Private vs public sector intranets - a great divide?

"Intranets in the private sector are always better because they have more money."

Over the last eight years or so I have worked for various private companies and Government departments. While working in the public sector my colleagues always told me that we shouldn't compare Government intranets with those in the private sector because 'they have loads of money to spend on making their intranets the best'.

I used to take this at face value. But in my opnion this is actually not a valid point, in fact the opposite is often true.

Government teams generally have an allocated annual budget and if a new department wide project is launched they apply to a central pot to funding. It just doesn't work that way in the private sector. Teams submit their project plans for the following year and if they are approved funding is provided. There is simply no option to add on new projects after this point, and if projects are delayed budget is often moved to other teams who have shortfalls.

In summary, it's not all about money. You can't just throw money at an intranet to make it good. But do this and you're on to a winner (in no particular order):

• Good content
• Strong governance
• Supportive senior management
• Innovative intranet team
• In house developer(s)