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In the bustling landscape of digital workplaces, where collaboration and creativity intersect, SharePoint stands tall as a cornerstone for organisations worldwide. As we journey further into the AI era, SharePoint is not just evolving; it’s redefining how teams’ author, collaborate, and present content. Today, we delve into the transformative power of AI-driven simplicity and the captivating allure of compelling content within SharePoint. 

Simpler authoring with Copilot: 

Imagine being able to create pages on SharePoint just by telling it what you want in plain language. That’s what Copilot in SharePoint does. It’s a new feature that helps you turn your ideas into polished web pages. Copilot uses advanced technology to understand what you want and helps you refine your vision. It makes creating SharePoint sites easy and efficient, without sacrificing security or privacy. 

A new start experience for SharePoint:

Embark on your SharePoint journey with a revamped start experience, teeming with inspiration and practicality. Whether it’s newsletters, event announcements, or project tracking sites, the new start page offers tailored templates to address your team’s diverse communication needs. From instant video page creation to streamlined management of personal pages, initiating, and managing SharePoint sites has never been more accessible. It’s not just a starting point; it’s a hub of creativity and productivity, where ideas flourish and evolve over time. 

Co-authoring capabilities for seamless collaboration: 

Collaboration is key in the world of intranet sites, and SharePoint is making it easier than ever. With its latest co-authoring feature, driven by the Fluid framework, teamwork reaches new heights. Picture this: editors gather on one shared space, effortlessly crafting content together in real-time. With SharePoint leading the way, teamwork has never been smoother, turning group projects into a breeze. 

Compelling content redefined: 

As digital experiences become more immersive, SharePoint unveils a major aesthetic overhaul, elevating visual storytelling to new heights. From branding and theming to typography and layout, SharePoint’s aesthetic prowess is underpinned by the Microsoft Fluent Design System. Here’s a glimpse into SharePoint’s aesthetic revolution: 

• The Brand Centre: Empowering organisations to define and maintain their visual identity seamlessly across sites, the Brand Centre is a beacon of consistency amidst creative diversity. 
• Advanced image and video editing: Harnessing the emotive power of visuals, SharePoint’s image editor offers advanced editing tools for unparalleled creativity. With the updated Stream web part, video integration becomes seamless, enriching pages with dynamic multimedia experiences. 
• Content pane for effortless curation: Streamlining content curation, the new content pane suggests layouts and recommends relevant content based on context. With just a few clicks, pages come to life, brimming with curated content that captivates and informs. 

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital collaboration, SharePoint remains steadfast, adapting to meet the evolving needs of modern workplaces. With AI-driven simplicity and aesthetic brilliance at its helm, SharePoint paves the way for a future where creativity knows no bounds, and collaboration knows no limits.  

Book a free demo to learn more about how this can benefit your organisation. 

In the dynamic landscape of modern business, where information is the cornerstone of success, safeguarding sensitive data has become a critical imperative. Intelligent Decisioning proudly announces its attainment of ISO 27001 certification—a testament to our unwavering dedication to information security excellence. Here’s why our products, Mercury Intranet and docCentrum, stand as the premier choice for organisations seeking intranet solutions:

• Rigorous Information Security Measures: With ISO 27001 certification, we ensure that your organisation’s information assets are protected with the highest standards of security. Our comprehensive approach encompasses risk assessment, access controls, encryption protocols, and continuous monitoring, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your critical data.

• Reliable Service Delivery: We recognise the importance of uninterrupted service delivery. Our ISO 27001 certification guarantees consistent and secure intranet solutions, enabling your organisation to operate seamlessly without compromising on security or performance. Trust Intelligent Decisioning for reliable services that empower your business operations.

• Compliance Excellence: Compliance with regulatory requirements is a foundational aspect of information security. Mercury Intranet exceeds compliance standards, ensuring that your organisation adheres to relevant regulatory frameworks effortlessly. Our ISO 27001 certification provides assurance that your information security practices align with industry best practices and regulatory mandates.

• Trusted Partnership: Choosing us entails more than a service provider; it signifies forging a trusted partnership centred on reliability and integrity. Our ISO 27001 certification underscores our commitment to earning and maintaining your trust. Partner with Intelligent Decisioning for a collaborative relationship founded on transparency, accountability, and shared success.

