Custom corporate intranet portal
A corporate intranet portal is a closed platform for employees: news feed, knowledge base, requests and approvals, phone directory, task management, HR functions.
When off-the-shelf solutions like SharePoint, Bitrix24 or Confluence fail to cover the specifics of the business or security requirements, you have to build a custom intranet.
We have been doing this for more than 8 years and have delivered over 50 projects for companies with 50 to 5000 employees.
A typical portal often cannot handle non-standard approval routes or integration with legacy systems — that is exactly when the customer turns to custom development.
Typical problems an intranet solves
Scattered information. Documents in one place, news in another, CRM in a third. Employees spend up to 30% of their time searching for data. An intranet brings everything together in a single interface: a news feed, a structured knowledge base, search across all documents.
Complex approvals. Requests for a business trip, equipment purchase or vacation pass through several managers. Without automation the process drags on for days. Our form and approval route builder reduces request processing time to 2–4 hours.
No single directory. Up-to-date employee contacts, org chart, competencies — all in one place with synchronization from Active Directory or 1С:ЗУП.
How we do it: stack and case study
From our practice: for one client (an IT company, 300 employees) we built a portal on Laravel 11 with React 18. Front-end — SSR on Next.js 14. Database — PostgreSQL, search via Meilisearch. Authentication — SAML 2.0 via ADFS. We implemented it in 3.5 months.
The key module is a request builder with dynamic forms and sequential approval stages. For example, a purchase request: an employee fills out the form, the system checks the budget, sends it to the department head, then to the CFO. At every step — a Telegram notification.
«The portal cut request approval time from two days to three hours,» noted the client's IT department head.
Why choose custom development instead of an off-the-shelf solution?
Off-the-shelf platforms (Bitrix24, SharePoint) are suitable for simple scenarios, but when non-standard logic or a high level of security is required, they fall short. A custom intranet:
- is not tied to a vendor and license fees;
- integrates easily with legacy systems (1С, CRM, ERP);
- lets you implement any business rules;
- scales with company growth without limits.
Custom development rolls out new modules 2-3 times faster compared to customizing Bitrix24, since we are not constrained by the vendor's architecture. License savings — up to 40% per year for a mid-sized business.
The average payback period of a custom intranet is 1.5–2 years thanks to reduced downtime and faster approvals.
Work process
- Discovery (1–2 weeks). We study business processes, gather requirements from key departments, define the MVP.
- Design (2–3 weeks). We draw prototypes, agree on the portal structure, prepare the technical specification.
- Development (2–6 months). Backend, frontend, integrations. We run 2-week sprints, each ending with a demo.
- Testing (2–4 weeks). Functional, load, security. We write automated tests.
- Launch and support. Deployment to your server or cloud, administrator training, technical support.
Example of technical architecture
- Backend: Laravel 11 with authentication modules (SAML2), a form builder, a notification queue.
- Frontend: Next.js 14 with SSR, React 18, Tailwind, react-query.
- Integrations: REST API for 1С, Graph API for Exchange, WebSocket for notifications.
- Database: PostgreSQL + replication, Redis for cache.
- Search: Meilisearch.
- Deployment: Docker, CI/CD via GitLab.
What is included in the result?
- Documentation: architecture description, administration instructions, user guide.
- Source code and the rights to it.
- Access to the server, CI/CD.
- Team training (2–3 days).
- Technical support for 3 months (further by contract).
Timeline and cost
MVP — from 3 months. A full-featured intranet — from 5 to 9 months. The cost is calculated individually depending on the complexity of the modules and integrations. The project budget is agreed upon at the discovery stage.
| Parameter | Custom intranet | Off-the-shelf solution (Bitrix24/SharePoint) |
|---|---|---|
| License | None — you own the code | Annual fee, often per user |
| Flexibility | Any modifications | Limited customization |
| Integration | Any API, legacy | Only what the vendor supports |
| Security | Full control, audit, 2FA | Depends on the vendor |
| Scale | No limits | Functional limits are common |
Ensuring corporate portal security
All requests — over HTTPS. Sessions with IP binding (optional). An audit log records every action: who, when, what was changed. Two-factor authentication via TOTP. Access restriction by IP or VPN. For government companies — certified cryptography tools.
Integrations
| System | Integration method |
|---|---|
| Active Directory | LDAP sync, SAML/OIDC |
| 1С:ЗУП | REST API (HTTP services) |
| Email (Exchange/Gmail) | SMTP, Graph API |
| Telegram/Slack | Bot for notifications |
| Jira/GitLab | Webhook for displaying tasks |
Integration with 1С
Integration with 1С is implemented via REST API (HTTP services) or file exchange (CommerceML). We set up synchronization of directories (employees, departments) and documents (requests, vacations) in real time or on a schedule. For clients with 1С:ЗУП this reduces manual data entry by 70%.
Mobile access
A Progressive Web App (PWA) gives employees access to the intranet from a smartphone without installing from the App Store. Push notifications via FCM for important announcements and approval reminders.
With more than 8 years of experience, we guarantee reliability and compliance with your requirements. Contact us for a consultation — we will prepare a proposal within two days. Request an estimate for your project right now.
