5 ways a next-gen intranet can cut costs

A new challenge emerges for IT leaders

Many CIO's find themselves in a catch-22. Budgets remain tight, with just a 2% increase in average IT spending predicted for 2021. Yet, the organizations that are increasing their funding for digital innovation are 2.7 times more likely to become top performers. Is it even possible to become a leader in digitalization while sticking to your budget at the same time?

It might be a challenge, but IT teams can leverage next-generation technology to do more with less. Cloud technology specifically has emerged as a necessity, particularly in the work-from-anywhere age. 40% of enterprises have expedited their move to the cloud in response to COVID-19 and workplace dispersion.

Turning to cloud technology in the remote era

2020 put outstanding fears over transitioning to the cloud to rest. When employees across the globe suddenly began working from home, the need for universally accessible, collaboration-focused solutions reached a peak.

Cloud-based tools like Teams, Zoom, and Yammer quickly became household names. Simultaneously, cloud suites like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace provided the essential infrastructure many companies needed to enable work to continue remotely.

Maximizing value and reduce costs with a cloud intranet

While moving to the cloud may have been a survival decision initially, many enterprises are reaping significant benefits from making the switch. 82% of business leaders report that cloud-based collaboration tools help businesses execute faster and better than ever before possible.

If you’re looking to improve efficiency and lay the groundwork for digital innovation, cloud-based intranet apps are clearly a step in the right direction. To stretch your digital investments one step further, consider how these tools come together in your digital ecosystem.

As the center of your digital workplace, your intranet software holds the key to creating a single pane of glass experience that will enhance productivity. Simultaneously, you can reduce your IT spending by consolidating the number of software applications your employees rely on.

5 ways your next-gen intranet leads to lower costs

You’ve made the decision to invest in a next-gen intranet software. You know your solution will improve productivity and boost employee satisfaction. But when it comes to savings, what can you expect? Your next-gen intranet will lower IT and intranet costs by achieving the following:

#1. Safeguard against security breaches

Data breaches can be devastating. In the United States, the average cost of a data breach tops 8.6m. In addition to dollars lost, sub-par cybersecurity can wreak havoc on your organization’s reputation, particularly if customer data was leaked.

To make matters worse, cybersecurity threats are becoming more prevalent. During the first quarter of 2020 alone, 8.4b records were exposed, marking a 273% increase from the year prior. Some cyberattacks are linked with the rise in remote working, including video conference hacking and email scams.

Avoid the disaster scene that comes with a data breach by taking advantage of your intranet to store and share documents securely. Customizable user permissions can restrict document access so that everyone can view the information they need while confidential data remains private. For maximal safety, prioritize both ISO and SOC-2 certifications, which guarantee best practices for protecting your information.

#2. Reduce your licensing costs

Most businesses don’t just rely on a singular app. Instead, modern enterprises have an arsenal of tools and systems that employees use to fulfill daily tasks, and each comes with its own fees.

Many organizations pay separately for digital signage software, smart forms, emergency notification systems, event management platforms, enterprise search tools, and email newsletter creation. When you add the cost of each of these subscriptions together, the sum can equal a significant portion of your IT budget.

Instead of a lengthy list of licensing costs, your next-gen intranet can provide multiple communication and collaboration capabilities in one. Consequently, you’ll save on subscription fees while simplifying your colleagues’ day-to-day experience.

#3. Sidestep lengthy development times

Launching an intranet isn’t a one and done project. Your platform needs to grow with your workforce and evolve to fulfill new use cases. IT teams are notoriously busy and hiring new talent to support your department can prove difficult. 52% of IT leaders believe skill gaps are a major challenge for their department.

How can you ensure your intranet evolves without burdening IT? A next-generation intranet will make it easy to keep developing your platform’s use cases. Use plug and play installation for pre-configured features that you can introduce to expand your intranet’s capabilities and consequently, your own ROI.

#4. Provide round-the-clock support

With more than one fourth of IT projects failing outright and another 20-25% falling short of demonstrating ROI, it’s clear that guidance is needed to create an intranet that is an all-around success. Yet hiring support staff gets pricey, with the average starting salary hovering around $85k.

Instead of building out a team of support engineers or risking project failure, a next-gen intranet comes with built-in technical support. Superior Intranet-as-a-Service providers offer their own support services round-the-clock to make sure your platform succeeds on all fronts.

#5. Help your employees work smarter

Sometimes, the smallest changes add up to make the biggest difference. Reducing the amount of time your employees spend searching for information can ultimately generate a significant savings in both time and money.

A next-generation intranet will provide a unified search experience that generates relevant results across all source types. Employees can spend less time sifting through documents and instead focus on the value-add activities that will set your enterprise apart.

Over time, efficient access to tools and information can pay off in a big way. When Shell launched their next-gen intranet, employees could access resources 66% faster, leading to 140k minutes saved daily and a total cost savings of 900k weekly.

Are you ready to maximize your ROI with a next-gen intranet?

The caliber of your workplace technology will be a differentiating factor in the digital age. If you’re looking to leverage a next-gen intranet to reduce IT costs while maximizing value, get in touch with our digital workplace experts.