SharePoint is over 20 years old and has not only see the transition from server-based infrastructures, to cloud computing, but has adapted to remain relevant in the age of the cloud. Despite it’s tenure, however, there are still plenty of businesses who have held off on migrating to it – even though they may be using other Microsoft products in their organisation. We discussed SharePoint and its usefulness with TechQuarters, a Microsoft Partner that has been providing managed IT services London based companies rely on for over 10 years now. Not only do they swear by SharePoint as a fundamental pillar of their own IT infrastructure, but they pointed out that it is used by many organisations – including more than half of all Fortune 500 companies.
What is SharePoint?
SharePoint is a platform aimed at intranet and server-based operations, although among the various editions of the product, SharePoint Online is aimed at cloud-based document management and storage. In 2020, Microsoft stated that SharePoint had over 200 million users worldwide, which is a testament to its functionality and usefulness. According to TechQuarters, most businesses use it for either document management and collaboration, backup and archiving, or for hosting workplace intranet.
SharePoint can be used in all kinds of ways to streamline the way that businesses operates, and it can help an organisation save costs. Below are seven examples of why businesses choose the platform.
7 Reasons Why You Should Be Using It
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Diverse Functionality
SharePoint’s greatest strength is in its versatility. For decades, it has serves as the ideal internal portal for organisations to share information and files, schedule tasks, managing contacts, and more. It is simultaneously a file management software, a social networking site, and a collaboration platform, to name just a few use-cases.
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Highly Configurable
SharePoint Online is already very easy to learn and operate, however there are also many settings and features that can be tailored to fit an organisation’s needs. You can build custom elements in a site, or build a custom site entirely from scratch. You can design the entire interface of the platform to match your business’ branding and preferred workflow.
Similarly, the self-hosted versions of SharePoint, such as SharePoint Standard, Enterprise, and Server, offer even more granular levels of customization.
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Document Management & Sharing
As we mentioned earlier, SharePoint is often used for document management and collaboration. This is because it offers easy to use cloud-based storage and sharing. SharePoint Online can be accessed on the web, via mobile, and on the desktop, which means managing documents individually, and as a team or department is incredibly easy. When the flow of information and access to resources as made as easy as possible, individuals are able to work and collaboration much more effectively.
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Integration with Microsoft 365
SharePoint is included as part of the Microsoft 365 suite of apps and services, which also includes things like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Teams. All of Microsoft’s products and services are designed to integrate together to make the flow of work as seamlessly as it is possible to get. According to TechQuarters, their entire digital productivity infrastructure was built using the Microsoft 365 suite, and as part of their services providing IT support Essex businesses (and many other businesses across England) rely on.
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Centralised Admin
For many businesses that use SharePoint, it forms the majority of the backbone of their daily operations within the Microsoft 365 stack. For that reason, administration of the platform is very important. Luckily, however, SharePoint offers easy, centralised administration – so admins can easily access security settings, manage access and permissions, perform backups, and more.
