For many small- to medium-size businesses that use Office 365 for just email and document sharing, the next logical step is to extend the platform and maximize its features. SMBs can do this by implementing an intranet that drives collaboration, communication, and business processes for employees.
SharePoint Online is the standard for intranet solutions, with more than 80% of companies using SharePoint. Deploying an intranet on Office 365 and SharePoint also is the recommended approach by Microsoft.
However, building an intranet from scratch on SharePoint can be resource-intensive and time-consuming. In response, a number of third-party vendors offer prebuilt intranet solutions that use the Microsoft Office 365 platform to accelerate deployment, deliver common features, and reduce cost.
What the Office 365 Ecosystem Provides
In the past year Microsoft has rolled out its portals initiative, which extends Office 365 beyond just email and basic office applications. What Microsoft has created is a full ecosystem that enables successful collaboration and communication.
These “service portals” on Office 365 address key business processes for documents, people, tasks, videos, business intelligence, and more. By integrating these portals with an intranet, organizations can provide a “unified user experience” across Office 365. This experience features a familiar, consistent user interface, security and groups, and navigation.
To achieve a deeper understanding of Microsoft’s strategy with these portals and intranet solutions, you can watch an informative video called, “The Modern Intranet, powered by SharePoint Services.”
In creating this Office 365 Ecosystem, Microsoft is accelerating delivery of these service portals (shown above). It also has laid out guidelines to its partner community for designing solutions that will be able to integrate with Office 365 and act as a natural part of the Office 365 Ecosystem going forward.
Keep in mind that many Office 365 customers have developed team sites on SharePoint to securely store documents. So, beyond what Microsoft is currently delivering there might also be some existing portals that you have developed for document sharing or other functions that will need to be integrated with the new intranet.
Different Approaches by Turnkey Intranet Vendors
Companies that offer turnkey intranets are taking several different approaches to how their intranet solutions are built. This can have either a positive or negative effect on long-term success when aligning with Microsoft’s future strategy. Turnkey intranets on Office 365 and SharePoint follow three basic models:
1. The “native” approach on Office 365 and SharePoint
This out-of-the-box intranet on SharePoint uses native SharePoint site templates prebuilt to provide an intranet portal and subportals. Branding uses the native master page but can also use CSS and client-based java script to provide an inviting, vibrant look and feel.
A native intranet might provide functional enhancements to SharePoint Online, such as client apps and parts. It does not use server web parts, which could be impacted by changes in Office 365 and SharePoint Online.
This approach integrates best with the Office 365 Ecosystem and it’s also the safest for making sure your intranet does not break down when Microsoft makes an update. Also, this approach leverages the new service portals in Office 365 as they are made available and can support your existing SharePoint team sites.
If your organization is using standard SharePoint, the intranet will be 100% customizable by business power users. Options for using a native intranet approach include building your own intranet on SharePoint and also SP Marketplace’s SP Intranet.
2. Office 365 and SharePoint with custom branding and parts
This approach still uses the SharePoint platform but it breaks some of Microsoft’s guidelines by replacing the master page. It also might use coded server web parts to enhance functionality.
Eventually though custom branding will conflict with the Office 365 Ecosystem, and the common user experience when employees use the Microsoft service portals. In some cases, the vendor might cover up the Office 365 user experience and navigation to other key components like Delve or Planner.
Depending on the design, this approach may or may not support your existing team sites. The advantage to this approach is generally a slicker interface than that of the purely native approach. However, it will eventually stick out as a siloed interface in the overall Office 365 user experience.
With this approach comes a risk that the custom branding will become immobilized when Microsoft changes or updates its Office 365 branding (look and feel). Options for deploying a custom SharePoint approach include Bonzai, Easyshare, ROOT, and Rise Foundation.
3. An Intranet as a Service on Azure
A fairly radical approach is when intranet companies think they can compete with the Office 365 Ecosystem and replace SharePoint with their own content management system on Microsoft Azure.
This approach uses Office Graph to pull in content from various Office 365 components while positioning the intranet as part of the organization’s own user experience.
These organizations claim that they provide a better experience than SharePoint and Microsoft's service portals. Whether they can keep up with Microsoft’s releases and new features remains to be seen.
While this type of approach says it will work with Office 365 components like SharePoint, Yammer, Skype, and Delve, in reality they are just pulling content and redisplaying it in their UX. The benefit of this approach is that the organization takes full control of the intranet experience.
The downsides to this approach is that it creates a siloed intranet outside of Office 365. The reality is that your employees are going to still have to use a combination of the intranet and Office 365 functions, which means different interface permissions and possibly redundant functions. Vendors that provide an Intranet as a Service include Unily and OneWindow.
How These Three Approaches Evolved
What has clearly happened is that in the early days of Office 365, Microsoft, in its usual fashion, released Office 365 that was made up of what were separate components, such as Outlook, MS Office applications, SharePoint, and Lync. This made the platform clumsy to use and created inconsistent user interfaces.
Thinking that this is how it was going to continue, some vendors took it upon themselves to integrate and create the common interface issue. Meanwhile Microsoft was doing the same.
Now that Microsoft is delivering an integrated Office 365 Ecosystem, does it make sense to pay for a pretty face on similar functions? With that, let’s take a look at the impact of these intranet approaches and why you should go “native” with Office 365 and SharePoint.
Why a “Native” Intranet on Office 365 and SharePoint is the Way to Go
1. Common User Experience across the entire Office 365 Ecosystem
2. Flexibility: SharePoint is the number one platform for intranets. So, using native SharePoint will enable power users (no-code) to customize the intranet to organizations' needs. You take advantage of its powerful document management, workflows, and integration with the rest of Office 365
3. Future Proofing: Using native Office 365 will allow your organization to quickly take advantage of new services and features released by Microsoft
4. Lower Price, Higher ROI: The price is lower because you are only paying for the functions and interface on top of the Office 365 Ecosystem, not replacing it. The more code, the more cost to you
5. Low Risk of Service Interruption: The risk of service interruption because of changes to SharePoint Online or Office 365 is minimal because you followed Microsoft’s rules and guidelines
A Pretty Face Can Cost You
As you look into and pursue an intranet solution, be careful about what you are really paying for. Are you looking for an intranet structure that fits into the context of your organization as a natural part of Office 365? Or, is the intranet solution you’re looking at just a pretty mask that hides SharePoint or worse Office 365?
Be sure to understand the differences in intranets and think about how your SharePoint intranet will fit in with your organization two years or five years down the road and where Microsoft is headed. Will the intranet enhance and evolve with your organization or will it end up looking like the black sheep of the Office 365 family in your organization?
To learn more about choosing an intranet solution and how to find one that is right for your organization, get our Intranet Solution Evaluation Workbook.
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by Darrell Trimble via Everyone's Blog Posts - SharePoint Community
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