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Organisations are increasingly rethinking their intranet platforms. As Microsoft 365 evolves, many are moving back to SharePoint to reduce cost, simplify governance, integrate with Teams and prepare for AI with Copilot.
As Microsoft 365 continues to evolve, many organisations are re‑evaluating their intranet platforms. From cost and governance to Teams integration and AI readiness, here’s why SharePoint is once again becoming the intranet foundation of choice. For organisations currently using third‑party intranet platforms such as Unily, Interact or LumApps, this shift is particularly relevant as renewal cycles approach and priorities evolve. For years, many organisations invested in third‑party intranet platforms to compensate for the limitations of early SharePoint. At the time, this was a sensible decision. SharePoint was powerful, but it was also complex, difficult to maintain and often required specialist development skills to deliver a high‑quality employee experience. Today, however, the picture looks very different. Across both public and private sector organisations, we’re seeing a growing shift back towards Microsoft‑native intranets built on SharePoint and Microsoft 365. This change isn’t being driven by a single factor, but by a combination of cost pressures, changes in employee working patterns, improvements in the Microsoft platform and the rapid acceleration of AI across the workplace. So why are organisations rethinking their intranet strategy now - and why is SharePoint once again at the centre of the conversation?
To understand the current shift, it helps to look back at why third‑party intranet platforms emerged in the first place.
Historically, SharePoint intranets were highly flexible but difficult to work with. Creating a modern, engaging experience often required custom development, long implementation cycles and ongoing reliance on specialist partners. As a result, many organisations struggled to maintain their intranets once they were live.
Third‑party platforms stepped in to bridge that gap. They offered faster deployment, polished design, simplified publishing and features tailored specifically for internal communication teams. For many organisations, these platforms removed friction and delivered quick wins at a time when SharePoint simply wasn’t mature enough to do so on its own.
For several years, the additional cost and complexity were justified by the value these tools provided.
Over the past few years, Microsoft has fundamentally reshaped what an intranet looks like inside Microsoft 365.
SharePoint is no longer a standalone destination. Instead, it sits at the heart of a much broader digital workplace ecosystem that includes Microsoft Teams, Viva Connections, Viva Engage, Microsoft Search, the Power Platform and, increasingly, Microsoft Copilot.
This native integration has dramatically changed how intranets are built, surfaced and used. News, policies and resources can now be delivered directly into Teams via Viva Connections, while social interaction and community discussion are supported through Viva Engage. Search spans the entire Microsoft 365 environment, and automation and applications can be layered in using low‑code tools.
For organisations already invested in Microsoft 365, the intranet is no longer something separate, it’s part of everyday work.
Cost has become one of the biggest drivers behind intranet re‑evaluation.
Most organisations already pay for Microsoft 365 licences, and even entry‑level packages include SharePoint. In practice, that means the core intranet platform is already there. When a third‑party intranet sits on top, it introduces an additional annual cost that often increases over time.
As renewal conversations come around, many organisations begin to look more closely at total cost of ownership. Licensing is only one part of the equation. Support contracts, integrations, maintenance and governance overhead all add up, particularly when budgets are under pressure.
For many leadership teams, this prompts an important question: what capability are we paying for that Microsoft 365 doesn’t already provide? In an environment where SharePoint has matured significantly, that question is becoming harder to answer.
Employee behaviour has shifted just as much as the technology.
For most people today, Microsoft Teams is the starting point for the working day. Conversations, meetings, documents and collaboration all live there. Traditional intranet portals that require users to open a browser and visit a separate site are often overlooked, regardless of how well designed they are.
This is where Viva Connections has had a major impact. By bringing SharePoint content directly into Teams, the intranet becomes part of the existing workflow rather than an additional destination. Employees can access news, updates and key resources without leaving the tools they already use.
For many organisations, this Teams‑first approach removes one of the key advantages that third‑party intranet platforms historically offered.
AI has quickly moved from future concept to practical consideration, and it’s having a direct impact on intranet strategy. Microsoft Copilot relies heavily on SharePoint as the foundation for organisational knowledge. Content stored in SharePoint is searchable, permissioned and governed in a way that Copilot can understand and respect. This ensures users only see information they’re entitled to access. As organisations prepare for Copilot adoption, questions inevitably arise about where content lives, how permissions are managed and whether platforms outside Microsoft 365 introduce unnecessary complexity or risk. Many organisations are choosing to simplify their architecture before rolling out AI, and that often means consolidating content back into SharePoint. In this context, the intranet becomes not just a communications tool, but a critical component of an organisation’s AI readiness.
Beyond cost and AI, governance remains a major concern for IT teams.
Running multiple platforms typically means managing multiple permission models, integrations and renewal cycles. It also increases the risk that changes or updates in one system will have unintended consequences in another.
Microsoft‑native tools benefit from consistent security, compliance and lifecycle management across the entire estate. Retention policies, sensitivity labels and access controls can all be applied centrally, while updates are delivered predictably by Microsoft itself.
For organisations looking to reduce complexity, improve security posture and make long‑term ownership more straightforward, consolidating the intranet into Microsoft 365 is an increasingly attractive option.
Returning to SharePoint isn’t simply a technical migration.
In practice, it’s an opportunity to step back and reassess how the intranet should support the organisation today. That often involves reviewing information architecture, cleaning up outdated content, redefining ownership models and designing experiences that reflect how people actually work – particularly in a Teams‑first environment.
While it may not always be possible or desirable to replicate every feature from a third‑party platform exactly, SharePoint now offers strong native alternatives in many areas. When combined with Viva and the Power Platform, organisations can often achieve the same outcomes in a simpler, more sustainable way.
Not necessarily.
Some organisations still rely on specialist features offered by third‑party platforms, and those tools can remain appropriate in certain scenarios. However, the number of organisations that genuinely need an external intranet layer is shrinking as Microsoft continues to invest heavily in its own ecosystem.
For many businesses, SharePoint is no longer a compromise. It has become a strategic foundation that aligns closely with Microsoft’s long‑term vision around Teams, Viva and AI.
The key is understanding organisational priorities, user behaviour and future roadmap, rather than defaulting to the same solutions used in the past.
If your organisation is approaching an intranet renewal or reassessing its digital workplace, now is a good time to take a step back and evaluate whether your current platform still serves your needs.
At Valto, we support organisations through intranet assessments, SharePoint redesigns, migrations from third‑party platforms and adoption of Teams, Viva and Copilot. Our focus isn’t just on moving content, but on creating intranets that are secure, sustainable and aligned with how people work today.
If this article has prompted you to rethink your intranet strategy, a conversation is often the best place to start.
If you’re approaching renewal or reassessing your platform, we can help you understand the cost, complexity and long‑term fit of your current setup – and what a move to SharePoint could look like.
From initial assessment through to migration and adoption, our team supports you every step of the way.
“We work with organisations across many sectors of different shapes and sizes from 10 to 100,000 employees.”
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