Powell Intranet vs SharePoint Online: Which Intranet Solution Is Right for You?

When it comes to building a modern intranet, SharePoint Online is often the starting point—and for good reason. It’s a robust, enterprise-grade platform that is designed with Microsoft 365 integration in mind. But for some organizations, especially those looking for a more turnkey, engaging, and user-centric experience, Powell Intranet can add another layer of value that’s hard to ignore.

Let’s explore how these two solutions stack up and where Powell can offer an edge—especially when delivered by a strategic intranet partner like SYNERGY.

The Foundation: SharePoint Online’s Strengths

SharePoint Online remains one of the most powerful platforms available for intranet development. It’s built into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, offers deep integration with tools like Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive, and provides extensive customization options.

Organizations already leveraging Microsoft 365 licenses can quickly spin up SharePoint sites and start organizing content, managing permissions, and collaborating in a familiar environment.

Key strengths of SharePoint Online include:

• Scalability for organizations of any size

• Robust security and compliance aligned with Microsoft 365 standards

• Extensive integration capabilities with Microsoft and third-party tools

• Flexible architecture for both communication and team sites

At Synergy, we help clients tap into the full potential of SharePoint Online—whether that means launching a brand-new intranet or modernizing an existing deployment to align with current business goals.

That said, many organizations find that SharePoint out-of-the-box only takes them about 80% of the way toward the modern, intuitive digital workplace they’re looking for. Filling the remaining gap often requires significant customization, development effort, and ongoing IT support—unless you're using an intranet enhancement like Powell.

Enter Powell Intranet: A Purpose-Built Overlay for SharePoint

While SharePoint provides the infrastructure, Powell Intranet brings a ready-made intranet experience to the table, especially for organizations that want to drive engagement and minimize internal development efforts.

Powell is not a replacement for SharePoint Online; it’s an enhancement. It runs on top of SharePoint, leveraging everything you already use and trust while unlocking capabilities that address common user and comms manager frustrations.

Powell's approach is structured around four key pillars:

1. Employee Engagement

Powell transforms the traditional intranet into a personalized, interactive space. Features like onboarding workflows, gamification, recognition systems, and seasonal themes make users feel seen and connected. A guided tour ensures every employee can navigate the platform with ease, while a points-based engagement system encourages participation in portal activities like booking resources, filling in profiles, and contributing to discussions.

2. Internal Communication

Unlike SharePoint's more static communication tools, Powell allows for personalized, segmented messaging. Users can subscribe to content by topic, location, or department, while communications teams can use drag-and-drop tools to build branded newsletters from intranet content—like news and announcements—and deliver them via email or Teams with no manual formatting required. AI tools assist in writing, translating, and optimizing internal posts for clarity and tone—making it easier for anyone to contribute consistent, high-quality content.

3. Knowledge Management

Powell introduces powerful enhancements to SharePoint’s native search. Search pages can be tailored by content type, filters can be fully customized, and built-in synonym recognition helps users find relevant content faster. Chatbots offer another layer of accessibility, allowing employees to ask questions and receive AI-powered answers based on existing knowledge bases.

4. Connected Platform

One of Powell’s most valuable advantages is its ability to unify multiple systems into a single digital workplace. From Microsoft 365 apps and Teams to external tools like Workday, ServiceNow, and Viva Engage, Powell provides seamless integration. Even organizations with multiple Microsoft tenants—common after mergers or acquisitions—can unify content and navigation into a single cohesive experience.

Curious what Powell could look like inside your Microsoft 365 environment?

Schedule a walkthrough with our team →

Powell helps your intranet become more than just a document repository—it becomes a dynamic, branded hub for communication, collaboration, and productivity.

Where SharePoint Can Fall Short—and How Powell Solves It

SharePoint is a powerful platform, but it wasn’t built to solve every intranet challenge out of the box. Many organizations struggle with limitations that hinder adoption, engagement, and maintainability. Powell addresses these common pain points head-on.

1. Static, One-Size-Fits-All Experiences

SharePoint sites can feel generic, especially when employees see the same content regardless of department, role, or location.

