The Advantages and Disadvantages of an Intranet

While billions of people publicly surf the internet, many businesses use intranets for secure internal communication. Modern intranets have evolved from their clunky predecessors, offering many benefits, including centralized platforms for employees to access resources, news, and documents, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing. However, potential drawbacks like security risks and maintenance costs must also be considered.

Weighing the pros and cons of intranet in the context of your specific needs can help determine if an intranet is the right tool for your internal communication and knowledge management.

In this article, we’ll look at what it is, its key features, and the advantages and disadvantages of an intranet for your business.

What is an Intranet?

An intranet is a private computer network that helps employees securely share information, resources, and applications within the organization. It’s essentially an exclusive digital workspace that provides a centralized platform for communication, collaboration, and knowledge management. 

Businesses of all sizes and various organizations, such as nonprofits and governments, use intranets in their daily operations. Intranets serve as hubs for employees to upload files, view company announcements, and send messages to other employees.

In fact, according to the State of the Intranet and Future of Employee Technology report by Simplr, nearly nine in ten respondents, or 87%, agree that intranets facilitate strong communication in the workplace. This cements its role in fostering a sense of community and employee involvement.

Key Features of an Intranet

A company intranet serves as the central nervous system of an organization, seamlessly connecting employees, information, and resources. Through thoughtfully designed features, intranets streamline communication, boost collaboration, and enhance knowledge sharing, ultimately driving productivity and a stronger sense of belonging among employees. Here are the essential intranet features companies use.

• Company directory
• Company announcements
• Search capabilities
• Learning hub
• Project management
• Real-time communication tools
• Collaboration and social networking capabilities
• Employee self-service platform
• Mobile accessibility
• Security and access control
• Integration with business applications
• Analytics and reporting

Beyond these basic intranet features, advanced options further transform company operations. For instance, a multinational corporation can leverage its intranet to connect global teams through virtual workspaces, facilitating document sharing, online discussions, and collaborative project tracking, regardless of physical location.

The value of identifying the right intranet features for your organization cannot be undermined. To do this, knowing the advantages and disadvantages of intranet software based on your internal communication and collaboration goals is imperative.

Intranet Vs. Internet

While the names might sound similar, the intranet and internet serve distinct purposes. The Internet is a globally connected network of computers that allows for the public exchange of information. On the other hand, an intranet is a private network used within an organization–all within a closed and controlled environment.

Advantages of Using an Intranet

Globally, a staggering 91% of employees prefer to work remotely in some capacity. While many businesses have returned to physical offices after the pandemic, remote working remains either a flexible or emergency option. In these cases, the intranet has proven itself a valuable tool to cater to the needs of both remote employees and those working in physical workplaces. 

Modern intranet technology can amplify office connectivity and break down the barriers of time and distance between teams. Specifically, the following are known intranet benefits that businesses draw out.

1. Improves Internal Communication

The primary benefit of using an intranet is that it supports internal team communication. Intranets are highly effective for this purpose, as evidenced by the 87% of respondents who acknowledge their role in facilitating strong communication.

Intranets allow your organization to centralize all workplace communication, making it easy for employees to interact with each other and collaborate seamlessly across departments. More specifically, they streamline communication channels. They provide a platform for teams to share updates, collaborate on projects, and build stronger working relationships.

2. Connects Your Company Across Locations and Time Zones

Leading a modern business often means managing a dispersed workforce. You could be a medium-sized company with multiple offices, a large enterprise with global teams, or a fully remote organization spanning various time zones. In these situations, centralized communication can keep everyone up to speed and well-informed regardless of location or working hours. 

A well-functioning intranet facilitates seamless information sharing, provides a platform for team collaboration, and ensures everyone has access to the same resources and updates. This not only bridges geographical gaps but also helps to create a stronger sense of community and shared purpose within the organization.

3. Helps Employees Find Information

A significant portion of the workforce is struggling to keep up with the influx of information. Gartner reports that 27% of employees and 38% of managers feel overwhelmed. To address this problem, an intranet helps employees find information. 

Whether it’s finding the latest company news, locating a colleague’s contact information, or accessing training materials, an intranet provides a user-friendly platform for employees to locate what they need quickly when they need it. This fosters a more informed and engaged workforce, ultimately contributing to increased productivity and improved business outcomes.

