How do you connect 1.6 million employees, franchisees and suppliers in 118 countries? Build a really big, scalable intranet portal.

In 2001, McDonalds looked to build a new enterprise intranet that included multiple sites in multiple languages. Other needs included:

• Integration with existing systems including FileNet, Oracle, Netegrity and Verity among others
• Extensive brand and digital asset management (multimedia)
• Enhanced, global content management

McDonald’s considered several technology platforms including:

• Day Software Communiqe
• Yahoo/Tibco Portal
• FileNET
• Netegrity SiteMinder
• Oracle Application Server

McDonald’s chose Day Communique and has since built “several significant applications” on Communique, and extend the platform to include the external .com website.

Communique is a high-end content management system (CMS) that is beginning to resemble a true portal solution. The ContentBus system is a content repository (JSR-170) that provides a common vehicle for disparate content sources.

“We continue with Day because of its flexibility,” says Steve Wilson, Senior Director of Global Web Communications at McDonald's, as interviewed on the Shared Insights podcast. “And its content bus which allows us to connect content on the back end. And it’s a highly user-friendly tool… a person with very limited computer skills can be up and running with a website and managing pages in a morning.

McDonald’s intranet portal home page

McDonald’s intranet also features personalization and portal tools for employees.  McDonald’s intranet delivers specific content for specific audiences, based on the users' role (log-in profile). Common elements including the design, navigation and page layout, and some specific content is displayed on all pages, but localized content is targeted to individual role (see the Day’s McDonald’s case study).   

“The ability to centralize (content management) and take out extraneous, other tools (technology)… has saved us a considerable amount of money – both in licensing fees as well as training costs,” says Wilson, on the SharedInsights podcast. “It also helps us focus our (content) community.

According to the integrator, Acquity Group, the intranet CMS has “reduce(d) intranet content publishing costs by $1MM annually and improved field employees' productivity by 5 percent. In addition, timely information can now be created and delivered in nine languages around the world.” 

Now 5 years-old, the McDonad’s intranet has grown its intranet authors from 5 to 400. And delivered in 9 different languages, content clearly is a big priority for McDonald’s.

McDonald’s Japan Intranet Portal View

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