In summary, Mercury Intranet emerges as the definitive choice for organisations that require intranet solutions as well as information security excellence. Our ISO 27001 certification demonstrates our unwavering commitment to safeguarding your organisation’s sensitive information, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability at every step.

Book a free demo today to learn more about how Mercury Intranet combined with our ISO 27001 certification can help you propel your business towards sustained success.

Let’s face it. Ever since the pandemic forced students from the classroom to the bedroom, the education industry has been going through somewhat of a digital engagement crisis. While bored students might not be anything new, educational institutions are facing bigger challenges as a result of the shift to digital learning.

A study by OneClass found that 75% of college students are unhappy with the quality of online classes, and 35% have considered withdrawing from school. And while most schools and colleges have since returned to in-person teaching, many educational institutions have adopted a hybrid approach—whether that’s by continuing online lectures or introducing digital homework activities.

The main problem is that digitally native students expect ‘Netflix-like’ digital experiences. But they are faced with poorly integrated systems and, more often than not, user interfaces straight out of the early 2000s. Luckily, online education platforms don’t need to be stuck in Windows 2000. There is a way out. Modern intranet platforms can digitally transport educational institutions into the (right side of the) 21st century.

It’s not just students struggling with legacy platforms and approaches, teaching staff also face several challenges daily. Without an intranet platform, most teachers are over reliant on email to communicate with their students, and don’t have the right tools to collaborate with fellow staff members online.

By centralising information and communication channels, and enabling collaboration with tools, intranets can help schools bring together different departments, foster teamwork, and improve productivity.

Here are eight reasons why your educational institution needs an intranet:

1. Fast up-to-date knowledge access

One of the biggest challenges for educational institutions without an intranet system is sharing important information such as deadlines, timetables, policies, resources, and events—and keeping them up-to-date.

To avoid keeping your students’ anxiety levels high, an intranet solution makes it easier for them to know where to access important information—whether that’s a deadline for an upcoming assignment, necessary reading for the course, or a new school policy that’s being implemented.

• Personalised content experiences

Intranets are more than just platforms for sharing documents. They can be a vital part of the teaching process. Intranets allow teaching staff to personalise the learning experience for the different classes they teach. Teachers and professors can assign tasks with deadlines, grade coursework, and leave feedback. As tasks can usually be assigned on an individual basis, teaching staff can go one step further and provide a tailored learning experience for students who may need extra help. When paired with in-person class work, intranets can help to keep students engaged with discussion groups, quizzes, and virtual “office hours” with staff members.

• Better staff collaboration

Educational institutions, such as universities, have a number of different faculties spread out across multiple buildings, and sometimes even across countries. Each faculty usually has its own way of doing things and their own goals. And, even within a faculty itself, communication and collaboration are still limited to email.

Intranets make cross-departmental collaboration a walk in the park. Whether you need to work on a new curriculum for the year or turn staff meeting points into a project with actionable steps, having a centralised platform where people can work on things collaboratively, makes life so much easier for your staff members.

• An accurate view of staffing resources

What’s more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack? Finding a teacher or professor without an online directory. There are usually hundreds of staff members at schools and universities.

Whether you’re a student who needs to connect with a professor for an assignment or a professor looking for a colleague in a different department, without an intranet, this process often involves jumping from one university webpage to another until you eventually find whom you were looking for—if you’re lucky.

Intranets allow you to keep an online record of teachers, admin staff, part-time workers, faculty heads, lecturers, and even Ph.D. students—making it easier to find staff members and their contact details.

• Centralised platform to manage internal information

Most educational institutions are still stuck in the past when it comes to communicating internal information. While email can be a useful tool for quick announcements or last-minute location changes, the last thing you want is important announcements lost in the inboxes of your staff and students.

Whether you’re announcing a faculty dinner, a list of extracurricular activities, or posting a recap of an event, an intranet with a blogging platform can help you share important information in a more dynamic and engaging way—with videos, images, and links.

• Integrated with existing workflows

From Microsoft PowerPoint for lecture slides, to Gmail for communication, teachers and students often use several different tools, systems, and apps on a daily basis. Instead of spending too much time jumping across tools and information sources, intranet platforms integrate with some of the most popular apps, providing your staff with a single place to access and share information.

