But with so many intranet solutions available, how do you decide on the best one for your specific need?
Read on and we'll help you understand what to look for in an intranet solution and provider, as well as understand the key differences between popular solutions on the market.
And at the end, you'll have a starting point for exploring the options that best suit your organisation so you can implement a solution that helps connect staff, share resources, and improve employee engagement.
We reviewed feature depth, mobile and frontline access, integrations, security and compliance, support quality and location, licensing model, and time to launch.
Think of it as your company's private digital headquarters. It's where your team goes to find company news, chat with colleagues, access important documents, and get work done together.
Intranet platforms are now dynamic digital workplaces that bring your entire organisation together, whether people work from the office, home, or out in the field.
Done well, an intranet lifts comms, engagement and speed across your organisation.
How Do You Choose the Right Intranet Solution?
Choosing the right intranet solution comes down to four factors: ease of use, licensing model, support quality, and integration fit. Get these right and you avoid the most common and expensive intranet project mistakes.
Picking the wrong intranet is expensive and frustrating. Here's how to make the right choice for your organisation:
What Should You Consider When Evaluating Intranet Platforms?
Start with these key factors:
- Ease of use comes first. If your intranet is confusing or slow, people won't use it. Look for platforms that work like the consumer apps your staff already know.
- Cost model matters more than you think. Some platforms charge per user, which gets expensive quickly. Others offer unlimited users, letting you include contractors, casual staff, and frontline workers without budget blowouts.
- Support quality can make or break your project. Check if you'll get local support in your time zone or if you'll be dealing with overseas call centres. Implementation support is just as important as ongoing help.
- Integrations with your existing tools save time and reduce frustration. Your intranet should work with Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, your HR system, and other business software.
Which Intranet is Best for Small vs Large Organisations?
- Small businesses (under 250 staff) need something that works out of the box. Look for platforms with templates, easy setup, and reasonable pricing. You probably don't need complex customisation or enterprise features.
- Large organisations (over 1,000 staff) need scalability, advanced permissions, and extensive customisation options. You'll want robust analytics, multiple site management, and enterprise-grade security.
- Mid-size companies (250-1,000 staff) often need the flexibility to grow. Choose platforms that can scale up without requiring a complete rebuild.
What Licensing Models Are Available?
This is where costs can spiral out of control or stay predictable:
- Per-user licensing charges you for each person who uses the intranet. Costs typically range from $3 to $15 per user per month. They start low but grow as your team expands. This model often excludes contractors, casual staff, and frontline workers because it's too expensive to include everyone.
- Unlimited user licensing gives you access for your entire organisation for a fixed price. This model lets you include everyone without worrying about surprise bills when you hire new staff or want to give access to part-time workers.
- Site-based licensing charges by location or department. Less common but sometimes works for organisations with distinct divisions.
Cost example: 1,000 active users x $6 per user x 12 months + $10,000 platform fee = $82,000 per year. Unlimited licensing removes this variable entirely.
What Features Matter Most?
Focus on features that solve real problems:
- Mobile access is essential if any of your staff work away from desks. Look for native mobile apps, not just mobile-friendly websites.
- Search functionality needs to actually work. You should be able to find documents and information quickly, not spend ages clicking through folders.
- User permissions let you control who sees what. Important for sensitive information and compliance requirements.
- Integration capabilities mean your intranet plays nicely with other business systems. Check for pre-built connectors to your most important tools.
What Support and Hosting Options Are Available?
- Local vs offshore support makes a difference when you need help urgently. Australian-based support means no waiting for overseas offices to open.
- Cloud vs on-premise hosting affects control, costs, and compliance. Cloud solutions are usually easier to manage, while on-premise gives you more control over data location.
- Implementation support varies wildly between providers. Some give you software and leave you to figure it out. Others provide dedicated project managers, training, and ongoing optimisation.
- Data sovereignty matters for government organisations and companies handling sensitive information. For Australian organisations, check where your data will be stored and confirm the provider's alignment with the Privacy Act 1988 and Australian Privacy Principles.
For more detailed insights, check out:
25 Best Intranet Software Providers in 2026
Here's our detailed review of the top intranet platforms, covering everything from Australian-built solutions to global enterprise platforms.
1. Elcom
Description: Australian-built intranet, portal, and LMS in one CMS platform.
Best for: Large workforces who want Australian hosting and a local team. Provides unlimited user licensing and access for staff without M365 accounts.
Strengths: Flexible integrations including SharePoint, Microsoft 365, and the OpenAI Connector for AI-powered content creation. Partnership approach, unlimited post-project support.
Watch out for: Not built on SharePoint and not suited to small businesses. Confirm the exact module mix you need to avoid scope creep.
2. Blink
Description: Mobile employee app and intranet for deskless teams.
Best for: Frontline industries like retail, healthcare and logistics, where the focus is mobile communication for deskless roles.
Strengths: Push alerts, chat, mobile forms, shift information.
