What’s the best way to deploy our intranet?
So you’re shopping for an intranet solution, and you’re wondering, “What’s the best way to deploy our intranet?” The two most popular options are on-premises and cloud-based. Cloud deployment offers multiple advantages for many companies, which is why cloud computing is so popular these days, but the final choice will depend on your specific requirements. On this page, we’ll describe the differences between cloud and on-premises software, explore the key trade-offs, and offer tips on choosing a solution that’s best for your organization.
How Cloud Intranet Solutions Differ From On-Premises Intranets
Why Do I Need A Cloud Intranet Solution?
What Is A Cloud Intranet?
A cloud-based intranet provides a simple, convenient alternative to traditional on-premises software. In the cloud model, the provider hosts, manages and maintains the intranet software; the customer just pays a licensing fee and uses it on demand, with none of the operational overhead.
How Cloud Intranet Solutions Differ From On-Premises Intranets
With an on-premises intranet, you buy the software and own it. You host it in your own data center and shoulder all the associated costs and burdens. That includes purchasing and provisioning the hardware and other infrastructure that the software runs on; installing, testing and deploying the software; maintaining and upgrading it; applying patches and securing it; expanding capacity as needed as your usage grows.
With cloud intranet solutions, by contrast, all of these responsibilities fall on the software vendor and cloud services provider. The software is hosted “in the cloud,” spread across an array of virtualized computing resources typically shared by a number of customers. Resources such as servers are allocated flexibly as customers’ computing needs rise and fall. Distributing the overall computing load across a pool of shared resources in this way enables the cloud provider to take advantage of economies of scale and reduce the costs to individual customers.
Why Do I Need A Cloud Intranet Solution?
Companies who use cloud-based intranets don’t have to spend money on hardware and other infrastructure as they would for on-premises software. They can quickly configure and launch it, and their IT staff is freed from having to maintain and upgrade the software. The customer gets all the advantages of the provider’s ongoing investments in security, availability, performance and innovation – without taking on the risk and expense themselves.
Despite the strengths of the cloud, there are reasons that some companies still opt for on-premises intranets. Organizations in highly regulated industries such as finance and government, for instance, may require on-premises intranets in order to implement certain security measures and comply with various mandates and regulations. Others may want to heavily modify the software to suit specialized needs, something they couldn’t do with cloud software. For all other companies who don’t have these requirements, cloud deployment is often the clear winner.
The Benefits Of Cloud Intranet Software
Jive offers both cloud and on-premises deployment. The latter is used by some of our customers in sectors such as financial services and healthcare, as well as federal government agencies. But assuming your company doesn’t need an on-premises intranet solution, a Jive cloud-based intranet solution is the simplest and most economical option, delivering a wide array of benefits:
Easy to Launch
You don’t have to provision hardware or install, test and deploy software; nor is there any need for expensive customization and design. Jive cloud provides everything you need in one turnkey package. You can configure an intranet tailored to your company’s business needs, apply your own look and feel – with little or no IT help required – and launch it in days for an organization of any size.
Cost Savings
With cloud you can pay as you go with a subscription based on the number of users. There are none of the up-front costs associated with on-premises software.
Lower IT Burden
A cloud-based intranet offloads your staff from having to maintain and upgrade equipment, manage the software, apply security patches and so on. All of that’s taken care of by the software vendor and cloud provider, freeing precious IT resources to attend to other priorities.
Scale Effortlessly
With cloud, your intranet can grow to meet your needs, frictionlessly. You don’t have to worry about adding infrastructure in order to increase capacity and support more users. That’s all taken care of behind the scenes by the cloud services provider.
Automatic Upgrades
With Jive’s cloud-based intranet software, you’ll always have the latest and greatest features, which are provided automatically through periodic updates. No need for IT staff to install new versions and manage the sometimes challenging process of upgrading.
How To Choose The Best Cloud-Based Intranet
When selecting cloud-based intranet software, you need to weigh a number of factors, including the software vendor, the product, its capabilities and features, and the cloud platform. Here’s are some key criteria to consider:
Software Vendor
Does the intranet software provider have a proven record of success, helping companies and organizations in a wide range of industries achieve their business goals?
Jive pioneered modern interactive intranet software, garnering top rankings from leading analysts and loyal customers worldwide. Over nearly two decades, Jive intranets have helped thousands of organizations, including top global brands every industry, achieve transformative results.
Cloud Platform
Does the cloud provider meet the highest standards of performance, availability, security and scalability?Jive uses Amazon Web Services (AWS), a world leader in cloud services renowned for high performance, reliability and availability, security and scalability.
Intranet Product
Questions to ask here include:
Does the intranet product provide an easy-to-use and highly engaging experience that drives high user adoption and participation inside organizations? Does it feature a complete array of communication and collaboration capabilities that make work easier for employees? Does it include advanced features that enhance personalization, knowledge discovery and search? Does it integrate with and tie together external systems to create a single cohesive collaboration hub? Is it optimized for a wide range of real-world business use cases?
Jive checks all the boxes, offering a best-in-class solution that goes far beyond the basics and enables companies to create a full-fledged digital workplace. Learn more about Jive’s features and capabilities.
GET A PERSONALIZED DEMO
Get a free cloud intranet demo
Want to learn more about how an interactive intranet can impact your business? We’re here to help. Schedule your personalized demo of our cloud-based intranet software and find out why leading companies around the globe choose Jive Software.