The 5 best enterprise intranet software options for impactful comms in 2025
Does communicating in your enterprise organization sometimes feel like shouting into the void?
With so many departments, locations, and a combination of in-office, hybrid, remote, or frontline workers, it’s hard to know if a company-wide memo is resonating — or if your employees feel engaged with your culture in general.
That’s where enterprise intranet software comes in.
The right intranet can help streamline your comms and unify your workforce. An enterprise intranet serves as the central hub where your organization’s internal communications and resources live. A well-designed intranet supports business processes, encourages culture-building, and acts as a critical resource for employees, providing everything from company news to HR forms, project management tools, and more.
If you’re considering an enterprise intranet, there are a ton of options out there. In this article, we’ll help break down what an enterprise internet is, the most common challenges of legacy or IT-heavy systems, and how to make the right enterprise intranet software choice for your organization’s unique needs.
What is an enterprise intranet?
An enterprise intranet is a secure, scalable foundation of internal communication. Think of it as your central hub for communication, collaboration, and knowledge at the enterprise scale — it’s designed for security, compliance, and governance across regions. An enterprise intranet is especially important to make employees feel connected to one another and your organization, no matter where they work.
But how is an enterprise intranet different from SMB intranets?
The main difference lies in the fit for an organization's size and capacity to manage an intranet. An SMB with fewer than 500 people operating in one or a few different locations has vastly different needs than an enterprise with thousands of employees across multiple, usually global locations.
And while a smaller company might prefer an out-of-the-box, more traditional intranet solution, an enterprise intranet is highly customizable for diverse and global teams. Some of the customizations include built-in analytics to measure employee engagement, the ability to assign specific editorial roles across internal comms and HR teams, and the function to tailor content for specific departments, regions, and employee groups.
And enterprise intranets are much more robust than other collaboration tools like Miro or Notion. While those tools are good for real-time communication or brainstorming, an enterprise intranet helps maintain that one source of truth that’s easy to navigate and actively encourages employee engagement. That’s because an enterprise intranet syncs with your internal newsletter, employee app, and digital signage to communicate with desk-bound and frontline workers alike.
If you’re looking for an enterprise component of enterprise intranet in 2025, it’s important to find a software that is mobile-first, multilingual, and AI-assisted for smarter reach and inclusivity. Staffbase intranet is one solution that fits the bill. Our AI-native Employee Experience Platform combines intranet, employee app, and analytics into one unified platform that’s built specifically for large organizations.
Before we dig deeper into the software out in the market, let’s get into why a large company needs an enterprise communication software in the first place.
Why large companies need an enterprise communication software
No matter how much you’ve invested in communications in your enterprise organization, there’s no denying howthat it’s incredibly complex it is to reach and engage global, hybrid, and frontline workforces.
You have what seems like endless employee groups with completely different needs. While you want to send timely communications out to all employees, you also want to cultivate a sense of culture and belonging. How do you know that you’re reaching the right group with the right message at the right time? And how do you know if they’re actually reading or engaged with your content?
It’s not an easy feat. But it’s a challenge that an enterprise intranet is up for.
With enterprise communication software, you can:
Send consistent, secure, compliant communication across global teams.
Scale to manage thousands of users and channels without IT dependency.
Localize language and enable AI-powered translation so that your diverse teams receive accurate information.
Reach deskless workers through mobile access — and send real-time updates that they’ll be guaranteed to receive.
And with Staffbase, your enterprise can cut through the noise and reach the people that matter when you need to most. Our all-in-one platform helps you improve reach, trust, and message visibility at scale with integrated mobile and web experiences.
And while we’re biased (seriously, though, Staffbase is #1), let’s take a deeper look at the must-have features for your future enterprise software.
Must-have features to look for in an enterprise software
Okay, so you’re in the market for enterprise software. Whether you’re browsing and feeling overwhelmed or about to make a final pitch to your leadership team, we’re here to make your decision easier for you.
These are the key features that you should be looking for in an enterprise intranet platform:
Security and compliance: SSO, encryption, permission workflows, and GDPR readiness. At Staffbase, we strongly believe that security shouldn’t be an afterthought. With our enterprise-ready support, you can fully depend on a safe and reliable platform suited for your organization’s unique needs.
Scalability: multi-country structure, flexible admin roles, and stable performance so you can easily scale your comms for any region. This is a core function of Staffbase intranet — as a global team ourselves, we understand how vital it is to scale your comms across countries.
Mobile-first: branded app, push notifications, and offline access. This is crucial for frontline workers who might not easily have regular access to a desktop or company email, especially in times of crisis when you need to send urgent communications. The best employee apps (like Staffbase Employee Email) also allow you to measure engagement with real-time metrics.
