Intranet

INTRANET THE PROBLEM WITH THE With the advent of social media and the speed at which the creation and sharing of knowledge is ..changing, the traditional Intranet is showing its inherent limitations. From a knowledge management perspective, these systems are having trouble accommodating the growing needs of the modern enterprise. Let's explore why the Intranet is struggling and how it can be improved. THE STATE OF THE INTRANET WHAT IS IT? It is a private internal network in an enterprise that is usually only accessible by that organization's members, with authorization. WHO USES IT? Generally, Intranets are owned by and accessible to the following departments in the enterprise: INTRANET HUMAN RESOURCES SALES AND MARKETING CUSTOMER SERVICE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE FINANCE According to a Forrester Research study that surveyed US information workers in 2009: HOW MANY USE IT? Intranets are ubiquitous within enterprises, with nearly 2/3 of employees accessing it one or more times per month. But, the fact that fewer than half of employees log on daily signals a disconnect between traditional Intranet 65% 43% usefulness and employee needs. Use the intranet at least monthly Access the Intranet daily TOP FIVE WAYS THE INTRANET X IS BEING USED ........●●. ...... 3 4 POLICIES AND EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION FIND STAFF FIND FORMS PROCEDURES BENEFITS NEWS 18% 6% 6% 6% 5% THE EVOLUTION OF THE INTRANET 59% 38% By 1997, Intranets can be found in 59% of the U.S. and 38% of European countries. Content management and self-service transactions Instant messaging and microblogging features are integrated more heavily into the Intranet as real-time delivery of information becomes more desirable. come to market The Intranet is born and introduced as a knowledge base with information repositories. III|E|| 2011 & 1990s 2000s BEYOND The IDC estimates roughly 30 million Intranet users in the U.S. by the end of the 1990s. Collaboration-driven goals spur basic social tools such as blogs, wikis and discussion forums. вW Search directories are created to allow members to find staff and other content. WHY THE TRADITIONAL INTRANET FAILS In the past, Intranets have been a central workspace for employees to find useful information. Unfortunately, over time, they have evolved into a sort of dumping ground where content gets stored and ignored. How else does the traditional Intranet fall short? OUT-OF-DATE INFORMATION If content is not constantly updated, the information can become unusable and 39% irrelevant very fast. Over a third of a 2009 TechTarget survey respondents said, “Our Intranet is has a lot of static INEFFECTIVE COLLABORATION Intranets are helpful at handling loads of information, but when it comes to fostering collaboration, they don't lend themselves to interactive conversations. content updated by a few people." DISORGANIZATION AND POOR SEARCH FUNCTIONALITY 45% Effective Intranets only work if content can be found easily. If a search displays results with complex navigation, or leads users outside of a centralized location, they are likely to abandon the search. The number of people who spend three hours or more per week searching for information on an Intranet, according to a Forrester Research's Workforce Technology survey. UNCLEAR STRATEGY INTRANET NOT TIED TO REVENUE GROWTH OR INNOVATION TechTarget discovered that when it comes to planning goals for their Intranet platforms, close to half of the surveyed companies are happy with how it saved them internal costs. However, the majority of Intranet content ignores revenue growth and innovation - two things that are instrumental to organizational opportunity. DID NOT MEET PLANNED DID YOUR INTRANET MEET EXCEEDED NOT YET KNOWN NOT AN AREA MET PLANNED OF FOCUS OBJECTIVES PLANNED PLANNED GOALS? OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVES INTERNAL COST SAVINGS 22% 22% 46% 2% REVENUE GROWTH 55% 19% 9% 15% 2% PRODUCT INNOVATION 52% 16% 8% 20% 4% HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED? TOP FIVE WAYS EMPLOYEES THINK INTRANETS CAN BE ENHANCED |х According to a 2010 McGovern study, respondents listed the following ways their Intranet could be improved. PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS 2 BETTER CONTENT EASIER TO FIND CLEAR INTRANET GET RID OF KNOWLEDGE ORGANIZATION AND INFORMATION STRATEGY OUT-OF-DATE SHARING CLASSIFICATION CONTENT 12% 10% 6% 6% 4% SOCIALCAST SOURCES: "Why traditional Intranets fail today's knowledge workers." By Oscar Berg. I "Intranets: what staff really want." Gerry McGovern Consulting. 2007. I "Five Myths That Hobble Your Intranet." Forrester Research. 1 “The State Of Workforce Technology Adoption: US Benchmark 2009". Forrester Research. 2009. "The Intranet Roadmap: Implementing an Intranet." Internet Intelligence Ltd. 2006. I TechTarget I SmartBiz.com | "How are Businesses using Microsoft SharePoint in the Enterprise?" Market Survey Update for 2011. Global 360. I CNET.com I ZDnet.com I The International Data Corporation © 2011 SOCIALCAST INC. ALL OTHER TRADEMARKS HEREIN ARE RECOGNIZED TO BE THE PROPERTY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. 200