Requesting a consultancy to replace SharePoint with a modern intranet is much more than asking for a budget: it is a strategic alignment process in which technology, processes, security and people's experience converge. Organizations that face this decision with a rigorous approach turn a technical project into a real efficiency lever. Those who just ask for a quote usually end up with a platform that reproduces the same problems they wanted to solve.
Before contacting a provider, it is worth understanding the starting point. A corporate intranet is not only a resource page; it is the gateway to information, applications and internal workflows. When that gateway is fragmented or difficult to use, people waste time, make mistakes and resort to unofficial workarounds. That is why the first task of a consultancy is not to talk about technology, but to listen: what hurts, what should be faster, what is really being sought.
The first step to request a proposal is to define the vision. A long document is not necessary; it is enough to answer three questions: Which critical processes should improve? What difficulties are employees experiencing today? What indicators will show that the new intranet works? These answers will guide the conversation and allow the provider to assess whether there is a real fit.
Then it is advisable to inventory the current technology ecosystem. SharePoint is rarely isolated; it usually coexists with Active Directory, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, ERP/CRM systems, databases and file repositories. A serious consultancy needs to map these dependencies in order to define integrations, migrations and coexistence paths. At this point, the value of a partner that masters custom software and AWS/Azure cloud services appears, because the goal is not just to install software, but to connect it with the existing infrastructure.
Security and regulatory compliance must be on the agenda from day one. A modern intranet concentrates confidential data, internal documentation, customer information and critical processes. Therefore, any proposal must include role-based access control, audit logging, encryption and clear retention policies. Moreover, if the solution includes AI and must connect with data hosted in on-premises environments, it is essential to plan secure connection mechanisms such as VPN, encrypted tunnels or private Azure endpoints. Cybersecurity is not an add-on: it is a structural requirement.
Another key area is artificial intelligence. AI can turn the intranet into an assistant capable of answering questions, summarizing documents, classifying information and anticipating needs. For that to work, it is necessary to define in advance which data sources will be used, how response quality will be controlled and what human oversight mechanisms will be applied. AI solutions based on architectures such as RAG, AI agents and vector repositories deliver practical results, but they require design, testing and governance. Connecting a chat is not enough; it must be trained, evaluated and improved continuously.
Automation is another benefit that a new intranet can provide. It is not only about replacing SharePoint; it is about turning the intranet into the starting point for workflows that save manual work. Approvals, resource requests, employee onboarding, document generation or smart notifications are examples of processes that can be automated by integrating the intranet with corporate systems. A consultancy should identify the highest-impact processes and propose a phased plan to automate them.
When reaching the proposal stage, the approach should be agile. Instead of waiting for a long, closed project, it is advisable to request a first functional version —a minimum viable product— in a short time, in order to validate hypotheses with real users and adjust direction. This reduces risk and allows results to appear quickly. A good partner will propose a phased roadmap with measurable milestones, rather than a large deployment that takes months to materialize.
It is also important to request a clear business case. A technical proposal without figures is not enough. The provider should explain how the investment will generate return: lower process times, fewer administrative tasks, fewer errors, better access to information. If the provider cannot articulate these benefits, it probably has not understood the problem. Measurement must be defined before construction begins.
The provider team's experience is decisive. A modern intranet project combines software development, system integration, artificial intelligence, security and change management. Therefore, it is advisable to choose a company with a broad technical profile and real project experience. Q2BSTUDIO, for example, addresses these challenges from custom software development and artificial intelligence, complemented by cybersecurity, AWS/Azure cloud and BI/Power BI services. This makes the intranet not an isolated product, but a piece integrated into the company's digital strategy.
For leadership to have real visibility, the intranet must include analytical layers. Dashboards based on BI/Power BI can show usage, cycle times, automation rates or internal satisfaction. That information makes it possible to justify investments and detect improvement opportunities before they become problems. An ambitious project should consider from the beginning which metrics will be displayed and for whom.
Another aspect to consider is the capability of the internal team. Not all organizations want to depend on a provider for every change. Therefore, it is worthwhile asking whether the final solution includes tools for business users to manage content, AI agents or automations themselves. A clear administration portal is as important as the visual design of the intranet.
The process of requesting a consultancy does not have to be complex. Normally it is enough to contact the provider through its website, outline the general objectives and known constraints, and agree on a first conversation. In that meeting, both sides explore whether there is a fit, prioritize needs and define next steps. From that point, the provider prepares a proposal with approach, deliverables and budget.
It is better to avoid comparing offers only by price. Cost is a factor, but the quality of the analysis, the methodology and the technical soundness determine the outcome. A cheap proposal that does not solve the problem is more expensive in the long run. The investment should be understood as an asset that facilitates the work of hundreds of people for years.
It is also recommended to ask for references from similar cases. The provider does not need to have worked with exactly the same combination of tools, but it should demonstrate experience in complex integrations, security management and AI adoption. Those who have built intranets for companies with multiple countries, heterogeneous systems or strict compliance requirements can anticipate problems that others do not even detect.
Once the proposal is received, the analysis should be shared among technology, business and leadership. Operations managers can validate that workflows make sense; IT leaders, that the architecture is sustainable; and business leaders, that processes align with strategic priorities. This triangular review reduces the risk of building something technically flawless but not very useful.
In summary, requesting a consultancy to replace SharePoint is an opportunity to rethink how the organization works. The goal is not to change for the sake of changing, but to build an intranet that accelerates decisions, automates tasks and turns information into value. The companies that get it right are those that enter this process with clear objectives, security expectations and a willingness to measure results. And above all, with a partner that sells a result, not just a tool.
