A buyer’s guide for communications HR and IT teams 

Research reviewed 22 October 2026 

The best intranet platform for Microsoft 365 depends on your workforce, knowledge sources and communication needs. Compare integrations, search, employee access and governance before choosing your shortlist. 

If you are planning your employee experience investment for 2027, this guide compares ten options using product information available in October 2026. It covers Microsoft’s own intranet tools alongside platforms that connect with Microsoft 365 while providing a separate employee experience. 

Published by Interact Software. Our recommendations draw on public product and integration information, with each platform considered for a specific business need. 

Our recommendation: Interact is our first recommendation for enterprises combining Microsoft 365 with personalised employee experiences and agentic AI. Targeted communications, connected knowledge, Cue and Conductor support employees and the teams managing the intranet. 

Quick comparison of intranet platforms for Microsoft 365 

Start with the employee and business needs you want to address. The table summarises each option’s emphasis. 

Platform	Best suited to	Microsoft 365 connection	What to validate
Interact	Personalised enterprise experiences and agentic AI	M365 services, search and access through Teams	Connector scope and AI package
Microsoft SharePoint and Viva	Microsoft-centred intranet	SharePoint and Teams, plus Viva products	Licences and platform ownership
Workvivo	Social communication and community	Microsoft files, mail and calendars	Search on each device
Simpplr	AI-supported content and governance	SharePoint and OneDrive integration	Search and AI package
Staffbase	Communication across channels	SharePoint and Teams connections	Channels and reporting scope
LumApps	Connected employee hub	Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace	Required features in each ecosystem
Unily	Complex enterprise experiences	Microsoft 365 and Copilot options	Standard versus additional work
Blink	Frontline mobile communication	SharePoint and M365 connections	Integration plan and mobile access
Happeo	Knowledge pages and communities	Microsoft login, Outlook, OneDrive and Teams	User consent and onboarding
Jostle	Structured shared information	Entra ID, OneDrive and Teams	Access to existing SharePoint content

Integration availability, licensing and functionality differ by configuration. The linked sources in each profile provide more detail; confirm your exact requirements with the vendor. 

How we selected these intranet platforms 

We reviewed public vendor product pages, integration documentation and independent research resources. Each option offers an intranet or employee communication experience with documented Microsoft 365 connections. This is an editorial comparison based on desk research, rather than a hands-on product test. 

The shortlist includes different approaches because a Microsoft 365 intranet decision is also a decision about employee access, ownership and communication. We considered six questions: 

• Microsoft 365 connections: Can employees find or access relevant documents, calendars and tools? Distinguish single sign-on, embedded content, search connectors and publishing integrations rather than treating them as interchangeable. 

• Workforce access: Can office, remote and frontline employees use the experience on the devices available to them? Check authentication and Microsoft licensing requirements for each connected service. 

• Search and AI: Which sources can be searched, how are permissions respected, and how can employees check the source of an answer? For AI actions, examine approvals and controls. 

• Communications and personalisation: Can teams target information by role, location or department, and reach employees through suitable channels? 

• Governance and measurement: Can owners maintain reliable content and understand reach, use, feedback and completion? Check what the reporting actually measures. 

• Implementation and ongoing ownership: What will migration, integrations, training, support and content maintenance require from your organisation? 

The 10 intranet platforms to consider 

1 Interact 

Best suited to: Enterprises combining Microsoft 365 with personalised employee experiences and agentic AI. 

Interact brings company communications, workplace knowledge, community and access to tools into one employee experience. It is relevant to organisations connecting office, frontline and distributed employees across multiple locations. 

Its Microsoft 365 Marketplace integration connects services including Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Calendar and Tasks. Employees can access the intranet inside Microsoft Teams on desktop, web and mobile, while search connectors help bring relevant workplace knowledge into reach. 

Cue adapts the employee experience to context such as role, team and location. Employees can use its conversational interface to find answers and relevant resources. Conductor helps communications, HR and IT teams turn a goal, such as launching a policy, into a coordinated plan with content, targeting, approvals and follow-up. Teams review the plan before it acts. 

Key capabilities 

• Targeted communications and personalisation for different employee audiences. 

• Microsoft 365 services, connected search and intranet access within Teams. 

• Cue for adaptive employee experiences and conversational access to answers. 

• Conductor for planning content, targeting audiences and coordinating approvals. 

• Mobile access, employee feedback and analytics to support ongoing communication. 

Why it leads our list: Interact combines the connections employees need with tools for delivering and managing a relevant experience. Cue supports the individual employee, while Conductor supports the teams responsible for communications and intranet administration. That combination is the reason for our recommendation for this use case. 

Buying considerations: The Microsoft services, connector permissions and AI capabilities in scope should be agreed during discovery. Include content ownership and human approval responsibilities in the implementation plan. 