Localization: automated translation, regional targeting, and local publishing rights.
AI capabilities: smart content recommendations, predictive analytics, auto-translation, and engagement insights. With Staffbase Employee AI, you’ll be on the cutting edge with AI‑generated personal digests, smarter search, and the AI assistant delivering clarity, speed, and personalization for all employees.
Engagement tools: employee surveys, news targeting, internal campaigns, and analytics. This is a core function of Staffbase — we’re built to foster employee engagement with pulse surveys and real-time metrics with Staffbase Smart Impact so you can prove the ROI of your internal comms (and pivot when you need to).
Integrations: HRIS, M365, Slack, and SharePoint integrations so that your teams can seamlessly share and access files when and wherever they need them. Staffbase’s flexible integrations make sure that your comms don’t live in a vacuum. You can give employees personalized access to their most used systems while making sure that you can still manage them. For example, sync employee attributes from your HRIS to establish user groups, create distribution lists, and target content that will resonate with them.
Looking for an enterprise intranet that checks all the boxes? Staffbase uniquely combines all of these features in one AI-native Employee Experience Platform that’s simple to deploy, measurable, and easy to use. That’s because our intranet was built with you in mind to face the real day-to-day challenges of enterprises.
Still wondering why you need an enterprise-specific software instead of a regular intranet? Let’s get into the challenges that a lot of organizations face when they go with a traditional intranet.
Common challenges large enterprises face with traditional intranets
While a traditional intranet might work for SMBs, it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach for large enterprises.
There are many obstacles that enterprises face with outdated systems. Here are some of the most common challenges — and solutions:
1. Low engagement and limited mobile access
Obstacle: Legacy intranets or email-based systems often fail to reach frontline or remote employees. Mobile experiences are clunky or non-existent, resulting in low engagement and fragmented communication.
Solution: Staffbase delivers a mobile-first employee app and intranet that ensures every employee — from headquarters to the shop floor — can access news, updates, and tools anytime, anywhere. Our intuitive design drives high adoption and active engagement, uniting your entire workforce.
2. Security gaps and compliance risks from unapproved tools
Obstacle: When outdated platforms can’t meet communication needs, employees may turn to unapproved apps (WhatsApp, Facebook groups, etc.). These unapproved tools can open up a can of worms: data privacy, compliance, and security vulnerabilities, or, in contrast, tool sprawl: too many tools with overlap.
Plus, you also won’t have any governance or insight into their communication, which makes it difficult to triage or manage comms — especially in a crisis.
Solution: Staffbase provides an enterprise-grade, compliant platform, giving you the peace of mind that you have a secure environment to reach every employee.
Our best-in-class security protects customer data throughout its entire lifecycle in the platform. We’ve got a powerful suite of customizable settings and tools that also allow you to further define your own security and privacy parameters.
3. Scalability limits that slow publishing or create IT bottlenecks
Obstacle: A lot of older systems struggle to scale for growing businesses and their needs, such as reaching employees globally or handling large content volumes for diverse audiences. In this case, communicators will rely heavily on IT for updates, delaying critical announcements.
Solution: Staffbase’s cloud-based, globally scalable infrastructure enables instant publishing to all channels with no IT dependency. With Staffbase Companion, our AI-assisted workflows simplify content creation and distribution, ensuring speed, consistency, and reliability at enterprise scale. Companion also provides a secure and scalable solution through Microsoft Azure Open AI.
4. Language and localization barriers are causing disconnected teams
Obstacle: Some older intranets only support one language communication, which can alienate multilingual teams and regional offices. And, as a result, there’s a higher risk of miscommunication and a disengaged workforce.
Solution: Staffbase supports automated translation and localized content targeting, ensuring messages are relevant, culturally adapted, and accessible to every employee — wherever they are in the world. Easily translate content while you’re editing with Staffbase Companion’s AI-powered multi-language. You’ll remove language barriers and make employees feel more connected than ever before.
5. Lack of analytics or AI insights to measure communication success
Obstacle: Traditional systems offer little to no visibility into who engages with content or what messages resonate, leaving communicators guessing about impact.
Solution: With built-in analytics dashboards and AI-driven insights, Staffbase empowers communicators to measure reach, engagement, and sentiment in real time.
In a nutshell: We transform internal comms from guesswork into an AI-native Employee Engagement Platform grounded in data-driven strategy.
6. Dependency on IT resources for complex solutions like SharePoint
Obstacle: Platforms like SharePoint often require IT expertise for even small updates or design changes, making communicators dependent and less agile than with an enterprise-ready intranet.
