Today, we live and breathe the Internet. Web 2.0 means its use is active not passive; we use it for information, to garner opinion, pass comment, shop, share photos and engage with like-minded souls and much, much more. But, have business tools like intranets kept pace with this level of interactional behaviour?

The latest, Fourth Generation (4G) Intranets are being heralded as intelligent intranets. This new league of business communication allows users to actively engage from every part of an organisation – the Holy Grail from an internal communications perspective.

Communication systems in any organisation benefit from two-way dialogue and participation. Content of both online and offline systems are improved by enabling people to play a proactive role, keeping the user involved – they are the reader, the author and the editor. 4G Intranets will be able to transfer such responsibility without it being forced. Rather it is something that will simply become ‘part of the day job’.

The other major shift being seen with 4G Intranets is findability and ease of use. It is now possible for intranets to understand user habits, identify spikes in specific areas of interest and know which are the most commonly visited documents. Therefore through monitoring user behaviour, the search function, often the biggest drawback for employees of older intranets, can be significantly improved.

Encouraging social interaction between colleagues is another function which demonstrates that 4G Intranets have come of age. It makes sense that future systems should properly embrace technology developed on the web to help colleagues find desired interests or skills in the same way that they do on a Facebook or MySpace group. Flagging specific attributes, like speaking a second language, is an obvious example of the professional benefit that can be gained from personal applications.

But, probably the most valuable characteristic for any enterprise is an ability to identify information gaps. Conventional review methods require specific questions to be asked of users to reliably identify such gaps, a labour and time-intensive task. This shouldn’t be the case with the improved technology available. ‘Failed searches’ provide essential insight into what desired information people aren’t getting. By taking the search function as a data collection and reporting tool seriously, internal communicators will be able to read a constantly updated, anonymous survey of the issues at the heart of the workforce.

It’s now expected of commercial websites to play a proactive sales role where earlier versions of online stores would simply return a search with lists of requested items. Now, we see a broader range of suggestions tailored to our tastes. Intranets can use the same intelligence to make informed suggestions on content to users, driving information towards people rather than waiting for them to find it.

The technology for 4G Intranets is not new, but the way in which it is applied to the business environment will present a seismic shift in employee usage of their intranet. Imagine an intranet that isn’t a repository for procedural paperwork but a really powerful internal communications and collaboration

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