Do I need an Intranet?

Before trying to determine why one needs an Intranet, it is important to understand that not every organisation needs one.

For example, a small business with a single place of operation with just a few staff would easily exchange information through memos, meetings, or even water cooler chats. These organisations might use the Internet as a resource for gathering knowledge and information, but, in most cases, wouldn’t need an Intranet's added power and efficiency.

Conversely, an organisation or business with numerous sales offices and multiple operational facilities would benefit significantly by implementing its own intranet. These businesses strive to balance managers' needs for information that is comprehensive and timely without unnecessarily adding to the workload of staff.

Without the power of an Intranet, they are burdened by logistical challenges such as multiple time zones, computer systems that may not be compatible, or other limitations.

The key in determining the value of an Intranet is your organisation’s information needs. Generally, intranets are most useful to businesses whose elements are geographically dispersed, have common information needs, share common business objectives and have a need for collaboration.

Here are some key questions to consider.

• Do your staff need to access common information resources or refer to standard procedures and policies at any time from their workplaces?

•Does your workforce regularly access and update common databases and files?

• Does your company allot excessive amounts of time and resources to manuals, documents and reports for distribution?

•Are you currently using Client-Server solutions?

Answering yes to any of these questions suggests you should seriously consider Intranet implementation.

An Intranet featuring Microsoft SharePoint, for example, provides a single, integrated location where employees can efficiently collaborate with team members, find organisational resources, search for corporate information, manage content and workflow, and leverage business insight to make better-informed decisions.

SharePoint’s Collaboration feature allows teams to work together effectively to prepare and publish documents, maintain task lists, implement workflows, and share information through the use of collaborative easy-to-use websites and blogs.

Portals facilitates the sharing of information with others.

Enterprise Search provides a vehicle to quickly and easily find people, expertise, or content in business applications.

Enterprise Content Management makes it easy to update documents, records, or Web content.

Creating workflows and electronic forms is effortless with Business Processes and Forms.

Easily access critical business information, view and analyse data, and publish reports using Business Intelligence.

All of these save time and increase productivity by streamlining routine reporting and ensuring ready access to key information.

Arguably, Intranets are not for everyone. A close examination of your operational strengths and weaknesses will indicate if an Intranet is the right thing for you.