Solution: Staffbase solutions are designed for all kinds of communicators — no tech expertise required. Our self-service intranet CMS, drag-and-drop blocks, and AI assistance empower your comms and HR teams to manage, publish, and optimize content independently. The bonus? Your IT team then gets more time to focus on strategic initiatives instead of tickets.
The Staffbase advantage: Overcome comms obstacles stress-free
While outdated systems create fragmentation, risk, and inefficiency, Staffbase is the complete opposite. Our secure, enterprise intranet unifies communication through a secure, AI-enhanced, and scalable infrastructure that ensures:
High adoption through a modern, mobile-first experience
Global governance and enterprise-grade security
Measurable impact with analytics and AI insights
Ready to see what we can do for your organization? Book a demo with our Staffbase team today.
Inspiring real-world enterprise intranets that are transforming internal communication and engagement
Want to see the success of an enterprise intranet in action? Let’s explore some stories of global companies that transformed their internal communication and engagement:
Geberit
Founded in 1874 in Rapperswil, Switzerland, Geberit is the European market leader for sanitary products with 26 production plants. With over 12,000 employees spread across 50 countries, they faced a major communication challenge: reaching both in-office workers and non-desk workers.
So when they came to Staffbase, they wanted to build an intranet that was not only intuitive to use and interact with social posts and surveys, but also accessible via desktop or mobile.
The post-intranet launch numbers speak for themselves: a 70% registration rate, as well as 500,000 page views and 8,000 likes in the first eight months. The intranet also reduced the burden on their IT team — communicators can make strategic and operational changes in the intranet without having to rely on IT.
With more time freed up, Geberit’s comms function can now focus on what really matters: building a strong company culture and employee experience.
Heraeus Holding GmbH
The Heraeus technology group is a leading global portfolio company with more than 100 locations in over 40 countries. Heraeus is one of the top 10 family-owned companies in Germany and employs around 14,900 people.
Since Heraeus has a broad portfolio of businesses in the fields of environment, electronics, health, and industrial applications, its communications could feel fragmented. On top of this, having a global, multilingual workforce was also a challenge.
The solution: build a customizable hub for all employees, no matter where or when they work. Now with Staffbase’s enterprise intranet solution, Heraeus can reach all employees on desktop and mobile with personalized communications.
From the launchpad, employees can jump directly to all the tools and services they use every day — like the HR portal, security log, or MS 365. Staffbase also allows them to set whether tools should be displayed only on the desktop launchpad, the mobile version, or from both.
And the launch results have exceeded Heraeus’ expectations:
10,000 active intranet users
40,000 likes
More than 5,000 comments
7.3 million views of the homepage in the first six months
It’s now become a morning routine for employees to check the Heraeus intranet, as natural as grabbing the first cup of coffee.
What more could a communications team want?
The best enterprise intranet provider in 2025
Looking for the right enterprise intranet for your company?
We know it’s not an easy decision.
That’s why we’ve broken down the top five enterprise intranet providers in 2025, complete with pros and cons, to help make your decision a little easier.
Staffbase: The trusted intranet solution for large enterprises
Staffbase is an AI-native Employee Experience Platform with a robust, secure intranet for global enterprises. Overall, it’s a multichannel solution that unifies Staffbase intranet, email, digital signage, and mobile communications (including an employee app and SMS comms) under one umbrella.
Key features:
Security and compliance: Staffbase is hosted on Azure, supports SSO, and enterprise-grade security on a global scale.
Multichannel publishing: Mobile app (for frontline and non-email workers), desktop intranet portal, email newsletters, digital signage, SMS alerts.
Integration with enterprise tools/HRIS/comm stack: Native integrations with Microsoft 365 (SharePoint, Teams, Viva), SAP, Workday, etc.
Multilingual and global content reach: Staffbase supports translation and localization across geographies.
Analytics and surveys: With Smart Impact (aka Staffbase intranet analytics), you can measure not just reach but sentiment, visibility, engagement, and built-in pulse surveys.
No IT support needed: Enable your internal comms teams to publish content with an intuitive CMS, manage editorial calendar, and permissions — all without putting strain on IT.
Pros:
Built specifically for internal communications and an AI-empowered employee experience
Multi-channel reach ensures messages reach all employees, not just office workers
The ability to easily personalize content for each employee group, enterprise-grade integrations, including the Microsoft ecosystem and HRIS, as well as strong security and governance
Powerful analytics and engagement metrics built in, which help communicators measure their messages’ impact
Robust multilingual and localized content, with global governance options powered by AI
Cons:
Because Staffbase offers many channels (mobile, SMS, signage, email), the implementation needs to be managed carefully
Administrative view is primarily on a desktop
Who should consider Staffbase?
