Besides capital, human resources, and strategic areas of operation, the adoption of robust technology plays a critical role in managing the workplace. In the midst of the Digital Age, using intranet technology will enable work organizations to attain their objectives, boost their productivity, and ensure their sustainability.
The origins and nature of intranet technology
Intranet technology evolved from the creation of telecommunication tools – i.e. the telephone, the computer, and the internet – across the years. Some pioneers of these technological developments are Antonio Meucci, Elisha Gray, Alexander Graham Bell, Charles Babbage, Nikola Tesla, Alan Turing, Grace Hopper, Paul Otlet, Vannevar Bush, Katherine Hamilton, Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider, Paul Baran, Vinton Cerf, Robert Kahn, and Tim Berners-Lee.
The internet emerged from the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANet) of the United States Department of Defense (US DoD) in the early 1980s. The Defense ARPA (or DARPA) wanted to facilitate information sharing between and among institutions using a network of computers and telephone lines.
The DARPA and its two early institutional project partners (i.e. Stanford Research Institute and University of California Los Angeles) can be considered as the first set of workplaces that adopted nascent internet technology. They essentially laid the technical foundation for the infobahn or “information superhighway” and intranet as they completed a quasi-military project involving telecommunication systems.
Thus, intranet technology nestles in the prowess of the internet infrastructure as it enables an organization to function efficiently. It consists of a private computer network and software product like omniaintranet.com to facilitate various operations. Access to its use is only meant for the employees of a certain workplace, such as a restaurant, a bank, or a nonprofit.
Advantages of digitizing the workplace through intranet technology
Intranet technology equips an organization to manage workflows by optimizing its resources with minimal time and effort. Its core processes include user-driven and task-centered experience, internal messaging and news sharing, enterprise data search, knowledge and content management, self-initiated work teams and social networking, adoption of work integration software programs, and governance. These functions fuel the following benefits that a workplace can derive from using intranet technology:
- Supports employee growth and teamwork
The services provided by intranet require workers to develop their technical, communication, and social skills. They need to learn and familiarize themselves with its key features, such as searching for and creating or sharing information and knowledge with their colleagues to discuss or complete a certain project. It then serves as a portal for collaboration with fellow employees that may result in camaraderie and improved ways of expressing themselves and connecting with others.
Helps govern internal operations
With intranet, the progress of work teams and individual tasks can be monitored. It assists in overseeing policy implementation, content management, and cross-departmental interaction that may enhance existing work practices or influence future organizational changes. It cultivates resourcefulness and mobility, especially in times when telecommuting or work-from-home employees have to contact corporate headquarters.
Nurtures a culture of cooperation and openness
Intranet technology backs organizational efficiency. It encourages sharing and exchange of ideas, information, and skills. It can serve as a feedback mechanism that may inspire policy development, adoption, modification, or reforms. Likewise, it can be used as a tool for employee engagement and workplace adaptability to change.
Certainly, by facilitating and simplifying work processes, intranet technology capacitates organizations to realize their vision, do their mission, and achieve their goals.