Powell enables content targeting, user preferences, and personalized dashboards, so everyone sees what’s most relevant to them.

2. Low User Engagement

Without interactivity or visual appeal, SharePoint intranets often struggle to keep employees coming back.

Powell adds gamification, guided onboarding, seasonal themes, and mobile access that turn the intranet into something employees want to use daily.

3. Clunky Search Experience

Many users report difficulty finding documents or people in SharePoint.

Powell enhances the search experience with custom filters, synonym handling, chatbot-assisted queries, and even people directory org charts—all fully configurable.

4. Content Inconsistency and Contributor Frustration

Creating and managing content in SharePoint often requires design skills or IT support.

Powell introduces form-based content creation, built-in templates, and AI writing assistance, making it easier for teams to publish consistently and remain on-brand.

5. Lack of Insight into Performance

Standard SharePoint analytics are limited to basic views and usage counts.

Powell offers advanced intranet analytics that show how users interact with content, where drop-offs occur, and how internal communications are performing, making it easier to measure ROI.

These enhancements remove the friction that slows intranet adoption and limit its potential, giving both users and administrators a better, more productive experience.

How Powell Builds on SharePoint’s Foundation

Both SharePoint Online and Powell Intranet offer significant value, but the best choice depends on your priorities:

Pillar	SharePoint Online Only	SharePoint + Powell Intranet
Microsoft 365 integration	✅	✅
Custom architecture	✅	✅
Employee engagement	⚠️ Limited personalization	✅ Gamification, onboarding, guided tours
Internal communication	⚠️ Basic tools, no targeting	✅ Targeted comms, AI assist, visual builder
Search & knowledge	⚠️ Frustrating user experience	✅ Smart filters, chatbot, org chart views
App integrations	⚠️ Manual setup	✅ One-click access to tools & data
Analytics & reporting	⚠️ Surface-level only	✅ Deep usage and performance insights
Deployment speed	⚠️ Requires dev work	✅ Catalog-based, no-code, fast rollout
Governance & scalability	⚠️ High maintenance	✅ Built-in lifecycle and contributor tools
Customer support	⚠️ No CSM program	✅ Ongoing guidance and feature rollouts

By framing the comparison around Powell’s four strategic pillars, it’s easier to see that Powell doesn’t replace SharePoint—it activates SharePoint’s full potential.

Is Powell Intranet Right for Your Organization?

You may want to consider Powell if:

• Your team is struggling with low intranet engagement

• You’re spending too much time manually formatting or updating content

• Search is a recurring complaint from end users

• Your current SharePoint environment feels fragmented or underutilized

• You need an intranet solution that scales across locations or departments without heavy dev work

If your SharePoint intranet is working—but not inspiring—Powell can help you cross the last mile.

Let’s evaluate together →

Why Work with Synergy?

Whether you're leaning toward a fully customized SharePoint solution or want to accelerate success with Powell, Synergy is the partner that can guide your journey from strategy to rollout.

We’ve helped organizations:

• Reimagine underperforming intranets using SharePoint's native tools

• Launch award-winning digital workplaces using Powell

• Unify internal communications, streamline content governance, and enhance employee engagement

• Integrate third-party tools and services into a unified digital workplace

• Continuously grow and evolve their intranet with analytics, governance, and design support

We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all. Instead, we help you make the most of what you already have—and get to where you want to be faster, with a solution tailored to your needs.

Final Thoughts: Enhance, Don’t Replace

Choosing Powell Intranet doesn’t mean turning away from Microsoft. It means embracing Microsoft 365 even more effectively, using Powell’s enhancements to deliver a user-friendly, modern intranet experience that evolves with your team’s needs.

By reducing time-to-deploy, increasing employee satisfaction, and eliminating the need for heavy custom development, Powell helps companies achieve more with less—while keeping data secure and governance intact within your Microsoft environment.

Not sure which direction is right for your intranet? We’re here to help.

Reach out today and let the Synergy team help you build a tailored roadmap—whether you stick with SharePoint alone or take it to the next level with Powell.

Explore More:

• Synergy’s Intranet Services

• Compare Powell & SharePoint

• Read more from our experts