For a customer example, Kent’s Director of Internal Communications reported that nearly 90% of users had engaged with its Frank intranet in the preceding six months, in Interact’s October 2026 announcement. This illustrates platform use before any longer-term impact of the new AI capabilities can be assessed. 

2 Microsoft SharePoint and Viva 

Best suited to: Organisations that want their intranet centred on Microsoft’s own content, identity and collaboration tools. 

SharePoint provides the intranet foundation, with sites, pages, news and document management. The SharePoint app in Teams, formerly Viva Connections, brings an organisation’s intranet experience into Teams. Viva Engage and other Viva products address additional employee experience needs. 

This is a sensible starting point when SharePoint already holds your knowledge and employees regularly use Microsoft 365. It also gives you an existing baseline against which to assess the value of an additional platform. 

Key capabilities 

• Sites, pages, company news and document management in SharePoint. 

• Intranet access through the SharePoint app in Teams. 

• Additional Viva capabilities and usage reporting, subject to product and licence. 

Strengths to explore: Direct alignment with Microsoft’s ecosystem and existing SharePoint content. Microsoft documents usage and engagement reporting for the SharePoint app in Teams, including unique users and interactions with experience components. 

Buying considerations: Map the exact combination of SharePoint and Viva products you need. Confirm licences, analytics access, frontline access and who will own design, governance and support. Existing Microsoft subscriptions do not mean every required capability is included. 

3 Workvivo 

Best suited to: Organisations prioritising social communication, recognition and employee community. 

Workvivo combines company communication with a social experience designed to encourage participation. It is worth considering when building community and making updates accessible across a distributed workforce are central requirements. 

Its Microsoft integrations include connections to Outlook mail and calendars, OneDrive and SharePoint. External search connectors also surface information from supported systems, with sources identified within the search experience. 

Key capabilities 

• Social communication, employee community and recognition. 

• Connections to Outlook mail and calendars, OneDrive and SharePoint. 

• External search connectors for supported workplace systems. 

Strengths to explore: Social communication and recognition can support an active employee community, while connected search provides routes to workplace information. 

Buying considerations: Desktop and mobile search scope, connector availability and the visibility of official messages within the social experience are the main points to validate. 

4 Simpplr 

Best suited to: Teams looking for AI-supported intranet content discovery and governance. 

Simpplr’s intranet proposition includes personalisation, AI and tools to help maintain content. Its SharePoint and OneDrive integration allows connected files to be made searchable to relevant site members. The vendor also documents analytics for understanding how the intranet is used. 

Key capabilities 

• AI-supported personalisation and content discovery. 

• SharePoint and OneDrive file connections with search for relevant members. 

• Content governance tools and intranet usage analytics. 

Strengths to explore: Content discovery is supported by tools for maintaining reliable information, making Simpplr relevant where content quality is a central intranet challenge. 

Buying considerations: File integrations and enterprise search connectors have different scopes. Establish which are included, alongside AI entitlements and the reporting available for your communication objectives. 

5 Staffbase 

Best suited to: Communications teams managing messages across intranet, employee app and email. 

Staffbase is worth exploring when reaching different audiences across several communication channels is a major part of the brief. Its Microsoft integration options cover SharePoint, Teams and other Microsoft 365 connections, allowing buyers to assess how those channels fit into their publishing approach. 

Key capabilities 

• Communication through intranet, employee app and email. 

• Microsoft integration options including SharePoint and Teams. 

• A platform approach to planning, publishing and measuring communication. 

Strengths to explore: Its communication focus makes Staffbase relevant where the same campaign must reach employees through several channels, including an existing Microsoft environment. 

Buying considerations: The channel mix determines the scope of the solution. Compare content ownership, publishing behaviour and how reporting handles audiences reached through more than one channel. 

6 LumApps 

Best suited to: An employee hub connecting communications, knowledge and workplace tools, including mixed Microsoft and Google environments. 

LumApps supports Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace connections. Its Microsoft proposition includes access to collaboration tools, search and an employee experience that can also reach people outside the usual desktop workflow. 

Key capabilities 

• Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace connections. 

• Access to workplace tools and connected search. 

• An employee hub bringing communication and resources together. 

Strengths to explore: Support for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace makes LumApps relevant to organisations connecting teams across different productivity environments. 

Buying considerations: Map the features required in each ecosystem, including identity, search and mobile access. Support for both suites does not establish identical functionality in every configuration. 

7 Unily 

Best suited to: Enterprises with complex requirements for communication, personalisation and connected systems. 

Unily offers an enterprise employee experience platform with integrations spanning Microsoft 365 and other business systems. Its Microsoft offering includes SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, Outlook, Viva Engage, Power BI and Microsoft Copilot connections. 

Key capabilities 

• Connections to SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams and Outlook. 

• Microsoft Copilot, Viva Engage and Power BI integration options. 

