Intranet vs. community platform: when do you choose which?

More and more organisations, from companies to associations and sports clubs, are finding that an intranet does not automatically create connection. The information is there, but it is barely read. As soon as you want to encourage active interaction and engagement, a different question comes up: do you choose an intranet, a community platform, or do you bundle both into one environment? On this page you will find what the difference is, when you need which solution and how to support that choice.

What is an intranet?

An intranet is a closed network within an organisation, intended for sharing information and storing documents centrally. It is often used as the internal environment for processes, files and updates. Where an intranet used to run mainly on local infrastructure, it is now usually online and accessible from a range of devices. The basis has stayed the same, though: structuring information and making it available.

What do you use an intranet for?

An intranet is used primarily to organise internal information. Think of documents, schedules, manuals and company updates. It is often linked to other systems, so that employees have easier access to important tools and information. That creates overview, but not necessarily connection.

Where an intranet falls short

In practice, an intranet often turns out to be an environment where information sits without being used much. Employees have to search for it themselves, updates get missed and interaction stays limited. An intranet organises information, but it does not automatically bring people together. The result:

• Information is read less often;
• Knowledge stays within teams;
• Communication feels distant.

What is a community platform?

A community platform is a digital environment in which people actively talk to each other around a shared theme. Those people can be members, but equally customers, employees, volunteers or partners. Where an intranet is mainly about structuring and retrieving information, a community platform is about interaction: responding, contributing and finding each other.

A community platform usually contains:

• News and updates for the whole community;
• Discussion groups and forums for interaction and knowledge sharing;
• Events and calendars;
• Documents and files that are easy for everyone to find.

When do you choose an intranet?

An intranet is the right choice when your organisation mainly needs overview and structure: a central environment for policies, handbooks, schedules and company information that employees need to be able to find easily. This suits organisations with clear departments, fixed processes and a hierarchical structure, such as construction, logistics or healthcare.

When do you choose a community platform?

A community platform is the right choice when the goal is mainly to actively involve people and connect them with each other: members of an association, customers of a brand, or employees spread across multiple locations who want to feel part of a larger whole. Here the emphasis is on conversation, recognition and shared experience, not on document management.

The question that usually follows: what if our members do not pick it up? Adoption depends less on the technology than on the reason to open the environment. When the news, the event registrations and the member directory sit together, there is a reason to come back every week. Padelcentrum Noord-Limburg saw its business club grow from around 30 to 125 members. As Koen, who started the business club, describes it:

"Members appreciate having everything clearly together in one environment. That keeps the community active and engaged between events as well."

Can you combine an intranet and a community platform?

In practice, many organisations need both: structure and connection. That is why you can bundle both into one environment.

With Bundeling Employees you set up an intranet environment for your employees, covering policies, processes and internal knowledge. With Bundeling Members you build a community platform for your members, customers or volunteers, with news, chats and interaction. Bundeling Sports is a community platform for sports clubs and business clubs. The solutions can be used separately or in combination, depending on what your organisation needs.

Stichting Venloop chose structure and connection. Operational documents and a photo directory with names, roles and faces sit centrally in the app, so coordinators always work with the right version and reach the right person. The same environment is used to sustain the engagement of around 1,000 volunteers. As Sanne van Gerven, employee of Stichting Venloop, explains:

"Building a beautiful physical event remains our foundation, but through the Bundeling app we also strengthen the bond with our volunteers in the digital environment."

Why organisations choose Bundeling

Six years ago, PSV started out with a platform that was far from being used to its full potential. Today it is the digital core of the PSV Business Community: news, events, match information and connections between business members, with labels ensuring each message only reaches the right group. What stands out in the data: the app is opened not only on matchdays, but especially outside them. Business members no longer need to dig through their inbox for tickets or news.

As PSV puts it:

"We notice that relations respond much faster to registrations than before."

Because the team manages its communication entirely itself, it is no longer dependent on other departments to do so.

That is also the practical argument for a single platform: you can start with structure and expand into interaction later, without switching environments.

What clients say about Bundeling

At VVV-Venlo, employees, volunteers and players come together within VVV Verbindt, their own app on the Bundeling platform. Labels determine which group sees which message, so an update about a new colleague reaches the office team and an invitation to the volunteers' evening reaches the volunteers. As Guus Pennings, managing director of VVV-Venlo, puts it:

"Showing appreciation for your employees and volunteers is not only about saying it and organising activities, but also, to a large extent, about keeping them informed."

On the employee side we see the same at organisations such as Geerets de Leeuw, where practically the entire workforce uses the app daily, at Seacon Logistics and at Laudy Bouw & Ontwikkeling, which uses the app specifically for communication with employees on site.

Intranet vs. community platform: the key differences

Frequently asked questions about intranets and community platforms

What is the difference between an intranet and a community platform?

An intranet is mainly aimed at structuring and retrieving information within an organisation. A community platform is aimed at interaction: members, customers or employees actively talking to each other around a shared theme.

What is the difference between an intranet and an extranet?

An intranet is intended for internal communication. When you also use that same environment to give external parties access, such as customers or partners, we call it an extranet. The difference is not in the technology, but in who has access.

Can I combine an intranet and a community platform?

Yes. Many organisations use an intranet for internal structure and a community platform to actively involve members, customers or employees. Bundeling offers both from one platform, so you can start with one of the two and expand later.

Is a social intranet the same as a community platform?

A social intranet adds elements such as news feeds and comments to a traditional intranet, but usually remains focused on employees within a single organisation. A community platform is often set up more broadly, for members, customers or partners, with more room for open interaction.

Which solution suits an association or sports club?

For associations and sports clubs, a community platform is usually the better choice, because the emphasis is on the engagement of members, volunteers and supporters rather than on internal business processes.

Which solution suits an organisation with a large workforce?

For companies with multiple departments or locations, an intranet is often the starting point, with the option to expand into a more social, interaction-led environment once engagement becomes more important.