• Secure and compliant knowledge sharing

As an educational institution with students and teaching staff, you’ll want to control who can access and contribute to certain pages and channels. Most intranets allow you to easily assign user roles and permission levels so you can keep specific areas for the right eyes only.

Additionally, depending on the jurisdiction that your educational institution operates in, you may have to adhere to certain governance requirements. The best intranets for educational institutions usually come with top-of-the-line security and privacy specs to keep your sensitive data secure.

• Customisable to fit your brand

With universities struggling with enrolment declines and increasing their attempts to attract both domestic and international students, university branding has never been more important. Your school or university brand symbolises who you are and what you stand for.

As your intranet will be used on a daily basis, by teachers and students alike, you’ll want the platform to reflect your institution’s personality and culture. Most intranet platforms allow you to customise your platform on a visual level, with logos, colors, and branded activity/news feeds. A fully branded experience helps to strengthen online engagement and adoption by making your users want to keep using and returning to the platform.

Book a free demo today!

What Does This Mean for You?

Your Security is Our Priority

In today’s fast-paced work environment, efficient communication is key to productivity and success. Yet, the traditional methods of meetings and emails can often be time-consuming and ineffective. This is where an intranet can make a significant difference, serving as a powerful tool to streamline communication and improve overall work efficiency.

Although the term “intranet” may evoke images of clunky, outdated software, modern intranets have evolved to become essential components of the modern workplace toolkit. Here are 11 benefits of using an intranet in your organisation:

1. Improved Internal Communication: A modern intranet facilitates open discussions, knowledge sharing, and updates across teams, departments, and leadership. It provides a platform for employees to share information, comment, and provide feedback, thereby streamlining communication.
2. Connectivity Across Locations and Time Zones: An intranet serves as a central hub for online interactions, enabling employees from different locations and time zones to stay connected, share news, and plan events.
3. Efficient Information Retrieval: Intranets house a wealth of information, from company news to important documents. With a user-friendly interface and robust search functionality, employees can easily access the information they need, enhancing productivity.
4. Recognition and Reward: Intranets can facilitate peer-to-peer recognition and appreciation, fostering a positive work culture. Features such as live feeds and integration with recognition tools can make acknowledging employees’ efforts simple and timely.
5. Simplified Onboarding: New hires can use the intranet to quickly familiarise themselves with the company, access documents, view organisation charts, and learn about the company culture, making the onboarding process smoother.
6. Organisational Clarity: Clear organisation charts and employee profiles on the intranet help employees understand the company’s structure, roles, and responsibilities, promoting transparency and clarity.
7. Encouragement of Knowledge Sharing: Intranets facilitate organic knowledge sharing by making experts visible and enabling forum-style discussions and blog articles. This promotes learning and growth across the organisation.
8. Reinforcement of Brand and Values: Companies can use intranets to reinforce their brand and values by recognising employees who embody these values, sharing relevant articles, and encouraging employees to share examples of living out the company’s values.
9. Reduction of Emails and Meetings: With integrated chat features, intranets can reduce reliance on emails and unnecessary meetings, streamlining communication and improving efficiency.
10. Enhancement of Workplace Culture: By bringing employees together and promoting activities that reflect the company’s culture, intranets help strengthen and enliven the workplace culture.
11. Improvement of Employee Engagement: An intranet can enhance employee engagement by providing a platform for communication, recognition, and connection with the broader company, fostering a sense of belonging and purpose.

In conclusion, intranets have evolved to become indispensable tools for modern workplaces, offering a wide range of benefits that can significantly improve communication, collaboration, and overall work efficiency. By leveraging the power of an intranet, organisations can create a more connected, engaged, and productive workforce.

Employee retention is a critical aspect of organisational success, reflecting the ability to retain talented individuals within the workforce. High turnover rates not only incur costs but also signal potential issues within the workplace environment. Employees often seek better opportunities that align with their needs and offer a more favorable work-life balance.

To effectively address talent retention challenges, it’s essential to develop a comprehensive employee retention strategy that addresses common factors leading to turnover. One impactful strategy is investing in an intranet, or employee experience platform, which can help mitigate key issues such as poor communication, negative work culture, lack of flexibility, and stress-induced burnout.

