We're proud to share that Fresh Intranet has been recognised by ClearBox Consulting for the second year running and we thought you might like to know what that actually means.
Last year, we were one of just six solutions to earn ClearBox's "Intranet Choices" award. This year, their 2026 report has highlighted Fresh as one of the highest-performing SharePoint-native platforms, with particular strengths in communications management, AI capabilities, and platform control.
For those who aren't familiar with ClearBox, they're genuinely independent experts who spend their days evaluating digital workplace platforms (with no vendor money influences their findings).
Why this matters
Two years of recognition from the same independent source? That means something.
Not because we need another badge for the website (though it does look nice, to be fair) but because it suggests we're consistently solving real problems for real people. That's what we care about.
The ClearBox Report is properly comprehensive. This year they evaluated 37 platforms across eight different business scenarios - everything from how well you can communicate with employees to whether the search actually finds things.
For organisations trying to wade through the intranet market, it's genuinely helpful. Which is why we're making both the full 900+ page report and our dedicated 37-page review available for you to download.
What ClearBox said about us
Here's what stood out in their evaluation:
On our overall approach:
"Fresh is a compelling choice for organisations seeking a powerful intranet in-a-box solution that addresses the common complaints and limitations of a standard SharePoint experience."
On our communications tools:
"Fresh provides a comprehensive suite of tools that significantly enhance SharePoint's default capabilities at every stage of the communication publishing lifecycle."
The bit that really made our day
ClearBox collected loads of customer feedback as part of their evaluation. They talked to people who actually use Fresh day-to-day, and here's what stood out:
They noted zero negative comments about working with us. Not one. And that matters more to us than any score ever could.
Here's what some of you told them:
"Fresh allowed us to start over with a fresh adoption of SharePoint and staff don't feel or know that they're still using SharePoint!"
This is the dream, really. Making SharePoint so pleasant to use that people forget it's SharePoint.
"When content production is not technically difficult, energy can be devoted to higher-quality content."
"There is real care in helping you get the most from Fresh and that is so helpful in the often resource poor world of intranet / knowledge management at most firms."
"I truly love the Fresh team."
Right back at you. ❤️
What's been recognised this year
ClearBox highlighted several areas where Fresh performs particularly well:
Communications management
Our Editorial Calendar, Content Creation Wizard, and built-in Newsletter capabilities. Basically, the tools we've built to make internal comms teams' lives less chaotic. ClearBox noted these scored highly, which is brilliant because they've taken ages to get right.
Platform management
The ability to manage templates, navigation, and branding centrally across multiple sites - solving what ClearBox called "the site-by-site problem that has frustrated SharePoint users for years."
FreshMind AI
Our AI assistant earned high marks for natural language search and people finding. But here's the thing: we didn't build FreshMind to jump on the AI bandwagon. We built it to solve specific problems:
- Finding the person who actually knows about that thing
- Getting answers from official documents (not random emails)
- Helping publishers create content without the faff
- Keeping everything secure and controlled
ClearBox put it nicely: FreshMind provides "a controlled AI experience focused on authoritative content."
We reckon that just means it's useful AI, not just AI for the sake of it.
Content management
Comprehensive metadata management, Topic Explorer, and content lifecycle tools. The slightly boring but absolutely essential stuff that helps you actually stay on top of your intranet content.
The two-year Journey
So what's changed between 2025 and 2026? Quite a bit, actually.
In 2025, ClearBox recognised us for beautiful design, intuitive navigation, and smart search. We were made up.
In 2026, they're highlighting our communications tools, platform management, and how FreshMind has evolved. Even better.
Between those two points, we've:
- Launched the Content Creation Wizard (publishers actually enjoy using it - who knew?)
- Beefed up the Editorial Calendar (comms teams needed proper oversight)
- Made FreshMind even more useful (whilst keeping it sensible)
- Fixed loads of the things that annoyed people (you told us, we listened)
- Added features we didn't even know we needed until customers asked for them
What hasn't changed? Our approach: solve real problems, listen to customers, don't overcomplicate things, be honest about limitations.
Who Fresh is actually for
ClearBox's analysis is pretty clear on this, and we'd agree with them:
Fresh works best for medium to large organisations (typically 1,000+ employees) who:
- Are committed to Microsoft 365 and want to get more value from it
- Need to manage multiple sites, brands, or languages
- Have proper internal communications requirements
- Care about knowledge management and search
- Work in regulated sectors where governance matters
We're trusted by organisations like Brown & Brown, Metropolitan Police, TD Bank, KPMG, Bristol Airport, McCann WorldGroup, M&G, and DLA Piper. Over a 1.5 million employees across 26 countries use Fresh every day.
But here's the honest bit: we're not right for everyone. If you're a small team, or you need something super simple, or you're not on Microsoft 365 - there are probably better options for you.
What comes next
This recognition from ClearBox isn't a finish line. It's confirmation we're heading in the right direction.
Our plans for the year ahead include:
- Enhanced AI capabilities that build on FreshMind's foundation
- Deeper analytics to help content owners and communicators measure impact
- Continued innovation in mobile, integrations, and content management
- Tighter Microsoft 365 integration as Microsoft keeps evolving their platform
But mostly, we'll keep doing what's worked so far: listening to customers, solving real problems, and making SharePoint intranets better.
Take a proper look
We've made the complete Fresh section of the ClearBox 2026 Report available for download. It's 37 pages and includes:
- Detailed analysis of all eight evaluation scenarios
- Loads of screenshots showing Fresh capabilities
- Direct customer testimonials (including the lovely ones above)
- Technical specifications and company details
- How we compare to other solutions
- ClearBox's expert take on when Fresh is the right choice
You can also download the full 900+ page ClearBox report if you want to see how everyone else fared. We think that's only fair.
Thank you
To our customers: thank you for your partnership, your feedback, and your trust. This recognition reflects not just what we've built, but how we've worked together to make your intranets successful. And thanks especially to those who took the time to speak with ClearBox, your words mean the world to us.
To those evaluating options: we hope this independent validation helps your decision-making. If you'd like to see Fresh in action, we'd be delighted to show you around. No pressure.
View a Fresh Intranet demo
To everyone in the Fresh community: here's to continuing to build something good together. Cheers. 💟
