In 2008, KCLS surveyed staff to determine how the Intranet could best meet the needs of the organization. Staff told us that information was hard to find and/or that the information they found hadn't been updated. Also, blogs and wikis had created ancillary sites that detracted from the Intranet, making staff unsure where to find the central and authoritative source for information. It became clear that KCLS needed an easy to use and up-to-date Intranet that facilitated staff communication, provided a tool for staff collaboration and integrated KCLS’ existing technology systems.

After surveying staff, KCLS began comparing content management systems as a solution for improving the functionality and searchability of the Intranet. For the scale of KCLS business needs, and to integrate with existing technology systems, KCLS purchased and implemented Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, which offers a number of key benefits:

• Returns power over content to content owners
• Increases turnaround time for new pages and changes
• Facilitates collaboration and increases communication
• Creates greater consistency
• Improves site navigation and site flexibility
• Reduces duplication of information
• Integrates with Microsoft Office and Web 2.0 technologies
• Greater capacity for growth

A team of staff from across KCLS worked throughout 2010 to design and develop a new SharePoint-powered KCLS Intranet, which officially launched on Tuesday, January 11, 2011. Using the new Intranet staff can now more easily locate or search for information needed to do their jobs and find less duplicated and out-of-date information while doing so. In addition, staff is being empowered to create, upload and maintain their own content, and collaborate using the new platform.