Large organizations and companies are always trying to find better means to handle data efficiently. You have team members who are constantly creating files and documents, customers whose behaviors are being monitored, and technologies that are performing complex analysis.
With all of that data moving around, it’s essential to have a simple and efficient organization system that everyone in the company can use. You also need a system that you’ll be able to scale over time and one that’s foolproof, i.e., one that’s not susceptible to inexperienced hands.
With so many boxes to tick, companies often struggle to find a data management system that’s just right for their needs.
That’s where Microsoft SharePoint comes in.
SharePoint is a cloud-based and completely safe data management platform that allows organizational members to share, search, and organize files. It also allows collaborations and the specification of various access levels to different members. Furthermore, this is a tool that can perform both basic tasks and complex tasks, depending on your needs.
In fact, in recent years, SharePoint has established itself as a cornerstone of organizational data management. According to a recent study conducted by the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM), around 80% of the world’s Fortune 500 companies use SharePoint for all of their organizational and collaborative processes.
Why is SharePoint used so widely by some of the world’s leading businesses and corporations? How does SharePoint help companies increase their efficiency and achieve greater success? That’s exactly what we explore in this article.
Accessibility
Organizations are no longer restricted to physical office spaces when it comes to conducting business. With the emergence of digital nomads and remote working opportunities, employees may be connected to their company from the comfort of their own home or even while traveling.
To that end, it’s important for organizational tools to be accessible in a wide range of platforms, formats, and devices. People need to be able to access their organizational tasks and work on them from their tables, smartphones, or computers wherever they are.
SharePoint allows users to access emails, contacts, and other company documents from any source at all, as long as it is connected to the internet. The cloud software allows all of the information to be stored and accessed from a centralized location so your employees can always stay connected to the virtual organization space.
Scalability
Different companies have different sets of needs based on the number of employees, the tasks they need to handle in the online space, and various other factors. An organizational suite that’s perfect for one organization may seem too complex or convoluted for another, and vice versa. Furthermore, an organization would also need a system that can grow and expand with them over the years.
That’s why scalability — both up or down — is crucial.
SharePoint has a wide range of month-to-month subscription models with various levels of features and access solutions. You can also add or remove members as you want. You’ll have to pay only for the features, storage, and accessibility you need, and nothing more.
Reliability
You can’t have your organizational tool crashing or getting caught up in server problems. You need a platform that you can rely on completely.
SharePoint has a 99.9% uptime and an SLA guarantee, making it completely reliable for all business needs. Your entire team — no matter how big — will be able to use SharePoint at any given time without coming across any glitches.
Companies are also often wary of moving their business to the cloud. With the increasing awareness of cybercrime, this fear does make sense. However, Microsoft SharePoint has an incredibly advanced security protocol in place for its cloud software.
Some of the prime security features include the use of servers at undisclosed locations and multi-factor authentication. These features — amongst several others — render SharePoint invulnerable.
Simplicity
SharePoint offers the simplicity of management in a number of different ways.
SharePoint Online allows you to easily manage external user access. You simply have to share files with the relevant users giving them the level of accessibility you desire and they can access or share the information using their corporate Microsoft account.
You also have the ability to set up Guest Access for users who can only read or view documents or for those who can edit without authentication. The simplicity of external user access is key for the smooth functioning of any company that has to rely on third-parties for several tasks.
Centralized
Any efficient organization should have a central workplace. It would be a nightmare for an organization to keep all of its various files and documents in different platforms scattered across the internet.
With SharePoint, all of the company’s documents and files — be it project briefs, communications from the CEO, etc — can be stored in a centralized location for the entire organization to access easily.
In addition to centralized storage, SharePoint can also act as a centralized communicator of information. For example, if you want to immediately warn everyone to stop working with a particular client, you can simply send that message across the announcement board to inform everyone.
Collaboration
Online collaboration is key for all modern organizations and companies that aren’t geographically connected. Different teams no longer have to work in silos or meet only during company-wide meetings.
They can now easily interact from an online space, share documents, set up specific access points for those documents, and streamline workflow. SharePoint is the best online platform where employees can communicate with each other.
Traceability
A traditional document is usually a file or a document that’s stored in a server. In this case, you can access the file or document directly, but you have no access to its history. You don’t know what the document was called previously or which files it held. You have no way to trace what the contents of a file were before it was edited.
With so many employees accessing and editing documents and files all the time, traceability is extremely important. You should be able to go back to a document’s earlier version, compare them, and then make decisions accordingly. This can protect a company from the loss of data.
SharePoint offers that level of transparency, traceability, and accountability.
Multimedia
SharePoint isn’t merely restricted to documents and files. It can also be used to share various multimedia formats like videos and audios. This allows you to record relevant videos and upload them to the homepage so the entire company can access it easily. This also allows you to record meetings or presentations and upload them so everyone can have access to it without needing to write down minutes.
Blogging
Blogging is one of the best ways to encourage social interaction. With SharePoint, you can replace a traditional newsletter — which lacks interactivity — with a regular blog that you can use to engage with your staff. The blog can be set up between different ‘trenches’ and the primary managers, and the staff can like or comment on the blogs in an informal setting, thereby increasing interaction and encouraging an efficient flow of ideas.
Conclusion
All things considered, it’s clear why most of the Fortune 500 companies are using SharePoint. It’s one of the few all-inclusive organizational tools on the market that’s perfect for small and large businesses alike and can drastically boost your company’s efficiency, helping you achieve even greater success.
