Boosting Monthly Active Users by 300% via Migration to an Umbraco-Powered Corporate Portal
- IndustryIT provider
- Solution Umbraco
Challenge
In the initial consultations with the client, our experts at SaM Solutions uncovered and classified the current issues plaguing the corporate portal:
UI/UX, efficiency, and performance. The outdated UI and UX of the portal’s page templates resulted in an unattractive appearance. Coupled with a convoluted content structure, users found navigation difficult, and sluggish page load speeds further hampered the experience of users.
Relevance of data. Although the portal housed a variety of company content types (news updates, policy documentation, etc.), a large portion was out of date, leading to user confusion, productivity roadblocks, and potential compliance issues stemming from outdated policies and guidelines.
Functionality. The portal was missing key capabilities such as data search, content filters, user-friendly media experiences, and notification settings, which made the process of retrieving information and browsing the portal inefficient. The lack of necessary updates and plugins also obstructed the addition of new functionalities.
Portal administration. Content management within the portal featured obstacles in visual content personalization, block templates, and content approval procedures. User management was also problematic.
Integrations. The absence of integration with external and internal systems frustrated portal users, disrupting workflows and lessening operational efficiency.
Security, upkeep, and support. Powered by SharePoint Server 2013 (near its support expiry date in April 2023), the in-house portal faced a potential security threat from data breaches if left unupgraded.
Accessibility. Only accessible via corporate intranet or a VPN client, the portal was experiencing minimal active users coupled with virtually non-existent engagement.
Faced with these challenges, the client needed to either upgrade to SharePoint Server 2016/2019 or switch to a different, more capable portal platform.
Solution
SaM Solutions’ team of business consultants began with a comprehensive requirements analysis. Based on the results of the platform selection procedure, it was agreed to utilize Umbraco, a versatile and user-friendly content management system designed to enhance collaboration efforts within organizations.
This platform would offer many advantages to the client’s business, including:
- Lower costs (due to Umbraco’s open-source platform)
- Intuitive content management
- User-friendly personalization and customization
- Streamlined document and workflow management
- High-level security and role-based access control
- Effortless integration and scalability
- Built-in multilingual website support
A thorough plan was developed to launch the portal in under four months, factoring in the time required by the client to update corporate materials. Impressed with our proposition, the client approved the creation of a corporate portal based on Umbraco, completed under a Time and Material (T&M) pricing model.
The SaM Solutions team on this project consisted of a back-end developer, a UI/UX designer, product owner, a front-end developer, and a QA engineer. Following the Agile methodology with weekly sprints, the team’s approach enabled total transparency of progress, with regular client meetings on Microsoft Teams.
Throughout the project, the team was focused on building a fully secure corporate portal based on Umbraco. The client’s new and improved portal, compatible with all mobile devices, helps employees stay informed on the move.
We safely transferred key data from the client’s old platform to the new Umbraco-based solution, ensuring the platform was integrated with the client’s current corporate IT infrastructure – including HRM and Azure Active Directory (AD) – and additional third-party solutions. The client’s mobile event app was also linked to the portal, simplifying the ability to manage virtual and in-person corporate events and meetings.
Additionally, SaM Solutions’ team of specialists also enabled portal access outside the client’s intranet, eliminating the need for a VPN. The functionality of the portal has been enhanced by introducing a feature that allows to display certain content based on specific user roles and the corresponding department they belong to. With the portal’s integration with Azure AD, authorization and single sign-on (SSO) authentication provides secure access.
With the Umbraco-powered corporate portal, the client’s staff can:
- Access internal company guidelines, policies, and relevant documentation
- Keep updated with recent corporate updates
- Receive timely company event and meetup notifications
- Easily search and find coworkers and colleagues via the employee database
- View and manage resume information
- Place and manage orders from food delivery service providers
- Explore corporate perks such as employee benefits and discounts
SaM Solutions successfully delivered a revamped corporate portal, helping the client enhance security, improve performance, overhaul UX, implement needed integrations, and elevate key metrics.
Toolbox
Success
SaM Solutions launched the revamped corporate portal within only 3.5 months and within the estimated budget.
The client, satisfied with the solution’s improved functionality and usability, reported its enthusiastic reception by both employees and upper-level management. Users can now conveniently access company information and receive real-time notifications, boosting internal collaboration and aligning employees with organizational goals.
After introducing the portal, the client recorded a 3x increase in Monthly Active Users and a 460% surge in views of company news, updates, and events. Within three months, the average time spent on the new portal rose by 300% to 2.26 minutes, surpassing the old portal’s former yearly average of this metric.
