how your culture communications are impacting your workforce and how better to do so . These factors cumulate into a space that promotes communication , access to information , and freedom of expression , all of which drive engagement and are key to a healthy corporate culture .
Many companies are ditching the servers in favor of fully managed intranet solutions in the cloud , meaning these platforms require no coding , maintenance or backup .
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