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Microsoft SharePoint is a platform that many companies utilize these days, as it enables coworkers to collaborate seamlessly. There are many helpful tools in SharePoint, such as those that allow people to share files and information. Employees can upload documents, photos, or other content and make it accessible to colleagues. Anyone in the organization can swiftly locate and access needed files.
SharePoint also supports real-time document collaboration. If a document is being edited by someone, others will see that it is locked, preventing simultaneous changes that could cause issues. Additionally, SharePoint includes tools for communication. Teams can update statuses, have chats, and share calendar details and tasks, allowing managers to see who is working on what.
Security and organization are significant advantages of SharePoint. Access to content can be limited based on job roles, ensuring that not everyone can see everything, which keeps workspaces organized and controlled. Overall, SharePoint brings convenience and efficiency, allowing people to work from anywhere with internet access on any device. By centralizing project information, SharePoint helps keep projects on track.
What is SharePoint?
SharePoint enables teams and businesses to connect, collaborate, and work together more effectively. The platform provides tools for storing, organizing, and sharing information within an organization. With SharePoint, teams can access files, data, news, and conversations at any time, from almost any device.
SharePoint Solutions simplifies collaboration from anywhere. Users can upload and access files like documents, images, and videos directly from a web browser. These documents and data can then be organized into libraries, lists, and other content types. Multiple people can work on the same files simultaneously, while version history keeps track of changes. Comments and discussion forums facilitate conversations around content.
Shared calendars, task lists, surveys, and other tools help teams stay synchronized. Managers can publish news or announcements, and users receive automatic notifications on their desktop or mobile devices when important information is shared or when they are assigned a task. Integration with Outlook and Office apps provides a familiar experience.
Access rights and permissions control who can view and edit content. Teams can have private team sites or public internet sites, which can be customized with branding, templates, and apps. Powerful search functionality enables users to quickly find what they need from thousands of documents and pages of information.
Usage reports and activity logs provide administrators with insights to optimize resources. Behind the scenes, SharePoint handles backups, security updates, and hardware maintenance, ensuring a seamless experience for users. Overall, SharePoint offers an easy and intuitive solution for teams to collaborate effectively on projects and initiatives.
Key Features of SharePoint
Many features make SharePoint Solutions a powerful platform for team collaboration. Some of the main capabilities include:
• File Sharing: Seamlessly upload and access the latest versions of files like documents, spreadsheets, presentations, videos, and images from any device.
• Team Collaboration: Work on documents together in real-time, leaving comments and tags within files. Discuss projects using discussion boards and comments.
• Project Management: Coordinate projects from start to finish using task lists, workflows, and approval processes. SharePoint integrates with Planner, To-Do, and Outlook for enhanced project management capabilities.
• Publishing: Create public websites with branded templates and manage pages and content approval workflows before publishing live.
• Search: Quickly find people, files, and content using intuitive search functionality across all team sites. Refine searches using filters for more precise results.
• Mobile: Access team files, conversations, and updates using the SharePoint mobile app for iOS and Android tablets and phones, ensuring flexibility and productivity on the go.
• Security: Granular permissions control who can see and edit content down to the specific document level, ensuring data security and confidentiality.
• Customization: Tailor the look and workflows of SharePoint to suit your organization's needs with themes, custom pages, business apps, and unique workflows.
• User Profiles: Integrated profiles display people's photos, locations, areas of work, and contact information directly from the platform, facilitating easier communication and collaboration.
• Emails: Stay updated with automatic email notifications for @mentions, comments, task assignments, and other collaboration activities, ensuring timely communication and task management.
Benefits of Using SharePoint
SharePoint offers numerous benefits for organizations of all sizes, providing a simple and effective way for teams to collaborate internally. With SharePoint Services, teams can work together seamlessly from anywhere.
Shared workspaces and documents enable all team members to access the same files, folders, and data from any device, ensuring everyone stays on the same page and has access to the most up-to-date information. This eliminates the need to attach files to emails or save different versions in various places.
The intranet and communication features make it easy for employees to find important company information and connect with colleagues. News and announcements are prominently displayed, while internal messaging tools foster discussion, resulting in employees feeling more informed and engaged.
Work is better organized with SharePoint. Shared calendars, tasks, and project lists provide a clear overview of deadlines and responsibilities. Documents are stored centrally, and workflows help automate routine processes, bringing structure and efficiency to complex work.
