Salesforce.com plans intranet platform for mobiles

Salesforce.com is planning to launch a platform for companies to develop mobile-friendly intranets.

Named Company Communities, it's designed to address what Salesforce.com sees as a problem with intranets built for desktops being clunky to use on mobile devices, and often failing to provide basic functions.

Salesforce Chatter, the company's enterprise social network, will be built into Company Communities, along with features including content publishing, the ability to post and share files, and to access apps from Salesforce.com and other providers.

"Companies are spending $2 billion each year on underwhelming intranet websites that most employees just do not use," said Mike Rosenbaum, EVP of Salesforce Platform. "With Salesforce Company Communities, companies can create social and mobile intranets that connect employees to the critical information, people and apps they need to be successful from anywhere."

Slow progress

Salesforce.com clearly has an eye on an area of the market in which progress has been slow. In its most recent update of the 10 best intranets, research company Nielsen Norman Group said that only one had been successfully optimised for mobile devices.

Issues such as worries over data security and lack of resources to create and maintain a design have been holding back many companies with intranets that are highly effective for desktops.

Pricing for Company Communities will become available when it released later in the year.