Mid-to-large enterprises that are looking to personalize email communications for a wide
range of employees, reduce IT dependence, and deliver measurable impact.
If your goals include global reach, multilingual content, strong governance, and measurement of internal communications impact, Staffbase is a top choice.
2. LumApps
LumApps is a cloud-based employee intranet and digital workplace solution designed to enhance internal communication, collaboration, and engagement within organizations.
Pros:
Highly customizable platform, enabling organizations to tailor the intranet to their specific needs.
Analytics and AI search: dashboards, sentiment analysis, and personalized content feeds
Seamlessly integrates with popular productivity tools like Google Workspace and M365.
Cons:
Because of its scale, implementation may be complex and require more IT/technical resources
Limited customization in LumApps (i.e., adjusting layouts), which can hinder communicators’ efforts to enhance engagement
Weak analytics has been highlighted in the voice of customer feedback
Who should consider LumApps?
Enterprises looking for a strong CMS, integrations with Google and Microsoft, and willing to invest in a more technical, customizable platform.
3. Simplrr
Simpplr is a modern intranet and employee experience platform with a strong focus on personalization, employee listening, and recognition.
Pros:
Enterprise AI Search connects external repositories such as Google Drive, Confluence, and Box
Built-in rewards and recognition features
Strong survey and employee listening capabilities: built-in pulse surveys and analytics dashboards
s
Cons:
Simpplr is primarily built for office-based environments, with limited support for deskless or on-the-go workers.
Limited branding and customization options
Basic multichannel communications tools
Who should consider Simplrr?
Content-heavy businesses require advanced search capabilities to help employees find company information quickly.
4. Unily
Unily is a feature-rich intranet platform built for large, complex organizations. It combines strong Microsoft 365 integration with extensive customization options, making it a strong choice for enterprises that prioritize internal knowledge sharing, design flexibility, and collaboration across departments and regions.
Pros:
Seamless Microsoft 365 integration
Advanced personalization and design flexibility
Good social, recognition, and collaboration features
Cons:
More complex implementation and setup
It can be overwhelming for small teams or limited IT support
Offerings might be expensive due to additional costs for customization
Who should consider Unily?
Unily is a good fit for large enterprises looking for a highly customizable, Microsoft-friendly intranet that supports governance, localization, and deep organizational hierarchies.
5. Workvivo
Workvivo (now part of Zoom Video Communications) is an Enterprise Social Network focused on engagement, culture, and recognition, with intranet-type functionality and HRIS integrations.
Pros:
Social-style feed, recognition tools, and engagement features
Integrations with HRIS (Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, BambooHR), SSO/identity providers, and collaboration tools
Cons:
May have less depth in traditional intranet capabilities (structured CMS, multichannel publishing, large-scale governance) compared to intranet-specialist platforms
Basic Microsoft integrations
More engagement-focused than strategic
Some users report slower mobile performance and functionality gaps with messaging tools.
Who should consider Workvivo?
Large organizations with a strong focus on employee engagement, culture, and recognition. If your priority is engagement rather than structured content management or heavy governance, Workvivo might be a good option.
How to decide on the best enterprise intranet portal to scale your internal comms success
Still on the fence about choosing an enterprise intranet that’s right for your company?
Well, let’s put it this way: when you’re running communications for a large, complex organization, your intranet needs to do more than just store documents.
Your intranet to connect every employee — across offices, time zones, and employee groups — with consistent, measurable, and secure communication.
That’s exactly where Staffbase stands out from the competition. Our intranet is built for enterprise scale and designed to help comms teams reach your whole workforce through one unified platform.
But don’t just take our word for it.
Take it from Alaska Air Group.
Why Staffbase leads for enterprise internal comms
When Alaska Air Group’s traditional intranet kept crashing during times of urgent employee updates, they knew they had to look for a new solution.
After all, as an airline company, communication is key to their success. In 2024 alone, Alaska flew over 49 million passengers 2024 and generated $11.7 billion. Behind the scenes, there are 30,000+ employees supporting that success. They couldn’t afford an unreliable intranet, especially in critical times when employees need to receive messages the most.
In a nutshell, Alaska needed an enterprise intranet that they could trust.
Here are some of the benefits they experienced with Staffbase:
Enterprise-ready from the ground up
Staffbase delivers proven scalability and enterprise-grade security, powered by Microsoft Azure. We’re trusted by leading global brands, like Alaska, to manage internal communications across thousands of employees worldwide.
For Alaska, launching their new Staffbase intranet and connected employee mobile app was so smooth. Adoption rates in the first year of launch — 99.5% — were double the goal. In fact, the internal goal of 50% by the first year was far surpassed in two months, with 85% adoption.
