The profit centres have then jumped onto the bandwagon asking for applications to be developed that help them do their jobs more effectively and efficiently. The problem that faces most of these organizations is that the infrastruct ure of the intranet currently in place has only been designed, and planned, to deal with one way communications. In order to utilize an intranet properly in a profit centre, and in general throughout any organization, people must be able to interact with sources of information. Facts unto themselves have no value. It is only when an individual examines a fact, with a context, that the fact is observed to have a value or is neutral.
People c reate the context within which facts are reviewed.
This is where value is added to the fact and competitive advantage occurs. Smart organizations are very quickly to view an intranet as an investment not a cost . They have also understood that there is more to the intranet than just replacing paper publishing. More details will follow in an upcoming edition of Intranet Journal . John Desborough is an intranet consultant, specializing in helping companies align their strategic business processes and their intranets.