Microsoft SharePoint was established in 2001 as a document management and storage system. But now SharePoint offers you much more than that. Last year, Gartner named SharePoint a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Content Services Platforms . Already for the third year in a row. More than 100 million active users are leveraging the benefits of Microsoft SharePoint for mission- critical processes. Not for nothing, because an intranet in SharePoint stimulates smarter collaboration, improves internal communication and increases involvement within your organization. Here are the top seven benefits of SharePoint Services.
1. A scalable intranet in the Cloud
One of the biggest advantages of SharePoint is that it is available in the cloud . You can access the intranet via your desktop, tablet, smartphone or laptop regardless of your location. This makes it attractive and easy to use SharePoint according to your preference.
The cloud is also scalable, for example in storage capacity. You are not tied to the server capacity of your organization. In addition, you save costs immediately, because you do not have to maintain server parks and you spend less time implementing updates or certain functionalities. SharePoint Online is always up-to-date and the latest functionalities are available first.
SharePoint is an open and social platform , which makes it easy to create and share documents. Via the intranet you have access to team sites, information, people and projects to carry out your work effectively and efficiently. You can easily work with multiple colleagues on the same document . In a live feed you can see at a glance who is working in the document at the same time as you. By refreshing the file , you will immediately see their changes. This prevents multiple versions of the same file and saves you time and miscommunication.
3. One integral platform
One of the other benefits of SharePoint is that you get a consistent experience of the platform as it is seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Teams , the Microsoft Office Suite and ERP, CRM or other back office systems. You have access to everything you need in terms of information via one portal.
A major advantage of an integrated platform instead of separate solutions is that you can apply your information and archiving policy centrally to the entire environment . All information is stored in the Microsoft cloud , and not fragmented across separate applications. This makes your information management a lot easier. Think of automatic classification of documents on the basis of sensitive information , the automatic setting of retention periods and monitoring for audits .
Also, because many users are familiar with Microsoft Office, the adoption process of additional Microsoft solutions is faster. Thanks to the uniform experience, you can quickly use SharePoint as an intranet for your daily work.
Sensitive company information and personal data require optimum protection. Also to protect your integrity and reputation. Previous advanced security measures have been integrated into SharePoint , for example to prevent data leaks and unauthorized access. Without limiting the possibilities of sharing information. You manage the access and editing rights down to the file level and security updates are processed automatically. Data storage in the cloud is much more reliable and secure than on-premise.
One of the advantages of SharePoint is that you can set up the intranet according to your wishes and needs without the involvement of a developer. You can do this, for example, with the available templates to automate various work processes for recurring tasks. Or create certain forms to collect necessary information from employees, customers, partners or suppliers online. This prevents incorrect or duplicate data, because you no longer have to enter data manually. You can therefore personalize and optimize SharePoint for your work without code.
6. Extended search function
Sometimes it can be difficult to find specific information, especially in large intranet sites. The smart search function in SharePoint immediately shows you the documents, people or intranet pages that match or are related to your search. Furthermore, the search function includes a spelling corrector and you can enable notifications for specific search terms. This comprehensive search function is also easy to use via mobile devices.
7. Intelligent Workplace
From working safely to collaboration with the help of software: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often involved. Interesting functionalities have become available through the application of AI in SharePoint. Like the aforementioned search function. In addition to documents, you can now find images based on metadata just as quickly. Another application of AI is the chatbot where employees can go with their questions about, for example, personnel matters. The more data and users, the better the functionalities that AI offers on the intranet!
The benefits of today’s SharePoint platform can no longer be compared to those of 2001’s SharePoint. The intranet is more secure, intuitive, scalable, integrates with other IT systems and focuses on collaboration and ease of use. Employees are more effective and efficient in their daily work and experience more job satisfaction. Finally , as an organization you have lower costs for managing and maintaining an intranet on SharePoint.