One platform, every channel — for global communication
Unlike traditional intranet tools focused solely on desktop users, Staffbase takes a multichannel approach. Whether through intranet, mobile app, email newsletters, or digital signage, you can reach every employee with one consistent message — no matter where they are in the world or their workday.
Our built-in, AI-powered translation and localized content management empower global teams to adapt messaging for regional audiences, all while still maintaining a unified brand voice.
David Henrich, Senior Manager of Communication Operations at Alaska, puts it best: “The biggest value of Staffbase for complex, distributed workforces like ours is that it allows you to communicate agnostically. Regardless of what you do for work, how you get your information, and where you are, you can be reached in the way that you want to be reached with information that you need to do your job.”
Analytics that prove your impact
With Smart Impact, communications teams get clear visibility into engagement, reach, and sentiment. No more guesswork. Just actionable insights to continuously improve your strategy.
The Alaska communication team can look at Staffbase’s analytics suite to understand content performance and reinforce key information, as well as tailor how long flagship content gets highlighted.
Improved employee experience
The right enterprise intranet can elevate the employee experience at your organization, helping grow your culture, retention levels, and even hiring (because, well, people hear that you’re a great place to work)!
When they came to Staffbase, Alaska wanted to target employees with relevant information based on their role and location, offering a tailored homepage experience that matched each employee’s needs. They also wanted to create a single source of truth that would help boost productivity and morale, compared to the outdated technology and tools that lived on different systems and platforms, which made it difficult for them to perform their jobs.
Now, with Staffbase, Alaska employees can easily and seamlessly find the information they need when they need it, regardless of what device they use or where they’re accessing the intranet. And that ease of use makes all the difference in their day.
“We had this existing one-size-fits-all intranet,” David said. “But one-size-fits-all does not work in our industry. Employees need the right information at the right time and to connect in the way that’s right for them.”
Closing the gaps competitors leave behind
While other platforms like Simplrr or Unily may shine in niche areas like UX or social recognition, Staffbase fills the gaps by combining security, scalability, analytics, and multichannel communication in one powerful platform.
If your goal is to move beyond managing an intranet and start creating a truly connected, informed, and engaged workforce like Alaska Airline Group’s, consider Staffbase Intranet and discover how it can scale your internal communications success.
What makes Staffbase the best intranet for enterprises?
Finding the best intranet software isn’t easy — especially when you’re balancing security, scalability, and the need to reach every employee.
And while the market is full of strong contenders, one platform continues to rise above the rest: Staffbase.
Staffbase isn’t just another intranet. It’s a complete, AI-native Employee Experience Platform designed to unify your global workforce. With AI-powered insights, multi-channel publishing, and seamless integrations across Microsoft 365, SAP, and Workday, Staffbase empowers internal communicators to create real impact without waiting on IT.
From the frontline to in-office, every employee stays connected through a single, secure ecosystem that brings together intranet, email, mobile app, and digital signage.
Here’s what makes Staffbase stand out:
Enterprise-grade security and governance with Azure hosting and global compliance
Truly multi-channel communication — reaching every employee, everywhere
Powerful analytics and pulse surveys for actionable insights and measurable engagement
Easy-to-use CMS that puts publishing power in the hands of communicators
Multilingual and localized content that scales effortlessly across regions with the power of AI
For enterprises that need global reach, measurable results, and a world-class employee experience, Staffbase delivers it all in one platform.
While several other competitors bring unique strengths to the table, each has its limitations:
LumApps offers deep integrations and solid analytics, but implementation can be complex, and customization is limited — making large-scale content management a challenge.
Simplrr excels at AI-driven search and analytics, yet its design flexibility and frontline mobile experience lag behind more mature platforms.
Unily is feature-rich and great for multi-brand environments, but customization often comes with a high price tag and limited personalization.
Workvivo (now part of Zoom) focuses on engagement and social culture, but lacks the structured intranet governance and depth needed by large, global organizations.
Each of these platforms brings value, but when it comes to unifying communication, ensuring security, and engaging every employee across multiple channels, Staffbase remains the gold standard.
And for the third consecutive year, Staffbase has been named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Intranet Packaged Solutions (IPS). For us, this continued recognition reinforces what thousands of customers already know: Staffbase is one of the most trusted and innovative intranet and employee experience platforms in the market — and now, the one shaping the future in the age of AI.
But we know that you have to see the difference for yourself.
Experience the enterprise intranet trusted by leading global enterprises to power their communications and employee engagement.
Want to see how you can transform internal communications into measurable business impact with Staffbase?
