In today’s business world, most businesses with a moderate number of employees have turned to intranets to disseminate corporate information such as policies and procedures, host training materials for current and new employees and connect remote offices regardless of their physical location. How does a company choose an intranet software suite to accomplish all of this?

Some companies are able to spend thousands of dollars to hire an IT company to design and implement a complicated, high tech intranet. It is no longer necessary to shell out big bucks for that service though. Many companies offer out-of-the-box corporate intranet software solutions. To help you decide which intranet software would best fit the needs of your organization, keep these things in mind:

1. Your delivery method

2. Which corporate intranet software features are essential

3. How much training your staff will need

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Figure out if you want a web-based or a local application solution

Corporate intranet software can be a web-based application or a hosted application on your individual machines. While neither method is better for everyone, web-based solutions are becoming increasingly popular.

I recommend: If your company has a large number of employees who will be accessing the intranet, then it would be a good idea to go with one of the web-based intranet portal software applications where you purchase a number of licenses and never install the full software on your machine. This solution from Intranet Connections offers a comprehensive, web-based service for companies of all sizes. For those companies with a small number of employees and individual machines, hosting the intranet software application on the local machine will work just as well. In this case, it is up to the user to install, configure and maintain the software. Teamware Office is a hosted software solution that offers document management, email and scheduling features. This website also features a “dummy site” that is set up using their software that potential clients can access using the provided information.

Decide what intranet portal software features are most important to your company

If your company has remote offices across the country or even across the world, then your particular intranet will need different and more advanced features than a company with one location and 20 employees.

I recommend: Vialect Software’s solution IntraNet offers database applications, shared calendars, document manager as well as web-based email for small, medium and large-sized businesses. To make sure this is the right solution for you, you can also download a free intranet software demo to use for 30 days on either their server or your own.

Know ahead of time what training and support your staff will need

Do you have a dedicated IT department with experience in creating, implementing and supporting intranets? Most intranet software solutions offer some kind of technical support and help, but it is important to know the extent of their support ahead of time if you will rely heavily on it.

I recommend: The intranet software application from Enlighten.net offers extensive online and phone support as well as holding training seminars on the web, remote and on-site consulting. They offer different service plan levels to fit the needs of any company. Enlighten.net will also provide you with a free intranet software trial.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Many solutions come with intranet chat software to save time and increase employee productivity by enabling them to keep connected to their bosses and co workers without having to take the time to leave their desks or write an email.