SharePoint is a powerful collaboration and communication tool that helps companies to build their unique corporate environment. As there are no equal companies, there are no equal corporate portals. But there is a tendency among companies to choose one of the SharePoint intranet examples:

  • a business-focused intranet, designed to fit a company’s processes;
  • a social intranet that is used for social activity and growth of the corporate culture.

Before you pick one of the intranet types, you should carry out research among your employees and formulate the goals of your future portal. However ambitious goals you set, our dedicated SharePoint specialists will realize your plans and requirements in the most suitable way. 

Let’s consider how such portals can look like and what their functions are.

Types of business-focused SharePoint intranets

Business-oriented SharePoint corporate portals should help the company’s employees to work in a more convenient and productive way. To achieve this goal the company can use several types of SharePoint Intranets:

#1. Websites and applications used for a certain kind of business

Such intranets have an informative role; they let employees find the latest business news and financial information right on the home page. The main page also includes links to the important sites and offers secure access to docs based on a user’s role. Employees don’t need to search for this data on third-party sites, which saves time and increases teamwork productivity.

Source: Mark Kashman, techcommunity.microsoft.com

#2. Customized SharePoint sites and subsites

In this case, a company can get several department-wide sites, a CRM, and a project management system with powerful features for task management and user-friendly design. Also, an Intranet can include a Lab of ideas, a place where employees can create business conceptions and store useful for future work information. All needed links to SharePoint sites and third-party solutions are located on the main page, which is very convenient. This kind of Intranet can be available via different devices. 

#3.  Fully-functional internal portals with customized features

Such portals are intended to solve the main goals of the company, their features are designed to fit specific kinds of tasks. For example, it can simplify the process of employee training or onboarding, so an Intranet can include training sessions, personal development plans, and collaboration areas for communication with tutors.

A SharePoint Intranet can assist employees with their daily routine and provides access to the corporate news, calendar, blog, vacation listings, and personal working space. It includes computer and mobile versions, so employees can always keep in touch with their group and manager.

Main goals of business SharePoint intranet

Business-oriented SharePoint intranets are designed to simplify business processes, employees’ daily routine, team, and department collaboration. So, the key goals of such intranets are:

  • To create a single source of information. A corporate portal is a single place where all key data is gathered, including the company and industry news and the latest information about projects and trends.
  • To facilitate business processes and daily routines with various features. Intranet can be used for the convenient management of documents, projects, and personnel. 
  • To build employee collaboration that increases the productivity of the company. Teams can collaborate in a convenient way that makes implementing tasks faster and more clear.
  • To make the right connection between various corporative solutions. Departments that work with different systems can also build productive collaboration. 
  • To provide security for the working environment. It means that the collaborative work of teams and departments is confidential and isolated from public knowledge. The safety is achieved with the help of access management. 
  • To promote professional self-development among employees with a learning and knowledge management system. Team members can use a SharePoint intranet to work on training programs and communicate with tutors.

Types of social SharePoint intranet

Social portals are popular with companies that focus on the development of the corporate culture and employee loyalty. If the social intranet is inconvenient or unattractive, employees won’t use it. 

Let’s take a look at the kinds of social intranets.

#1. Business-focused intranet with social web elements

This is a solution for companies that facilitate friendly non-formal communication between employees, and tend to promote corporate values. 

For example, one enterprise uses SharePoint Yammer integrated solution that provides both business and social features. Employees have personal pages and can blog, share photos, leave comments, sell or buy goods, etc. They can also use the intranet as a tool for collaborative work between departments and as a knowledge base. 

The home page of such a portal can present information about corporate events, birthdays of employees, and work anniversaries. This solution is also available on mobile devices.

Source: Mark Kashman, techcommunity.microsoft.com

#2. A social-focused part of SharePoint intranet

This kind of intranet makes it possible to gather all social events on the same page. After log-in, an employee will see recent information from discussions and communities, the media gallery, notifications about lost things, quotes of the week, and other data. 

#3. A full-featured social intranet

As we can see in the Nielsen Norman Group researches of the best SharePoint intranets for the last years, companies can create a SharePoint intranet only for social features. One of the most interesting solutions offers employees a lot of abilities:

  • write news, messages, or announcements,
  • use photo and media gallery: add their materials and view stories from their colleagues;
  • create their funny-looking comics! 

Main goals of social SharePoint intranet

A social-oriented intranet can fulfill a lot of functions, for example:

  • To introduce the common life of the company and enhance the sense of community. Companies can replace or spice up business news with the help of information about employees and examples of social activity.
  • To organize and arrange corporate events and competitions. It is often a solution for publishing corporate photos and videos.
  • To unite and meet employees from different departments and locations. If business-focused intranets gather employees around a certain project or task, social intranets seek to join groups, clubs, or communities.
  • To give employees a good mood. Social intranets can add bright colors to the routine workflow of the company. Employees can share images, curious stories, videos and have some fun.
  • To motivate self-development and personal growth among the employees. Such intranets promote discussions of successes, interests, and hobbies, and let people find friends for hiking, cycling, or going to the movies. 

A SharePoint intranet perfectly fits both the business and social requirements of companies. With a thought-out functionality, you can strike a perfect balance and create a solution that will increase the productivity of employees and strengthen corporate morale.