Hosted intranet software provides a modern framework for company-wide knowledge sharing and efficient collaboration. It is the centralised information hub that empowers the workforce to complete their work effectively and profitably, and engage seamlessly with the organisation’s digital workplace.
Ultimately, the strength of a company’s employee intranet software determines its ability to continuously improve workplace productivity and business outcomes.
A modern cloud-hosted intranet solution provides numerous organisational benefits, including:
- Improved project management
- Increased employee engagement
- Aligned internal and external communication
- Improved inter-departmental collaboration
- Improved employee retention
- Improved company culture
- Empowered and productive remote workforce
It is for all these reasons and more that the global intranet software market, valued at $12.79 billion in 2019, is projected to triple in size to $36.89 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 14.11% over the forecast period, according to the latest figures from Verified Market Research.
(Image source: verifiedmarketresearch.com)
As the report puts it:
“The growing dependency of cloud computing technology among enterprises to store and access huge enterprise data on a cloud platform is expected to drive the growth of the intranet software market. Cloud storage extends collaborative features and benefits enterprises to magnify their operational ventures. Increasing use of cloud-based communication within enterprises is expected to increase the adoption and demand for intranet software during the forecast period. Enterprises are emphasising cloud solutions to enhance the performance of process execution. Technological advancement in enterprise networks requires intranet software which also enables enterprises to meet security standards and policies. Intranet software aid enterprises to provide end to end security in all types of business operations, which is estimated to boost the market.”
The corporate intranet is a crucial organisational asset – and so choosing the right next-generation digital workplace solution is a critical decision for every company.
Below, we highlight the key features to look for when selecting a company intranet.
Cloud-based hosting (hosted intranet)
The modern intranet solution is cloud-based, offering numerous advantages over traditional intranets that are hosted on-premises.
The first of these is reduced operational expenses.
With a cloud-hosted solution, the intranet is hosted in off-premises cloud-based servers with all hardware and software managed and maintained by the intranet provider. This eliminates the costs of purchasing on-premises infrastructure to host your intranet in the first instance, and then the ongoing IT staffing costs required to service and maintain it after that. In fact, the best next-generation hosted intranet solutions are very simple and quick to set up and require little – if any – technical expertise to maintain. The hosting service is entirely responsible for all technical issues – including maintenance, updates, backups, and security, with round-the-clock support for intranet administrators.
Another huge advantage of cloud-hosted intranet software is that it is instantly accessible from any location by any employee on any device with an intranet connection. This is extremely important in the age of remote and hybrid working, as the workforce can access all digital workplace resources no matter if they’re working from home, in the field, or at the office.
(Image source: gartner.com)
Scalability is another big benefit of cloud-hosted intranet software.
If the size of your workforce increases – or even if its size changes throughout the year to cope with fluctuating seasonal demand – you simply add and remove users at the click of a button, only ever paying for what you use. This is in stark contrast to traditional on-premises solutions, which require upfront investment in additional infrastructure to increase intranet capacity, higher IT staffing costs to manage and maintain it all, and limited flexibility.
Read more: Cloud-Based Intranet: 8 Reasons You Should Consider It
At Claromentis, our fully hosted, flexible, and scalable cloud intranet solution provides your organisation with hassle-free intranet setup, saving you huge amounts of time and completely removing the need for internal tech expertise. Your online intranet software is ready to use in a matter of weeks – not months or even years as is often the case with on-premises solutions that must be built from scratch. We use Google Cloud Platform to host our cloud intranets, providing the highest levels of intranet security, scalability, reliability, and performance.
Powerful and streamlined team communication and collaboration tools
Internal communications are integral to how you achieve your company’s objectives. The best corporate intranet software solutions are purpose-built to allow employees to communicate, collaborate and share information seamlessly within the platform without switching between different applications.
This is crucial. Research has revealed that workers spend an average of 3.1 hours a day sending and checking emails, equating to 15.5 hours a week, or 20 full weeks a year – costing the average company £6,000 per annum for every employee.
(Image source: outlooktracker.com)
Instant communication and knowledge sharing tools provided by next-gen intranet solutions minimise the number of internal emails that need to be sent between staff, cutting out distractions and driving productivity throughout the organisation.
In selecting a hosted intranet software solution, ensure it has either native communication platforms or APIs to connect to third-party communication and productivity apps like Slack, Trello, and Evernote.
The Claromentis solution has both. Our staff communication app allows employees to easily send internal messages from within the intranet software, while our asynchronous chat feature is specifically designed to reduce distractions by providing a space to have meaningful conversations that don’t need an urgent response.
In addition, our digital workplace integrations turn your intranet into a portal from which all third-party business apps can be easily accessed. From Trello to Slack, Dropbox, Google Docs, Facebook, Twitter, and many more – plus the option for our in-house team to develop custom integrations – Claromentis gives your organisation access to any app, enabling your teams to share information and collaborate seamlessly in one central workplace.
