User interface guru Jakob Nielsen recently released his list of the "Ten Best Intranets of 2005," along with an analysis of what makes them work well. Although Nielsen is selling the full report, there are several tidbits about the winners on this Web page that point to interesting trends in the intranet business.
For example, most of the intranets were bolted together using various technologies rather than one integrated platform. "Typically, designers cobbled together widely diverse software using little more than spit, baling wire, and willpower," writes Nielsen. The most favored technologies for intranet development, both proprietary and open, included Apache, Microsoft ASP.Net, and Google Search Appliance.
Other interesting stats:
- The average redesign time was 7.6 months.
- Intranet use increased 149 percent on average after redesign.
- Several of the winners optimized their site design for 1024 x 768 screen resolution, putting that extra space to good use.
If you are contemplating a major intranet project, this page might be a worthwhile place to begin.