Hosted Intranet?
One of the biggest choices you’ll make concerning your intranet is where it will be hosted. Do you want to keep it in your building, or would you prefer an externally-hosted intranet? If you’re still on the fence about an externally-hosted intranet or considering an internally hosted intranet, these key reasons might be enough to change your mind.
Physical Space
When you create an internally-hosted intranet, you have to have a place to put it. The physical equipment associated with your intranet, including server racks that only increase in size as your intranet needs grow, has to be stored somewhere. Then there’s the staff required to keep up with it: in addition to your existing IT department, you’ll likely need to add additional personnel to handle intranet maintenance and support. All of those require physical space–and when that’s at a premium in your office, you might not be willing to give it up! Using an externally hosted intranet, on the other hand, means that there won’t be any physical space missing from any office in your building. While someone will have to handle intranet upkeep, you’ll also be relieved to know that you won’t have to hire additional IT staff to deal with it. Your intranet provider will offer support along with their services.
Security
Does the idea of a hacker accessing your company’s secure data make you break out in a cold sweat? Do you occasionally lose sleep wondering whether or not your data is secure enough? When you choose a hosted intranet provider, the security is already handled for you. They’ve already taken the time to think through all of the common issues associated with intranet security, and they’ve come up with solutions to those problems that will help keep your critical data secure. Many providers also offer built-in layers of security. Perhaps you want everyone in your company to have access to some of the layers of your intranet–the company calendar, HR forms, and other critical pieces of information that improve daily workflow, but there are other layers that you only want to be accessible to a select few. When you create your intranet from the ground up, you have to come up with all of those layers of security on your own. A hosted intranet, on the other hand, has already figured it out for you. Thanks to their experience in the field, they may already have considered things that you haven’t.
Up-Front Cost
While there are several factors that will contribute to the ultimate cost of your intranet solution, a hosted intranet is typically the cheaper choice up front. Instead of paying someone to spend hundreds of hours designing the intranet from scratch, you’ll pay a low fee to connect to the intranet and start using it. Not only that, in many cases, maintaining a hosted intranet over time is cheaper than keeping up with an internal intranet.
You’ll have to pay internal intranet manager to handle maintenance, including supporting everyone within the business. You’ll need to pay for any problems that arise with the physical equipment. Anytime you need to expand; you will have to pay for someone to come in and rewrite the software. With a hosted intranet, on the other hand, you’ll have a simple monthly fee. There won’t be any bouncing around on the price; instead, you can write it into your budget and feel confident that the cost of your intranet is covered each month.
Speed of Deployment
When you make a decision concerning your intranet software, you want a quick deployment. You need a solution that will bring its benefits to your company quickly, not something that you’re going to spend months waiting on. A hosted intranet deploys much faster than one that you’ve made from scratch. You start out with a basic template, then customize it to meet the unique needs of your business. Depending on how much time you have in your schedule to devote to the process, the intranet can be up and running within a few short weeks. Not only that, the intranet will grow smoothly along with your business. There’s no need to buy more expensive pieces of equipment or hire someone to add to your software. Instead, you can simply expand the apps or information that you’re offering to your employees. If you need more space, it’s as simple as making a phone call or with a company like MyHub you have unlimited users and data. If something isn’t working or you decide that you need to make changes, it’s much simpler than working with an internal intranet.
Support
When you hire someone to create an intranet for your business from scratch, their job is done when the software is ready to deploy. While they may be willing to step in and work with you if there are bugs or glitches in the software, they won’t be on hand to help with the mundane details associated with building the rest of your intranet. Working with a hosted intranet, on the other hand, ensures that you have the support you need. Not only is there a support team on hand to answer any questions you might have, but they’re also familiar with the common issues that arise throughout the day with your intranet solution. They’re there to walk you through troubleshooting steps, deal with outages, or explain why your intranet isn’t as mobile-friendly as you thought it was. From figuring out why a particular individual is having a problem with deciding why you’re experiencing issues with a particular app, the support staff is on hand to help. Because they’re familiar with the intranet software, these support personnel are incredibly valuable assets that will help you build your intranet into the effective tool you’re seeking, helping you through the complicated instructions and making building your intranet as simple as possible.
Keep Your Access
You want a mobile-accessible intranet that is accessible no matter where your employees might be. That’s particularly important in areas prone to natural disasters or in areas where weather emergencies are common. If your entire street is shut down and no one can get into the office due to snow, there are still employees who will want to continue working. If they can access the intranet, whether they’re at home or working on the road, those employees can get on with their days without being impacted by the weather.
Lose power in your building? It’s not a problem when you’re using a hosted intranet. Employees will still be able to access the information they need to do their jobs via their wireless devices. Have a snowstorm that’s keeping everyone in the city indoors? Employees on the go won’t have to worry about whether or not someone can make it to the office to take care of turning on the company network. Using a hosted intranet means that you continue to have access to all your sensitive data no matter what’s happening at the physical location of your business.
If you’re ready to design an intranet solution for your business, contact us! We’ll work with you to maximize all the benefits of a hosted intranet, build an effective tool that will help all of your employees increase their productivity and maximize their communications standards. Your intranet is a valuable part of your business. We want to help you take full advantage of it.
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