The Global Intranet Trends for 2010 report, the annual report from Jane McConnell, NetStrategy/JMC, has been released and is fittingly subtitled ‘Towards the workplace web’.

"Towards the workplace web reflects what is happening today in intranets around the world as organizations are positioning the intranet as the entry point into the organization’s ensemble of information, applications, collaboration and communication tools," says Jane, reflecting on the state of intranets amongst the 300 participating organizations.

Of particular note in this year's report, social media and social networking on the intranet is on the rise. This finding is echoed by, and well-documented in the Intranet 2.0 Global Study (download the free version of the Intranet 2.0 Global Study findings report). Additionally, senior management is becoming more engaged and involved in the management of the intranet -- finally! Slowly, my mantra, and that of Jane and many others, is slowly permeating the corporate structure: the best intranets are actively supported by senior management. And guess what? Great intranets deliver superb value including increased sales, revenue, cost savings, employee productivity, employee engagement, etc.

Key Findings in the 2010 Global Intranet Trends report:

• Joint intranet ownership model is more prevalent: only 40% of participants have a single owner model
• Senior management is more involved: 60% of intranet Steering Committees have a senior management presence (up from 35% in 2007)
• Social networking on the rise: 30% of the participants are currently testing or “using in some parts” social networking tools
• Social media delivers value: 25-30% of organizations with some form of social media have experienced 3 general benefits: increased employee engagement, more effective knowledge sharing, and better-informed employees
• Social media concerns shifting: doubts are considerably lower about the relevance of social media to business needs
• Intranets being extended to where people are: the workplace is being extended to where the people are with home intranet access
• Mobile intranet access: a few intranets have services for smart phones today; another 25% are planning to extend mobile access

ABOUT THE SURVEY

This is the 4th annual Intranet Trends Report, and the survey population has grown from 100 to 300 organizations since 2006. The organizations range in size from under 1,000 employees to over 100,000 employees and are headquartered primarily in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Topics explored in the survey include positioning of the intranet, strategy and management, business objectives, features of the intranet, social media and measurement.

Read more about the Global Intranet Trends for 2010