We have just released the results of our second annual Global Intranet Benchmarking Survey, which indicate a marked shift in the departmental ownership of intranets away from the IT departments into Marketing and Communications departments.

With more than 455 respondents globally, the survey is the most comprehensive evaluation of how companies communicate internally. This year’s survey has found that as companies grow to rely on their intranets for internal communication purposes there has been a shift in who manages the intranet. 76% of respondents view the intranet as a ‘valuable to extremely valuable’ part of their business – up from 67% last year. In addition, 70% of the companies surveyed stated that ‘improving internal communications’ was their highest priority in the next 12 months. The major intranet challenges currently faced by businesses relate to the areas of communication and content governance. Intranet DASHBOARD co-founder and director Campbell Dobbin says that these answers give a telling insight into how companies are managing their intranets. “Companies are telling us that they are grappling with ways to improve internal communication. The solutions to these challenges lie within the communications departments and not the IT departments, who are the traditional owners of the intranet.”

“We’re really seeing a maturing of the space over the last twelve months and developments in how we can best communicate with our staff. I think we are at the beginning of a great transition period,” he said.

The survey results also indicated a change in the departmental ownership of intranets. Currently, 58% of IT departments have day-to-day responsibility for the intranet compared with 28% of Marketing and Communications departments. However, IT departments hold the budget for the intranet in only 40% of the respondents’ companies. The most telling result is that 54% of IT departments themselves believe they are not the rightful owners of the intranet. Overall, 66% of respondents believe IT departments should not hold the budget for intranets.

“While the intranet is a ‘technologically driven solution, its core basis, content and purpose is not technological,” said Connie Pandos, founder and director of Intranet DASHBOARD (iD).

“Intranet DASHBOARD is a communication platform – offering an effective and efficient exchange of ideas and information in the workplace. iD enables collaboration through an environment that maintains governance and control,” she said.