Platform Blog

The most common IT questions (and answers!) about Netpresenter

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

If you are in the market for an employee communication platform, you probably have many practical questions. To help organizations choose the right platform, we collected (and answered) the most common IT questions our customers ask us. Read on and find out if Netpresenter is the right platform for your organization.

We already use Microsoft 365. What will Netpresenter add to our organization?

Over the years, Microsoft 365 has evolved into a great suite of tools that enable employees to perform their office work to the best of their ability. And with SharePoint, Outlook, and Teams, you also seem to have all the tools you need to communicate and collaborate. Yet, we believe that there is room for improvement. 

After all, Microsoft’s tools are primarily geared towards the (traditional) office worker. The suite was literally called ‘Office’ 365 until recently. Ask yourself the following questions: Does everyone in your organization have a Microsoft 365 account or just office employees? Does everyone have the necessary devices and time to use the Microsoft 365 tools? And last but not least, can everyone access the information and data they need to do their job to the best of their ability?

it questions netpresenter teams

One drawback of Microsoft 365 is that employees must actively use the tools to find the information they need. That usually works fine for many office workers (though there’s always room for improvement), but for many other workers, it can be a real issue. Think factory workers, couriers, nurses, and sales agents. They often literally don’t have their hands free to use SharePoint, Outlook, or Teams – assuming they have a Microsoft 365 account to start with. Microsoft 365 can also be less ideal for colleagues working from home, who have become completely dependent on digital communication and can no longer see the forest for the trees.

We firmly believe that information should come to people, regardless of what they are doing, where they are working, or what devices they are using. That makes it easier for everyone to access information. That’s why our platform puts the employee first. Important company messages, fun internal news, and important alerts are then distributed via smart targeting so that everyone receives exactly the information that is relevant to them. 

Although there is an inevitable overlap, Netpresenter is not meant to replace Microsoft 365. Our platform is a specialized tool to keep your employees informed, engaged, productive, and secure. Moreover, our platform is geared towards modern, flexible, and hybrid organizations that need to reach a wide range of employees.                                                                                                                                                    

How can Netpresenter be integrated with Microsoft 365? 

As explained before, Netpresenter and Microsoft 365 are excellent to use side by side. Our platform can even enhance Microsoft’s tools thanks to some deep integrations!  

For many organizations, the User Groups are already the beating heart of the workforce, at least from an IT perspective. That’s why we made it possible for our platform to sync with the User Groups. Thanks to this integration, you don’t have to maintain several databases. Through the User Groups, our platform knows precisely who is working within the organization and which departments and locations everyone is working. This is important for the targeting to work correctly. After all, if you don’t know what someone does or where they work, you can’t provide them with relevant company news.  

We also integrate with different Microsoft apps, such as Teams, SharePoint, Power BI, and Excel, and make use of content from those apps. This way, our integrations will increase the reach of the channels and platforms you already use and love. The integrations only need to be set up once. After that, the content is automatically forwarded to the Netpresenter platform and displayed on screens across the organization. 

Feel free to keep publishing articles on SharePoint; our link ensures that employees immediately know that new content is available on SharePoint and increases traffic to your intranet. The most critical announcements on Teams, current KPIs in Power BI, or a schedule in Excel can also be distributed automatically to all employees. And because Netpresenter uses a wide range of channels, you reach everyone. So, let us repeat ourselves: we are not a replacement for Microsoft 365. Instead, we make sure you get even more out of your existing Microsoft tools! 

Read more about the interaction between Netpresenter and Microsoft

it questions netpresenter power bi

What other integrations does Netpresenter offer? 

Our integrations are not limited to just Microsoft tools. We can also integrate with other popular platforms and programs. Is your organization using Workplace instead of Teams? We have an integration with Workplace from Facebook that makes it possible to automatically display the latest updates from Workplace channels on every screen in your organization, from the narrowcasting screens in the break room to screensavers for colleagues working from home or the app on everyone’s smartphone.   

Some of our other integrations connect with social media like Facebook and Twitter, automatically showing the latest posts from your company pages. Or with Google services, including Google Calendar for planning, or live traffic and public transport information from Google Maps. Are you looking for a way to display fun or interesting news from selected sources? Integrations with RSS & XML feeds enable you to show all kinds of things on your screens automatically.  

Our integrations only need to be set up once for whatever service or external source you want to integrate with. The content will be automatically visible on your screens after implementation by using feeds and APIs.

Check out all our integrations

How secure is Netpresenter? 

Security is our top priority. The Netpresenter cloud platform is hosted in Microsoft Azure, which meets ISO27001 and SSAE16 standards to ensure data security. In addition, we take various measures to minimize the chance of a data breach. 

All information is encrypted using TLS 1.2 and PFS. SSLv3 is disabled on all systems to prevent security breaches. Communications with the app are encrypted using AES-256 encryption. We also encrypt user passwords using one-way hash functions.  

Access rights and roles can be set per individual or group to ensure only employees have access to Netpresenter CMS and the app when they need to. Single Sign-On support allows users to use their trusted and secure Microsoft account. In addition, it is possible to enable custom password policies and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for increased security.   

Download an overview of our infrastructure and system security

Can Netpresenter match our corporate branding? 

Your employee communication should definitely match your organization! That is why Netpresenter enables you to use your logo, colors, and fonts. Your internal communication will immediately look both professional and familiar. 

Netpresenter Desktop App Mac

We also provide different templates, so messages look equally good on any screen, whether you display them via narrowcasting on large screens, via screensavers at workstations, or in the app on mobile devices. 

Check out some of our available templates

How will Netpresenter be rolled out to different devices?

For PCs and TVs, we will provide you with a .msi package. You can deploy this file within your organization using various deployment methods, including Group Policy Object (GPO). This way, the required software is quickly and easily deployed. 

Employees can install our mobile app for free. The app is available in the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android. If necessary, the app can also be deployed via MDM (Mobile Device Management) applications, so you can be sure the app is installed on work phones.  

Would you like more information on a specific topic, or do you have any other technical questions? Feel free to contact our support department. Or request a free demo to see how Netpresenter works.

Photo
Richard Renkens

IT-specialist Richard Renkens has been with Netpresenter for well over a decade. Besides solving IT-related mysteries, Richard likes to blow off steam on his mountain bike.