The Pros and Cons of Using Sharepoint for Your Organization

What are the benefits of using SharePoint for your organization?

Employees prefer the option to work remotely on at least a part-time basis, and those who often work from home report increased job satisfaction and engagement with their jobs. To attract and retain the best talent, you're going to have to accommodate remote work preferences.

These tools have leveled the playing field so that startups and large companies alike can keep teams connected and collaborating, regardless of whether they're on-premise or not. When you begin using SharePoint and become more comfortable with its features, you'll discover the benefits that can be game-changing for your company. 

Cost-effective and convenient for Office 365 users

Third-party intranet services can be costly to implement and maintain. With SharePoint, you can get it attached to your Microsoft 365 plan, which comes with a slew of other benefits. 

Built-in Search Engine

No one in your company should have difficulty finding an essential piece of data or a file. This program addresses that with intelligent search functionality. If you're looking for something specific, type one or both of its keywords into the search for all relevant documents. 

Streamlined Collaboration

Enhanced workplace collaboration was one of the main reasons SharePoint was created. This tool can help to break down departmental silos and foster company-wide interaction. 

Content creation, maintenance, and sharing can occur at any time, all without the risk of critical data getting lost in disconnected storage solutions. 

Simplified Document Management

Instead of sending emails and messages back and forth for hours, your team can collaborate on documents all at once. This is similar to the team collaboration experienced while using Google Docs or Microsoft Office Online. 

SharePoint's Automation Capabilities

Sometimes your organization needs to delete irrelevant or outdated files to make new ones; that process can be automated. 

In the more advanced automation functions, you can define expiration dates for certain documents to get discarded or destroyed after a certain point. You can change document permissions within the workflow after a specified time as well. This is a convenient feature for businesses requiring contractors to access certain documents for a certain period of time.

Social Media and SharePoint

SharePoint is not a social media tool but has functions that can help nurture interaction among team members. Individuals can create profiles that show their interests and entire departments or teams can create "clubs", similar to a Facebook group. 

Say there is a large-scale project that requires two teams to work together. Having easy access to profiles and clubs would help break the ice between the teams and support the project manager in anticipating potential communication issues.  

Customer Portals on SharePoint

SharePoint should not be considered a CRM, but it can create exclusive communication sites for vendors, customers, clients, and more. An example would be a job portal where applicants can learn about the company, upload their resumes, and view updates regarding open positions. 

Business Security and Compliance 

When your business's information is centralized, wouldn't that signal to hackers and cybercriminals easier attack points? They can try, but there are advanced security features built into the application.

Robust data encryption and backup services act as the gatekeepers of your data in storage and when in transit. SharePoint also has configurable security settings to ensure that your company complies with the relevant regulations.

Challenges with Using Microsoft SharePoint

There are indeed many benefits to using Microsoft SharePoint, but there are potential challenges.

• User Adoption — getting the workforce to adopt new technology can feel like pulling teeth. 
• Complex User Interface — some find its interactive tools and customization options too complex. 
• Bulk Migration problems — during a bulk migration of your business's files, some may end up in the wrong location or become corrupted. One way to help avoid this problem is to keep your files organized neatly and with consistent naming conventions. 
• Configuration and Management — hire a designer and IT admin to take care of the intranet sites' appearance and functionality, as well as the technical and access configurations. 
  
  

Adopting SharePoint for Your Business

Despite Sharepoint being designed to assist with document organization, management, and collaboration, the application may come off as overwhelming. Such complexity shouldn't deter you from taking advantage of the application's benefits. With our Managed IT Services, your business will be able to keep to its day-to-day tasks and get SharePoint working, all without skipping a beat in daily operations.