We proudly support the top 3 platform leaders on the 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Intranet Packaged Solutions report. Learn more here.
October 26, 2023
At Social Edge, our deep understanding of the transformative power of community, connection, and collaboration drives our mission. We firmly believe that cultivating these core values within your organization is the essential key to unlocking its full potential.
Selecting the right intranet digital workplace platform is a crucial decision that demands careful consideration. We grasp the complexity of this process, recognizing the wealth of options available to meet your intranet needs. Drawing from our extensive experience collaborating with numerous clients on evaluations and community implementations, we've thoughtfully curated a selection of platforms, each with a proven track record. Our approach prioritizes understanding the unique strengths of each platform, avoiding the simplification of broad star ratings. This commitment is why individuals and organizations turn to us as their trusted third-party solution provider.
Now, let's explore one of the outstanding intranet platforms featured on our shortlist—Igloo.
Igloo is a digital workplace intranet platform that makes it easy: easy to implement, easy to manage, and easy to navigate. Many companies that migrate to Igloo from other platforms find it to be a breath of fresh air. The learning curve is low, and the platform itself resembles other popular intranets which means it is easy to recreate what you had before if you choose.
Igloo recently launched another platform called Igloo Flex, designed to unify desked and frontline employees. We saw a sneak peak, and we’re excited about the direction they’re going.
Igloo is designed to serve a wide range of organizations, from small teams to large enterprises. It can easily be operated by a compact group or a large workforce. Igloo functions as both a top-down communication tool, enabling efficient information distribution from leadership to the entire organization, and a collaborative workspace where employees can seamlessly collaborate on day-to-day projects. Its adaptability and functionality make it a valuable resource for organizations of all sizes, providing an inclusive solution for streamlined communication and enhanced project collaboration.
And because Igloo has a large customer base that includes a combination of desked and frontline employees, their new platform is designed to ensure that all users have the best intranet experience, however they log in and wherever they are.
Igloo stands out for a few key reasons, all of which work together to ensure your digital workplace can be a success: Solutions, Knowledge Base, Customer Support, and Customer Room. Let’s dive deeper into each:
Solutions: Igloo makes launch easy with their out-of-the-box solutions. These solutions come ready to go, populating your key use cases with pre-selected widgets and channels so you can get up and running quickly. Some of the most popular Solutions are Newsroom, Onboarding Center, Company Directory, Team Rooms, and Recognition Center.
Knowledge Base: Igloo stands out far beyond its competitors with its incredible knowledge base. They have well-written articles about every topic, and they are easy to find using search. It is truly a delight when we need to get answers quickly. You might think this would be a given for all platforms, but that is not the case. For this reason, Igloo stands far ahead.
Customer Support: When you need more support than the knowledge base can give you, Igloo’s customer support process is also top-notch. The team is fast and responsive. Opening a support ticket is simple as well—all it takes is sending an email.
Customer Room: Every Igloo customer gets their own private space on the Customer Care site where they can view all meeting notes and recordings from their launch preparation, ask questions to their CSM and any partner support staff, and keep all their decisions organized in one place.
Igloo’s regular releases ensure that they are always innovating: whether that means improving functionality, adding features, or populating their gadget store with new (paid) gadgets, you will always find something new. They also listen to their customers. When they changed Event functionality to remove the ability to create events in the past, their customers posted in Customer Care explaining why the ability to create past events was important for their communities. It didn’t take long for Igloo to bring that functionality back.
Additionally, Igloo also holds regular webinars where customers can see what successful Igloo digital workplaces are doing and learn from experienced community and intranet managers. Their annual ICE Tour is a great way to engage with other customers, learn about the roadmap, and see how people are using the platform.
We would like to see improved out of the box analytics. The data in their analytics section is basic, without much ability for true insights into the digital workplace’s performance. Igloo does offer incredibly valuable and robust reports for a cost, so the data is there. We would love to see these made more widely available directly from the Site Manager, Igloo’s admin console.
Another piece of feedback we regularly hear is that the original Igloo digital workplace has an outdated look and feel, especially compared with other platforms out there.
However, Igloo recently announced the launch of their new platform called Igloo Flex. We got a sneak peek and while it is a separate platform (meaning, existing customers who are interested will need to migrate) it provides a sleek, modern interface that companies want. With simplified content types, built-in generative AI functionality, and easy-to-manage admin features, we are excited about what the future holds. Flex is designed to meet the needs of employees whether they are frontline or desked workers, with impressive mobile capabilities.
Igloo has so much going for it—ease of set up, top notch support, incredible knowledge base, and now a new and improved interface. With their continuous improvements and willingness to listen to their customers, Igloo would be a smart choice for companies large or small to add to their shortlist.
Need to see more? Watch our video for a concise breakdown that will help you decide if Igloo is the right fit for your organization's modern intranet needs.
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