drupal for intranets

7/26/2019 Drupal for Intranets

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Intranets The Drupal WayA Guide to using Drupal forIntranets and how to evaluatewhether it is the right choice foryour organization
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Authors

Derek Reese is a self-directed full-stack developer experiencedwith web-based and internal enterprise software and pipelinedevelopment, as well as art and design tools and assets. Derek isa Drupal developer at Mediacurrent and has been working withthe platform since Drupal 5.

Dawn Aly is Mediacurrents Director of Digital Strategy. In additionto digital strategy, her extensive Drupal experience includes abackground in project and brand management. Whether she isdriving the vision for conversion optimization, building complexcontent strategy campaigns, or simply improving SEO, Dawn'sultimate goal is to create a brand experience that will surpriseand delight users.

@dawnashleealy

@DerekReese
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Best known as the open-source powerhouse ContentManagement System (CMS) behind external websites likeWhitehouse.govand Weather.com, Drupal is also apowerful choice for Intranets.

With its customization-friendly technical architecture andwide variety of collaboration and user management tools,Drupal has been proven effective for corporate Intranets ofall sizes and industries.

If youre considering a Drupal Intranet for your organization,this eBook will help to guide you through that decision.

Im familiar with Drupal, but is it the right

platform for my Intranet?


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Fact: 78% of companies nowrun on open source software. In this newera, corporate Intranetsare no longer confined to proprietary platforms. As proven solution for Intranets, Drupal offersseveral compelling advantages to businesses:

Community SupportPerhaps the biggest strength of Drupal is its extensive supportnetwork backed by thousands of developers. This means continuous improvement towardperformance and functionality for the lifetime of your Intranet.

Extra Security Drupal relies on a dedicated security team to protect against securitythreats such as viruses and unauthorized access. Together with Drupals vast developmentand administrator community, the team scrupulously monitors and patches issues.

Built for Accessibility Web accessibility means making your Intranet available to all users,

regardless of their (dis)abilities. Legal issues are often a concern as there may be risksassociated with non compliance. The Drupal community is strongly committed toaccessibility, ensuring that all features of Drupal core conform with the World Wide WebConsortiums guidelines.

To learn about the legal and policy issues surroundingaccessibility that may impact your organization, check out the Web Accessibility Initiativesresource guide.

Source:9th Annual Future Of Open Source Survey.

TheOpen Source Advantage
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There are several advantages to building an Intranet with the same platform:

Enhance user management across the organization by adding single sign-on

capability (there are a number of module options available for this)

Lessen the talent overhead required to manage more than one web technology

for both web properties

Deliver a consistent brand and user experience with an Intranet that performs

as a seamless extension of your public website

If Your Site is Already Running on

Drupal...


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Evaluating Drupal

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Key considerations for assessing Drupal as an Intranet platform.


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Your Existing Stack

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The most important aspect of evaluating Drupal withan existing stack is knowing what it can work well with:

Wikis Media/Digital Asset Management Systems

Messaging / Social Media Platforms Time-Tracking / Resourcing Toolkits HR Management Products

These toolsets can and should remain in-place and integrate cleanly with Drupalsarchitecture and design - as the face of your companys employee experience.

Drupal is the best at handling content, including news posts, announcements, customemployee apps/processes, and resource organization. It has a built-in taxonomy andtagging system that makes it easy to organize and display your existing content. Drupalexcels at replacing antiquated workspace, news, forum, search, and link portal apps.

What can Drupal can do for my Intranet?
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Project Scope

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Need for ScaleBuilt for scalability, Drupal is an effective platform for Intranets both big and small. AtMediacurrent, weve leveraged Drupals versatility for many Intranet projects, from our owncompany Intranet up to enterprise-level clients with over 10,000 employees.

With Drupal you have access to thousands of developers and hundreds of agencies availableto support the product, which means organizations of any size can find labor to supporttheir site. In addition, Drupals open source licensing offers hundreds of feature possibilitiestypically not available in most other CMSs.

