Every year the foundation of intranets remain but how we use the intranet evolves. In the past few years focus has revolved around the social intranet and it has taken center stage.

Our prediction is that in 2013 the tables will turn and the business intranet will prevail. But that is just the tip of the iceberg for change in 2013. The business intranet will continue its path to becoming a central tool for productivity, efficiency and simplicity for businesses.  Here are a few more intranet predictions for 2013:

Back to Basics with Business & Collaboration Software

Social intranets built on wiki structures and modeled after Facebook and Twitter will start to decline in 2013 and eventually be dead in the water. Business and collaboration software will dominate and social tools will be elements that are utilized and centered around business interactions and business workflows; not just social for social sake. The softer side of social; building teams, collaboration, culture will be secondary. The term “social” will evolve and morph into a more business-centric approach to collaboration software and affect how intranets are structured.

Pay it Forward Intranets

Intranets and their social tools will be a mechanism to pay-it-forward for employees. Employees want to be recognized for their contributions.  They want rewards from their managers and kudos from their colleagues.  In 2013, we will see more tools focused on helping companies to instill collaborative cultures, boost team-spirit and share team contributions and success stories.  The passionate people behind intranets – our intranet managers – will take on a significant role in driving cultural change through the intranet.

Collaborative People and Topical Tagging

Topical tagging has integrated itself into all parts of our business and social life. From #hashtags on Twitter to auto-tagging in Google Adwords, we are compartmentalizing or grouping all types of interaction.  Tagging is an integral part of the Intranet Connections platform with collaborative people tagging (watch video) that help with resource recognition and finding people with specific skill sets. Topical tagging is important for document management and flexible content organization.  In 2013 we will see a renewed focus on tagging and innovative ways in which it can be implemented for bringing staff together, rallying for events, campaigns and further people collaboration.

Employees Are Creatures of Comfort

The debate over intranet design is long-standing with the controversary on the intranet having a unique brand vs. a more public-facing design, but regardless of your position it is truly about creating the “experience” that will keep employees coming back for more. How do we do this? We try to deliver on expectations. Actually it is always our goal to deliver more! But ultimately the key is delivering on design and a user interface that is consistent with other devices and the commonality of modern web site design.  As creative as some public web sites can be, navigation stays pretty standard with a simple menu to lead you throughout the site.  Intranet designs and interfaces should follow suit and minimize on complexity, making way for responsive design and overall user intuitiveness.

The Essential Collaborative Intranet

Intranets will evolve throughout 2013 by utilizing social tools tailored more for business environments and centered around corporate campaigns and goals. The success for mobile and desktop intranets will be in delivering quick and easy solutions for specific tasks that employees perform on a daily bases.  Throughout 2013 we will start to see intranets driven more by Human Resources, Marketing and Communications; less by the IT department. The Essential Collaborative Intranet is one where employees LIVE and PERFORM;  an intranet that is needed, not wanted.

Have your own predictions for 2013? We would love to hear about them! Please comment directly on this blog post or email me. Stay tuned to our blog to learn more about what Intranet Connections will be releasing in 2013 to help you create the Essential Collaborative Intranet for your company and employees.