Intranet Alternatives

Various alternatives exist for the deployment of a modern intranet. These range from employing the most appropriate tool for each function (e.g. news, collaboration, document sharing, project management, internal communication) and making this flexible "toolset" available through a common interface; to comprehensive intranet applications that combine several of these tools.

Comprehensive Intranet Systems

> Microsoft Sharepoint
> Lotus
> Zimbra
> Zoho
> Central Desktop
> BrainKeeper
> eGroupWare

Integrated Applications with Intranet/Groupware Features

> Groove - Sharing, coordination & collaboration tools for teams. Also MS Office Groove version available.
> phpGroupWare
> MS Exchange - e.g. your group/sharing capability in Outlook
> DotNetNuke - community & collaboration focused portal
> more.groupware

Focused Intranet Tools

> Google Docs & Spreadsheets
> Google Calendar
> Wikis - collaborative websites
> Hula - Calendar & Email
> dotProject - integrated project management tools
> ATutor - a comprehensive learning management system with collaboration facilities designed for teachers

Advantages & Disadvantages

> The more integrated the "tools", the more seamlessly they will work together. However, with integrated systems, you will not be able to pick and choose the best individual tools to use for each function.

> Microsoft-based applications interface most readily with the MS Office applications used in the organisation: Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint.

> Commercial systems can be very expensive and have ongoing licencing costs - normally based on the number of users. Opensource or freeware applications are much cheaper but generally require customization and integration and support may still need to be paid for.