What is SharePoint?

SharePoint is a web-based platform that allows you to create, share, and manage content and information with your team, organization, or external partners. SharePoint is part of the Microsoft 365 suite of products and services, which also includes Office applications, OneDrive cloud storage, Teams collaboration tool, and more.

SharePoint can help you:

• Build intranet sites and pages to communicate news, updates, and important information with your colleagues or customers.
• Create document libraries and lists to store, organize, and access files from any device and collaborate on them with others in real-time.
• Add web parts to customize your sites and pages with rich media, interactive features, data visualization, forms, workflows, etc.
• Discover and follow relevant sites, files, and people across your organization using powerful search capabilities and personalized recommendations.
• Sync and store your files in the cloud so you can work on them offline or share them securely with others.
• Access SharePoint content on the go with the mobile app for iOS and Android devices.

SharePoint is highly configurable and customizable to suit different business needs and scenarios. You can use SharePoint Online as a cloud-based service hosted by Microsoft or SharePoint Server as an on-premise solution that you install and manage yourself. You can also use SharePoint Designer to create advanced workflows and solutions or use Power Apps, Power BI, Power Automate (formerly Flow), etc. to extend SharePoint functionality.

Some of the new features in SharePoint include modern site pages (with responsive design), modern web parts (with drag-and-drop functionality), modern lists (with conditional formatting), modern search (with AI-powered insights), integration with Microsoft 365 apps (such as Teams), etc.

If you want to learn more about SharePoint:

• Watch this video: Intro to SharePoint Online
• Read this article: What is SharePoint? - Microsoft Support
• Take this course: Get started with SharePoint

Why Use SharePoint Intranet?

SharePoint is a powerful platform that can help you create and manage intranet sites for your organization. Whether you want to share information, collaborate on projects, streamline workflows, or improve employee engagement, SharePoint intranet can offer you many advantages. In this blog post, we will explore some of the key benefits of using SharePoint intranet and how it can drive organizational efficiency.

Easy Storage and Access to Information One of the main challenges that many organizations face is how to store and access their business-related and sensitive information securely and conveniently. SharePoint intranet solves this problem by allowing you to store all your data in a single place on the cloud, which can be accessed at any time and anywhere using a web browser. You can also control who can access what information by setting permissions and roles for different users and groups. This way, you can ensure that only authorized personnel can view or edit your data.

Less Time Spent in Discussions and Meetings Another benefit of the SharePoint intranet is that it reduces the need for frequent discussions and meetings among your employees. Instead of sending emails back and forth or scheduling meetings to communicate about a project or task, you can use SharePoint intranet to create team sites where you can share documents, updates, comments, feedback, calendars, task lists, and more. This way, you can keep everyone on the same page and avoid misunderstandings or delays.

Boost Collaboration Among Employees SharePoint intranet also fosters collaboration among your employees by providing them with various tools and features to work together effectively. For example, you can use communication sites to broadcast company-wide news and announcements or hub sites to connect related team sites into a comprehensive directory. You can also use My Site feature to let your employees share their profiles, areas of expertise, personal blogs, etc., which can help them build rapport and trust with each other.

Allow Easier and Quicker Access to Critical Information SharePoint intranet also helps your employees access critical information faster and easier by providing them with a powerful search tool that can locate any document or file across all your sites with just a few clicks. You can also use metadata tags and filters to categorize your content based on different criteria such as department, project name, date created, etc. which makes it easier for your users to find what they are looking for.

Reduce Costs for Tasks Related to Workplace Administration SharePoint intranet also helps you save costs for tasks related to workplace administration such as printing documents,

Pros with SharePoint Online vs other solutions

SharePoint is a popular platform for enterprise content management and collaboration. It enables organizations to store, share and manage various types of digital assets, such as documents, images, videos, and lists. SharePoint also supports business process automation through forms and workflows.

However, SharePoint comes in different versions and deployment models. Organizations need to choose between SharePoint 2019 and SharePoint Online based on their needs and preferences. SharePoint 2019 is an on-premises software that requires the installation and maintenance of servers and infrastructure. SharePoint Online is a cloud service that is part of Microsoft 365 subscription and does not require any hardware or software installation.

In this blog post, we will compare SharePoint Online with other solutions, such as SharePoint 2019 or other cloud-based content management systems. We will highlight some of the pros with SharePoint Online that make it a better choice for many organizations.

Pro #1: No infrastructure costs or maintenance

One of the main advantages of SharePoint Online over other solutions is that it eliminates the need for investing in hardware and software infrastructure. Organizations do not have to buy or maintain servers, storage devices, network equipment or licenses for SharePoint 2019 or other software components. Microsoft hosts SharePoint Online in its data centers and takes care of all the updates, patches, and security measures.

This means that organizations can save money and can also avoid potential issues such as downtime, performance degradation, or data loss due to hardware failures or human errors.

Pro #2: Seamless integration with Microsoft 365 applications

Another benefit of SharePoint Online over other solutions is that it integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 applications such as Outlook Online, Word Online, Excel Online, OneNote, and others. Users can access their files stored in SharePoint Online from any device using these applications without having to switch between different platforms or interfaces.

SharePoint Online also integrates well with Office 365 Groups, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams. These are collaborative tools that enable users to create teams, chat with colleagues, share files, and co-author documents in real-time. Users can easily create sites in SharePoint Online for their teams or projects using templates based on Office 365 Groups.

Pro #3: Scalability and flexibility

SharePoint Online offers more scalability and flexibility than other solutions because it is a cloud service that can adapt to changing business needs and demands. Organizations can easily add or remove users from their subscription plans without having to worry about capacity planning or resource allocation.

SharePoint Online also allows organizations to customize their sites and features according to their specific requirements using various options such as site designs