Fostering Collaboration and Efficiency by Migrating to SharePoint Online

A modern intranet is a powerful asset for establishing successful digital workplaces. With a robust and feature-rich intranet, businesses can improve communication, foster collaboration, ensure knowledge sharing, enhance employee engagement, and more.

However, when a business grows, its existing intranet causes a multitude of challenges, including lack of scalability, security risks, fragmentation of information, low user engagement, etc.

But, how do they address these challenges?

They can either upgrade or upscale their existing intranet or migrate to one with better functionalities. So, choosing a web-based platform like SharePoint could be a safe option.

Reports state that more than 85%^[i] of Fortune 500 companies use SharePoint as part of their digital workplace.

This intranet system serves as a centralized repository for storing, organizing, and accessing content, such as spreadsheets, presentations, and other business-related data. Businesses can migrate to it for enhanced document management, collaboration, and information sharing.

In this blog post, we’ll delve into the realm of SharePoint and discuss why businesses are migrating to this platform. We’ll also decipher how leading brands have embraced SharePoint for improved productivity and enhanced operations.

Why Businesses Are Migrating to SharePoint?

SharePoint serves as a versatile intranet platform, providing businesses with a comprehensive solution for effective communication, collaboration, and knowledge management.

Its building blocks, such as communication sites, home sites, and hub sites, enable businesses to structure their intranet and align with their specific needs. Not just this, its SharePoint News feature enables businesses to disseminate important updates and announcements, fostering a sense of community and engagement among employees.

Its integration with Yammer facilitates social networking and cross-departmental communication. Additionally, the platform provides tools like custom forms and streaming capabilities to enhance business productivity and internal processes.

SharePoint’s ability to centralize information, streamline workflows, and personalize content makes it an invaluable asset for modern businesses seeking to create a cohesive and efficient digital workplace.

Migrate to SharePoint Online: Boost Productivity, Efficiency, and Engagement

By leveraging the benefits of SharePoint Online, businesses can streamline their operations, enhance collaboration, and achieve higher efficiency. Let’s explore the advantages one by one!

1. External User Access Management: SharePoint Online simplifies the management of external user access. It enables you to securely share content, such as sites, folders, and individual documents, with external users who have a Microsoft Account linked to their corporate email address. This feature facilitates collaboration with clients, partners, and contractors, ensuring that sensitive data remains protected while enabling seamless external collaboration.

2. Improved OneDrive for Business: SharePoint Online includes OneDrive for Business, providing you with a personal cloud storage space for files. It enables you to store, access, and share your work documents securely from anywhere, on any device. Additionally, its “Sync client” feature ensures that files are synchronized across devices, promoting efficient collaboration both within and outside the business.

3. Exclusive Office 365 Services: SharePoint Online is part of the Office 365 suite, granting access to additional services like Microsoft Automate, PowerApps, Delve, and Graph. These services can enable you to automate workflows, build custom applications, enhance collaboration, and gain insights from data, all within the SharePoint environment.

4. Remote Access: SharePoint Online enables users to work from anywhere, anytime, and on any device. Whether your employees are in the office or on the go, they can access and collaborate on documents seamlessly. Its ability to work offline and sync changes when back online further enhances mobility and flexibility.

5. Scalability and Cost Control: SharePoint Online’s subscription model enables businesses to scale their user licenses and storage capacity as needed. This flexibility ensures you pay only for the used resources, making SharePoint cost-effective and adaptable to changing business requirements.

6. Security and Compliance: SharePoint Online offers robust security measures, including physical security at Microsoft data centers, data encryption, regular backups, multifactor authentication, and protection against data mining. These features help maintain data security and compliance with industry regulations.

7. IT Resource Efficiency: Migrating to SharePoint Online reduces the IT team’s workload as routine tasks like data backup, maintenance, and software updates are managed by Microsoft. Consequently, IT professionals can focus on more strategic initiatives and innovation instead of day-to-day system maintenance.

8. Enhanced Data Security and Compliance: SharePoint Online adheres to the latest compliance standards and includes additional security features such as Information Rights Management (IRM) for document-level encryption and access control. These ensure that your business protects sensitive data and meets compliance requirements.

9. Pay-As-You-Go Model: SharePoint Online’s pay-as-you-go model enables you to choose subscription plans based on your needs, whether you have a few users or thousands. This flexibility empowers you to control costs and adjust your subscriptions as the workforce evolves.

10. Seamless Updates: SharePoint Online automatically updates itself in the background, ensuring your business always has access to the latest features, security patches, and improvements without experiencing downtime. This contrasts with on-premises SharePoint, where manual updates can disrupt operations and require significant IT resources.

How Leading Businesses Are Leveraging SharePoint Online

1. CitiBank: CitiBank uses SharePoint as a training platform for its employees. It’s an effective way to deliver training programs and resources to a larger workforce.

2. Proctor and Gamble: Proctor and Gamble employed SharePoint to host product websites for brands like Pringles, Pantene, and Home Made Simple. Using it, they easily manage and present product information.

3. Kroger: Kroger utilizes SharePoint as its online storefront. Using it, they effectively manage product listings, customer interactions, and e-commerce operations.

4. National Australia Bank: As one of Australia’s largest banks, National Australia Bank relies on SharePoint to run its training academy. This helps them manage employee training and other educational needs efficiently.

5. TomTom: The GPS company TomTom uses SharePoint as a social learning platform, which involves sharing knowledge and resources among employees.

6. Dell Financial Services: Dell Financial Services utilizes SharePoint for external websites catering to its customers. This platform helps the company to foster customer interactions and enable information dissemination.

Now you know how SharePoint migration caters to a modern work environment and supports remote work. And how by migrating to it, you can stay up-to-date with the latest technology developments while maintaining data security and compliance.

Ready to Empower Your Digital Workspace With SharePoint Online? Let’s Talk!

References:

^[i] Nigel Frank