Sometimes implementing an intranet or extranet entails major changes in how a company works. As with all organizational changes, this results in resistance from employees who have to get out of their comfort zones and learn new things. If the solution is not embraced by employees, or not fully embraced, the solution will end up being “shelfware”, or not give its full due. It is very important that employees accept the solution, assimilate it into their everyday work routine, and also contribute to it.

According to an article, amongst the main causes of intranet failures are:

1. Poor user input
2. Lack of user acceptance
3. Steep learning curve

User-friendliness and the learning curve are therefore of prime importance whenever purchasing a new system. One advantage of SAAS systems is that the developers bring with them deep experience of the intranet/extranet domain, and understand the needs of end users well. Subject to variation within the domain, most SAAS software is easy to adopt and implement.

The following factors are important when considering the user-friendliness aspect:

Ease of Use

The intranet & extranet should have an intuitive interface (here’s an example from Small Business Technology Magazine), and use of features should be pretty much self evident. Solutions that are too complex or have crudely designed interfaces are major turnoffs for users. 

It should have the ability to easily fit into the existing workflow and IT systems. It may often be necessary for the new software to communicate with established systems – Outlook, Word, Accounting software, CRM software, etc. SAAS software has the advantage of being very open, standard, and nimble.

Support

No matter how easy to use or intuitive an intranet/extranet software is, there are bound to be times when one can’t find out how to work a particular feature or a glitch crops up. Hence quality of support services is very important.

Some solutions may require you to hire dedicated support staff of your own, while with others the customer service department suffices.  

Provider support may be in the form of human help, i.e., customer care executives who promptly (or not) attend to your problems. The level of quality in terms of helpfulness of solution is also provide here and the availability and conduct of support executive matters.

Support can also be in the form of an extensively documented help engine, or extensive help information on the company site, which provides solutions to almost all of the questions you could possibly have. This form of support is often more efficient than the human version.

Training as a Service

Training is another form of support which deserves special mention. Some companies offer free training seminars (online and offline) to help customers get up to speed with using a software. This greatly helps in getting started with a new software. In other cases the software might not warrant much specialized training at all. In some cases the company might offer paid training, which might be essential and whose cost needs to be factored into the purchase decision.

Maintenance

Maintenance costs and efforts have a major impact on the performance and adoptability of a software, and hence should form important criteria of the buying decision. Since SAAS software are hosted at the provider’s end, it is of utmost importance of the customer that the software be available online at all times, or the “uptime”. Uptimes are covered under the “service level agreement” when you purchase a software and range from 98% to 99.99%. A minimum uptime of 99% is what one must look for.

It is also important how much upkeep a software requires. Will specialized staff need to be hired to maintain and run the software? Or is it low maintenance or maintenance free?

The company’s upkeep is also important. Efforts to constantly improve upon the software underline a commitment to providing you quality service. Are bugs fixed promptly and on an ongoing basis? Are they just releasing a software and not updating it? One should develop a habit of keeping up with the company newsletter, new release notes or the “what’s new” section on their site. Periodic newsletters and a “what’s new” section (which keeps getting updated) are indicative of a dynamic company constantly looking to improve.

Familiarity

The “feel” of the software is another important criterion. Us software users are habituated creatures for whom changing a software is as difficult as changing our favorite coffee or newspaper. Since intranets/extranet are supposed to be an extension of employee’s desktops, it is important software should keep with the basic layout and navigation schemes users are acclimatized to. This makes for quicker transition.

One good way is to compare with the OS in which we would use the software. Does it have the same basic schema as the OS environment? A software with Mac schema on Windows wouldn’t sit that well. Another way could be to compare with other software that we are used to. Does the mail interface resemble Outlook, Yahoo or Google?