Intranet with SharePoint: understand how it works!

Communication between employees from different sectors has always been a matter of great concern for companies in all sectors.

This is no accident, as communication failures are one of the major reasons that companies lose millions every year with SharePoint development company.

This is a worldwide concern, and many companies have tried a wide range of solutions to solve the problems.

Probably the most popular — and effective — solution today is the use of SharePoint as an Intranet, as it is a very powerful, easy-to-use, and fast tool for creating pages and managing the intranet as a whole.

In this article we will talk about:

• Intranet benefits.
• How to use intranet with SharePoint.
• Major Advantages and Features of SharePoint .
• How to create a really smart and intuitive intranet, capable of bringing fast returns through SharePoint.

What is the difference between Intranet, Internet and Extranet?

Because they are very similar terms, both in terms of the sound of the word and in writing, in addition to working from the same protocols (TCP/IP), many people end up getting a little confused when they start their search for the topic.

So, let's make a quick passage on the main differences of each one of them, so you'll never be in doubt again!

The Internet

The best known network in the world, made up of millions of interconnected networks all over the world.

One of its greatest features, which sets it apart from the other two — intranet and extranet — is the fact that it does not require an access credential for the user to enter.

In other words, all information or files shared on the Internet are publicly exposed.

The Internet is such a widespread technology and part of our daily lives, to the point that it is inconceivable to think of living without it — Not that you will miss opening an email from your boss so much in the early hours of the morning. day… but without internet, just for starters, you can say goodbye to social networks and Netflix!

Despite this, according to a survey carried out by Hootsuite and We Are Social, it pointed out that there are 4.66 billion internet users in 2021. A very expressive number, but which corresponds to just over half of the world's population — 59.5% of people all over the world.

The Intranet

Due to its enormous capacity for growth, it has become one of the most powerful tools among those currently used within companies across the globe.

The main difference between the Internet and the Intranet is the privacy of shared data.

The Intranet is a private network that uses Internet technologies to share/exchange information between employees and sectors of a company.

It can be built with different levels of privacy, which optimizes the effectiveness and practicality of using this technology. But, we will talk a little more about this in the course of the article.

Extranet

Last — but definitely not least — the Extranet!

It was conceived as a subgroup of an Intranet. Its use in companies or organizations is less widespread than the Intranet.

The Extranet comprises the same type of privacy as the intranet, but it does not restrict its access to employees of the same company.

One of the most common uses of the Extranet is aimed at sharing information and directories with files and data, between companies and customers, without the need to leave them open to the general public.

Like, for example, if you usually send reports — in a program like Power BI — monthly to your customers. You can add these reports to your extranet and the customer can access them directly there.

It is important to note that the extranet, like the intranet, can also be done with SharePoint!

What is SharePoint?

Microsoft's SharePoint is a web application platform that has grown in popularity with companies due to its ability to function as a web application environment.

In general, the program allows you to create websites, manage data, organize processes and exchange updates on internal initiatives.

If you want to use an intranet with SharePoint, the first thing we have to do is understand a little better this tool that will help us to avoid problems such as poor communication and waste of time.

What are the benefits and features of SharePoint?

1. It has a powerful content management system, which means it can help you easily create and publish all the content you need for your intranet.

2. If you're looking to build something quickly, SharePoint is a great option thanks to its ready-made templates, which allow you to create pages and websites easily, even if you don't have any knowledge of HTML or CSS programming.

3. Includes an advanced search engine that will help users find files more easily. It has a very user-friendly navigation.

4. Allows easy file sharing and collaboration with other users. It all depends on the level of permission given to each one. Sites can function as either collaborative or news pages.

5. SharePoint also has an intuitive interface, so you can get started right away without having to go through in-depth training. This makes it a system with a very small learning curve!

6. SharePoint sites and templates are very complete. This way, you have access to several types of templates, from the simplest to the most complex, to choose from when you start developing your intranet.

7. Easily customizable, it is possible to make several adjustments to the templates, modifying colors and layout, so that your intranet sites have the visual identity of your company.

8. It has many security and user management features. This is particularly important if you intend to share files with other departments — or even external clients — by setting page and site permissions so that only specific users can edit the content.

A simple, intuitive and fast tool, SharePoint is a top choice for Intranet development in companies of all industries and sizes.

What are the real benefits of the Intranet?

A key benefit of the Intranet is that it allows companies to access private and secure information quickly and easily.

In addition, considering more flexible, hybrid or even 100% remote work environments, a functional and intuitive intranet is not just an extra facility.

