Fast access to information is another key intranet cost saving. If an intranet means that every employee in an 50,000 person corporation saves 10 minutes per day, the cumulative cost saving is enormous - much greater than the savings from reduced printing and mailing costs. A case in point are the savings achieved by a leading management consulting firm, as reported in a recent study conducted by International Data Corporation. The firm established a knowledge database of best practices, job histories, resumes, threaded messages and ideas for clients, accessable to all employees. Increased Productivity Productivity increases from intranets arise from more rapid and easier access and exchange of information.
Intranets also allow for flexibility in the time of delivery of information.
For example, by making training materials accessible through an intranet to the desktop, employees can schedule training during lull times, rather than be interrupted during key projects. Benefits from increased productivity are more difficult to measure than savings from the reduced cost of printing and distributing manuals. Businesses that budget, track and bill employee time in hourly increments, such as accountancy, consulting and law firms, have an advantage in this regard. For example, an intranet linking design centers in Asia, Europe and the US helped engineers craft the 1996 Ford Taurus. Sales support is the arena in which intranets may ultimately generate the greatest return on investment.