What you can do about IT fragmentation
When was the last time you used one application to accomplish everything at work? Probably never! Most of us are used to using an array of single-use applications. Every day, we're ducking in and out of Microsoft Office; SharePoint; Google for Work; Cisco WebEx or Jabber; Box.com or Dropbox; Salesforce or SugarCRM; ServiceNow, Zendesk or Jira; Yammer or Slack; choosing an SSO strategy (SAML vs OAuth); and which Active Directory/LDAP service do I use – the list goes on and on (and on). Fragmented and broken, behemoth IT infrastructures struggle onward and IT professionals' eyes twitch at the thought of having to load balance the next new (and inevitable) application.
All of this can be daunting for us IT professionals, but think about the rest of a company's employees. They're expected to navigate an ocean of applications, all of which require new training, build single skill sets, and offer different experiences. And that's not all. The traditional intranet just adds to the headache. Once they finish a project (using one of those many applications) where does that content or work go? Where do they save it? Which "thing" is the source of truth? This fragmented environment causes technology silos and creates a vacuum where necessary information once existed.
Ugh. It's almost too much.
How do we as IT professionals make the lives of our users, our people, better? The answer may not be in providing something new, but consolidating or connected what you already have. Why not build a hub around all the applications that you use today? Think about it as a singular user experience in a secure place for all your documentation needs. This hub is what we call an "interactive" intranet. It can serve as a one-stop shop for all your technology needs.
Want to learn how an interactive intranet will help improve your IT organization? Download a free copy of our new e-book: From Fragmentation to Connection: How IT, Corp Comms and HR can Unite People, Information and Systems for Better Company Performance.