If you are planning to purchase an intranet for your organization, then you will need to choose between a ready-to-go intranet and a custom-built solution.
Obviously, if there is a ready-to-go intranet that meets 100% of your needs, then it will be the right solution for you. But what should you do if the ready-to-go intranet meets only 80% of your company’s needs?
Advantages of a Ready-To-Go Intranet
Ready-to-go intranets have many advantages over custom solutions. They’re often less expensive to implement, which is important when you need to stick to a strict budget. More importantly, a ready-to-go intranet can be set up very quickly, allowing your employees to start reaping the benefits sooner. Ready-to-go intranet’s also often come with a strong support infrastructure already in place, which is important for their long-term reliability and sustainability.
Is It OK for an Intranet to Only Meet 80% of Needs?
It is normal for a new intranet to not meet every need of every user in the organization. Typically, custom intranet solutions only meet about 80% of users’ needs, even after they have been through months of development. However, it’s more important to set up an intranet that will cover the core requirements of the organization than it is to spend time developing one that does everything.
What About the 20% of Needs That Are Not Met?
The 20% of needs that are not met by a custom or ready-to-go intranet often include the automation of workflows and data integration, features usually not included due to tight deadlines and budget constraints. You can either plan to integrate these features into your ready-to-go intranet later, or find other ways of meeting these needs within your organization.
By implementing a ready-to-go or turnkey intranet solution immediately and tailoring it to meet the final 20% of your needs later, you will have the best of both worlds: Users will be able to start using the core capabilities of the system sooner rather than later, and you won’t have to give up on features you want, but cannot implement quickly. Also, as there won’t be a need to rush the development of the extra features to meet a deadline, you’ll have more time to consult with all stakeholders and find out what they really need.
Useful Features of a Ready-To-Go Intranet
Ready-to-go intranet solutions usually come with an infrastructure built to bring together vital internal functions, such as human resources and accounting. This allows companies to more easily share information and improve efficiency across all departments.
Modern ready-to-go intranets also often incorporate social features, such as a newsfeed. Social features allow users to quickly share information with a wide audience, like information about projects they are working on or links to news stories related to the industry. Such social features can improve engagement and help make the culture in the organization more collaborative.
Ready-To-Go or Custom Intranet?
If a ready-to-go intranet can already meet 80% of your needs, then this should be an obvious option. Ready-to-go intranets are faster and often less expensive to implement, and offer more substantial advantages in terms of reliability and support. Even though your organization is unique, it is likely that your core needs are similar to those of other organizations and can be met by a ready-to-go solution.
Learn more about how you could benefit from an out-of-the-box corporate intranet solution by downloading our free tip sheet, 5 Signs A Ready-To-Go Intranet Is Right For Your Firm.
