The Next Evolutionary Step for Corporate Intranets and Internets
As the amount of news and information available electronically continues to mushroom, many organizations face the challenge of streamlining relevant content for employees and customers—both current and potential.
Ideally, key internal and external audiences would have easy access to targeted industry news and information that is relevant to—even integrated with—the organization’s own content. The goals include the following:
- To allow for informed business decision-making;
- To position the organization as savvy and proactive in the context of broader industry trends and events;
According to a 2001 Outsell, Inc. study, while 98% of U.S. businesses have a corporate intranet, fewer than one-third of employees turn to that internal site for external news and business information. Instead, they spend an average of eight hours a week searching the Internet for such content—an inefficiency that costs U.S. businesses roughly $107 billion a year.1
As for the Internet, the trend continues for organizations to view their public Web presence as more than simply an electronic version of a company brochure. Instead, more visionary executives position a Web site as a resource for clients and other external audiences, relying on content to attract and retain regular visitors.To do so, an Internet site must effectively integrate relevant content from trusted outside sources to complement corporate information. Topics might include regulatory hot buttons under discussion in Washington; the latest competitor initiatives, personnel changes or other news; international policy or trade issues that directly affect transactions and the bottom line; and, of course, where and how the organization itself appears in the news.
Two LexisNexis Tools Catalyze Intranet/Internet Advancement
LexisNexis™—having recognized a demand for the streamlining of such external content integration—launched two tools in 2001 that allow corporations to access, sort and incorporate directly relevant industry news in an intuitively accessible manner.LexisNexis™ Intranet Publisher (LNIP) allows an organization to post applicable news and critical business information on its Intranet. A designated administrator can select, annotate and disseminate relevant, reliable and organized content to specific groups of people within an enterprise. Since it can be custom-packaged with links and editorial comments, such content can enhance business decision-making and be integrated easily with internal reports.
LexisNexis™ Web Publisher (LNWP) provides access to premium content from over 4,000 sources spanning 2,000 topics. Through LexisNexis SmartIndexing Technology™, this vast repository is scanned for on-target, exactly relevant articles and data, which then are captured and displayed in a format consistent with the overall “look and feel” of the organization’s Web site.
Integration of Industry News Enhances Internet and Intranet Sites
Just over a year after the launch, LexisNexis commissioned an independent study to evaluate whether the use of these tools to integrate external content into organizations’ Intranets and public Web sites indeed is a value-added feature. Three clients who each use a publisher tool participated in the study:
- A nonprofit membership organization, the Insurance Information Institute;
- A global real estate and property investment management firm, Jones Lang LaSalle;
- A machinery importer and distributor, United Grinding;
The researchers confirmed that demand exists for the skillful integration of relevant external news and information with an organization’s internal content, on Internet and intranet sites alike. (For the full case studies, visit http://www.lexisnexis.com/infopro/reference/whitepapers.shtml.)
While the three organizations differ vastly in scope, structure and industry, they reported many common objectives and priorities in enhancing their internal or external Web presence:
- Trusted, reliable sources for external news and information;
- Breadth and depth of content;
- Capacity for refined searches through a sophisticated taxonomy;
- Ability to match existing site’s look and feel;
- Minimal investment of client time on licensing or copyright logistics;
- Accessible and proactive customer services and technology support;
Similarly, strong parallels were identified among these organizations when results were discussed, with all three citing the following advantages:
- Enhances productivity—Staff members spend less time searching for information and more time acting upon it.;
- Drives decision-making—The LexisNexis publisher tools facilitate the conversion of knowledge into business intelligence.;
- Bolsters new business efforts—With LexisNexis Intranet Publisher, employees stay tuned to opportunities for business expansion based on current events. With LexisNexis Internet Publisher, Web site visits become daily routine for key external audiences, which can include both current and potential members and customers.;
- Offers a cost-efficient alternative—Researchers and information professionals—relieved of the daily barrage of straightforward “get-me” requests—can focus instead on big-picture strategic topics.;
The LexisNexis publisher tools help these and many other organizations stay abreast of key industry developments in the marketplace—information that can be critical to the bottom line. Each organization touts the benefit of using these tools to help position its intranet or Internet site as the place to go for corporate and industry knowledge. From there, the conversion into business intelligence is well within reach.
1 The May 2001 Super I-AIM™ (Information About Information Markets) Study by Outsell, Inc., a Burlingame, Calif.-based information research and advisory firm, analyzed 6,300 knowledge workers from 20 industries. For more information, visit Outsell
LexisNexis is a global leader in comprehensive and authoritative legal, news and business information and tailored applications. Its online services combine searchable access to over four billion documents from thousands of sources. A member of Reed Elsevier plc [NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK], LexisNexis is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, USA, and does business in 100 countries with 12,000 employees worldwide. The company offers an extensive range of products and customized tools that address job-specific and organization-wide information needs, driving productivity and confident decision-making