Anatomy of a Modern Intranet – Part 2 of 2

In part one of our blog series, we discussed the evolution of the modern workforce and its impact on the modern intranet. In this second post, we’ll take a closer look at the elements of a modern intranet and the common scenarios that a modern intranet should support.
The definition of a modern intranet is a constantly evolving, so it is necessary to ground our expectations with some key focus areas. Based on our experience across hundreds of customer projects, the key focus areas for a modern intranet are: Content, Context, Connections, and Intelligence.

Focus Areas

We consider a focus area as a grounding principle that serves as a lens for examining requirements for the intranet. Focus areas change infrequently, but the requirements that support them will evolve over time. We consider the primary focus areas that shape the modern intranet as Content, Context, Connections, and Intelligence.

• Content – Content in the intranet should be relevant, beautiful, easy to create, manage and share.
• Context – All users have context; location, role, device. The intranet should facilitate contextual content and actions.
• Connections – The intranet is a tool to connect; with people, with content, with teams, and with your company.
• Intelligence – The intranet should be a productivity enabler through features that allow users to work more intelligently and get more done.

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These are some key focus areas that have driven highly successful deployments of modern intranets across numerous customers. These focus areas can serve as a guide; you may choose to prioritize certain areas over other or even incorporate additional focus areas that tie into the strategic vision of your organization. In order for the focus areas to be useful, we must apply them to the core elements of a modern intranet.

Key Elements of a Modern Intranet

There are 3 main elements of an intranet that should be well supported to be considered a modern intranet: Communication, Collaboration, and Productivity.

• Communication – A modern intranet enables two-way communication, making the intranet a destination to find out the latest news and curated information, but also a feedback loop for employees to talk back to the organization and be heard.
• Collaboration – A modern intranet facilitates collaboration among users in an open format on a wide variety of topics such a Documents, Project Tasks, and Content.
• Productivity – A modern intranet facilitates productivity, enabling users access to common applications and facilitating everyday tasks.

The Anatomy of a Modern Intranet

We can now conceptualize a full picture of the modern intranet.
A modern intranet…
Facilitates Communication, Collaboration, and Productivity.
Is focused on the user as the center of the experience.
Allows the creation and delivery of relevant and interesting content.
Support contextual experiences based on user profile, preference, and behavior.
Connects people to each other and to their company.
Allows users to work more intelligently.

Your Modern Intranet Journey

If you are looking for your next steps in your modern intranet journey, consider partnering with Perficient. Perficient has developed a modern approach to the intranet, utilizing Rise to accelerate your roadmap and speed your way to a fully modern intranet. We built Rise with the vision to connect people to each other and to their company through outstanding intranet experiences. We’d love to show you how our vision applies to your organization.
To learn more about Rise or schedule a demonstration, visit www.riseintranet.com. You can also download our guide “The State of the Modern Intranet” to learn what our experts are predicting for the future of the modern intranet.