As businesses expand, they encounter a range of challenges, including those related to document management, storage of employee data, knowledge sharing, and collaboration. SharePoint emerges as one of the top technologies to assist companies in establishing a robust content and document management system. Intranet portals serve as prime examples of SharePoint company pages, widely used as collaborative hubs. Intranets are an excellent hub for collaboration and employee engagement. Because SharePoint offers numerous benefits for these projects, businesses frequently choose to create their intranets using this platform. The SharePoint intranet has evolved from its modest origins with few features to a complete digital office solution, facilitating top-down communication, engaging staff, increasing productivity, organizing projects, promoting teamwork, and much more.
Let’s examine SharePoint intranet definition, essential elements, best practices, and more in greater detail.
A SharePoint intranet: what is it?
The SharePoint intranet is designed to assist modern businesses in managing their teams, departments, documents, tasks, and projects all in one location. It is akin to a dynamic ecosystem with robust features and functionalities, empowering internal communication and collaboration. However, it’s important to note that SharePoint and intranet represent two distinct concepts. An intranet refers to the internal website of the company that fulfills the aim of document storage and secure internal communication within the organization. SharePoint, on the other hand, serves as software or, in simpler terms, a versatile collaborative platform for organizations to build a powerful intranet.
Preferred by more than 200 million users worldwide, SharePoint as an intranet or SharePoint intranet offers the most secure, effective, and familiar environment to organizations.
Key Advantages of SharePoint Intranet
When considering an intranet solution for your business, you’ll discover that SharePoint offers a wealth of benefits for IT professionals, HR teams, communications managers, and end-users alike. Here are the primary reasons we advocate for the modernized version of SharePoint as an effective corporate intranet solution:
Scalability: As a robust platform, SharePoint is designed to scale alongside organizations of all sizes, adapting to shifting needs and expanding operations.
Workflow Automation: SharePoint allows companies to design unique workflows that streamline and automate a range of business operations, ultimately increasing efficiency and decreasing errors.
Integrations with Microsoft 365: SharePoint seamlessly integrates with Microsoft 365, enabling users to access Microsoft Teams, edit Word documents, and include Yammer feeds, among other features. This integration maximizes your digital office experience.
Accessibility: SharePoint enables employees to work remotely and access essential information and tools from any location with an internet connection.
Information Sharing: SharePoint facilitates internal communications, content management, document sharing, and permissions control, transforming it into a centralized content repository, serving as the authoritative source for company news and information.
Security Excellence: With robust security protocols in place, SharePoint ensures a safe environment for all users, bolstering security measures with features such as multi-factor authentication and cloud storage.
Enhanced Collaboration: Equipped with a suite of collaboration features, SharePoint simplifies teamwork on projects and documents, ultimately enhancing productivity across the organization.
Additional Reasons to Choose SharePoint
- Team collaboration
- Enterprise workflows
- Smart digital workspace
- Social networking
- Knowledge management
- Analytics & dashboards
- Task management tools
- Enterprise communication
SharePoint Intranet Components
The components of a company intranet are tailored to its specific processes and requirements. However, some common SharePoint Online components include:
- News web part
- Events timeline
- Employee Directory
- Task management calendar
- Employee Spotlight
- Birthday reminders
- Image gallery
- Corporate and HR documents
- Live Tiles or Metro tiles for quick links
- Questionnaires, polls, and surveys
- Intranet search
- Weather forecast
- Social features
- Knowledge base
- World clock
Thanks to its many features and connectors, SharePoint proves to be a flexible and trusted option for creating an effective and collaborative intranet that meets your business needs.
How Can Your SharePoint Intranet's Success Be Measured?
An intranet’s concept is dynamic and changes to meet the ever-changing needs of its users. Evaluating SharePoint’s functionality, user experience, engagement, and—above all—returns on investment is critical to its success. The evaluation of key performance indicators (KPIs) is necessary to make sure that the organization’s objectives and values are being upheld.
You can take the following steps to determine how well your SharePoint intranet is operating:
Usage Analytics: To illustrate the overall efficacy of the intranet, usage analytics digs into quantitative data to identify certain patterns in user behavior.
User Adoption Rate: This metric shows how many employees actively utilize the intranet, indicating how well it fits in with the work culture of the company.
Feedback and Surveys: Getting feedback from users and administering surveys is an excellent approach to find out about their preferences, experiences, patterns of involvement, and areas that want improvement.
Organizations may successfully measure the effectiveness of their SharePoint intranet and promote continuous improvement that is in line with user demands and company goals by following these steps and regularly monitoring important indicators.
Wrapping Up
SharePoint continually raises the standard, striving to enhance the platform’s capabilities. With each new feature, upgrade, and powerful tool designed to amplify internal communications, foster employee engagement, and facilitate collaboration, SharePoint intranet solidifies its position as the optimal choice for your organization. With BIZ-LYNX Technology’s expertise in SharePoint consultancy and implementation, businesses can unlock the full potential of SharePoint intranet, driving innovation, and competitive advantage in today’s dynamic business landscape.
Happy Reading!
