Intranet Basics:

• What is an Intranet?
• Potential Intranet Costs
• Intranet Applications
• External Hosted Intranets
• Hosted Intranet Benefits
• Open Source Intranets
• Intranet Outsourcing
• Intranet Design Errors
• Administration Errors

Intranet Advanced:

• Securing Your Intranet
• Using Multiple Servers
• The Client-Server Model
• Promoting Your Intranet
• What is Intranet 2.0?
• Standardized Intranets

Intranet Tips:

• Creative Intranet Uses
• Saving Storage Costs
• Intranet Myths Debunked
• Using RSS on an Intranet
• Open Source Add-ons
• The GTD Concept

Intranets and Google:

• About Google’s Intranet
• Using Google Mini

Intranet Software and Applications

There are many Intranet applications that you can set up basically "out-of-the-box" and customize to your company look and feel. These applications are written in many different programming languages, so you will need to confirm of course what what will work in your current server environment. Many of these applications have trial versions you can install locally, and online demos as well that will help you test out the features and see if each is a good fit prior to purchase.

Of course, there are hosted intranets that you can deploy that require no internal resources, such as servers, to run at all. if you do not want to install and deploy your own intranet locally, check out our External Hosted Intranets page to see what options are available and may work for you.

5 Great Intranet Applications

Intranet Connections - Is it possible to obtain a full-featured Intranet that's look & feel customizable and application-rich for under $10000 US? Absolutely! Intranet Connections boasts over 25 built-in applications that let you manage documents, create event calendars, publish news, organize training, inventory and more. It is a ColdFusion based application, but you can purchase ColdFusion server with your application licence and still the price tag is still under 10K. There are no limitations to editors or adminstrators - the pricing structure does not change dependent on your company size etc. Definitely worth considering and I can personally attest to their excellent customer service.

Ektron Intranet - The Ektron Intranet product is built upon their successful Content Management Software, CMS400.net. They have been in business since 1998, building products that focus on ease on implementation and customer use. The Ektron products themselves are quite versatile, in that they can be deployed for intranet, extranet or internet use. The Ektron Intranet application though is specifically geared to the intranet user. Featuring enterprise search, document management, blogging, wikis and other web 2.0 style functionality, you may find that this intranet works especially well when your workforce is geographically diverse.

Intranet Dashboard - Intranet Dashboard is a feature-rich intranet with about 40 modules built-in. These include business, communication and content management tools that you can use and deploy on your intranet with the click of a button basically. You can publish documents, create calendars, share project files and more. I can't seem to find pricing on their site anymore, but last time I researched their prices (2006) it would have cost us about $18000 US to implement (less than 300 employees, and only 3 people with administrator access). I can't be sure how they are pricing the product now though, but do take a look, it is a very complete intranet package.

IntraNet by Vialect - This Intranet is a Wiki-based social networking application. It is very collaboration-focussed, as opposed to functionality-focussed. What I mean by that is that you don't find some of the module based features of other Intranet applications, such as full document management or event-planning features. This intranet is heavy on web 2.0 features such as blogging and other web 2.0 features. But if you are looking for a tool to help your people communicate better and more efficiently, this may be a good fit for you. Pricing is under the $10000 US mark as well, with unlimited users at that price. Definitely worth a look either through their login demo or free trial installation on your server.

Claromentis Intranet - The Claromentis™ Intranet application is actually a modular solution, with several products building-blocked into each other to form a strong intranet framework. This means you can pick & choose what is most relevant to your business needs, and build out as future requirements dictate. Intranet/Extranet capabilities, sophisticated collaboration tools and totally integrated content, document, sales, project and process management applications are all accessible within this single portal environment. Included are full document, policy and content management functionality. Pricing is not available unless you contact them directly and receive a custom quote. This application would be suitable for someone looking to integrate multiple functionalities beyond intranet capabilities in a single portal based environement.