Key Benefits of Intranets in Talent Retention:

1. Enhanced Onboarding Process: Research indicates that around 33% of employees leave their jobs within the first three months due to inadequate onboarding processes. An intranet can serve as a powerful tool in the onboarding process, particularly for organisations with remote or hybrid work arrangements. It provides new hires with access to critical information, including personnel directories, company news, and policies, facilitating a smoother onboarding experience and reducing early attrition rates.

2. Fostering a Positive Workplace Culture: A positive workplace culture plays a pivotal role in retaining employees. Intranets can help cultivate such a culture by serving as a central hub for communication and collaboration. They create an inclusive, approachable, and dynamic digital space where employees can connect, share ideas, and engage with company values. By regularly updating content such as articles and videos from leadership, intranets can reinforce a positive culture, particularly in organisations with geographically dispersed teams.

3. Supporting Flexibility and Adaptability: The modern workforce increasingly values flexible work arrangements. Intranets can facilitate this by offering features that enable remote and hybrid work setups. By providing access to corporate resources from anywhere, intranets empower employees to work efficiently regardless of their location. This flexibility not only enhances employee satisfaction but also contributes to talent retention efforts.

4. Encouraging Continuous Learning and Development: Investing in employee growth and development is crucial for talent retention. Intranets can host a variety of resources, including training modules, webinars, and skill-building resources, enabling employees to enhance their skills and stay engaged. By fostering a culture of continuous learning, intranets can significantly contribute to employee retention by demonstrating a commitment to employee growth.

5. Facilitating Transparent Communication: Effective communication is essential for employee engagement and retention. Intranets provide a platform for transparent communication, allowing leaders to share updates, initiatives, and feedback openly. This transparency fosters trust and engagement among employees, ultimately contributing to higher retention rates.

In conclusion, intranets are a valuable tool for improving talent retention by enhancing the onboarding experience, fostering a positive workplace culture, supporting flexibility, encouraging continuous learning, and facilitating transparent communication. Organisations that prioritise intranet adoption as part of their talent retention strategy are likely to see improved employee satisfaction and retention rates, ultimately leading to enhanced organisational success.

In the digital age, effective document management is essential for small businesses seeking to streamline processes, enhance collaboration, and ensure robust security. docCentrum offers a cutting-edge SharePoint Intranet solution designed to revolutionise document management practices. Let’s delve deeper into how docCentrum can empower your business.

Streamlined Document Management: docCentrum eliminates duplication and confusion by providing a secure, central repository for all your documents. This streamlines access for employees and allows for easy configuration of security and permissions based on user roles and needs.

Workflow Automation: Automate document creation, categorisation, and approval processes with docCentrum. Customise approval workflows, regardless of complexity, and create custom metadata fields and tags for efficient document sorting. This automation enhances efficiency and productivity.

Collaborative Excellence: Enable real-time collaboration on documents with docCentrum. Manage changes and versions effortlessly, ensuring everyone is working on the latest information. Seamless integration with various applications and platforms further enhances collaboration.

Simplified Compliance: docCentrum simplifies compliance by tracking document review and retention, generating compliance status reports, and notifying users of upcoming deadlines. This ensures your business remains compliant with regulations, reducing risk.

Aiding Small Businesses:

• Cost-Effective: Implementing a document management system like docCentrum can save small businesses time and money by reducing the need for paper-based processes and manual document handling.
• Increased Efficiency: docCentrum streamlines document-related tasks, such as searching for files, reviewing and approving documents, and sharing information, leading to improved efficiency and productivity.
• Enhanced Collaboration: docCentrum enables employees to collaborate more effectively by providing centralised access to documents, version control, and real-time editing capabilities.
• Improved Security: docCentrum offers robust security features, such as encryption, access controls, and audit trails, ensuring that sensitive information is protected.
• Scalability: As your business grows, docCentrum can easily scale to accommodate increased document storage and management needs.

In conclusion, docCentrum offers a comprehensive document management solution for small businesses, streamlining processes, enhancing collaboration, and ensuring robust security.

Book a free demo today and empower your business with docCentrum.

