Intranets often focus on one or two key aspects, depending on who is running the site. The intranet maybe established as a communications channel, or as a repository for corporate content. When tackled in this narrow way, intranets often struggle to be sustainable and successful in the longer term.

To be truly effective, intranets need to address three fundamental purposes:

• content
• communication
• activity

This briefing will explore each of these purposes, and will outline how all three elements are required if the intranet is to be effective.

Content

The intranet’s role as a repository for corporate information is well understood. Disciplines such as usability and information architecture have done much to improve the ability of staff to find required information on corporate intranets.

Considerable effort is put into maintaining the intranet as a content repository, including implementing a content management system, establishing authoring processes and defining intranet governance policies.

While the intranet will always play an important role in delivering content, this is not the aspect that will drive the success of the site. As a ‘place for reading things’, the intranet is only accessed when needed, often only every week, month or quarter.

[CM Briefing 2007-06, read the full article]