Microsoft SharePoint is used for document management, collaboration, and building internal websites that securely store, organise, share, and allow access to company information from anywhere. This blog will explore in detail what this platform entails, with its functionalities and uses.

Microsoft SharePoint: What It Is, Why It's Important, and How to Use It

What is SharePoint?

Microsoft SharePoint is Microsoft 365’s web-based platform that supports the main function of creating a website. It can be used as a secure place to store, organise, share, and access information from every device. All you need for this is a web browser, such as Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Mozilla Firefox.

SharePoint Products and Technologies

SharePoint can refer to several SharePoint products or technologies. These may include:

• SharePoint in Microsoft 365: It is a cloud-based service hosted by Microsoft. It can be applicable for businesses of all sizes. Instead of installing and deploying SharePoint Server on the premises, any business can subscribe to a Microsoft 365 plan or to the standalone SharePoint Online service. Employees can create sites to share documents and information with colleagues, customers, and partners.
• SharePoint Server: Organisations can often deploy and manage SharePoint servers on direct premises or by using an Office 365 enterprise subscription that takes advantage of all the current features. It also offers additional capabilities and features, including modern site pages, web parts, and authoring. It also offers updated lists and libraries, with the latest search systems, as well as the SharePoint home page’s integration with Power Apps, Power BI, and MS Flow.
• SharePoint Designer 2013: This is a free program that was last released in 2013. It is used to build powerful and workflow-enabled solutions. It is also used to edit external content types for external data solutions based on Business Connectivity Services.
• OneDrive: OneDrive is a desktop program that can be used to save and sync documents from any web-based database to a work or personal system. This essentially enables offline use of documents, simplifying the applications.

Understanding the significance of these additional features of the SharePoint suite is critical as they can critically explain what SharePoint is.

Why is SharePoint Important?

SharePoint’s importance comes from what it offers to organisations. So, what is SharePoint used for? It is a platform that allows you to create websites that use it as a place for the storage, organisation, sharing, and access of information from any device. So, what are the SharePoint features that make it so critical for organisations?

• Allows the external sharing of files and content with people both within and outside your organisation.
• It comes with content management features that can help organise and manage content with the help of libraries, metadata, records management, and retention policies.
• It also offers team sites that provide a place of different predetermined user groups to view and collaborate on data, content, and news.
• SharePoint’s features also include communication sites that support sharing and communicating messaging across organisations with customisable and dynamic sub-sites.
• SharePoint’s suite also includes mobile apps that allow users access to intranets, team sites, and the management of content on iOS, Android, and Windows mobile devices.
• SharePoint’s features also include the automation of business processes by creating alerts as well as workflows.
• Its search functions can also help surface relevant people and critical content.

SharePoint’s importance can also be defined by its functionalities and who actually uses SharePoint. It is used by a wide range of businesses and organisations that come in all sizes.

As per Microsoft’s reports, over 250,000 organisations use SharePoint. Among them, in the U.S., there are 85% of Fortune 500 companies that are using SharePoint Online as a part of the Office 365 suite.

They believe that SharePoint comes with the inherent ability to execute and deliver a complete product, making it a leader in the global market.

How to Use SharePoint?

Before starting on exploring how to use SharePoint, first let’s understand that organisations often use both SharePoint On-Premises and SharePoint Online. However, are the two even different? And does it matter when exploring how to use it? Let’s just look at some of the basic differences between the two:

Other than the key differences, the ultimate usage of the two remains the same. So, when you are asking the question of how to use SharePoint? Other than the licensing, infrastructure upkeep, hardware, and additional resources, the two are mostly the same in terms of usage.

With that having been established, let’s look into the different aspects of the usage of SharePoint:

How to Access SharePoint

Accessing SharePoint is quite simple. It can be accessed by going to office.com. Or you can go into the App Launcher and locate the SharePoint icon.

There are other methods to access SharePoint, such as by downloading the SharePoint app (for mobile) on your Android or iOS device. Or, you can directly access SharePoint from a specific URL offered by your organisation.

How to Create a SharePoint Site

To create a SharePoint site, you need to first visit office.com/sign-in and from there you need to open the Microsoft 365 app launcher. After that, you need to click on the +Create site button on the SharePoint start page.

After that, what you need to do is choose the site type. You will be offered two site types to choose from:

• Team Site: It is for group collaboration, document sharing, and creating a connected Microsoft 365 Group.
• Communication Site: For news broadcasting and information to a wider audience.

After that, you need to select the template by picking a design, or you can choose an organisation-specific template. And this step will be followed by the name and description, where the site address and email are generated.

In the following step, you need to choose between the accessibility and privacy settings of the website. You can either make it a private website (for specific members) or a public website (for anyone in the organisation).

Finally, you click on the Finish option to build the site. And with that, the answer to how to make a SharePoint site is provided.

How to Delete a SharePoint Site

Deleting a SharePoint site is a simple procedure as long as you are the site owner. All you need to do is go to Settings. Then you need to select Site Information, and then click on the Delete this Site option. Alternatively, you can also use the SharePoint admin centre for broader management options.

Both options in this context will move the site to the Deleted Sites section. You will have 93 days before the permanent removal of the site. So, in this timeframe, you can always confirm whether or not you have deleted the correct site, and consider the data retention steps and actions.

Final Thoughts

Thus, SharePoint is an enormously adaptable platform, and the exact way to use it will differ from organisation to organisation. This flexibility offers a massive boon to users looking to create and manage an effective website that is right for their business.

Choosing SharePoint? It’s Easy! Just Follow the Steps!

SharePoint is an extremely adaptable platform, and it ensures that the systems in place are all user-friendly. So, if you want to adopt this website, just start today, and all you need to do is follow a few simple steps. Sounds convincing enough? Adapt this for your organisation today! You can also get in touch with us for a seamless integration.

Additional Read: How Remedian Helped A Business Transition to SharePoint

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What Are the Basic System Requirements to Undertake SharePoint On-premise?

SharePoint on-premises does not have heavy system requirements. All you would need to use SharePoint are these minimum requirements:

• Windows Server 2012 R2
• .NET Framework 4.5.2
• SQL Server 2014
• All the Prerequisites were installed from the Installer

2. Is SharePoint a Secure Platform?

SharePoint is managed by Microsoft 365. Therefore, all the security features that come with the Microsoft Office 365 umbrella benefit SharePoint. These include network security, data security, access security, and so on.

3. Can SharePoint Be Shared Externally?

SharePoint’s external sharing functionality makes it easy for people outside the organisation a level of access to certain pre-determined areas of a site or to specific documents without the presence of a Microsoft account.

4. Is SharePoint a Database?

SharePoint operates with the help of SQL Server, a database management system. However, SharePoint itself is not a database. It has some properties of a database, but it cannot manage complex datasets like traditional databases.

References

• https://www.nigelfrank.com/insights/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-microsoft-sharepoint/
• https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/get-started-with-sharepoint-909ec2f0-05c8-4e92-8ad3-3f8b0b6cf261
• https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/what-is-sharepoint-97b915e6-651b-43b2-827d-fb25777f446f
• https://www.origamiconnect.com/blog/what-is-sharepoint

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