Human Resources (HR) plays a pivotal role in fostering a positive work environment, attracting top talent, and reducing turnover. Harnessing the power of an effectively designed intranet can significantly contribute to achieving these goals. Here’s how your HR department can utilise the intranet to drive success:

1. Promoting Employee Engagement and Building Morale:

• Create online polls and surveys to gather feedback and suggestions from employees.
• Recognise and reward employees through announcements and awards on the intranet.
• Share customer testimonials to boost pride and morale among employees.
• Facilitate employee-driven initiatives, such as wellness programs or social events, through intranet forums or groups.
• Provide avenues for employees to showcase their work or share their expertise, fostering a sense of pride and accomplishment.
• Implement a suggestion box feature on the intranet to encourage employees to share ideas for improvement and innovation.
• Organise virtual team-building activities and challenges to promote camaraderie among remote or distributed teams.

2. Finding and Training New Talent:

• Post job openings on the intranet’s message board to solicit internal candidates.
• Use the intranet to identify potential leaders based on their engagement and contributions.
• Incorporate the intranet into the onboarding process for new hires to help them acclimate to the company culture.
• Offer online training modules and resources to enhance employee skills and knowledge, promoting continuous learning and development within the organisation.
• Create a virtual mentorship program where experienced employees can mentor new hires or junior staff members through the intranet.

3. Reducing Turnover:

• Foster personal relationships among employees through an interactive staff directory and social features.
• Enable remote working and flexible schedules through the intranet to promote work-life balance.
• Create a sense of community and belonging among employees through social intranet features.
• Provide opportunities for mentorship and career advancement within the organisation, helping to retain top talent and reduce turnover.
• Conduct exit interviews through the intranet to gather feedback from departing employees and identify areas for improvement to reduce future turnover.

By leveraging your intranet effectively, HR can enhance employee engagement, attract and retain top talent, and create a positive work environment conducive to organisational success.

In today’s digital age, businesses are constantly seeking ways to improve communication, collaboration, and productivity among their employees. One of the key tools in achieving these goals is an intranet solution. An intranet serves as a private network within an organisation, allowing employees to access company information, collaborate on projects, and communicate with each other. However, when it comes to implementing an intranet solution, businesses are often faced with a crucial decision: should they buy an off-the-shelf solution or build one from scratch? Let’s delve into this debate to understand the pros and cons of each approach.

Buying an Intranet Solution:

Purchasing an off-the-shelf intranet solution can be a quick and cost-effective way to implement an intranet in your organisation. These solutions are pre-built and come with a range of features designed to meet the needs of various businesses. They often include features such as document management, collaboration tools, and employee directories, among others.

One of the key advantages of buying an intranet solution is the time saved in development and implementation. With a pre-built solution, you can have your intranet up and running in a matter of days or weeks, compared to the months or even years it can take to build one from scratch.

Additionally, off-the-shelf intranet solutions are typically more affordable than building a custom solution. They often come with a fixed price, making budgeting easier for businesses of all sizes. Furthermore, these solutions are usually supported by the vendor, ensuring that you have access to technical support and updates.

However, buying an intranet solution also has its drawbacks. Since these solutions are pre-built, they may not fully meet the unique needs of your organisation. You may find yourself having to work around limitations or missing features, which can hinder adoption and impact overall productivity.

Building an Intranet Solution from Scratch:

On the other hand, building an intranet solution from scratch offers the advantage of customisation. You can tailor the intranet to meet the specific needs of your organisation, ensuring that it aligns perfectly with your business processes and workflows. This level of customisation can lead to higher adoption rates among employees and increased productivity.

Building a custom intranet solution also allows for greater scalability. As your business grows and evolves, you can easily add new features and functionalities to the intranet to accommodate changing needs. This flexibility can be crucial for businesses looking to stay ahead in today’s fast-paced business environment.

However, building an intranet solution from scratch can be a complex and time-consuming process. It requires a significant investment of time, resources, and expertise to design, develop, and deploy a custom solution. Additionally, ongoing maintenance and support can add to the overall cost of ownership.

In conclusion, the decision to buy or build an intranet solution ultimately depends on the specific needs and resources of your organisation. Buying an off-the-shelf solution can offer a quick and cost-effective way to implement an intranet, while building a custom solution allows for greater customisation and scalability.

Regardless of the approach you choose, it’s important to carefully evaluate your options and choose a solution that aligns with your business goals and objectives. By selecting the right intranet solution, you can help improve communication, collaboration, and productivity within your organisation. To discuss more, click here to book a free demo