Document Actions
Intranet Articles
Learn more about intranet strategy, planning and best practices with the latest articles from Prescient's intranet consultants.
What the experts say about SharePoint (MOSS)
By Toby Ward — “SharePoint is good at a number of things,” says one SharePoint expert at the jboye08 conference in Denmark, addressing a group of SharePoint users and followers in Aarhus. “But it’s bad at just as many.”
Intranet case study: Universal McCann (UM)
By Toby Ward — Universal McCann (UM) is a global media communications agency with 2,800 employees in 66 countries. UM undertakes massive marketing campaigns and media buys for large Fortune 500s such as Coke, MasterCard, Microsoft, and others. With a highly distributed workforce, UM found that knowledge and expertise was often trapped in geographic silos that could not be shared easily with other offices.
Intranet 2.0 not a priority for CIO's
By Toby Ward — The single most credible survey I’ve found to date confirms what I’ve been saying for some time: Web 2.0 is still a lot of hype, and not a priority for many.
Square pegs in round holes − Where SharePoint fits in your information architecture
By Jed Cawthorne − I would like to start this article with a disclaimer that I am not 'anti-SharePoint' or anti-Microsoft, but I am 'anti-oversimplification'.
Employee social networking − Sabre Town case study
By Toby Ward − Once the domain of the Internet, social networking has virally spread to the intranet with impressive results for Sabre.
Social software that powers Intranet 2.0
By Toby Ward − “Looking for greater flexibility and support for more ad hoc processes, employees have responded with a more bottom-up approach, in some cases circumventing official information systems,” said CMS Watch Founder Tony Byrne and contributing analyst Jarod Gingras, the principal authors of The Enterprise Social Software Report 2008.
IBM Fringe: Employee social networking with a purpose
By Toby Ward − Most intranet or employee directories are the most used, if not most popular, applications on the corporate intranet. Most pull key contact information directly from the HR database or ERP; others allow employees to update and maintain their own information.
Beehive builds buzz at IBM
By Toby Ward — IBM promotes innovation and collaboration through it's own employee social networking site.
Advice for (prospective) SharePoint customers
By Jed Cawthorne and Toby Ward — SharePoint (MOSS 2007) is robust solution, but it's not for every organization. Here is some practical advice from Prescient and the authors of CMS Watch's "The SharePoint Report 2008."
Enterprise intranet wikis
Wikis can be very powerful tools, if executed properly. But just because Cisco has them, doesn’t mean your organization is ready. Change management is far more important than the technology.
Intranet portal solutions die, evolve & move to Intranet 2.0
The enterprise portal solution market continues to consolidate while the big name vendors like IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft focus their R&D and marketing on Web 2.0.
Intranet information architectures
An examination of the information architecures for 13 leading intranets provides some clues, tips, and lessons for crafting an effective intranet information architecture (IA).
Intranet planning: An intranet model for success
The process of planning an intranet, and the role of executive management and end users in developing the plan, determines the potential success of an intranet.
Reinventing intranet information architecture
“I can’t find anything!” At the risk of sounding repetitive, this is still the number one complaint of most employees at most organizations, regardless of size, industry and geographic location. Notwithstanding the effectiveness of the search engine which, more often than not, is rated as being somewhere between 'awful' and 'piss-poor,' Information architecture is often the top priority of most intranet managers when undertaking a redesign.
Enterprise 2.0 vs. Intranet 2.0
Enterprise blogging, wikiing, podcasting, and social bookmarking, within the confines of the enterprise, are powerful enablers of enhanced knowledge sharing and employee engagement.
Intranet 2.0: Social media adoption
No longer a nice-to-have for most, the new, emerging workforce expects their organization to match the pace of technology and deploy social media tools.
Intranet 2.0 Trends - Global Intranet Trends Report
Intranet 2.0 Trends - Global Intranet Trends Report
Enterprise 2.0 vs. Intranet 2.0
Blogging, wikiing, podcasting, social bookmarking – all within the confines of the enterprise possesses the power to make everyone’s life a little better, a little more empowered and informed.
Intranet 2.0 on the rise, but barely
The adoption of Intranet 2.0 (Web 2.0) tools in the past two years has barely grown while organizations and intranet managers focus on more pressing priorities.
Enterprise intranet predictions for 2008
Predictions and trends for enterprise intranets in 2008 include further consolidation of the portal market, increased competition from new web 2.0 vendors, and a simpler home page for the enterprise portal or home page.
Intranet change management
For many organizations, an intranet makes a fundamental change in organizational communications, and also, business process. A change management communications program is a requisite for any intranet launch.
