Intranet - missing the big picture?

The corporate intranet is in many contribute to huge productive gains or losses for companies. Companies like IBM have understood the importance of intranet more as a collaborative medium than a simple bulletin board.
Have a look at the top ten intranets of the world for 2007
So whats the common denominator for all these companies?
- Understand that intranet will serve a larger purpose than a bunch of links and applications
- Have a clear strategic vision that augments the company’s growth
- Cut down on unnecessary business processes and make effective use of time for employees
- Define, design and develop according to the needs of the business and user communication

A simple process of applying for a leave can be endlessly made painful.
Case 1: Apply for a leave
1. Launch intranet
2. Go to My Leaves or Leave Mgmt System
3. Apply for a leave. Fill in Start date, End date, any additional comments, contact address
4. Submit and receive an approval over email. Done!

Case 2: Apply for a leave
1. Launch intranet
2. Where do i look for my leave mgmt application. Ok let me ask. Hey where is this err..oh you go to tools, ok, under which section…oh here it is..i got it…thanks
3. Clicks on the link. A whole new application is launched.
4. It welcomes me and gives blah blah… about the application..
5. Click on ‘Apply for leave’
6. User gets a form, no defaults, user has to fill in all details. He doesnt know which is mandatory. When he tries to submit it informs him that he has missed ’some’ important data. Erases the form, starts all over again
7. Hmmm….ok…let me see if i can override this and get it approved offline…
8. Manager says No, and he helps me apply it.
9. Next time - Will i remember the paths and links and information?!

Rule of thumb: Keep it simple and straight, Recognition is better than recall