For many organizations, SharePoint has been the foundation of the corporate intranet for years. However, when content volume grows, workflows become complex and searching for information turns into a slow task, it is worth considering a replacement. Requesting a consultancy or proposal for an intranet that replaces SharePoint is not an administrative formality: it is the moment to define what value the new platform should deliver to business operations. This article offers a practical guide to doing it successfully, understanding the process from the inside and knowing what questions to ask a technology partner.
Before contacting any provider, it is important to have clear objectives. A modern intranet can be much more than a place to store documents. It can become a work hub that supports onboarding, knowledge management and team collaboration. That is why human resources, internal communication, IT and operations teams must participate in defining needs. If management only wants to 'change SharePoint', the project will miss the opportunity to solve inefficient processes that affect daily productivity.
The correct way to request a proposal is to start with a diagnosis. Q2BSTUDIO, a custom software development and technology company, proposes a discovery process in which the technical and business team analyzes current workflows, integrations with other systems and technical constraints. This is not about answering a generic questionnaire, but about understanding in detail how each area works. This analysis makes it possible to identify which processes are candidates for automation, where AI can be applied, and which must retain their current structure due to compliance requirements.
You can contact Q2BSTUDIO through its website, email or partner network. To start the conversation, you do not need a perfect dossier. You only need to explain the problem you want to solve, the deadlines you have and the people involved. From there, the team will arrange a discovery session of around 30 minutes to align expectations. In that meeting, assumptions are validated, performance metrics are analyzed and it is identified whether the scope is a full migration or an evolution of the platform.
An intranet consultancy must cover several fronts. First, information architecture: organizing content by department, role, country or document lifecycle. Second, security and governance: role-based permissions, audit logs, encryption in transit and at rest, and alignment with regulations such as GDPR. Third, integration: the new intranet needs to connect with ERP, CRM, Business Intelligence tools and cloud services. Fourth, user experience, because if the tool is not intuitive, adoption will fail.
One of the components with the greatest impact is the incorporation of AI agents. Instead of a search engine that displays links, an internal assistant can answer questions using corporate documentation, summarize reports, prepare meetings or route incidents. Technically, RAG architectures are used to connect language models with internal knowledge bases. Privacy is critical: access to models must be carried out through secure connections, private networks and, in cloud environments, restricted endpoints. In this way, confidential data does not leave the perimeter defined by the company.
Cybersecurity is a fundamental pillar in any project that replaces SharePoint. An intranet centralizes information about employees, clients, finances, products and projects, so an access failure can have serious consequences. The consultancy must include risk assessment, role and permission design, strong authentication mechanisms and the option to perform penetration tests. In addition, when AI-generated content is published, a human supervision flow should be established before responses are disseminated internally. This combines the efficiency of automation with quality control.
Another important decision is infrastructure. Many organizations take advantage of the SharePoint replacement to migrate to the cloud. An intranet can be deployed on AWS or Azure, with autoscaling services, automatic backups and continuous monitoring. The choice between public, private or hybrid cloud depends on data sensitivity and sector regulations. The proposal should compare options and recommend an architecture that balances performance, security and cost. Custom development makes it possible to optimize resource consumption, avoiding paying for modules that are never used.
Business analytics is also part of the solution. An intranet that replaces SharePoint can incorporate Power BI dashboards to measure portal adoption, incident resolution time, document usage or the progress of approval flows. These data allow management to make decisions based on objective information, rather than perceptions. In addition, activity logs help detect bottlenecks. Continuous improvement of the platform is supported by these metrics, so each iteration is oriented to real results.
The cost of a consultancy and proposal varies according to complexity and scope. It is not the same to have an intranet for a local company with 50 users as a global environment with integrations with SAP, Salesforce and Active Directory. A focused implementation can be in an indicative range from 5,000 to 60,000 euros, with return on investment within six to twelve months. The proposal must include an estimate of hours, phases, deliverables, KPIs and a risk analysis. Thus, the CFO can evaluate the investment with transparency and compare alternatives.
Response times are also relevant. When a client contacts Q2BSTUDIO, the typical situation is that the first conversation takes place within one or two weeks. If the project is well defined, an MVP with the essential functionalities may be available in four to six weeks. This prototype is validated with real users and iterated based on usage data. This method reduces the risk of doing large developments that do not respond to the real need. It also allows early visibility and adjusting priorities before completing the entire platform.
A common mistake is to focus exclusively on price or technology before understanding the problem. Requesting a proposal without providing information about internal processes usually produces generic results. Therefore, it is advisable to spend time collecting evidence: manual tasks that consume hours, documents that are difficult to find, repeated incidents, onboarding times, etc. The more information the provider has, the more accurate the solution will be. Good consultancy is not afraid to ask uncomfortable questions, because it knows that is where the biggest opportunities for improvement lie.
When preparing the request, it is useful to include the following data: number of users, geographic locations, systems to be integrated, security and compliance requirements, volume of SharePoint content, organizational structure and growth expectations. It does not have to be perfectly detailed; the consultant can help complete it. The goal is that the proposal really adapts to the company's context. The clearer the starting point, the easier it will be to design a realistic roadmap with phases, milestones and owners.
Another good practice is to evaluate providers according to their ability to deliver integral value. Not all teams have experience in custom applications, artificial intelligence, cloud integrations and cybersecurity at the same time. A software company that masters several disciplines offers a more solid vision and avoids dependence on multiple consultants. It is also important to review previous projects, talk to references and verify how they manage knowledge transfer. The intranet should not become a black box that only the provider can maintain.
Requesting a proposal from Q2BSTUDIO is a simple and structured process. The first step is to write through the website form. Then an initial meeting is held to understand objectives, constraints and budget. Next, the technical team creates a preliminary architecture, sizes the project and prepares a phased proposal. Finally, a joint session is held to adjust details and answer questions. Q2BSTUDIO combines the development of custom applications, artificial intelligence and process automation to build intranets that generate measurable results.
An intranet that replaces SharePoint should not just be an IT project. It is an opportunity to redesign the digital employee experience and turn information into action. With the right combination of software, AI, security, cloud and analytics, the new platform can accelerate decision-making, reduce repetitive work and improve internal communication. Therefore, requesting a consultancy or proposal is the first step towards a practical and measurable transformation of the digital workplace.
