To the creators of Intranet Dashboard, an installed intranet creation tool, there have been three phases of corporate intranet development: too simple (imagine an unadorned list of links), too complex (massive systems that don't deliver what they promise), and, finally, just right.
That last one refers to their own product, which they describe as a consolidated, holistic approach to intranet creation. Intranet Dashboard makes creating an intranet simple enough for people with little development experience, while allowing them to create sites that are loaded with useful features and applications. It lets users make attractive sites with multiple subsections and group administrators, a system that puts each internal group in control of the look and content of its area.
The company behind Intranet Dashboard, the Adweb Agency, is based in Melbourne, Australia, although it has a sales office in Dallas. The company began providing online services in 1995. In 2003, it recognized the need for an easy intranet creation tool, and launched Intranet Dashboard the following year. It now has a staff 35, with more than 430 client companies worldwide. Thirty percent of its business is in the U.S.
While most competing services offer hosted tools, Intranet Dashboard will appeal to people who prefer an installed solution.
The controls are accessed through a browser, where the admin first completes a seven-step wizard to create the basic layout of the site, customize its look, and pre-populate pages with a collection of useful applications.
The product offers apps that provide group calendaring, forums, centralized online storage, and more (see screenshot below).
The developers have even thrown in a few fun apps, such as "sports tipping," which lets employees place friendly bets on upcoming games. The company says it's a fun way to get people to return to the intranet.
The admin can also create page headers and meta tags with the initial wizard. When finished, he or she uses other simple tools to create page layouts with drag-and-drop flexibility.
Intranet Dashboard sites are largely decentralized, with group admins responsible for the upkeep of their areas. This allows each group to post its own content and takes the strain off IT. Individual users can post to several areas of the site; postings to areas like the forums and project spaces go live immediately, while news and other postings need to be approved by an admin.
Intranet Dashboard even offers advanced document management features, showing that it really is a complete solution for all an office's needs. Users can post docs in central directories, and copy those documents to sub-sites, if needed. Users can also set exactly when new stories appear on the site, and when they'll expire.
Pricing
If you're interested in trying Intranet Dashboard, the company offers a 30-day trial good for 10 administrators and an unlimited number of users. After that, the price starts at $3,746 for a site with one administrator and goes up to $23,518 for a site with 20. Since this is an installed tool, that's a one-time fee, although you'll need to pay 20 percent yearly for maintenance, which gets you new software versions and e-mail support.
