The intranet provides many different sources of information and opportunities for staff to do their jobs better. Whether an intranet has a news, content or task and activity focus, it should provide a seamless user experience. Users should not have to know or care whether a given application is truly part of their intranet, as long as it works as if it is.

Some common applications allow staff to:

• process pay and leave submissions
• log support calls with IT help desk
• order uniforms.

Other more complex applications may:

• calculate superannuation termination payouts
• stock levels of exhaust pipes in the factory in Brazil.

Applications can be:

• fully integrated
• stand-alone
• provide front ends to back end databases.

While applications are sometimes developed by intranet teams, they are more often developed by other IT teams or external software vendors. Intranet teams may have little influence on how these applications are built.

[September 2010 article by Catherine Grenfell, read the full article]