Intranet case studies

If your intranet sucks, then benchmarking successful intranets can help make the case for investing in a new one.

But what do the best intranets on the planet look like? How do they measure success? How did they get there?

The best intranets all look a little different, and employ different tools to different employee sets with different cultures. This should be the case; if your intranet replicates another, then it’s missing the point. The best intranets have:

1. Active executive sponsors
2. Superlative, explicit governance
3. Requisite funding
4. Active and engaged users
5. Compelling and consistent content

Specifically, the intranet is carefully planned based on detailed business and employee requirements — both senior management and front line employees are given a voice in the form and function of the end intranet. To the former, the intranet will never truly succeed without proper executive support; it might die slowly, but it will eventually die without a c-suite executive as a champion. Of course, the executive champion begets explicit governance (the ownership and management model, including supporting policies) and the requisite funding. Finally, content is king. If the content is not timely, relevant, and meaningful, then employees won’t use the intranet, and it dies.

It’s worth noting that all of the above critical ingredients are more important than design and usability. A good intranet requires a lot of important ingredients, including design and usability, but people and process are far more important. The same goes for the actual technology (software + hardware).

Notwithstanding all of the above, a good intranet case study can be valuable (if it’s a true case study, not simply a dressed-up marketing pitch).

CASE STUDIES

How about some specific intranet case studies? Some good, recent intranet case study articles include:

• The Credit Union Intranet 
• The Ono Intranet (from Steven Bynghall’s blog)
• Marks & Spencer Intranet 
• Barclay’s Bank mobile intranet
• The Unisys Intranet
• The Dollar Finance intranet 
• The Alcatel-Lucent Intranet
• The IBM Intranet 
• The Coca-Cola Enterprises Intranet 

Summary articles or lists of additional intranet case studies include:

• Intranet Case Studies (list by Stephan Schillerwein)
• Intranet Focus – Case Studies (list by Martin White)
• The Worldwide Intranet Challenge by Andrew Wright

Detailed white paper with intranet case studies:
A good white paper with no marketing case studies is The Great Intranets white paper.

INTRANET CASE STUDIES WEBINAR

See the last webinar presentation, Intranet Design.

Do you have a great intranet case study you want to share? Post details and a link (if applicable) below in the comments or drop me a note by contacting me through the Prescient Digital website.

If you have a REALLY good case study, perhaps you’re ready to speak at the Intranet Global Forum conference — in either LA or New York City. Visit The Intranet Global Forum conference website and see the Call for Speakers for details and requirements.