In this scenario, this type of system becomes practically a necessity, since employees can work better with content and information, as it is more accessible this way.

The Intranet plays a key role in the company's communication processes and helps to foster collaboration between different departments.

In addition to, in itself, already allowing the staff to know what each one is doing within their organization. It brings transparency to the company's activities and goals, becoming a strong ally in building a good Employee Experience !

The virtual approach using the intranet contributes to increasing knowledge and understanding of the company's values ​​and actions among all employees, creating a stronger and more uniform corporate culture.

Intranet implementation

There are some important points to be observed, even before starting the implementation of the intranet, so that it is really efficient and useful.

In addition to the creation of the sites itself, which, as we said, is very intuitive and simplified — so we will not focus on these more specific points of building the pages — the true success of your intranet is linked to less technical and more organizational factors.

After all, it is useless to have beautiful and technically well-built websites if they are not fulfilling their goals within the company.

What to consider when building the Intranet?

When creating the sites, it is important to take into account all the requirements and needs within your company, to ensure that it will not be just “another tool”.

It is essential that you focus on its practical use and benefits, making it functional for your business processes.

Who will use the system?

Be sure to define who will use it and how, as well as the day-to-day activities of each department.

The construction of the site must be thought for the people who will use the system.

After all — without wanting to get into the battle of generations (baby boomers, generation X, millennials and generation Z) — depending on the main profile of the collaborators, the sites should be organized in a way that best suits the abilities of each group.

If possible, perform usability tests with real people, who will use the system on a daily basis.

Through this you will be able to understand if the site is really functional, practical and if it is making life easier for the collaborator. In addition to identifying trouble spots and thinking of right solutions.

Remembering that, for this to work, it is not enough to ask if the contributor “liked” the site, he will probably tell you what he believes you want to hear.

It's much less helpful to ask biased questions like “go to the home page, right click on the 'attach file' button and let me know if you had any difficulties sending it”. If you tell your user what to do, that's not a valid usability test, because the response to stimuli isn't real.

A simple way to do this same test is to simply ask the user to “upload a file”. Observing how the collaborator is being resourceful, in person or through a video call, you will be able to understand if the path to perform the action is clear.

This step is often skipped, because many leaders believe that it will just be an extra time expense. A serious mistake, since through these tests, you will guarantee the launch of a really useful website, which makes the collaborator's life easier, improves communication and optimizes the completion time of some routines and tasks.

Recycle content

There are 2 big mistakes that are made by companies that are migrating from an intranet system.

The 1st is simply to build the pages in the new system and migrate all the contents of the old intranet to the new sites.

The 2nd mistake is doing just the opposite, ignoring the existing intranet and developing the new one from scratch.

Good content recycling helps to save time and create a much better website, in a simpler way.

Reviewing old sites will help you identify the demands each site meets, as well as any additional needs you may have to further improve your new intranet experience.

For this step, it is also very important to gather information about the facilities and difficulties presented by the old sites, which can be done through research with the users of the sites.

This is a golden opportunity to optimize and innovate in a precise way, in the creation of the new intranet sites.

Definition of the Intranet structure

From the definition of premises and directions for the creation of the sites of the new intranet, collected through the research with the users and the previous versions of intranet, you can now set up the structure in an assertive way.

SharePoint provides different types of building blocks, which act as pieces that form each part of your intranet's skeleton and can be organized in different ways. So you can create the best structure possible, to fully meet the needs of your company.

Launch of Intranet

Once the structure is defined and the pages of your intranet are built, according to the data collected, you will be ready to launch the launch broadly for a team or even in general for the entire company.

It is important to keep Intranet objectives in mind and define which metrics and key indicators will be analyzed.

With this, you will be able to identify not only user satisfaction levels, but also if goals are being met or if there are points that need improvement and optimization on the site based on this data.

This is an important step, which, if done correctly, allows you to continue implementing optimizations, according to new needs detected by the knowledge of real user feedback.

Intranets provide many efficiency gains for employees, including better communication with colleagues and increased collaboration. The key is finding the right platform to suit your needs without breaking the budget.

Without a doubt, SharePoint offers a wide variety of quick, simple, and affordable functionality that can be implemented even by people with no programming experience. Which justifies its popularity!

But, it is important to keep in mind that the tool does not work miracles.

As much as SharePoint delivers a lot of practicality and ease of implementation, it is often not possible to avoid some errors arising from the lack of experience of the people responsible.

So, if your company needs even more agility and efficiency, the best option is to look for specialized professionals, focused on developing quick solutions, aligned with your business goals and needs.