The Nielsen Norman Group has published a report reviewing the design and usability of the world’s top 10 intranets.

The report showcases the best intranets from around the world, chosen from a larger number of nominations. Among the top 10 are the UK based intranets of Logica, a business and technology service company and Everything Everywhere, the joint venture between Orange and T-Mobile in the UK.

The other winning intranets are:
CenturyLink Business, a telecommunications company (US)
Genentech, a biotechnology company (US)
LivePerson, Inc., a communications company (US)
MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, provider of large-bore diesel engines and turbomachinery for marine and stationary applications (Germany)
NCR Corporation, a technology company (US)
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, a marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care (US)
Skanska, a project development and construction group (Sweden)
Staples, Inc., an office products company (US)

The report features detailed case studies of each of the 10 winning intranet designs including discussions of the main problems they faced and how these problems were overcome in the redesign process.

Social networking and personalization rose to higher levels this year’s report but the top 10 intranets were found wanting in mobile functionality. Only Genentech offered mobile representation in its series of iOS apps. Both Logica and Scotts Miracle-Gro offer mobile intranet access to employees on the network, but neither site is optimized for mobile. The Nielsen Norman Group suggests that the low proportion of mobile intranets is due to limiting factors such as budget, resources and choosing which mobile device to focus on.

The two UK based intranets featured in the report are the Everything Everywhere intranet and Logica’s intranet, created by The Team.

The Everything Everywhere team were praised for focusing on a clean design and content that mattered most in a time of transition, with clear content guidelines keeping information on the site compelling, concise, and relevant to employees.

Logica’s intranet programme manager commented, ‘“We needed a partner who could translate ideas and concepts into user interface designs that met brand, engagement and usability objectives. The Team worked with us as part of our intranet programme, bringing fresh, independent ideas to the design process. It was good to have our ideas and plans challenged -with their support we were able to be bolder in our thinking and make changes we’d never have dared to do previously”.