Intranet development has been with us for a long-long time now. Our first intranet development way back in the mid-1990s was for British Telecom and was necessarily simple - little more than a news section, a handful of PDF downloads and a share price ticker. Back then (I'm getting all dewy eyed thinking about it) even the simplest of intranet features took a while to get working, approved and launched.
As web technology improved, we started adding intranet features such as timesheet recording, job management, holiday booking and other tools to improve the flow of information around our clients' organisations.
Time and time again we came across clients who had similar requirements, so we created a product from what we had learned. But time and time again we found that each of our clients had their own way of working - their own processes and quirks - which made an off-the-shelf intranet product, well, a bit of a non-starter really.
We came to realise that while our clients have many similarities in how they operate, there are enough differences to make an off-the-shelf intranet inappropriate. So we did some more learning and thinking and created an intranet platform - a set of building blocks from which any number of bespoke intranet systems can be created. We developed each building block so that it provides a basic set of features that can be customised to each client's needs, without our clients needing to wait for a feature to be added to the core product (the dreaded 'feature roadmap').
This is maybe where you come in. Maybe you have dabbled with an intranet product for your company but found that it has lots of features, but doesn't quite support your internal processes and is altogether too complex to be useful. Maybe you're looking for a Microsoft Sharepoint alternative - something that's maybe simpler to use or better suited to your way of working. Or maybe you're looking to combine a traditional intranet with a more outward-reaching extranet or cloud business system - something which manages and reports on both your internal data and external data.
One thing is for sure - you need to speak to someone who can understand your business and help put systems in-place to support both its operation and its strategic direction. We have been doing this for over 20 years, and have a wealth of experience in asking the right questions and putting the right building blocks together to make a system that works for you, rather than one you have to fight with on a daily basis.
An intranet development can start simple and grow as you grow, so there's no wrong time to get started. Please take a look at the rest of our website to find out more about the kind of companies we have helped and get in touch if you'd like to talk more about how an intranet development can help your company grow.