Watch out for: Lacks the more comprehensive functionality of full intranets such as documents and workflows.
3. Confluence
Description: Wiki and knowledge base with team collaboration.
Best for: Product, engineering and project teams. Commonly adopted as a documentation space in Atlassian stacks.
Strengths: Documentation, templates, Jira integration, versioning.
Watch out for: Weaker company-wide comms and social features out of the box.
4. SmartTask
Description: Project and task management with light intranet features.
Best for: Teams wanting tasks and comms in one place. Sits between task management and lightweight intranet use.
Strengths: Tasks, chat, file sharing, reporting.
Watch out for: Limited intranet breadth usually required by medium to large organisations.
5. Interact
Description: Enterprise intranet with personalisation and strong search.
Best for: Mid to large organisations with a feature set targeting corporate communications and governance.
Strengths: Targeted news, search, analytics, governance controls.
Watch out for: Offshore support and setup complexity may be challenging compared to local alternatives.
6. Unily
Description: Enterprise employee experience platform and intranet.
Best for: Global firms with complex requirements and sophisticated employee experience needs.
Strengths: Deep personalisation, mobile, broad integrations, multilingual.
Watch out for: Higher cost and resourcing for rollout and upkeep compared to others on this list.
7. Webvine
Description: Australian intranet on the Microsoft stack.
Best for: Microsoft 365 tenants. Delivered by a team aligned to Microsoft 365.
Strengths: M365 integration, comms, governance, training.
Watch out for: Less platform flexibility, requires per-user licensing and M365 accounts.
8. Bloomfire
Description: Knowledge sharing and fast search across content.
Best for: Support and sales teams needing quick answers. Centred on knowledge capture and fast search.
Strengths: Q&A, AI-assisted search, content hub, analytics.
Watch out for: Requires additional tools for broader intranet functionality like employee communications and workflows.
9. SharePoint
Description: Microsoft intranet and document platform.
Best for: Organisations standardised on Microsoft 365. Often deployed as part of Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
Strengths: Files, permissions, lists, Power Platform tie-ins.
Watch out for: Usability and custom build effort and cost to meet intranet needs, as well as per-user licensing.
10. Jive
Description: Community-driven social intranet.
Best for: Collaboration and knowledge communities. The focus is community and social collaboration.
Strengths: Forums, groups, engagement features, analytics.
Watch out for: May not suit organisations needing more structured comms and document management capabilities.
11. Google Sites
Description: Simple intranet builder inside Google Workspace.
Best for: Small teams with basic needs. Suits simple intranets within Google Workspace.
Strengths: Easy setup, Drive integration, low cost.
Watch out for: Limited features, governance and scale required by growing organisations.
12. Jostle
Description: People-centred intranet for news and culture.
Best for: Mid-size firms building connection and recognition, with an emphasis on people directory and culture features.
Strengths: Org chart, news, shout-outs, directory.
Watch out for: Less depth for complex workflows and permissions.
13. LumApps
Description: Employee experience intranet for Google and Microsoft.
Best for: Global organisations with mixed stacks. Targets global rollouts across Google and Microsoft tenants.
Strengths: Personalisation, integrations, mobile, multilingual.
Watch out for: Implementation effort and enterprise pricing.
14. Assembly
Description: Recognition and engagement with light intranet comms.
Best for: Culture, rewards and employee appreciation. Recognition and rewards are the core use case.
Strengths: Peer recognition, surveys, announcements.
Watch out for: Limited content and document management depth.
15. PeopleOne
Description: SharePoint-based intranet with improved user experience.
Best for: Microsoft shops seeking a ready-made intranet. Built on SharePoint with a simplified UX layer.
Strengths: Templates, mobile, workflows, governance.
Watch out for: Improves on basic SharePoint but inherits SharePoint constraints and complexity.
16. Igloo
Description: Cloud intranet with team spaces and digital workplace apps.
Best for: SMBs and mid-market teams seeking digital workplace basics.
Strengths: Pages, forums, integrations, templates.
Watch out for: Lacks the enterprise-grade capabilities larger organisations require.
17. Happeo
Description: Social intranet tailored for Google Workspace teams.
Best for: Remote and collaborative teams on Google. Designed around Google Workspace channels and content.
Strengths: Channels, Drive integration, org chart.
Watch out for: Works well within Google but limited flexibility outside the Google stack.
18. Simpplr
Description: Enterprise intranet focused on comms and analytics.
Best for: Large enterprises seeking targeted comms at scale. Communications and analytics are the primary drivers.
Strengths: AI suggestions, segmentation, insights, mobile.
Watch out for: Enterprise features come with enterprise-level complexity and pricing. Per-user costs can rise quickly for large or growing teams.
19. Workvivo
Description: Social intranet and multichannel comms for culture building.
Best for: Frontline and distributed teams. Social feed and mobile experience are central.
