Over 2 Years to Build a Top 10 Intranet? Really? Somebody had a Big Budget!

The Top 10 Intranets of 2022 took an average of over two years to build, but why? Why start from scratch when there are already exceptional intranets out there? Instead of reinventing the wheel, you can learn from the best, study their approaches, and replicate their success. Investing two years in such a project is not only unnecessarily time-consuming but also wasteful.

Building an intranet doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. In fact, you can manage the entire process in-house without the need for costly consultants – and we should know, we're consultants ourselves! Here's a simple four-step approach:

Educate the Steering Committee:
The success of your intranet project hinges on a knowledgeable and empowered steering committee. Comprised of middle managers familiar with operational processes, this committee needs an "awareness" level understanding of Microsoft 365, its components, and how organizations are using the platform. (10 hours over 2 weeks)

Design an Intranet Specification:
Begin with a clear goal and scope strategy statement, which could focus on process automation, document management, corporate communications, or a combination of the three. Choose Microsoft "LookBook" templates for your intranet's top site and departmental sites. Develop and document a comprehensive intranet blueprint that identifies department sites, process sites, and resource sites, along with the M365 groups that will govern access to each site. This specification can then be put out to bid or quickly assembled in-house. (10 hours over 2 weeks)

Build the Intranet:
Using your design specification as a guide, this phase involves assembling the intranet rather than discovering what to do. Deploy the top site, apply your company's color scheme, and make it a hub. In the active directory, create M365 groups for each employee working group (this will also generate generic SharePoint sites and connected Teams). Start with the LookBook departmental template you chose and use tools like ShareGate to "Copy and Paste" templates onto all department sites, process sites, and resource sites. Collaborate with department site owners in online meetings to enrich all the department sites with their initial content and import key documents into the new departmental SharePoint libraries. (30 hours over 2 weeks)

Migrate More Content:
At this stage, many organizations turn to their network shared drives and disorganized legacy M365 storage to curate and migrate content into their new intranet.

If you find it challenging to accomplish all this within a couple of months, you might need external assistance. However, be cautious of organizations that want to start from scratch.

It's faster and significantly more cost-effective to educate your team, review top examples, document the functions and structures relevant to your business, and replicate them. Sounds too good to be true? It isn't.

We offer free videos and instructions on how to do it yourself, or we can provide help if you need assistance.

Navigating Unusual Digital Transformations, M365, SharePoint, and Teams Situations
In today's ever-evolving digital landscape, unexpected challenges can arise at any moment.

When technology throws a curveball your way, you don't have to face it alone. 

The team at Jack Frost Design is specialized in the M365 platform, SharePoint, Teams, Power Platform, and Permissions, AI Digital Transformations and Training.  We provide tailored solutions to your unique needs, whether it's initial setup, customization, reskilling your teams or navigating perplexing issues that occasionally come up.

Understanding the significance of your company's document assets, having a dedicated expert on speed dial isn't just good sense—it's essential.   With us, you're not merely getting technical expertise; you're gaining a committed partner in ensuring your document management is efficient, secure, and streamlined. 

At Jack Frost Design, we offer robust support and transformative solutions that can help your business navigate the challenges of document management.