4. Boosts Recognition and Reward

A significant advantage of using an intranet that company leaders ought to maximize is its ability to foster a positive and appreciative work environment. Managers can leverage this platform to publicly acknowledge and reward employees for their achievements, contributions, and milestones. This not only boosts individual morale and improves employee experience but also cultivates a culture of recognition and encourages healthy competition.

5. Simplifies Employee Onboarding

Hiring and onboarding often involve a considerable investment of time and resources from various departments, including human resources, management, and IT. Traditional onboarding processes can be lengthy, involving multiple forms, training sessions, and information overload for new hires. This can lead to delays in productivity and a less-than-ideal first impression for new employees.

Leveraging intranets effectively can lead to a significant reduction in employee onboarding time, with organizations seeing an average decrease of 20%. Intranets allow employees to quickly go through onboarding by accessing important resources. 

New hires can access essential documents, training videos, company policies, and other important resources at their own pace and convenience. This self-guided approach accelerates the onboarding process and empowers employees to take ownership of their integration into the company culture.

6. Provides Organizational Clarity

Starting a new job at a large company can be like entering a labyrinth. With countless departments, teams, and individuals, understanding where you fit within the complex organizational structure can feel overwhelming. A well-designed intranet acts as a compass and map, guiding new employees through this intricate landscape.

Beyond simply listing names and titles, a company directory within the intranet can be enriched with detailed profiles for each employee. These profiles might include contact information, areas of expertise, project involvement, and even personal interests. This fosters a sense of connection and community, enabling new employees to put faces to names and learn about their colleagues’ backgrounds.

7. Encourages Knowledge Sharing

Intranets are a central repository for important company information, such as policies, procedures, and announcements. This ensures everyone can access the latest updates and resources, reducing confusion and promoting consistency.

Features like instant messaging allow employees to engage in real-time discussions, facilitating quick decision-making and problem-solving. Intranets also enable teamwork on projects, with tools for co-editing documents, sharing files, and tracking progress. This streamlines workflows and ensures everyone is on the same page.

8. Reinforces Your Brand and Values

For employees to become part of your brand, they need to understand your company values. This goes beyond simply knowing your logo or tagline. Instead, it’s about grasping the principles and beliefs that drive your company’s mission and vision. Intranets are helpful for constantly communicating what your brand stands for and your values so employees can align themselves with the brand.

Through engaging content, interactive training, and company-wide announcements, intranets can ensure that employees are consistently reminded of what your brand stands for. This consistent reinforcement helps employees internalize these values, enabling them to align their actions and decisions with the brand identity.

9. Brings Your Workplace Culture to Life

Cultivating a positive company culture is paramount to success, regardless of team size. A strong company culture not only attracts and retains top talent but also fuels engagement, collaboration, and, ultimately, productivity.

An intranet can be instrumental in shaping and reinforcing this positive workplace culture. It provides a platform to celebrate achievements, share knowledge, and reinforce company values, which is especially crucial for geographically dispersed teams. Intranets can help build a virtual ecosystem that promotes a positive workplace culture.

10. Improves Employee Engagement

Employee disengagement is a costly problem for businesses. The loss of experienced employees can disrupt workflow, decrease productivity, and negatively impact team morale.

One of the well-known advantages of an intranet is that it provides a central hub for communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing, employee engagement increases as they feel like they are part of a team. An intranet secures them and lets them know they have a voice within the organization, which increases their likelihood of staying.

Disadvantages of Using an Intranet

As impressive as the benefits of a company intranet are, not all employees seem to enjoy or even maximize their use fully. One reason for this is that a fraction of the workforce experience the drawbacks of intranet–particularly its poor implementation–which overshadows the advantages of the intranet mentioned above. 

Nonetheless, the disadvantage of using an intranet may depend on the tool your company uses. Simply put, you may encounter intranet systems that focus on certain features and not the others. But the reality is that finding one that does it all can be extremely difficult. Still, it’s best to know some common intranet pitfalls and spotlight them during demo or product assessment.

Here are a few disadvantages of using an intranet–an ineffective one–in your business.

1. Security Breaches

The most significant disadvantage to using an intranet is a potential security breach. This is particularly concerning since insider attacks are a growing concern for most organizations, with 74% observing a rise in their occurrence.

As organizations move more sensitive data to their intranets and centralize their data in one place, they become more attractive targets for cybercriminals. Failing to update software and security protocols can also create weaknesses attackers can exploit.

While intranet providers develop solutions to increase data security, they’re still vulnerable to security risks without the proper training and utilization plan. However, this can be avoided with an intranet system provider that proactively hones employee skills and knowledge in cybersecurity.