Budget

Proprietary CMS Intranet platforms often pigeonhole organizations into annual licensingcontracts, typically based on number of users, while offering limited feature options.Compared to these costly proprietary platforms, the cost of running a Drupal Intranet issignificantly less.

Your individual budget will vary depending on the required customization.

Is Drupal a fit for my budget and number of employees?
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Distributions

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Starting with a Drupal Distribution as a foundation may bea best option if your Intranets functional requirements donot involve a high level of customization and launchingquickly is the highest priority.

Drupal Distributions such as Open AtriumorOpenluciusare pre-configured installations that already haveembedded Intranet-type features such as groups,commenting, activity streams, following, trendingcontent, blogging, and a customizable user interface.Moreover, because Drupals architecture is based on theconcept of overrides, these Distributions can be furtherenhanced with custom backend or frontend featureswithout compromising the default features theyrepackaged with.

Can Drupal provide an Intranet solution thats ready out-of-the-box?
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Customization

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Drupal.org houses thousands of modules that let you build a high functioning Intranet withlittle or no programming required. The possibilities are almost endless, but what does yourIntranet reallyneed? Youll want to consider the following.

Collaboration Features. Drupals core collaboration modules such as Forum and

Comment, combined with numerous collaboration modules available in the Drupalcommunity, offer the ability to create a rich social business experience.

Easy Integration. With Drupal, you can integrate with almost any other proprietaryand third-party platform on the market. Plus, it easily integrates with employeeaccount management systems like Active Directory and Central Authentication

Service.

Content Management Capabilities. Drupals highly configurable content and filemanagement features provide the ability to build an Intranet tailored to meet uniqueasset management needs.


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Drupal 8

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Drupal 8 is a snug fit for the next generation of Intranets.Not only is it object-oriented and built with industry-standard libraries, but its organization and powerful APIallow it to scale to the demands of massive growth andinfrastructure requirements. Previously impossible

requirements, such as supporting teams of hundreds ofsimultaneous developers and integrations, are now built intothe Drupal way of thinking.

Drupal 8 makes it easy for teams to asynchronously deployfeatures, tools, and content across your entire Intranet. Itallows responsive teams to be their best and build sites andorganization that is ready for both mobile access and fulldesktop experiences.


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BUILD ENGAGEMENT

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The Intranet platform you choose is just one half of the equationthe other half is knowingyour users. In the following exercise, youll gain foundational understanding of howdifferent stakeholders will experience your Intranet.


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Introduction to Intranet Personas

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Intranet user personas are semi-fictional representations ofyour everyday Intranet users. Persona profiles deliver adeeper understanding of your users by focusing on onecharacter who embodies the predominant qualities of thelarger organization.

Persona profiles may also be leveraged to...

Identify use-cases Determine functionality requirements Prioritize content and activity

Increase usage and adoption Inform internal PR/Communications strategy


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Build Your Intranet Personas

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BackgroundKeep your profile personable by adding a headshot(avoid stock imagery), first and last name. Next,define your personas role in the company. Forexample, a university Intranet might developpersonas for "professors," students, and "faculty."Last, assess their level of technology literacy.

Day in the LifeHow does the Intranet fit into the daily activity ofthe persona? When, where and how are they mostlikely to use it? Will multiple devices be used?About how much time will be spent on theIntranet?

Problems and Questions the IntranetCan Solve (Use Cases)In this section, define a likely use case foryour persona and the desired Intranetusage behavior.

Desired Online ExperienceThis is where you can detail specifics about

the user experience. For example, yourusers might prefer to search for theirinformation instead of filter for it.

With persona profiles, youll gain insight into your users behavior to kickstart your Intranetstrategy and inform decisions throughout the project. Consider these categories to getstarted:


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Increase Employee Buy-In

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Include the following categories if you need get employee "buy-in" to use the Intranet:

PsychographicsConsider your personas values and motivators. What makes this persona choose one thingover something else? Are they goal oriented or laid back?

