SharePoint started as a document management system, and it’s not inherently designed to be a full-fledged intranet.
In contrast, intranet-first platforms, such as ThoughtFarmer, have been conceived and developed specifically to be a modern intranet solution.
To get the maximum business impact and efficiency from your intranet, you will want to select intranet software that has been purposely built for productivity, communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
The best intranet software is also designed with features to maximize engagement, enhance culture, and create a vibrant interactive community.
While SharePoint leans towards being an IT project, an intranet is essentially a communications project.
Dedicated intranet products, like ThoughtFarmer, align with core business values and support strategic goals.
When choosing an intranet solution, be sure that it supports your business requirements and solves the specific challenges your organization may be facing.
While SharePoint boasts of its customization features, it requires seasoned developers to harness its full potential. This dependence on technical expertise makes implementation a much bigger project, and issues like restricted content management, siloed information across numerous sites, and an IT-centric focus can make SharePoint a challenging choice for an engaging intranet. It also requires dependency on IT teams to make changes, which can become a bottleneck for business admins and users.
ThoughtFarmer offers an easy-to-build and maintain platform that allows for customization with no dependency on constant IT support. The ThoughtFarmer team provides technical support and expertise to ensure your implementation and ongoing experience is seamless.
While SharePoint might seem “free” as a part of the Microsoft 365 package, it comes with hidden costs. Gartner notes that “most organizations underestimate SharePoint’s maintenance and service costs.” Industry consultants say that for every dollar customers spend on Microsoft licensing fees, they spend $8 on customizations and integrations.
ThoughtFarmer makes it easy to get started from day one, with no IT support needed that can hold intranet projects back. Getting results and seeing impact can happen within weeks, with cross-functional departments empowered to create and share content with no barriers. Since SharePoint requires IT support to build and also maintain, this often prevents the intranet from reaching its potential, with momentum lost, and people giving up on making this a dynamic network.
Creating a page is straightforward. Everyone can easily comment, follow, and engage, creating a vibrant intranet. In contrast, SharePoint’s setup can be complex and cumbersome with a steep learning curve, especially for non-technical users.
Today’s employees want a modern intranet experience with a drag and drop interface and tools that anyone can use. SharePoint doesn’t cater to this expectation. ThoughtFarmer is proven to promote higher engagement and collaboration across the board with top ratings for its user-friendly design.
“Since this is so much easier to use than Sharepoint, it’s allowed us to empower more teams to own and manage their own content.”
SharePoint can be tailored to suit your organization’s needs, but the flexibility and functionality is so broad that it can be overwhelming to set up and customize, requiring extensive IT involvement. Over-customization can also result in performance problems and future upgrade challenges.
ThoughtFarmer offers a lot of flexibility to make your intranet your own through branding and design, but it strikes the right balance offering a mix of standard templates and customization options that anyone can deploy and update.
ThoughtFarmer allows for easy migration from SharePoint. But for those who already use SharePoint and want to keep using it, there’s a solution for that too. We offer maximum flexibility to tailor a solution that best suits your needs, ensuring that the transition and integration is smooth.
ThoughtFarmer seamlessly integrates with Microsoft 365 ensuring that users can access their documents without shifting platforms. You can seamlessly embed SharePoint and OneDrive files and folders directly into your intranet pages.
An intranet has the potential to revolutionize your internal communications, bringing your team together and maximizing productivity. While SharePoint offers certain benefits, when it comes to offering a user-friendly, cost-effective, and powerful intranet solution, ThoughtFarmer emerges as the clear frontrunner.