Intranets do not replace face-to-face communications
by Toby Ward — According to a Harvard Business Review study of Project Management Best Practices in Global 500 Enterprises face-to-face meetings and interaction in the work place is declining rapidly – and instead many teams are working virtually.
Know thy user: The pitfalls of assuming you know your users
by Carmine Porco — First off, intranet managers must come to the realization that their organizations’ employees are in fact their clients. To assume otherwise is to assure failure. Like any client, the organization must understand their constituency by asking them what their problems are, propose solutions, monitor their progress, ask for feedback and continually care and nurture them.
Open source myths
by Toby Ward — The open source revolution is still in its infancy and many myths persist.
What is the New Year without (intranet) resolutions?
by Cathy McKnight — Statistics show that as many as 45% of adults make New Years resolutions, with less than half of those commitments making past the six month mark. And while not holding fast to personal resolutions may only affect you, a failure to execute on intranet initiatives can impact an entire company. So make 2007 the year you say, "This year I resolve to …” and you actually do.
The big deal about portals
by Toby Ward — Portal products still represent a green, emerging technology. The promise of success however is still overshadowed by many pitfalls and few success stories.
The intranet as an employee retention tool
by Toby Ward — The intranet is a key driver of employee retention. Studies show that employees who were highly satisfied with their intranet or corporate portal also had a high level of job satisfaction. When employees are satisfied, they stay on longer, their productivity rises and training costs fall.
Intranet kiosks vs home access
by Toby Ward — The success of intranet kiosks has been very limited. An increasingly more common and popular alternative may be the option of extending remote or home intranet access to all employees.
Gut instincts vs. data – What would you rather present to get intranet buy-in?
by Bianca Wong — Surveys, focus groups and interviews - gathering the data to develop an intranet strategy.
Don’t forget to add the Tax(onomy)
by Cathy McKnight — What is taxonomy? How does it differ from information architecture? And how do you create an effective taxonomy for a successful intranet?
QAS intranet case study – anatomy of a winner
By Toby Ward — A winning intranet has many successful qualities and features. The QAS intranet is a winner at many levels – rich with tools and demonstrable, measured value.
The future of portals
by Toby Ward — In the intranet world, the big hype for the past five years has consistently been reserved for portals. Though not necessarily a top priority for intranet managers and executives, the vendors and tech media have focused great attention on portal products as the savior of for the corporate intranet.
Intranet rationalization: The politics of downsizing
by Toby Ward — Site sprawl undermines the very promise of an intranet—making it easier to store and find information. Downsizing the number of sites is a complex project.
Wiki The Intranet
By Toby Ward — Has anyone not heard of a wiki? No, not the exotic New Zealand bird...
Taming the Monster: Creating an effective Government Intranet
By Julian Mills & Tom Marciniak – All organizations that disseminate information start with a dream: multiple websites integrating seamlessly into an intranet that minimizes the effort of managing content and maximizes stakeholder satisfaction
Lessons Learned: How to Avoid the Top 10 Intranet Mistakes
by Carmine Porco — The third best way to improve through experience is to learn from your mistakes. The second best way is to learn from the mistakes of others. And the best way is to learn from your own successes.
Nexus of Intranet Success
by Toby Ward — True intranet success is rare and often fleeting. The dedication, rigor and resources required to build and maintain a successful intranet or portal are significant. And while a successful intranet does not necessarily require a lot of money per se, there are many facets that require attention, successful planning and execution.
Open source intranets
By Toby Ward — Open source platforms continue to advance and evolve and they’re starting to appear more often as solutions for enterprise intranets.
Measuring Intranet Effectiveness
Many businesses have deployed intranet technologies for business- to-user information sharing, but few have investigated the effectiveness of this investment as demonstrated by South Africa's The Porter Motor Group.
Does Your Intranet Measure-Up?
by Carmine Porco — Your competition is doing a better job of communicating, and consequently, they are extracting more value and productivity from their employees. Their secret: a highly successful intranet that supports the entire business.
Prioritizing the Intranet's Evolution
by Carmine Porco — From deciding on a family outing to crafting the company strategy, prioritizing intranet projects can be daunting.
Is Your Intranet Headed for Extinction - Part II: Planning for Success
by Toby Ward — Complex and expensive, intranets are no longer relegated to just- another-IT-project status within the highly competitive corporate hierarchy. A successful intranet’s scope and reach should permeate all aspects of the business in every corner of an organization. And the rigor and execution required to build and maintain a successful intranet is massive.
Is Your Intranet Headed for Extinction - Part I
by Toby Ward — Intranets are complex and expensive investments - their scope and reach should touch and positively affect all employees in every corner of an organization. The rigor and execution required to build and maintain a successful intranet is massive – from governance to content management, and from technology to business processes. At the heart of a successful intranet is the strength of the plan that underlies it.