A lot has changed in the past few years. The typical business software shopper would look for “an intranet” for their organization – somewhere to store files. The “web page” where the HR forms were stored.

Today’s generation of business collaboration packages is leaps and bounds ahead with feature such as:

• Voice & chat integration. Many products include the ability to send instant messages to collegues from within the product, and some allow you to initiate conference calls with a single click. Examples include Microsoft Sharepoint and PBworks Business Edition.
• Mobile Access. Most all solutions now provide a wealthy subset of functionality for those on-the-go via popular mobile devices. iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Android support is most common.
• Ad-hoc workspace creation. Many platforms, such as Central Desktop, give users the ability to create their own workspaces for any project, team, or knowledgebase.
• User Profiles. Users can create their own profiles with contact information, interests and other information that helps other employees find them – and get in touch with them. Twiki provides such functionality.
• Project Management (Tasks). Providers such as 37signals and PBworks give users the ability to assign tasks to eachother, track progress, and stay current on assigned work. More modern then a bug tracking system, this functionality is useful to everyone in the organization.
• Reporting. Many products offer a complete audit trail of what is taking place on the system. Box.net, for example, allow s you to generate and export file and user activity across everyone in your Box account or get a breakdown by user groups.
• Wikis. Wiki is a Hawaiian word for "fast". In the business software scene, wikis allow employees to create and distribute information in a quick – yet organized – manner.
• Groups. Solutions such as Jive’s SBS provide dynamic collaboration and social networking capabilities that let users keep up with changing areas of focus.
• Status updates. Status updates let you update everyone in your network what you are working on, which provides a casual and ad-hoc means of spreading information and knowledge. Provided by solutions such as PBworks and Yammer provide particularly good implementations.

Not all solutions provide every feature, but without a doubt, the current generation of software typically "feels" several generations more advanced then your typical intranet of 2004.