Marketing ChannelsWhat trusted sources does this persona rely on for news and information? Ex. social media,work colleagues, industry sites, etc.

Current BeliefsDetail the personas likely beliefs about a new Intranet tool.

Most Common Objections to the IntranetExplore examples where a persona might be skeptical or resistant to using /adopting theIntranet.


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NAME:ROLE:

Day in the life: Problems/questions the website can solve:

TECHNICAL LITERACY Desired online experience: Need to build employee "buy-in"? You mayalso consider:

Psychographics Marketing channels

Current beliefs about the Intranet

Most common objections to using the

Intranet

Intranet Persona Template


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DRUPAL IN ACTION

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Solutions for common Intranet challenges the Drupal Way.


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Intranet Challenge: Integration & Migration

ChallengeMost companies that already have an Intranet have a largeinvestment in their current Intranet stack. Every newtechnology added on creates overhead.

The Drupal SolutionDrupal is one of the easiest platforms to add integrations to.Just a simple search on drupal.org reveals hundreds ofcommunity-built modules with more being added every day.Organizations that already have invested in PHP will find

developing for Drupal a familiar experience, and those thatrely on modern tech like Javascript and mobile apps foremployees can quickly open up Drupals REST-ful API toprovide content streams, editing interfaces, and tools likesearch and taxonomy.


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Intranet Challenge: Organization

ChallengeToo much duplicate content and slow search capabilities make it difficult for employees tofind the information they need.

The Drupal Solution

Superfast search engines: Technologies like Apache Solr and Google Search can beplugged into a Drupal Intranet to speed up site search. The easy-to-configure GoogleSearch Appliance (GSA) module gives users the ability to search across thousands ofIntranet pages and other corporate data. Integrating the GSAis as simple as filling in acouple of form fields and clicking save.

A Way to Reduce Content Clutter: Drupal makes it easier to avoid duplicate contentwith the ability to refine user roles. Drupal allows Intranet content editors to easilypublish rich, search-friendly content. When appropriate, news and information can bedisplayed recurrently across the site.
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Intranet Challenge: Mobile Design

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ChallengeCreating an Intranet that is responsive on mobile devices.

The Drupal SolutionA responsive Intranet is the best way to keep up with users on

the go. Drupals mobile first mindset makes this possible. Infact, Drupal 8, the latest version, boasts out-of-the-boxresponsive functionality. Drupal 7 shines with manyresponsive, mobile friendly themes to chose from.


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Intranet Challenge: Personalization

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ChallengeIntranet users have diverse informational needs based on theirdepartment, office locations, and other factors. Yet manyIntranet have homepages that are one size fits all and lackpersonalization.

The Drupal SolutionDrupals personalization capabilities allow you to create a moreengaging user experience. One approach is to let usersbookmark content that will help to populate their homepage. Itsalso possible to automatically detect the Intranet users IP

address and display location-specific news and information.


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Intranet Challenge: Monitoring Analytics

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ChallengeA disadvantage inherent in many proprietary systems is that they allow for lesscustomization and require a more cumbersome third party integration process.

The Drupal Solution

Drupal can integrate with many third party technologies, like Google Analytics web statisticstracking system. This module allows you to add statistics features to your site such as:

Single/multi/cross domain tracking Selectively track/exclude certain users, rolesand pages Monitor what type of links are tracked (downloads, outgoing and mailto)

This will let you see a wealth of user data to help prove the ROI of your Intranet.
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DEVELOP

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Thanks to the Drupal community, thousands of modules exist to extend Intranet functionality.Here are a few of the most versatile modules for the Intranet portal environment.


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Intranet Modules

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Collaboration

Useful modules to promote userinteraction and content contributionsinclude Advanced Forum, Comment and

Privatemsg.

