Natalie Monko Lead Project Manager

• Fintech

December 1, 2022 4 min read

Intranet Applications in Banks: 3 Practical Tips for a Perfect Collaboration Tool

There are many applications of intranet in banks, from document management to enterprise communication. Financial companies and corporations are building intranets to digitize routine processes, improve team cooperation, and increase efficiency. With the growing adoption of automation solutions and BYOD policies, the intranet software market is expected to rise by $15.42 billion during 2022–2026, at a CAGR of 14.12%.

In this article, we will describe the primary benefits of intranets for banks and list the top features you should deliver. 

Why banks and financial companies need an intranet

Representing a computer network accessible to an organization and its staff only, an intranet uses LAN connectivity to allow employees to safely collaborate on files, share data, and communicate with each other. Document management, reporting, and task tracking are among the main applications of intranet in banks.

Top 3 tips for intranet development

In order to create an effective intranet solution, it is important to follow the recommendations listed below.

1. Identify the key features 

Prior to intranet development, it is crucial to determine company objectives and the pain points of your employees. Thanks to this, you will be able to prioritize features properly. Have a look at the basic functionality of an intranet application.

Top 6 features of intranet banking apps 

• Search

Fast and convenient search is vital to processing customer inquiries in a rapid way. We recommend that you implement an AI-powered search engine to display relevant information, recognize user intentions, and personalize search results.

• News

In the news portal, banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions can publish company data, press releases, events, staff updates, and blog posts. 

As for our experience, we built an HR application to promote training programs and improve learning. Our team created a news feed that lets users read and submit articles, suggest topics, as well as earn points.

• Employee profiles

Every user in the network should have a personal profile with details like name, contacts, department, skills, areas of expertise, certifications, and languages spoken.

• Chat

Private and group chats will allow colleagues to share information, discuss projects, and socialize. In addition, you should allow employees to send instant messages to a single user or an entire group.

• Document management

Thanks to investment in corporate intranets, banks can take advantage of streamlined document management. With an intranet application, it is possible to automate the process of searching, editing, and commenting on documents. 

Furthermore, this will enable employees to simultaneously look through the files to resolve arising issues on an urgent basis. Additionally, you will centralize data in one place. To cut time to market, software development teams integrate intranets with third-party services such as Microsoft 365, Sharepoint, and Google Workspace.

• Task management & reporting

To digitize paper-based workflows and increase efficiency, you can develop task management functionality. Speaking of our projects, our team created an ERP application for KFC that allows for tracking and managing job activities. Using the platform, KFC automated processes like work planning, scheduling, reporting, and performance monitoring.

2. Implement intuitive navigation 

To boost staff satisfaction and productivity, it is crucial to provide seamless navigation. Users should be able to easily find any piece of data. For this purpose, engineers need to make a robust search engine capable of indexing all materials.

We recommend that you implement an AI-powered search engine to display relevant information, recognize user intentions, and personalize search results.

With this functionality, users will be able to quickly find the necessary files, documents, and policies while sorting by filters like date, author, and signature. 

3. Ensure data security 

As intranets operate with sensitive information, it is essential to ensure data security. So, software development teams should add features such as two-factor authentication, role-based data access control, biometrics (i.e., facial/fingerprint recognition), and SSL encryption. 

Concerning our projects, we implemented facial recognition in a business process management system for KFC.

Hire a trusted vendor for your intranet project

At Surf, we have vast experience in building banking and financial products that include intranet solutions. Our team delivered dozens of mobile and web apps that have helped our clients digitize manual workflows, boost staff engagement, and save costs.