2. Information Overload

Another disadvantage to intranets is related to their main strength. Intranets allow companies to access a ton of information in one place. However, they’re often not extremely user-friendly.

This particular disadvantage of the intranet is true with systems that are not focused on knowledge organization. The complexity and the sheer number of files can drown employees in a sea of information. This level of information overload often occurs without a robust search engine that deep indexes all content and returns results based on relevancy.

3. Complex Navigation

For most employees, an intuitive and user-friendly interface is the most critical factor for an effective intranet. This is according to a Simpplr survey where 70% of respondents emphasized ease of use.

If your organization’s intranet is clunky, confusing, or challenging to navigate, employees will simply avoid using it. This defeats the purpose of having an intranet in the first place, as it hinders access to important company information, news, and resources. On the other hand, a well-designed intranet should be intuitive and easy to navigate, with a clear information architecture and user-friendly search functionality. 

Prioritizing user experience and ensuring a smooth onboarding process for new employees is essential for driving adoption and maximizing the return on your intranet investment. Therefore, failing to address these usability issues can result in a neglected intranet that fails to meet its intended purpose.

4. Costly and Time-Consuming

While businesses typically lean on an intranet system to establish a cohesive, communicative workforce, they can be costly and time-consuming to implement and maintain. Implementation often involves significant upfront investment in software, hardware, and training. Ongoing maintenance requires dedicated IT resources to ensure smooth operation, security, and regular updates. 

Furthermore, intranet adoption hinges on user-friendliness. Navigating the system proves cumbersome or time-consuming, impedes productivity, and increases labor costs as employees struggle to find information or complete tasks.

5. Extensive Ongoing Management

Realizing the benefits of intranet requires a significant investment in ongoing management. This includes regular updates to content, ensuring security protocols are enforced, and troubleshooting technical issues. Without dedicated attention, the intranet can quickly become overgrown and unwieldy, hindering rather than helping employees. 

While many intranet platforms boast flexibility and customization options, this feature can be a double-edged sword. Configuring and maintaining these platforms often demands specialized IT expertise and resources. Otherwise, a poorly maintained intranet can lead to employee frustration, decreased engagement, and even security vulnerabilities, negating the initial productivity gains it promised.

6. Outdated Content

An intranet requires consistent upkeep to remain a valuable resource. Without proper maintenance, it can quickly become a digital graveyard of outdated documents and broken links. This not only hinders employees from finding the information they need but also erodes trust in the intranet as a reliable source of knowledge.

Outdated information can lead to employees making decisions based on incorrect data, potentially impacting productivity and even leading to compliance issues. That said, organizations opt to develop a sustainable plan for keeping content fresh regularly. However, with an ineffective intranet system, this may fall under the cracks, especially without automated reminders and assignments.

Power Move: Bloomfire’s knowledge management platform offers everything you want from an intranet without the costly and time-consuming upkeep. The all-in-one platform centralizes your collective information, improves team communication, and provides searchable, easy-to-use content.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is an intranet important in business?

The evolving technological ecosystem of businesses means that an intranet has become a necessity rather than a luxury or an afterthought. Not only does it provide a central hub for communication and collaboration, but it also streamlines workflows, promotes productivity,  enhances employee engagement, and supports remote work.

How is an intranet different from a knowledge base?

An intranet is a private network used for internal communication, while a knowledge base is a centralized repository for all of a company’s knowledge assets. Essentially, an intranet connects people, while a knowledge base connects people to information. This information can include anything from company policies and procedures to marketing materials and training documents, making it a valuable resource for employees seeking knowledge.

Which is safer, the Internet or the intranet?

Intranets are generally safer than the internet due to their private nature and restricted access, which minimizes exposure to external threats. Its enhanced security measures, like firewalls, further protect sensitive data. Conversely, the internet’s public accessibility and vastness make it inherently more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Getting the Most Out of Your Company Intranet

Intranets are designed to improve and secure communication and collaboration in your company. To leverage this tool, ensure its use is ingrained in your organization through routine tasks and workflows. If you’re planning to enhance or update your intranet system, identify the pros and cons it exhibited in your organization to help you eliminate or control the drawbacks and amplify the benefits.

Note: This blog post was originally published on Nov 21, 2022. It was most recently expanded and updated in January 2025.

Discover Bloomfire!

It’s more than an intranet. It’s a knowledge engagement platform for better productivity.

See Bloomfire in Action