Using an Extranet to Grow Your Business
The ways organizations collaborate with partners continue to evolve in the digital workplace. Branding matters more than ever. And it’s not just about what you say, but how you convey your message. The question is: how do you effectively connect with third parties and add value to your partnerships?
Technology is a big part of brand perception, especially since stakeholders look for easier and simpler ways to interact with digital tools. Here’s where the right Extranet steps in to help organizations create a positive impression and build long-term relationships with their partners.
Why The Right Extranet Matters
An Extranet is a site that enables an organization to provide partners, vendors, suppliers, or an authorized set of customers with secure, authenticated access to information and two-way communications.
As I emphasized in recent webinar on Extranets, the way that an organization treats its partners, suppliers, and vendors is absolutely critical to its brand. Having a sleek, efficient, and clear portal is a good way to promote your brand as a business and make it stand out.
Partners will trust an organization more if they see an online system where everything works efficiently. For small and big organizations alike, there are many ways the right Extranet can provide a space to foster strong relationships:
Enhance knowledge sharing
With an Extranet, all information required by parties is accessible, updated, and in one place. That means stakeholders would not need to use emails that are unreliable, outdated, and can be easily overlooked.
Extranets allow for easy data transfer, as well as a streamlined way to enable team collaboration and brainstorming on common tasks.
Keep assets safe and secure
Mitigating instances of data breach and fraud is a top priority among organizations. Extranets protect confidential data by allowing organizations to store information in a secure location that cannot be intercepted.
Organizations also have absolute control over the system — they can limit access to certain areas and files and keep track of which user accessed which file and when.
Simplify collaboration and project management
The right Extranet lets stakeholders collaborate on projects with ease and access all the tools and data they need anytime, anywhere.
Plus, it helps third parties feel engaged and connected to your organization without having to spend too much time on meetings and phone calls. That’s because users can edit and upload documents, make announcements, manage tasks, start discussions, and gather feedback — all within the same central hub.
What To Consider When Investing in an Extranet
How do organizations determine the right digital workplace solution that will inform and engage their external communities? Let’s look at some of the questions to ponder when implementing an Extranet.
Do you have the right level of ownership to support an Extranet with valuable content?
Organizations using an Extranet must have the people and processes in place to keep the content up to date.
How will your Extranet function in relation to your Intranet? How will you avoid having to do things twice?
It is wise to invest in a solution that allows for the content to be created once and then published and shared where it needs to go — be that the Intranet or Extranet.
How will you authenticate third parties into the Extranet?
Tools like the Azure Active Directory B2C (Azure AD B2C) enable a self-registration process that simplifies authentication and authorization. Organizations can grant third parties access to the right parts of the application and seamlessly manage the process.
Who will be accountable for granting access to the Extranet?
Organizations must make sure that controls are in place to avoid security risks.
Is the Extranet mobile responsive?
External parties want access to content straight from their phones. The right Extranet supports a very sleek consumer-grade experience for IOS and Android.
LiveTiles Reach: Key Features That Stand Out
With LiveTiles Reach, organizations can have limitless communications and collaborations with all stakeholders on one platform. Learn how this intelligent experience platform gets all the right information to the right people at the right time.
Segmentation of content
Organizations want a platform that gives access to some — but not all — of their confidential data. The Extranet built in LiveTiles Reach has strong segmentation and granular permission models – making it easy to ensure that multiple partners do not see each other’s content.
That means organizations get all the benefits of collaboration, connection, and communication – but with controlled access to third-party contacts.
Document management
LiveTiles’ Extranet has a document management system that is native to the platform. Organizations, however, can have it connected to another document management system — like SharePoint — that they’ve already invested in.
Branding
LiveTiles can customize an Extranet that communicates the quality of an organization’s brand and corporate identity. Encourage repeat engagement by binding third parties to your brand and processes.
Language Translations
LiveTiles Reach supports automated translations in 90 languages. This makes it a reliable platform that enables organizations to scale globally.
Many of LiveTiles’ partners who have benefitted from the Extranet include stakeholders in construction, manufacturing, franchising and retail, technology, sports, and community organizations.
No matter the budget, organizations can get access to an Extranet that is affordable yet elegant and efficient. LiveTiles Reach is the ultimate platform to effectively attract, engage, and retain external networks.
Amplify your external communications
A powerful Extranet is an invaluable asset in the era of the digital workplace. It brings people together and makes information exchange fast, secure, and controllable. To form meaningful relationships with external parties, organizations must invest in a creative and innovative Extranet that provides a rich learning experience for them and their partners.
