Artificial intelligence is changing how employees access information and knowledge within their organizations. Instead of navigating page structures, they increasingly use AI assistants or agents to ask directly about policies, processes, or specific information.
A real-world example illustrates the resulting requirements. When asked how much vacation time employees needed to take for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, an AI assistant responded that half a day was sufficient. In fact, employees had to take a full vacation day. The assistant had relied on an outdated intranet page.
This has clear implications for modern intranets: information must be current, unambiguous, and available in the right context. At the same time, the way employees access corporate knowledge is changing, along with the role of the intranet in the digital workplace. This brings the underlying architecture into focus.
Our article “From Social Intranet to Employee UI: Why Companies Need to Rethink Digital Entry Points” explains how the intranet is evolving into a role- and context-based entry point for the digital workday.
What Drives Intranet Architecture: Communications or IT?
Several factors determine the right intranet architecture. From a functional perspective, three considerations in particular are often underestimated:
- Purpose: Should the intranet primarily support internal communications, or should it be more closely connected to collaboration and collaborative applications?
- Mobile first: How important is mobile access? This is especially relevant when many employees do not regularly work at a desktop.
- Target audiences: Which employee groups need to be reached? For example, should frontline workers in production, logistics, or service be included from the outset?
Organizational and technical conditions also matter. It makes a difference whether the intranet is primarily advanced by Corporate Communications or by IT. The existing system landscape is equally important: established applications, knowledge sources, and processes should be incorporated into the architecture rather than duplicated in parallel structures. Integration with third-party systems also plays an important role.
AI makes this interplay even more significant. Information must be available quickly and in the right context, while AI assistants and agents need access to relevant content and applications.
Microsoft 365 Provides an Important Foundation
In many organizations, Microsoft 365 already provides the technology foundation for major parts of the digital workplace. Microsoft Teams supports collaboration, while SharePoint often consolidates knowledge and information. Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Studio add AI capabilities and custom-built agents.
With the rise of AI, SharePoint is becoming even more important as a knowledge platform because AI applications can access the information stored there. Organizations also benefit from deploying AI in a controlled environment that uses existing permissions and governance structures.
The quality of the underlying information is critical to reliable AI responses. Content must be current, structured, and clearly assigned. The opening example shows how quickly an outdated intranet page can lead to an incorrect answer.
The situation becomes more complex when information only appears to be contradictory. If one source states 30 vacation days and another 35, that does not necessarily indicate an error. Different policies may apply to different legal entities or regions. Whether AI can interpret these distinctions correctly depends, among other factors, on clear content assignments and appropriate permissions.
This requires a well-designed information architecture supported by continuous content maintenance. This kind of “intranet gardening” keeps information current and reliable. Governance is therefore an essential foundation for the dependable use of AI.
Learn more in the video: “Microsoft and Staffbase: How Companies Can Get the Best of Both Worlds.”
(Available in German only)
Staffbase Adds the Communications Perspective
A reliable knowledge base alone does not answer the question of how information reaches different audiences across the organization. Internal Communications also needs to target content, manage campaigns across multiple channels, measure their impact, and include employees who do not regularly use Teams or SharePoint.
Staffbase can complement Microsoft 365 in these areas. Four aspects are particularly relevant:
- Employee app: A branded app available through the app store provides direct access to internal communications. For employees without a fixed desktop workstation, this can offer a more accessible experience than traditional Microsoft access points.
- Multichannel communications from a single source: Campaigns can be managed centrally and distributed through the app, email, newsletters, or digital signage without maintaining the same content multiple times.
- Greater autonomy for Communications: Communications teams can manage more content and campaigns independently, allowing them to retain the lead on many tasks rather than relying on IT for every step.
- Communications analytics and impact measurement: While Microsoft environments often focus on platform usage, Staffbase places greater emphasis on communications reach and impact. This makes it easier to understand which content is actually reaching its intended audiences.
This complementary role can also be relevant for AI. If AI-powered information and services need to reach employees who do not regularly use Teams or SharePoint, Staffbase provides an additional access point. This includes employees in production, logistics, or service. A readily accessible interface allows these audiences to use AI-powered information and services as well.
Four Architecture Scenarios for Different Requirements
Microsoft 365 and Staffbase can work together in different ways depending on an organization’s starting point.
Our intranet assessments regularly identify four distinct options:
Scenario
Set-up
Best fit when …
Microsoft only
SharePoint serves as the intranet, while Teams acts as the employee app.
nearly all employees are licensed and IT manages the platform.
Staffbase only
Staffbase serves as the front-door intranet and app. Existing Microsoft components are integrated.
communication is the primary driver and mobile-first access is the priority.
Hybrid
SharePoint remains the front-door intranet, while Staffbase replaces the news experience and reaches additional audiences through the app.
knowledge resides in Miocrosoft, but communications capabilities and reach need to be expanded.
Focused approach
News exchange plus multichannel communications through email, newsletters, and digital signage, without a dedicated app.
the primary needs are campaign management and analytics.
An intranet assessment helps organizations capture their requirements systematically and translate them into the right architecture.
The Expert Discussion
In the video “Microsoft and Staffbase: How Companies Can Get the Best of Both Worlds, (available in German only)” Sven Lindenhahn of Staffbase and Martin Weinhardt of Campana & Schott explain the scenarios that emerge, the factors that matter in an intranet assessment, and the role AI plays in the process.
Sven Lindenhahn understands both sides of the equation. Before joining Staffbase, he built SharePoint intranets himself. Martin Weinhardt leads Employee Experience at Campana & Schott, where he is responsible for intranets, frontline-worker scenarios, and AI scenarios for internal communications.
Which Scenario Is Right for Your Organization?
The four architectures are easy to outline. Determining which one will work in practice depends on factors that can only be assessed in the organization’s specific context: the primary driver, target audiences, the existing system landscape, and the maturity of the content.
Authors
Categories
#Transformation of Work
#Digital Workplace
#Employee Experience
#Intranet & Portals
#Communication & Collaboration
#M365
