SharePoint Online vs. Off-the-Shelf Intranet Solutions: Which is Right for Your Organisation?

In today’s digital workplace, choosing the right intranet solution is crucial for enhancing collaboration, improving communication, and boosting productivity. For many organisations, the decision often comes down to two primary options: a SharePoint out-of-the-box intranet or an off-the-shelf solution. Both have their own strengths and limitations, and the right choice depends on your specific needs, resources, and strategic goals.

In this blog, we’ll compare these two popular approaches to help you determine which is the best fit for your organisation.

SharePoint Out-of-the-Box Intranet 

A SharePoint Online out-of-the-box intranet refers to a ready-to-use internal website solution within the SharePoint Online platform. It includes basic features and templates that allow organisations to quickly set up an intranet for document management, team collaboration, and internal communication without extensive customisation or third-party add-ons.  

Pros:

Seamless Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem: SharePoint is part of the Microsoft 365 suite, offering seamless integration with other tools like Teams, OneDrive, and Outlook. This ensures a unified experience for users who are already familiar with Microsoft products.

Flexibility and Customisation: SharePoint provides a high level of flexibility, allowing you to customise the intranet to meet your specific business needs. You can build unique features and functionalities tailored to your organisation.

Cost-Effective: If you already have a Microsoft 365 subscription, the out-of-the-box SharePoint intranet can be a cost-effective solution, as it requires no additional licensing fees.

Security and Compliance: With SharePoint, you benefit from Microsoft’s robust security and compliance features, which are crucial for organisations that handle sensitive data.

Cons:

Complexity of Setup and Management: Customising and managing a SharePoint intranet can be complex, requiring technical expertise. This may lead to additional costs for development and maintenance.

Limited Pre-Built Features: While SharePoint offers flexibility, it may lack some of the pre-built features found in dedicated intranet solutions, which can mean longer deployment times if extensive customisation is needed.

User Experience: Out-of-the-box SharePoint may not offer the most intuitive or user-friendly experience, especially for non-technical users. It often requires additional design work to create a polished, engaging intranet.

Off-the-Shelf Intranet Solutions 

An off-the-shelf intranet is a pre-built, fully developed solution that comes equipped with a comprehensive set of features designed to meet typical business needs. Providers like Omnia Intranets offer these solutions, which are ready to deploy with minimal customisation. They enable organisations to quickly implement an intranet with a user-friendly interface, social collaboration tools, and advanced features, all without the need for extensive development or configuration.

Pros:

Quick Deployment: Off-the-shelf intranet solutions like Omnia are designed for quick deployment. With pre-built templates and features, your intranet can be up and running in a matter of weeks, rather than months.

Rich Feature Set: Solutions like Omnia come with a wide range of pre-built features, including social collaboration tools, newsfeeds, and advanced search capabilities, all designed to enhance user engagement.

User-Friendly Interface: Off-the-shelf solutions often prioritise user experience, offering intuitive interfaces that require little to no training. This can lead to higher adoption rates across the organisation.

Ongoing Support and Updates: These solutions typically include ongoing support and regular updates, ensuring that your intranet stays current with the latest features and best practices.

Cons:

Less Flexibility: While off-the-shelf solutions offer a lot out of the box, they may not provide the same level of customisation as SharePoint. This could be a limitation if your organisation has very specific requirements.

Integration Challenges: Although many off-the-shelf solutions integrate well with Microsoft 365, there may still be some limitations compared to a native SharePoint environment.

Cost: Off-the-shelf solutions often come with additional licensing fees and ongoing costs, which may be higher than using SharePoint if you already have a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Conclusion: Which Intranet Solution is Right for You? 

When choosing between a SharePoint out-of-the-box intranet and an off-the-shelf solution like Omnia, it’s important to consider your organisation’s unique needs and resources.

• If you require a highly customised solution and have the technical expertise to manage it, SharePoint may be the better choice.
• However, if you’re looking for a quick-to-deploy, user-friendly intranet with a rich feature set, an off-the-shelf solution like Omnia could be more suitable.

Regardless of your choice, the ultimate goal is to create an intranet that fosters collaboration, enhances communication, and drives productivity across your organisation.