Corporate Intranet Portal: What Does Your Company Need One?
What is a corporate intranet portal?
Intranets are nothing new. They’ve been around since the 1990s, when the digital revolution spawned a plethora of enterprise tools and solutions we use today, including corporate intranet portals.
As we mentioned before, a Corporate Intranet Portal is a closed network of a business that allows company members to collaborate, communicate, store files, and generally conduct business operations.
Companies need a separate private space for a variety of reasons. Other tools are often insufficient to provide all the functionality an enterprise may need, and they may not be secure enough. We all live and work in a competitive world where an untimely leak or corporate espionage can seriously impact a company’s bottom line.
Of course, corporate intranet portals are more than simple private chat rooms. They help connect employees, especially remote workers, within a single digital workspace that fosters cohesion on a personal and professional level.
Traditional intranet and modern intranet
Employee intranet solutions have not been frozen in time since the 90s. They have changed significantly over time, bringing more valuable features and flexibility as they evolve.
Traditional employee intranet solutions are very limited. At first, they were only used by office workers. As the way we work has changed dramatically, especially in the past two years, because of the pandemic, this is going to be a major issue. Hybrid work is now the name of the game, with many employees working remotely at least some of the time.
Traditional intranets were also only accessible via (office) computers, which was expected since other internet-enabled devices were not as developed at the time as they are now.
Today, employees can use modern Employee Intranet Solution remotely, no matter where they are. Additionally, today’s corporate intranets can be accessed from a smartphone, tablet or laptop. This allows employees to communicate and work on the move.
Let’s now take a deeper look at modern corporate intranets and how they differ from seemingly similar tools and software
What is the company intranet used for?
Now, let’s take a closer look at what exactly the intranet platform is for. First, we’ll list all the major uses of the modern intranet, and then we’ll dig deeper into each use.
The corporate intranet portal is used for:
Ensure internal communication between employees
Documents and document management
Facilitate communication and engagement
Build and develop a solid company culture
Help the entire workforce collaborate
Increase productivity and simplify business processes
Let’s break down each use and see how an intranet can help your business in these areas.
Internal Communication
One of the core functions of corporate intranet portal software is to allow secure internal communication between company employees. We all know that fast and efficient communication is critical to running a successful business.
Most employee intranet solutions are equipped with instant real-time messaging, allowing you to quickly contact team members or other departments.
The benefits of a multinational or remote team are obvious here, but even a 100% on-site company can benefit a lot. Instead of wasting time with endless meetings and unnecessary emails, you can instantly share important information or send files over your intranet.
This is not the only type of communication provided by a corporate intranet portal. They also feature news feeds and announcements, enabling employees or management to quickly disseminate important information. These may include release updates, new work rules, method changes, etc.
Finally, an employee intranet solution helps keep internal communications private from prying eyes. This is a key aspect of any intranet solution. Not only does your company lose profits when certain information is leaked, but there can be legal ramifications if any sensitive user data is made public.
File storage and management
In addition to serving as a centralized hub for important information, the corporate intranet portal also provides centralized access to important files. Over time, companies can accumulate a lot of files, and you need a place to store them securely. Company intranets do just that, securely storing all important data in a central repository.
The entire organization can then access this data when needed. Additionally, intranet solutions allow companies to structure and sort stored data to easily filter and search files, saving valuable time. Instead of digging through hundreds or thousands of files, you can sort them by type, name, access date, etc.
Files are not the only things stored on the intranet. Old communications, chats and other important data can also be saved and accessed at will.
