Choosing an Intranet Technology Platform

With hundreds of intranet platforms on the market, picking the one that's right for your business can be daunting. Many vendors, old and new, are more than willing to show you their wares through online flash demos, brochures and webinars. All of them seem to have great features and functionality. Some vendors boast of their extraordinarily powerful and flexible workflow and approval capabilities, one-to-one personalization, ERP/CRM integration, virtual repositories, robust search capabilities and the like. But are all these bells and whistles going to meet your needs?

With hundreds of intranet platforms on the market, picking the one that's right for your business can be daunting. Many vendors, old and new, are more than willing to show you their wares through online flash demos, brochures and webinars. All of them seem to have great features and functionality. Some vendors boast of their extraordinarily powerful and flexible workflow and approval capabilities, one-to-one personalization, ERP/CRM integration, virtual repositories, robust search capabilities and the like. But are all these bells and whistles going to meet your needs?

Without defining those needs, the question is impossible to answer. Long before the question is even asked, a plan supported by a proven methodology needs to be developed. But determining business requirements is only half the process. The other half is determining if the technology can do what it says it can do. Knowing this, the value of a technology-neutral approach to picking the right platform becomes that much more important. An unbiased assessment of the platform's strengths and weaknesses is essential to helping organizations see past marketing ploys and neatly-packaged products.

Complicating this entire process is the fact that the landscape of intranet technology platforms is always shifting. The results from Prescient's own Intranet 2.0 Global Study 2010 support the idea that the technology platform industry is not what it was only a year ago. According to the study, approximately three-quarters of organizations are using a Content Management System (CMS) today to power their intranets, compared to 63% in 2009. And of those, more than half are not using an off-the-shelf CMS, instead looking to other solutions to power their intranet.

The study also confirms SharePoint's large share of the market. Despite the reality that we live in a Microsoft dominated world, many organizations are forgetting that there are dozens of other serious contenders that could potentially be better fits. Many are quick to point out SharePoint's many capabilities and immediately assume that if it works for Company A, it will work for their organization. But it's not as simple as choosing SharePoint. Every organization is unique, and taking the "one-size-fits-all approach" to choosing an intranet technology platform can be quite costly, considering the amount of time and money typically invested in these projects.

In this 60 minute webinar, experts Toby Ward and Heather MacFayden will present the findings of an unreleased whitepaper on how to choose an intranet technology platform. The webinar will be a practical approach to this topic, informed by the presenters' day-to-day interactions with real clients and years of experience working in the industry. Both presenters are considered thought-leaders in their field and bring their own skill sets to the table: Toby's expertise in strategic planning for global intranet projects coupled with Heather's experience implementing technology solutions for hundreds of clients will ensure a unique perspective into intranet technology platforms difficult to find elsewhere. The webinar is a must for organizations wanting an insider's perspective of what the technology decision process looks like from start to finish.

Why You Should Attend:

• Learn about the decision-making process for choosing an intranet platform as it occurs in today's work environment, including the politics that underlie the decision.

• Hear from industry professionals the top factors to consider when choosing an intranet technology: cost, scalability, organization size and more.

• Find out why more organizations are moving towards Content Management Systems to power their intranet, supported by data from Prescient's own Intranet 2.0 Global Study 2010.

• Social media has crept its way onto the intranet and is changing the way we evaluate intranet technology platforms. Find out the implications of not taking Intranet 2.0 tools into consideration when evaluating intranet technology.

Who Should Attend:
This webinar has been developed for all internal communications professionals, including intranet managers, intranet steering committees, IT, HR and Marketing.

Presenters

Toby Ward - The founder and CEO of Prescient Digital Media, Toby is a senior Internet and intranet consultant with particular expertise in the area of Internet and intranet planning and communications. A specialist in web and intranet planning and measurement, Toby has led his company to many awards in recent years including an illustrious Webby Award. Read more

Heather MacFayden - The VP of Production for Falcon-Software Company, Heather is the company's top CMS Analyst and has worked on hundreds of Web CMS projects from SMB accounts to global enterprise solutions. A seasoned professional, Heather has been working for Falcon-Software for over 18-years designing, developing and delivering complex web technologies. Read more

Webinar Recap

View the video to the January 11th webinar video Choosing an Intranet Technology Platform.

Download the free whitepaper, Choosing an Intranet Technology Platform (37 pages).

View the slides on SlideShare.

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