• A broader integration catalogue for enterprise business systems. 

Strengths to explore: Its range of integrations provides a useful starting point for enterprises bringing communication and business systems into a shared employee experience. 

Buying considerations: Distinguish standard functionality, configuration and additional integration work in the proposal. Platform ownership and requirements across regions, languages and business units should be part of the scope. 

8 Blink 

Best suited to: Organisations where mobile access for frontline employees is the central requirement. 

Blink puts frontline communication and access to workplace resources at the centre of its employee app. Its Hub can surface SharePoint content, and Microsoft 365 connections extend beyond single sign-on. 

Key capabilities 

• An employee app centred on frontline access. 

• A Hub for workplace resources and SharePoint content. 

• Microsoft 365 connections alongside mobile communication. 

Strengths to explore: Its frontline focus is useful when employees need quick mobile access to communication and operational resources during the working day. 

Buying considerations: Blink’s SharePoint documentation describes the integration as a paid feature on Pro and Enterprise plans. Microsoft authentication and the availability of connected functions on mobile are important parts of the access journey. 

9 Happeo 

Best suited to: Teams combining structured knowledge pages with community-based communication. 

Happeo brings together Pages, Channels and Search. Its Microsoft documentation covers single sign-on, Outlook mail, Calendar and OneDrive, with a separate Teams integration for connecting communication channels. 

Key capabilities 

• Pages for structured information and Channels for community communication. 

• Microsoft single sign-on, Outlook mail, Calendar and OneDrive connections. 

• A Teams integration for connecting communication channels. 

Strengths to explore: Pages provide a home for reference information, while Channels support conversation and knowledge sharing around it. 

Buying considerations: Happeo describes its Microsoft service connections as user-initiated, making consent and onboarding part of the employee journey. Establish the required Microsoft services and content types during scoping. 

10 Jostle 

Best suited to: Organisations seeking a structured place for communication and shared information. 

Jostle connects structured communication and shared information with familiar Microsoft tools. Its integrations support Entra ID sign-on, Microsoft 365 document collaboration, OneDrive-connected files, Teams notifications and Outlook-related functions. 

Key capabilities 

• Entra ID sign-on and employee data connections. 

• Microsoft 365 document collaboration and a OneDrive-connected Library. 

• Teams notifications and Outlook-related functions. 

Strengths to explore: Its OneDrive-linked Library provides a structured location for official documents alongside company communication. 

Buying considerations: Where SharePoint is the primary repository, establish how its content will be accessed or managed. The documented OneDrive integration should not be assumed to cover every SharePoint requirement. 

How to choose the right Microsoft 365 intranet 

Shortlist platforms against the work employees need to do. Ask every vendor to demonstrate the same scenarios so your team can compare the results: 

• Find a trusted answer: An employee searches for a policy held in SharePoint. Check relevance, permissions, the source link and what happens when the information is missing or outdated. 

• Reach a frontline colleague: A colleague without a company laptop receives a targeted update. Test login, mobile usability, notifications and access to any linked Microsoft content. 

• Run a mandatory update: A communicator publishes a policy, identifies who has acknowledged it and follows up. Distinguish acknowledgement from evidence of understanding. 

• Maintain reliable content: An owner reviews an ageing page, updates the source and confirms what appears in search or an AI answer. 

• Measure a useful outcome: A team connects communication results with a defined objective, such as benefits enrolment or onboarding completion. Establish which data comes from the intranet and which must come from another system. 

Compare the full cost over your intended contract period: platform licences, Microsoft entitlements, connectors, AI capabilities, migration, implementation, training and ongoing ownership. A lower software price does not automatically mean a lower total cost. 

Further research for your shortlist 

Use independent research alongside demonstrations and reference conversations. Check the publication and evaluation dates, because the capabilities reviewed may differ from a vendor’s latest release. 

For a wider comparison, read the 2026 ClearBox intranet and employee experience platforms report. 

ClearBox’s report provides independent reviews of 37 platforms, including Interact and Microsoft SharePoint with Viva in support. It gives buyers a broader framework for assessing requirements and comparing options. 

For more recent product context, read ClearBox’s September 2026 assessment of Interact. 

This article discusses Interact’s newer AI experience following a short demonstration. ClearBox describes it as initial impressions rather than an extensive test, making it useful additional context alongside the earlier annual report. 

You can also access the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Intranet Packaged Solutions through Interact’s report page. 

Use the full research to inform your assessment of the market and vendor suitability. The ordering in this article is Interact’s editorial choice and does not represent a Gartner ranking or endorsement. 

Explore Interact for your Microsoft 365 environment 

If your brief combines enterprise communication, trusted workplace knowledge and a more personalised employee experience, include Interact in your shortlist. Ask us to demonstrate how Microsoft 365 connections, Cue and Conductor support the scenarios that matter to your workforce. 

Book a demonstration of Interact