User Management

Single Sign On (SSO) is easy withModules like LDAP or CAS that can beused to integrate with employee account

management systems (like ActiveDirectory and Central AuthenticationService).

Social Networking

When combined with social networking

modulesfor microblogging (Statuses),voting (Flag, Fivestar, Rate), andfollowing/friending (FlagFollow, FlagFriend), Drupal is capable of running as afull blown social business platform.

To separate content by department,the Organic Groups module allowsusers to create and manage their own'groups'. There are lots of preferencesto configure groups to meet yourspecific needs.
https://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_followhttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_Friendhttp://mediacurrent.com/https://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_Friendhttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_followhttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_Friendhttps://www.drupal.org/project/flaghttps://www.drupal.org/project/Fivestarhttps://www.drupal.org/project/ratehttps://www.drupal.org/project/statuseshttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_Friendhttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_followhttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_Friendhttps://www.drupal.org/project/flaghttps://www.drupal.org/project/Fivestarhttps://www.drupal.org/project/ratehttps://www.drupal.org/project/statuseshttp://mediacurrent.com/https://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_Friendhttps://www.drupal.org/project/flaghttps://www.drupal.org/project/Fivestarhttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_followhttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_Friendhttps://www.drupal.org/project/statuseshttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_Friendhttps://www.drupal.org/project/flaghttps://www.drupal.org/project/Fivestarhttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_followhttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_Friendhttps://www.drupal.org/project/statuseshttp://www.slideshare.net/mediacurrenthttps://twitter.com/mediacurrenthttps://www.linkedin.com/company/mediacurrenthttp://www.mediacurrent.com/bloghttps://www.facebook.com/mediacurrenthttps://www.drupal.org/project/oghttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_Friendhttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_Friendhttps://www.drupal.org/project/Flag_followhttps://www.drupal.org/project/ratehttps://www.drupal.org/project/Fivestarhttps://www.drupal.org/project/flaghttps://www.drupal.org/project/statuseshttps://www.drupal.org/project/cashttps://www.drupal.org/project/ldaphttps://www.drupal.org/project/privatemsghttps://www.drupal.org/project/privatemsghttps://www.drupal.org/project/advanced_forumhttp://mediacurrent.com/


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Intranet Modules

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Content/Asset Management

The Media module can be used tomanage on-site and external mediaasset libraries.

If a defined publishing workflow withsophisticated access control is required,the Workbench suite can be utilized (itseamlessly integrates with Media).

Diff provides a granular view of any textand/or field values that changed from

one versionof content to the next.

Content Publishing Workflow

Some departments dont require a lot ofchecks and balances for curating andpublishing content, but for those that

do, modules like Workbench suite andRevisioning feature highly configurablepublishing workflows.

The Maestromodule is a workflowengine/solution used to facilitate simpleand complex business processautomation.For example, it can beleveraged to create a document publishworkflow with an editor and publisherreview phase.
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Intranet Modules

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Integrations

Drupal can integrate with limitlessnumbers of third party software. Manypopular packages are already available ascontributed modules, and even moresuchas IBM Notes and MicrosoftSharepointare exposed via standard APIslike CMIS.

For custom scenarios and handling, thetime-tested RESTful and REST Web

Services modules allow developers toeasily create powerful workflows andcommunication between Drupal andexisting software.

Search, Tagging, andOrganization

Drupal core search can be expandedupon with the Search API module. In

addition, the Apache Solr moduleprovides Solr support. Complex queriesare a cinchwith the Solr Search API.

Drupals Taxonomy system is anextremely powerful organizational tool

and there are plenty of supportingmodules that make it a breeze to use.TagClouds adds support for the popularcloud visual, and Taxonomy Menu turnsorganization into site menu structure.
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MediacurrentAfter coming up with a list of keywords you want to use for your SEO strategy, research these

keywords using a keyword tracking tool such as the Google Keyword tool.

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