At MangoApps, you could say we know a thing or two about intranets - we’ve been deploying them to customers in a wide variety of industries for over a decade, and have seen the marketplace for our product change in many ways over that time. Two things have yet to change, and likely never will: people need to be able to find company information to do their jobs, and SharePoint does not equip them to do so effectively.

Rapid technological advancement, especially in the field of AI, has greatly expanded and improved the tools that companies have at their disposal to help their employees find things. Today’s intranet would be almost unrecognizable to someone from the 90s or early 2000s. We pride ourselves on the solution that we have built and the many ways it enables our customers to improve the lives of their employees. We firmly believe that we are the best solution on the market for companies who are looking to consolidate systems, streamline workloads for administrators, and meet the needs of both desk and frontline workers.

However, we are obviously not the only product on the market. We always encourage prospects to do their research, as there are a number of providers with strong offerings. The intranet market can be quite noisy, with dozens to hundreds of companies vying for your attention and business. Many of these companies operate in very specific niches or are still building credibility. Having read and participated in all of the major industry reports and watched the competition in the market for some time, we believe there are a handful of companies that represent the cream of the crop among our competition.

The goal of this article is to collect the best intranet providers into one list, with details about their strengths and weaknesses, so you can gather a list to start looking into based on your specific needs. This article was informed by industry reports from all the big players, as well as our years of research and competitive analysis.

Most Important Capabilities for an Intranet

When evaluating intranet platforms, it's essential to consider the following key capabilities to ensure that the solution will meet your organization’s needs:

1. Communication Tools: Effective communication is the backbone of any intranet. Look for platforms that offer various channels for both formal and informal communication, such as news feeds, blogs, forums, and instant messaging.
2. Collaboration Features: Tools that facilitate collaboration, such as document sharing, project management, and team spaces, are crucial for productivity and teamwork.
3. Integration Capabilities: The ability to integrate with other enterprise tools like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, and other business-critical applications is essential for a seamless digital workplace.
4. User Experience: An intuitive and user-friendly interface that employees can easily navigate ensures high adoption rates and better engagement.
5. Mobile Accessibility: With an increasingly mobile workforce, having a robust mobile app that provides full access to intranet features is critical.
6. Customization and Personalization: The ability to tailor the intranet to the specific needs of your organization and personalize the experience for different user groups enhances relevance and engagement.
7. Security and Compliance: Ensure the platform adheres to industry security standards and compliance requirements, protecting sensitive company information.
8. Analytics and Reporting: Comprehensive analytics and reporting tools help track usage, engagement, and identify areas for improvement.
9. Support and Training: Reliable customer support and training resources are essential for smooth implementation and ongoing use.
10. Innovative AI Features: Advanced AI capabilities, including GenAI writing assistants and automated content governance, are crucial to streamline operations and improve efficiency. 

Top 5 Intranet Platforms

These five platforms are the most consistently cited top performers across industry reports, reviews, and other unbiased sources of data.

1. MangoApps

MangoApps is an unrivaled leader in the intranet platform market, offering an all-encompassing suite of features that cater to both frontline workers and desk-based employees. Our unified employee experience platform seamlessly integrates intranet, communications, learning and task management, creating a cohesive digital workplace.

Companies like PetSmart, AutoZone, and several large health systems across the US use our platform to equip their employees with all the tools and information they need to excel at their jobs.

MangoApps not only meets but exceeds the expectations of modern enterprises, making it the ultimate choice for organizations looking to optimize their digital workplace. Dig into our product features in more detail here.

2. Unily

Unily offers a cloud-native intranet and internal communication platform that focuses exclusively on large enterprises with more than 10,000 employees. It has been noted for offering good automation as well as insights and reporting capabilities for internal communication teams. 

Some have noted that Unily's pricing is not transparent, and requirements need to be explicitly detailed to determine the modules that will be needed. Some have also noted that its platform relies heavily on third-party tools for collaboration and coordination on the frontline.

3. Simpplr

Simpplr boasts strong AI capabilities and rich personalization features, making it ideal for company communications, especially for teams of desk workers. Simpplr’s strengths lie in its strong AI capabilities, well-performing content governance and reporting tools, and a good suite of integrations. 

However, it lacks native collaboration tools essential for team-based work environments. The platform's pricing and licensing strategies are not transparent, and users have stated it has poor search functionality. Additionally, it doesn’t always handle complex sites well, which can cause issues at the enterprise level.

4. LumApps

LumApps was initially built exclusively for Google Workspace customers but now also offers good integration with Microsoft 365. LumApps excels in strong reporting and analytics, good integrations and video support, and has an ambitious roadmap. 

However, their complex pricing strategy can quickly escalate costs. In many ways, they are still catching up on functionality for embedded Microsoft customers. Additionally, because their product suite was assembled from acquisitions, the pieces don’t always fit together perfectly. Customers have said they lag in survey capabilities as well as AI.

5. Interact

Interact’s strength lies in its content authoring tools and support for digital signage and SMS, making it suitable for organizations with frontline workers. Interact offers rich content authoring tools, metadata support, professional services, and strong search capabilities. 

However, its limited reporting capabilities and complex administrative interfaces can be a drawback. The platform has been said to have a poor UI for administrators, limited reporting functionality, and is still catching up on enterprise functionality like complex employee journeys. Additionally, they have a smaller pool of integrations compared to other options.

Honorable Mentions

These are the intranet platforms that could show potential for specific use cases, but haven’t shown the same level of consistent leadership in the market as the five listed above.

Staffbase

Staffbase excels in internal communication features but falls short in core intranet functionalities like content governance and file management. They have strong functionality for internal communication, especially towards frontline workers, intuitive content authoring tools, and strong customer support. 

However, Staffbase has limited intranet functionality, lacks enterprise content management features, and does not have much vertical-specific strategy.

Workvivo (acquired by Zoom)

Workvivo has strong native collaboration tools and integration with major productivity suites but struggles with limited developer resources and workflow automation capabilities. The platform benefits from Zoom’s innovation in video and AI, and has strong native collaboration tools, and good employee survey capabilities. 

However, Workvivo customers have struggled with poor workflow automation capabilities and inconsistencies in customer support. Furthermore, there is potential for bundling conflicts between Zoom and Microsoft.

Firstup

Firstup offers good calendaring tools and intelligent delivery features but lacks comprehensive document and media management capabilities. They have a strong focus on communication features, a well-developed partner strategy, and smooth implementation. 

However, customers cite that Firstup lacks comprehensive document and media management features, is still catching up with competition on intranet functionality, and has limited developer resources.

Igloo

Igloo provides solid content governance and branding capabilities but lags significantly in genAI and survey features. Their product excels at fundamental intranet functions, has a strong track record of customer service and support, and a flexible approach to custom development. 

However, it also is said to have limited mobile functionality, an underdeveloped partner ecosystem, and limited support for complex security needs like data sovereignty.

Conclusion

While there are several intranet platforms available in the market, MangoApps stands out as the clear leader, offering a comprehensive, user-friendly, and highly integrative solution that caters to the diverse needs of modern enterprises. With its robust feature set and focus on enhancing the digital workplace experience, MangoApps is the top choice for organizations aiming to foster better communication, collaboration, and overall employee engagement. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do more research—we would highly recommend taking demos with some of the providers above and getting your hands on the latest industry reports from companies like IDC, Gartner, and Forrester. We’re confident that we will stand out from the rest.

Learn more about MangoApps here, or book a demo to see our platform in action.

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