(OSLO, NORWAY) You don’t have to spend a fortune to have a great intranet. SharePoint, WebSphere, Autonomy, and other big-name, big-price solutions are rarely the right answer for most organizations. In fact, if SharePoint is being used at 75% of organizations, why should it work for your organization? Is your organization not unique, with unique employee needs, business requirements, and information needs?
There is a reason why there are thousands of other intranet solutions: they cost less, and they work.
Read my full column Say ‘no’ to expensive intranets (CMSWire.com)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & READING:
Small Business Intranets, There’s More Than SharePoint
Content Management Proves Costly Without Planning
Choosing an Intranet Technology Platform
Bigger intranets are not always better
Intranet in the cloud
A WORD ON OSLO, NORWAY:
After spending the entire day on my feet, talking and instructing on social intranets at the Intralife 2012 conference here in Oslo, I retired to my room for a brief respite before an evening reception. I flipped on the TV (which I rarely do when on the road; perhaps one in ten days of road travel) to see my home staring back at me: Vancouver, being profiled as the world’s most ‘liveable’ city (as reported by one of my favourite reporters, Paula Newton, a fellow Canadian).
It was a beautiful, in-depth, and fascinating report on Vancouver as a “city of the future.” I must say, that even though I was born and raised in Vancouver, and live there today, I’ve always considered it the most beautiful city on the planet. Although there are many great cities of the world, each with many attractive qualities (some of my favourites include Barcelona, Singapore, St. Petersburg, San Diego), I think there is a new, well-suited challenger: Oslo.
Oslo is a beautiful, clean city, with many similar characteristics of Vancouver: located on a coastal fjord, at the foot of well-forested mountains, with great green spaces, clean air, and water, and populated by very warm, friendly people. To be sure, there are some marked differences: Oslo is much smaller than Vancouver, has smaller mountains, and a smaller harbour, fewer skyscrapers, and glass towers, but more old-world charm, European culture and art, and a longer, richer history. Additionally, Norway is consistently rated as the country with the single highest standard of living — the best country to live for 10 of the past 12 years (as rated by the United Nations; the only country to beat them in the past 12 years: Canada).
Nonetheless, I’ve not come across a city so close to Vancouver with respect to ‘livability’ and natural beauty, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time walking, riding, and exploring the city and local fjord and mountains. A fantastic urban oasis and destination if you’re looking for an alternative to a beach, or sporting vacation. Many thanks to Netlife and team for inviting me to Norway 🙂