When you first start considering cloud intranets, they sound like a great solution. You get a lot of convenience, less hardware to deal with, and a lower cost than many traditional intranet solutions. Unfortunately, before you can start designing your cloud intranet solution, you have to convince your CEO that it’s a good idea. Here are five cloud intranet selling points that you can use .
Selling point #1: Cloud Intranet Solutions are Less Expensive
When you move your vital processes to a cloud environment, you’re able to find substantial price savings. It’s not just because of the up-front savings on equipment and other items, either. Over time, it’s much more energy-efficient to host your intranet solution in the cloud than it is to run it out of a server room down the hall. The cost of keeping all that equipment running adds up fast, especially for large businesses. Then there’s the necessary cost of cooling the room, since all those servers generate an incredible amount of heat but can’t run when the heat increases past a certain point. An intranet hosted on the cloud will also be less likely to require expensive maintenance. There are no in-house parts to break, overheat, or require the immediate attention of an on-site IT team. Even better, you can often include IT support as part of your cloud intranet package instead of needing an in-house team to handle all your needs. Cloud systems also last longer. There’s no need to replace them every five years (or, in some cases, even less) as you’ll find necessary with many physical solutions. Instead, you’ll be able to push out a few simple updates to shift your virtual environment according to your company’s changing internal needs. Over several years, the cost of cloud intranet is significantly lower than the cost of a physical intranet for your business. When it comes down to the bottom line, your CEO needs to know what cloud intranet is going to cost–and the answer is, in most cases, much less than a physical intranet solution that’s run entirely out of your company.
Selling Point #2: Cloud Intranet Can Deploy Quickly
When you decide that you need an intranet solution for your business, chances are, you want it as soon as possible. If you’re dealing with a physical system, that’s not as easy as it sounds. There’s equipment to purchase, programs to design, and a host of potential delays along the way. When you 
choose a cloud intranet solution, on the other hand, you’re often able to adapt an already-existing program to work with your business’s unique needs. You’re able to customize it quickly and roll it out, getting it in the hands of your employees sooner.
This quick deployment doesn’t end with the initial installation of the cloud intranet, either. Throughout the lifetime of your intranet, you’re going to discover that your needs change. You’ll learn that some features are simply a waste of time, while other features that you didn’t include start to sound more useful than you initially thought. With a cloud intranet, making changes to your internal system is much simpler. That means that it’s able to quickly adapt to the changing needs of your business. During periods of rapid growth, it’s easy to update your intranet to support all of the new employees. If business slows down, it’s not hard to cut back on unnecessary features. The ability to make changes quickly will appeal to your CEO, helping to assure them that cloud intranet is right for your business.
Selling Point #3: Non-IT Employees Can Manage Cloud Applications
Simplicity is key when it comes to many of your vital intranet functions. You want the employees who need to run the system to be able to do so without needing to run down to IT with every little thing. HR needs to add an employee? Done. A new app is needed to boost internal communications? It can be run internally. Your marketing team needs to be able to work an app efficiently? With a cloud intranet solution, it’s not a problem. You can give employees in different departments access to the information and applications that are most important to each one, limiting access of employees who don’t need it, without having to bring in your IT team. Convenience is the key component of most cloud intranet solutions–a fact that your CEO will be sure to appreciate. Ongoing management can take place in-house, slipping into the schedules of existing employees so there’s no need to hire someone new to take care of the new system.
Selling Point #4: Create Higher Levels of Security
One of the key benefits of a company-wide intranet is the information security that can be put into place. When there’s no outside access to the information, it can stay within the company–and for many organizations, that data security is critical. From preventing copyright infringement to 
protecting vital client financial information, security is one of the most important parts of any business. Your cloud intranet will provide a high level of security complete with layers of access depending on the job title and clearance of each individual in your company. You can set access based on a series of levels or determine it according to the individual: it all depends on the size of your company and your unique needs.
You can also help increase your security by improving your requirements. For example, your cloud intranet can be configured to require your employees to use longer passwords, designed specifically for two-factor authentication to make it harder to get into your system, or to require your employees to change their passwords regularly just in case someone lets that private information slip. Every business deals in some degree of private information. Your CEO will love the depth of security that’s possible through cloud intranet services.
Selling Point #5: Cloud Intranet Reduces Downtime
Any number of things can bring your intranet crashing down around your ears, particularly if you use a physical intranet system. When you present 
your plan to your CEO, start it with a simple question: what’s the cost of an hour’s downtime? If employees are unable to access the new intranet, how much work time will be lost? While many employees will still be able to continue with vital tasks, others may find themselves unable to continue until the system is brought back up. With cloud intranet solutions, your intranet is more likely to stay up and running. Better yet, it’s not dependent on the performance of your current location, so if your building is inaccessible for some reason–a power outage, a weather emergency, or some other problem–your intranet is more likely to still be functional.
Many IT functions are rapidly shifting from a physical environment to the cloud. Many companies have already found that the convenience of a cloud intranet is unparalleled. By choosing cloud intranet services, you can set up your business for success. Your intranet is designed to improve internal communication, increase employee engagement, and make it easier to share information across the company as a whole. Cloud intranet will make all of those things easier and more streamlined than ever before.
