Not every question is answered with “either/or.” Sometimes the best answer is “yes/and.” The question of whether an organization needs an intranet or a digital workspace falls into the latter. Intranets are not an alternative to the digital workspace, but a component of it. A digital workspace is an extension of an intranet, a “leveling up” of the organization’s culture, communication, collaborations, and productivity.
What is an intranet?
“Intranet” brings to mind company bulletin boards, top-down directives and one way traffic patterns. In their original form they were a network within a company that functioned as a place to access email, do data entry and read corporate announcements. Often cumbersome and prone to outages, the intranets of yesteryear came with a hefty amount of digital friction. But yesterday’s technology is today’s foundation. Intranets didn’t go away or become obsolete, they improved. They became supple and pliant, giving space for customization. Today’s intranets are more engaging and easier to navigate. Instead of a necessary burden, they are an integral part of most organizations’ day to day functions.
What is the digital workspace?
To understand what the digital workspace is, it helps to understand the evolution that birthed it. Since the inception of the intranet in 1995, technology has progressed at a rapid pace. Smart devices and the expansion of wireless internet set the stage for apps and platforms catering to the needs of employees from different sectors of the workforce. Innovation and creativity gave rise to more efficiency and productivity. Tech savvy employees integrated these apps into their personal workplace tool kit, but largely it was a siloed DIY venture.
In 2020 that all changed. The global pandemic forced most companies to view access and efficiency in a new way. What was once optional now became an urgent directive. The integration of digital platforms became necessary as a matter of organizational survival. The massive shift to remote work in the early days of the pandemic shifted thinking on how companies function and the nature of work. In a sense, it was a living experiment on how to work efficiently from home.
Many companies and their employees had a crash course in remote work. Virtual meetings replaced conference rooms. Collaboration happened in real time on digital platforms. Communication became more fluid and dynamic. Digital whiteboards and digital workflows became mainstays of corporate culture in short order. Virtual events became less abstract and more relevant to non technophiles. A new era of workplace culture was emerging – one that was accessible, but disjointed and expansive.
The remote work boom found most workers and companies struggling with digital sprawl. The sheer volume of multiple apps on multiple devices left employees overwhelmed and companies vulnerable to security issues. The workplace was slowly creeping towards the digital law of diminishing returns – too many options, too many redundancies, and employee digital burnout. When apps and the intranet operate independently of each other their value is capped, limited by the isolated functions they perform. The benefits of mass adoption of technology needed to be smoothed out and streamlined. Enter the modern digital workplace.
The digital workplace is the hub for the digital tools employees use in their daily workflow. It is a nerve center for operations and communication. A venue that houses apps, email, automations, company news and discussions. Rather than having tools scattered in different places, they are easily accessed on one dashboard – that dashboard is the organization’s intranet.
The early intranets provided the foundation for today’s digital workspace. When an intranet is fully utilized, it is part of a larger ecosystem of collaboration and functionality all merging into one space. Less of a glorified inbox and information warehouse and more of a bustling town square. And when the digital workspace is designed thoughtfully and holistically, it is a graceful, elegant tool.
A digital workspace can both improve productivity and improve employee satisfaction. The digital friction of logging in and switching between apps and platforms is eliminated. Transitioning from meeting to tasks and back again is seamless. Collaboration is no longer reliant on proximity. Real-time sharing via brainstorming and design platforms means people a world apart can work together without breaking creative flow. And company communication flourishes, the watercooler is accessible to front line workers as well as office employees. Work becomes more accessible to people with disabilities and caregivers.
Companies are better equipped to adapt and respond should a crisis arise.
Employee experience is enhanced, improving the equality of work life.
Productivity is improved.
An intranet and a digital workspace are not opposing forces, but a symbiotic relationship. They are the answer to the question of what the modern workplace looks like: accessible, immersive, engaging. Facilitating and nurturing a community of shared interests.