Read more: 5 Internal Communications Features that Every Intranet Must Have
Threaded forums and social intranet features
Digital workplaces now provide corporate social networking features designed to improve internal communication and employee engagement by creating social media-inspired shared spaces that encourage interaction.
(Image source: claromentis.com)
Using familiar threaded forums, staff can post their thoughts, questions, photos, videos, and ideas to a social feed, and co-workers can respond with comments and reactions such as “likes”. @mention technology allows staff to tag individuals into specific conversations, promoting a culture of collaboration where staff can share ideas endorse those made by others.
Visit our Intranet Collaboration Tools page to view all our social intranet features
Information management portal
As employees share files, presentations, and reports, there needs to be a standardised way of organising and retrieving company information. A good intranet solution should have a dedicated section for document management with a powerful search function for the quick and easy retrieval of relevant information.
(Image source: claromentis.com)
The Claromentis Document Management System, a core feature of our hosted intranet software solution, contains a full suite of tools to manage your organisation’s files, folders, and information – including access rights, version control, and integration with Google Docs and Microsoft OneDrive.
See all features of our Intranet Document Management Software
Intranet security
As security threats and attacks continue to soar, you cannot rule out the potential of cyberattacks against your organisation.
According to the latest survey from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), two in five businesses (39%) and a quarter of charities (26%) reported cybersecurity breaches or attacks in the past 12 months.
(Image source: gov.uk)
As the home to all your apps, files, business processes, and communication channels, at Claromentis, we take the security of your hosted intranet seriously.
We use Google Compute Engine to host your intranet, providing multiple layers of high-grade security, and our clients benefit from our dedicated security package, which includes a multi-level firewall, SELinux, and Fail2Ban. We have dedicated cybersecurity teams running regular scans to test for vulnerabilities, and our software is written in encrypted PHP, protecting it from SQL injections, brute force attacks, session hijacking, and CSRF and XSS attacks.
As an added layer of security, our software comes with built-in two-factor authentication capabilities to ensure only authorised users are granted permission to access your digital workplace.
Discover all our Intranet Security Features
People management features
The modern intranet platform fosters a people-centric system where HR can easily manage employee-related processes while giving employees a self-service option.
A robust suite of people management features enables HR to manage contract, salary, company perks, and performance information from within a secure centralised location with multi-layered access to keep confidential data safe.
To streamline processes, next-gen intranet software introduces automation features which allow, for example, employees to submit holiday leave requests in an in-built Holiday Planner. HR can also set up automated approval workflows, ensuring leave requests reach the relevant line managers for quick approval.
A good intranet solution will also include features to help HR create streamlined appraisals and performance reviews, post internal job vacancies, manage expenses, share news and announcements, and manage HR policies and procedures.
Discover our full suite of HR Features and Self-Service HR Tools
Productivity tools
A hosted intranet platform is not complete without productivity tools. These tools help your employees automate repetitive tasks, increase autonomy, improve internal communication, and get the best value from their resources.
At Claromentis, our fully equipped productivity portal offers the following features:
- Intranet calendar for scheduling team meetings
- Holiday planner for scheduling leave days without clashing with essential deadlines. The holiday planner also helps you manage employee availability, so you’re never understaffed or overstaffed on projects.
- Expenses management to streamline expenses claims with self-service processes.
- An event planner for managing end-to-end event activities
- Audit automation for quality assurance procedures
- Compliance management to ensure you meet targets
Learning management system
Continuous learning is a critical success factor for maintaining a successful enterprise. Whether it’s onboarding new hires, upskilling existing staff, organisation-wide cybersecurity training, or department-specific educational programmes, ongoing learning and development initiatives are critical – and they must be managed appropriately.
(Image source: learning.linkedin.com)
Today’s next-gen hosted digital workplace software solutions come with built-in learning management systems (LMSs), designed to provide teams with digitised learning experiences that cover all areas of corporate training – from new employee induction courses to leadership tutelage.
The Claromentis LMS suite provides the tools L&D pros need to create customised learning paths to support all employees to reach their learning goals. Learning managers can create personalised course content, quizzes, videos, slides, and interactive training events from one centralised platform, and keep track of training records and employee achievements with automated reports.
Download our Learning Management System Brochure to discover the full power of the Claromentis LMS Module
Final thoughts on hosted intranet software
Choosing the right next-generation hosted intranet software is a critical decision for every organisation. Your intranet solution will stay with your workers and your company for a long time – so due diligence is key.
Claromentis is an easy-to-use, fully integrated and highly customisable intranet platform that gives your employees all the tools they need for effective communication, collaborative learning, task management, and knowledge sharing.
Book a demo and take it for a test drive today to see for yourself how our hosted intranet software can benefit your organisation.