Customizable access permissions protect sensitive data, ensuring that only approved individuals can view or edit particular files and folders, thus maintaining security and privacy within projects and teams.
Pre-made templates and a simple interface make SharePoint easy to adopt with minimal training, allowing users to quickly become productive on the platform. Overall, SharePoint streamlines operations and drives better collaboration, helping organizations work smarter and achieve their goals.
Use Cases of SharePoint in Various Industries
SharePoint benefits organizations across multiple sectors. Some common ways different industries leverage the platform include:
• Education: SharePoint Services facilitate easy resource sharing between faculty and students from any location. Class materials, assignments, and group projects are all accessible in one place.
• Healthcare: In the healthcare sector, SharePoint ensures that sensitive patient records and clinical data remain HIPAA compliant. Doctors and nurses coordinate care using shared calendars and task lists.
• Government: For government agencies, SharePoint provides a secure space for inter-departmental collaboration. Complex initiatives involving multiple teams are smoother with a central project hub in SharePoint.
• Manufacturing: Manufacturers deploy SharePoint to streamline product development cycles. Engineers globally can access design specs, submit change requests, and approve milestones remotely.
• Professional Services: In professional services such as accounting and law, client portals in SharePoint maintain privacy while facilitating document reviews. Teams coordinate client engagements and track billable hours and invoices through customized solutions.
• Non-profits: Non-profits leverage SharePoint Solutions for fundraising, volunteer management, and community outreach. Donors can view impact reports and make pledges online through a public website.
• Energy: The energy sector adopts SharePoint for exploration and production collaboration. Remote sites access policies, inspection logs, blueprints, and safety procedures from any location with an internet connection.
Getting Started with SharePoint
Setting up SharePoint is quite simple and can be accessed online through a browser or desktop app. Begin by creating a new website or workspace based on your requirements. SharePoint Solutions offers templates for common sites like team collaboration, enterprise intranet, or project management.
Customize the name, URL, and appearance using predefined themes and styles. Add web parts for additional functionality like calendars, document libraries, and image galleries. Control access by setting appropriate permission levels for members, visitors, or owners.
Share links to newly created sites and workspaces across your organization for users to join. Communicate launch details, guidelines for best practices, and available training resources. Collaborate with colleagues to identify use cases and prioritize content migration from existing systems.
Train key users if needed through online tutorials or vendor partners, who can then train others within their teams. Administrators utilize the SharePoint admin center for site collection provisioning, user management, and customizations requiring code.
Monitor utilization and engage end users for feedback after launch. Refine the setup over time based on real experiences to further streamline processes. Share success stories as motivation and encourage adoption in new departments.
SharePoint Services by PSI
Practical Solutions Inc. (PSI) offers a range of SharePoint services to help organizations unlock the full potential of the Microsoft collaboration and content management platform. Some of the main services include:
• SharePoint Implementation: PSI assists in setting up and configuring new SharePoint environments based on client needs, which includes installation and configuration of sites, lists, and libraries.
• SharePoint Customization: The platform is customized and designed with additional features developed specifically for clients, encompassing UI customization, development of web parts, and page layouts.
• SharePoint Integration: PSI integrates the platform with other applications and systems utilized by the organization, ensuring a unified experience across different tools.
• SharePoint Migration: Data, sites, and assets are seamlessly migrated from legacy systems or previous versions of SharePoint to the latest versions.
• SharePoint Intranet Development: Full-featured intranets are built to serve as a company's digital hub to improve communication and productivity.
• SharePoint Support and Maintenance: Once live, the platform is maintained and supported by PSI, including helpdesk support, releases, backups, and troubleshooting issues.
Conclusion
Through its range of SharePoint services, PSI helps organizations harness the power of Microsoft's collaboration platform. With capabilities like customization, integration, migration, and intranet development, PSI ensures SharePoint solutions are seamlessly adopted and add tangible business value. As an IT consulting firm committed to delivering excellence, PSI also ensures SharePoint environments are securely managed after go-live through support and maintenance contracts.
With their track record of successful SharePoint engagements, PSI has become a trusted advisor for many enterprise clients, both large and small, looking to boost productivity, information sharing, and overall digital workplace experience. PSI remains focused on continuously evolving its SharePoint service offerings to address emerging needs in a rapidly changing digital world.