Strengths: Social feed, recognition, video, mobile app.
Watch out for: Needs to be paired with other tools for document control, form and workflow capabilities.
20. CentricMinds
Description: Intranet with workflows and compliance tools.
Best for: Australian organisations needing standard features and local support.
Strengths: Forms, approvals, policies, local assistance.
Watch out for: Limited scalability and feature depth compared to more established platforms.
21. GreenOrbit
Description: Australian intranet focused on forms, workflows and policy.
Best for: Mid-size organisations. Emphasis on forms, workflows and policy publishing.
Strengths: Workflow, policy management, search, mobile.
Watch out for: Limited employee experience features required by larger organisations.
22. Knack
Description: No-code database apps you can shape into an intranet.
Best for: Teams wanting custom data workflows. No-code database model enables tailored apps.
Strengths: Data models, forms, automations, UI builder.
Watch out for: More setup and maintenance than out-of-the-box intranet solutions.
23. Flip
Description: Mobile communications app for frontline workers.
Best for: Retail and services with large deskless teams. Built for broadcast messaging to deskless staff.
Strengths: Push alerts, shift info, surveys, mobile hub.
Watch out for: Narrow scope beyond comms and updates.
24. Claromentis
Description: Digital workplace suite with intranet and social networking features.
Best for: Cost-conscious buyers. Broad toolset at accessible price points.
Strengths: Projects, social tools, learning modules, pages.
Watch out for: Enterprise features and support are more limited.
25. Axero
Description: Content-first intranet for publishing and collaboration.
Best for: Knowledge-driven teams. Content publishing and team spaces are the key focus areas.
Strengths: Blogs, pages, spaces, integrations.
Watch out for: Deeper employee experience or mobile access may need additional tools.
Which Intranet Should I Choose?
The right intranet depends on your workforce type, Microsoft or Google stack, budget model, and whether you need Australian data hosting and support. Use this decision guide to narrow down quickly.
- All-Microsoft environment: SharePoint, PeopleOne, Webvine.
- Frontline-heavy workforce: Blink, Flip, Workvivo, Elcom.
- Knowledge-first culture: Confluence, Bloomfire, Axero.
- SMB market, quick launch: Interact, Igloo, GreenOrbit.
- Australian data and support: Elcom, CentricMinds, GreenOrbit.
- Enterprise personalisation: Unily, LumApps, Simpplr.
- Budget starter: Google Sites, Claromentis.
Comparison Table of Leading Intranet Platforms
| Feature |
Elcom |
SharePoint |
Simpplr |
Workvivo |
Unily |
| Licensing |
Unlimited users |
Per user |
Per user |
Per user |
Per user |
| Ease of Launch |
6-10 weeks |
3-6 months |
8-12 weeks |
6-10 weeks |
12-16 weeks |
| Frontline Access |
Mobile app + web |
Mobile via Microsoft apps |
Mobile focused |
Mobile app |
Mobile app |
| Support |
Local Australian |
Global/offshore |
Global |
Global |
Global |
| Pricing Model |
Fixed annual or custom quote |
Per user monthly |
Custom quote |
Custom quote |
Enterprise quote |
| Price Tendency |
Mid |
Enterprise |
Mid |
Enterprise |
Enterprise |
| Mobile App |
Native app |
Basic mobile web |
Native app |
Native app |
Native app |
| Australian Hosting |
Yes |
Available |
No |
No |
Available |
| AI Integration |
OpenAI Connector |
Copilot (M365) |
Native AI engine |
Via Zoom AI |
Early-stage AI |
| Best For |
All-in-one solution |
Microsoft shops |
Communications |
Social engagement |
Large enterprises |
For more detailed insights on whether you should move forward with SharePoint or an independent intranet, check out:
Which Intranet Platform is Right for Your Organisation?
The right intranet platform depends on your organisation's size, workforce type, budget, and support needs. Consider whether you need basic communication tools or comprehensive digital workplace functionality, and whether per-user or unlimited licensing better suits your team structure.
Organisations with frontline workers, contractors, or casual staff often find unlimited user licensing more practical and cost-effective.
Local support becomes crucial during implementation and ongoing operations, particularly for organisations handling sensitive data or operating in regulated industries.
If you're looking for an Australian-built intranet platform with unlimited user licensing and dedicated local support, Elcom is a proven choice used by government agencies, healthcare organisations, retail companies, and education institutions across Australia. With over 25 years in the Australian market, an award-winning track record, and a partnership approach that continues well beyond go-live, Elcom is built to grow with your organisation.
Why choose Elcom?
- All-in-one platform eliminates the need for multiple systems
- Unlimited user licensing includes contractors and casual staff without extra costs
- 25+ years serving the Australian market with proven expertise
- Data hosting within Australia for compliance and data sovereignty
- Face-to-face implementation and ongoing support from local teams
- OpenAI Connector for AI-powered content creation built into the platform
Discover Elcom Intranets