File Management Utility
Among the most valuable benefits an intranet offers an organization is its information centralization. This can give all employees access to corporate data in a single location, and reduce the cost and time required for maintaining multiple file servers.
From an informational perspective, an intranet should be used for more than just the dissemination of raw and processed data. It should be used as a primary method for distributing and maintaining a document repository for all employees. Instead of making sure that all employees have the most current Microsoft Word templates, PowerPoint files and corporate logos installed on their machines, all these documents should be located on the corporate intranet. This will become the default destination for users seeking these files.
A file management utility will allow select administrators to add, edit, and delete documents through a web-based (HTTP) interface instead of requiring File Transfer Protocol (FTP) access to the intranet server's document repository - a significant security benefit. It can also tie into a User Management system to check user profile for required permission levels to access certain documents and document areas. Delegating the maintenance for areas of what can become a significant file store will ensure that someone has responsibility for every file group.
While most organizations have unique IT infrastructures, there are some that configure their intranets to run on machines that are also accessible through a local network. In instances where this is the case, Microsoft Office and some other collaborative systems such as Lotus Notes allow "Workgroup Templates" to be defined (any local or network directory path is valid). If this is possible in your organization, you may want to consider allowing this due to the seamless integration it offers with various products by Microsoft and other vendors. While it may seem redundant to make the documents available through both channels, there will typically be numerous instances where a user can access the intranet but not the local network (public web access to the intranet might be allowed by your systems administrators but not Virtual Private Network access to local drives).