Embrace Workspace has been extensively researched and highlighted by British consultancy firm ClearBox Consulting, an expert in the field of social intranet and the digital workplace.
In the report Independent Intranets: The buyer's guide to ready-made platforms Embrace is assessed together with 22 other leading intranet providers — including Canadian ThoughtFarmer, English Unily and Colibo from Denmark — for usability, social interaction, information discoverability and integrations with, for example, Microsoft 365.
The report helps digital workplace managers, intranet managers and IT professionals evaluate the market, weigh products against necessary requirements, and make a shortlist of possible intranet products. Each solution is assessed by at least 3 people. Hundreds of hours of research were invested in producing the report.
The report details a number of solutions (in-depth review) and briefly highlights a number of solutions (product overviews). We are therefore very proud that the choice has been made to comprehensively assess Embrace as the only Dutch solution.
In the Netherlands, Clearbox Consulting best known for the keynotes by intranet specialist Sam Marshall (CEO) at Congress Intranet & Digital Workplace, among others.
“Our view in one tweet: Embrace Workspace offers flexible ways to present and interact with information through a well-designed user-friendly interface.”
Biggest benefits
ClearBox calls Embrace easy and fun to use, for both end users and administrators. In addition, the degree of personality is valued: both in the customer-specific designs and the many configuration options in order to be suitable for each organization.
The functionalities are seen as value-enhancing, especially for organizations that want to stimulate collaboration and social interaction between colleagues. We think the best compliment is the following beautiful English sentence: “Embrace demonstrates a comprehensive and leading understanding of user-centered design.”
We develop all our software with the end user at the center — the fact that this is subsequently also recognized by ClearBox's experts naturally makes us extra happy.
Points for improvement
Of course, not everything was perfect: ClearBox regretted that Embrace's integrations are mainly limited to links relevant in the Netherlands. Think of integrations specifically focused on Dutch healthcare (Vilans, Zenya) or government (MY-LEX, TOPdesk). In addition, it was indicated that they take into account the fact that all data is hosted in the Netherlands.
User experience and visual appeal
ClearBox praises the well-designed interface with fast and clear menus, a handy sidebar and beautifully displayed profiles, notifications and search function. Pages are beautifully designed and each user has their own personal home page with customizable widgets, relevant news and personal timeline. ClearBox was impressed about the degree of flexibility in design, configuration and options for environmental managers. The layout of the Embrace mobile App was also appreciated.
News and Content Management
ClearBox said it was impressed by the ease with which the news can be displayed in various ways (templates) in Embrace. The ability to add widgets — with documents, relevant people or links, for example — to news reports and theme pages was seen as a unique advantage. It also Content Management System was found to be very user-friendly (and very comprehensive).
“Embrace demonstrates a comprehensive and leading understanding of user-centered design.”
Social interaction and collaboration
Social interaction and collaboration are stimulated in Embrace through the timeline and groups. Here, employees can share updates and ask questions. ClearBox experiences these functionalities as user-friendly and value-enhancing, especially for organizations that want to stimulate collaboration, internal connectivity and social interaction between colleagues.
Find information
Embrace's search engine was experienced as well-designed, functional and user-friendly. Suggested results and the ease with which to apply various filters have resulted in quick finding of information. The face book, where colleagues' most important information can be found very quickly, was also popular. Finally, the way in which static information can be presented, for example in a knowledge base (A-Z), was experienced as very positive and intuitive.
Independent Intranets: The buyer's guide to ready-made platforms
With this report, Clearbox promises to save time in the search for a suitable supplier and to assign honest, transparent scores by offering hundreds of hours of research in a comprehensive manner. Curious about the rest? The full report is available on Clearbox website to purchase. The report includes reviews of the 23 leading independent intranet solutions, 16 of which have been extensively reviewed. This in-depth review consists of approximately twenty pages, screenshots, reviews from independent experts, and more.
Why we are so happy about this and the strength of (international) partners
Embrace has recently received more and more attention outside the country's borders. With the help of our (international) partners, we are increasingly making organizations outside the Netherlands happy with our software. For example, in Germany, Belgium or England. For more information about Embrace and its international partners, click here.
