What is SharePoint and why should I use it?

Even though SharePoint has been around for 20 years, I still regularly come across companies who have never heard of it. So what is it? And why should you use it?  

SharePoint is a powerful online platform that can be used as a:

  • company intranet with news, events and useful links

  • repository to store and organise documents

  • collaboration platform to work with colleagues in real time

SharePoint Hub.PNG

As it’s part of the Microsoft suite, you also benefit from all the other tools that come with it, enabling enhanced features such as process automation, records management and reporting.

With today’s heightened importance in collaboration and the Digital Workplace, SharePoint remains an industry leader and is increasingly gaining popularity.

So what are the key benefits of using SharePoint?

It’s a web platform

There’s no need to invest in any hardware as it’s hosted in the Microsoft Cloud. This means everyone can access from anywhere and any device!

Security

Microsoft invest heavily in security; and SharePoint comes with several built-in security features such as controlling whether you can share content with external users, setting permissions on who in your organisation can access certain things and creating policies to allow or limit user behaviour.

No code required

No code is required to set SharePoint up – you can create a stunning intranet and document management system using all ‘out-of-the box’ features. This makes it easy to understand, manage and maintain – even for the technophobic!

Customisable and Scalable

SharePoint can be used for any size of company - from a handful of staff, to thousands! It’s completely customisable to a company’s unique needs and scalable as you grow.

Collaboration

SharePoint is fantastic for collaboration, through real-time co-authoring of documents, version control, task lists and shared calendars.

Automate mundane tasks

Through SharePoint and Power Automate, you can automate mundane tasks and save time. For example collecting signatures or getting approval on a document.

Centralised Hub

SharePoint is a centralised hub that unites functions and departments within an organisation and puts everything in one easy-to-access location for staff. It’s a single source of truth, and avoids duplication of documents by removing the need to store local copies of documents, copy or move them or attach them to emails.

Contact me or reach out on LinkedIn if you’d like to chat more about all things SharePoint!

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