Must Have Resources For Intranet Professionals In 2009

18th April, 2009 - Posted by Sean R. Nicholson - 13 Comments

Sean R. Nicholson

Building a new Intranet or being asked to update an outdated portal can be a daunting task. Considerations such as platform selection, design, content creation, maintenance, usability, adoption, and a host of other concerns often make Intranet projects difficult. If you’re looking to build an Intranet or improve on the one you already maintain, take advantage of the great resources out there that can help in your efforts.

Below are some key resources that should be in the toolkit for every Intranet project. Some require registration to  access and participate, while others are do require a purchase. Hopefully, they can assist you in the decision making process of any selection or updates to your Intranet.

1) Nielsen Norman Group Top 10 Intranets Report – It costs $224 for the report, but it’s worth its weight in gold if you are looking to research the latest and greatest on designs, functionality, and usability. NN/g conducts an extensive review of all submissions and selects those Intranets that really stand out.

http://www.nngroup.com/reports/intranet/design/

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2) Intranet Professionals Group On LinkedIn – This group focuses on sharing the experiences of Intranet professionals registered on LinkedIn. There are some good ongoing discussions about design, social media, budget and strategies. Be sure to set your email settings so that you receive a daily or weekly digest of the topics so you can keep on top of new discussions or updates.

http://sites.google.com/site/intranetprofessionals/

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3) IntranetBlog.com – Blogger Toby Ward, of Prescient Digital Media, provides insight on everything from best practices to global trends. Podcasts are offered, as well as case studies of effective Intranet designs and strategies. If you’re looking to hire an Intranet developer or consultant, be sure to check out the 10 Things To Ask Your Intranet Consultant.

http://www.intranetblog.com

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4) Gartner.com – Tasked with finding a vendor for your Intranet portal, CMS or DMS? Be sure to consult Gartner’s Magic Quadrants. Their industry research provides an in-depth understanding of the key players in the industry and their strengths and weaknesses. Also, be sure to check out the Gartner Portals, Content, and Collaboration Summit conference.

http://www.gartner.com

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5) CMS Watch – If you’re interested in keeping up with the news in the portal, CMS, and ECM world, definitely check CMS Watch frequently. If you’re in the portal selection process, take a look at the 2009 Enterprise Portals Report. It runs around $2000, but can help you understand both the commercial offerings and the Open Source solutions that are available.

http://www.cmswatch.com

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6) Twitter and Tweetdeck – Great information is exchanged each day between Intranet professionals on Twitter. But the power of monitoring specific searches terms like “Intranet” or “Sharepoint” is easier when using TweetDeck. TweetDeck may look a little overpowering at first, but once you set it up for our Twitter searches, you’ll wonder how you ever tweeted without it.

http://www.twitter.com and http://www.tweetdeck.com

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7) Step Two Designs - Step Two Designs is a Knowledge Management Consultancy that publishes top-quality white papers and analysis of Intranet trends. Their annual Innovation Awards showcases some of the best Intranet experiences available.  Also check out their free Intranet Review Toolkit.

http://www.steptwo.com.au

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8 ) The Intranet Insider World Tour – One of the biggest gatherings of Intranet Professionals around. If you can’t make the conference, definitely check out the Webinars. The 2009 conference has already passed, but be sure you add a line item in your 2010 budget for the event.

http://www.communitelligence.com/content/ahpg.cfm?spgid=358&full=1

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9) Christy Season’s Intranet Professionals On Twitter List – Interested in following Intranet Professionals on Twitter? Check out the list that Christy has begun.  Be sure to add your name to the list and check back frequently to update your Twitter follow list.

http://www.christyweb.com/2009/02/intranet-professionals-on-twitter.html

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10) The Intranet RoadMap – A very high level, but effective starter kit for anyone who has been asked to develop an Intranet for their organization. In about an hour, you can browse through the roadmap to understand many of the common tasks that you should expect in encounter during your project.

http://www.intranetroadmap.com

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11) Intranet Strategies by JMC – A great compilation of Intranet information and best practices created by Jane McConnell. Be sure to check out the annual Global Intranet Trends report. The 2009 report is available for $875

http://netjmc.typepad.com

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There you have it. A good start at some of the great resources out there for Intranet Professionals. As we build our site, our goal is to be able to include it in our own list in 2010! Maybe your site or resource will be included as well.

If you have suggestions on additional Intranet-focused resources or events, leave a comment and tell us about it.