What is SharePoint and how do I use it in my business?
You may have heard of Microsoft SharePoint before, but you may be unsure regarding what it actually is and how it can benefit your business. There are many different advantages to gain by integrating this platform into your company. In this guide, we will take a look at what Microsoft SharePoint is, what benefits you can expect, and where you can try it.
What actually is Microsoft SharePoint?
Before we start to delve into the benefits that are associated with this platform, it is first important to establish what Microsoft SharePoint is and how it functions. Microsoft Sharepoint is a collaboration system that is web-based. It uses workflow applications, list databases and different parts of the web and security features to ensure that business teams are empowered when they are working together.
Microsoft SharePoint also gives businesses the ability to automate their workflow processes as well as controlling data access so that they can enhance their security levels. It is also worth pointing out that there is a cloud version of Microsoft SharePoint. This is known as SharePoint online. This option has a lot of added integration capabilities with other applications on the cloud.
Microsoft SharePoint is paired in functionality with several other offerings that Microsoft have brought us over the years with their packages. This includes the Microsoft 365 license or Office 365.
What do businesses use Microsoft SharePoint for?
For the past 17 years or so, Microsoft SharePoint has proved to be an integral tool when it comes to increasing efficiency in Fortune 500 businesses. It is an Intranet platform that has the ability to cross all company sectors. The platform comes with so many different features that make it a lot easier for people to work together. This includes on ad-hoc projects, as well as establishing standard company processes for recording data, document publishing, and information sharing.
There are a number of different features that give users the ability to achieve more in a much lower amount of time while ensuring their work is never compromised. This includes integration with Exchange, versioning, co-authoring, and security controls. With Microsoft SharePoint, you have the ability to do the following…
You can require approval before documents are made visible
You can stop any further editing or authoring on documents through the ‘check out’ feature
You can get notifications when changes are made to documents or documents are uploaded
You can make workflows using then/if logic so that actions are automated, for example, recording information, emailing documents, and moving documents
Of course, this is a mere handful of the features that are available with Microsoft SharePoint. However, it gives you a good understanding of how Microsoft SharePoint can be used to increase the productivity of business users. A critical thing that this platform really does do better than the other collaboration systems out there is display details regarding what documents and information are stored and the reasons why. This is not only important for organisational purposes, but it is also crucial for data classification and security reasons too.
Why should you consider using Microsoft SharePoint at your company?
Now that you have a good idea regarding what Microsoft SharePoint is and how it works, it is important to establish why this is a good idea for businesses. One of the main features of Microsoft SharePoint is that it will enable you to boost productivity levels across your business because it enables teams to collaborate with much greater ease. Not only this but workers will benefit from enhanced visibility across all verticals, in companies small and large.
The Microsoft SharePoint features are centred on intranet-based cross collaboration experiences, which enables a number of different features, including workflow collaboration features, content management, secure sharing and much more.
Microsoft SharePoint is very easy to maintain when you consider the fact that it is a website-based collaborate platform. It is easy for business users to get to grips with. This is important because it means that integration should be simple and straightforward. Moreover, you do not need to worry about spending a lot of money on training your employees to use the platform.
Aside from the benefits that have already been mentioned, it is a platform that also comes with a huge number of different customisation options as well. Plus, it can be scaled with ease. There are a lot of different ways that companies use the platform so that they can gain higher efficiency levels and consequently make a good return on their investment.
Microsoft SharePoint and Content Management
Microsoft SharePoint also proves to be very beneficial when it comes to managing content. There are many ways you can add metadata to files for keeping track of content, as well as sorting and organising it. Plus, you can force tags onto content whenever a user uploads them to the spaces for collaboration. Once content is entered into Microsoft SharePoint, organisations are empowered with numerous workflow tools for automation. This means you can automate the disposal of information based on business policies, as well as using content lifecycle tools for enabling records disposition. Plus, you can automate processes based on information given by end-users.
Is there anywhere I can try it?
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so it is always best to be able to try something before you commit to buying it. After all, you want to make sure that it is right for you and your business. Luckily, this is something you are able to do with Microsoft SharePoint. You can try it for free by clicking here.
So, there you have it: everything you need to know about Microsoft SharePoint. We hope that you now have a better understanding regarding this platform and what it can mean for your business. Try the link and see whether or not Microsoft SharePoint is the perfect solution for your company. If it is, we can help you set SharePoint up, manage it, and use it to its fullest extent.
