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 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 can refer to several SharePoint products or technologies. These may include:
Understanding the significance of these additional features of the SharePoint suite is critical as they can critically explain what SharePoint is.
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?
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.
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:
| SharePoint On-Premises | SharePoint Online |
|---|---|
| New Features New tools are made available after they are introduced. |
New Features Automatically ported to the online version. |
| Updates You need to actively manage and install them. |
Updates Microsoft automatically manages and installs them. |
| Backup You will need to create the backups. |
Backup Microsoft automatically ensures the backups. |
| Scaling Manual detection and rectification of bottlenecks are required. |
Scaling Microsoft automatically looks after the scaling. |
| Collaboration Manual requirement for the collaboration implementation. |
Collaboration Microsoft-led automatic collaboration between tools. |
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:
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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
SharePoint on-premises does not have heavy system requirements. All you would need to use SharePoint are these minimum requirements:
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.
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.
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.