Internet Opinion South Africa

What do you know about social intranet?

Over the last few years, business communication has changed tremendously. Long gone are the days when we could operate in silos, or collect and hoard knowledge on our computers. Successful organisations know that effective communication, knowledge-share and collaboration are the cornerstones for sustainable growth. Corporate intranet and largely social intranet has been the single most sought-after tool to help in this regard.

However, fears abound that a social intranet will assume the whole power of the cherished top-down management model. On the contrary, elements of the traditional intranet: information, people and business applications get socialised in social intranet. It's not about adding new tools, but generalising new services and functionalities across all the components of the intranet.

Increasing organisations' competitiveness

To understand what a social intranet is, look first at its origin, which is the intranet. Intranet is derived from the words "intra" and "net". "Intra" simply means within. An intranet, therefore, is a web within a network or, in other words, within an organisation. Intranets came into being and gained popularity in mid-90s and have since continued to play a central role in increasing organisations' competitiveness. Social intranet software came about from the need for people to tear down the barriers of effective communication in organisations.

It is important to bear in mind that social doesn't necessarily mean a stack of software tools, but rather a way of doing business that offers a seamless flow of information, context and activity across the organisation.

Social Intranet Software Intranet combines many of the traditional intranet features, such as content management with awesome social features like activity streams and user profiles to provide an effective and usable collaboration, communication, social networking, and workflow environment.

Social intranet allows all employees to be co-creators of content and to engage actively with one another over the network. A social Intranet is the best friend for a knowledge worker. Ask yourself why is it easier just to Google than turn to internal systems? A social Intranet answers the following questions:

  • Where can I find the information I need?
  • Who knows what I need to know?
  • How do I collaborate?
  • How do I share?

A streamlined Intranet Software can, therefore, be one of the most important tools in business, allowing you to communicate efficiently and effectively across a wide range of departments. There is software that has been designed to offer you the power and flexibility you need, with an interface created to be as intuitive as possible.

Ready to install and configure straight out of the box, you'll be up and running in no time at all, integrating additional modules like Employee Appraisal System or a Document Management System , CMS and much more in one easily managed solution.

About David Gitonga

David is an entrepreneur and seasoned software developer with Wema Software Solutions. He has led software development projects for several clients across South Africa. He holds a Msc degree in Technology Management.
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