Top Intranets Embrace Mobile Accessibility and Social Networking

Jakob Nielsen, called the guru of web page design by the New York Times, just published his report, 10 Best Intranets of 2010.

Three points from the report stand out for me.

Mobile access Only 30% of winners had mobile enabled intranets. This is low compared to many world wide websites. The report sees this as a growth area.

Social networking tools Social media tools were common on the winning intranets. This included features for both employees as individuals and workgroup connections.

Emergency Preparedness 40% of the winning intranets had integrated some features for use in crisis situations. Some winners had learned from experiences with previous disasters like Hurricane Katrina. The inclusion of emergency preparedness indicates intranets are becoming a key part of the enterprise, communication infrastructure.

What can you do with this info?  Plan to integrate these winning features into your intranet and external website.   I know I’m extrapolating from a report on intranets to external websites, but the reports acknowledges faster adoption of these tools and techniques on external websites.  So,  if your enterprise lags in either arena, start planning.

This report reinforces something I say all the time.  You have to be where the people are. Seems obvious enough.  The report says people are increasingly in two places – on their smartphones and on social networks.

More people are using smartphones in their personal lives and in their business lives.   So whether it is for business or pleasure, the tool is there.  The smartphone is the “forth” screen after Big screen, the TV screen, and the computer screen.  You have to be where the people are.  This is just as true for your external customer as it is for your widely dispersed, mobile workforce.

As the use of the world wide social web grows, the thought of connecting and collaborating through social networks will become less novelty and more reality.  Enterprises can plan now to enable workgroups to be more engaged, involved, and  productive.

On the last point, Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “… plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”  Nobody can have the perfect plan for an emergency, but the process of planning for it will be invaluable.  So start planning how to leverage your website and intranet during an emergency.

Be where the people are – mobile and social media; leverage web technologies during emergencies.  These are what top businesses are doing.  What are you doing?