Since it was first introduced in 2001, SharePoint has come a long way. Over the years it has developed from an on-premise storage system and nowadays it is one of the leading cloud based storage systems.
Businesses of all sizes can benefit from using SharePoint, whether you’ve got a handful of users or a much larger enterprise. SharePoint online is available as a standalone product and it could also be used as part of the Microsoft 365 suite. Here are seven reasons why you should be using SharePoint online.
1. Cloud-based
one of the biggest advantages of using SharePoint online is that it’s based on the cloud. This means that users can access documents and files at any time and from any location- all they need is an Internet connexion and a web browser. Because SharePoint is a Microsoft product, users benefit from all of Microsoft best of breed security which they wouldn’t necessarily get to benefit from if they were using local storage solutions.
Users can access files on SharePoint from mobile devices as well as computers. This makes it particularly useful if you’re trying to work remotely or on the road and you need quick access to your documents.
2. Storage space
Each SharePoint tenant starts off with one terabyte of cloud storage space, and gets an additional 10 gigabytes per licenced user. As well as this SharePoint storage, each licenced user will have access to OneDrive for business, giving them access to an extra TB of storage.
By saving documents in SharePoint, you can reduce on-premise hardware and maintenance costs, and it can be easier to add more as and when you need. Plan for the systems you need today not the systems you think you’re going to need in the future. As and when you need to, you can simply add more.
3. One central location
if you and your staff saving documents to SharePoint you won’t need to save them anywhere else. SharePoint will act is a central location all your documents and data, and it has an easy-to-use filing system save documents can be stored correctly and everyone should be able to find them without difficulty.
Chances are different members of staff will save different documents in different places. Some will be stored on a local machine some will be stored on a file server and others will be stored in other cloud systems. This isn’t ideal I can result in lost data and documents which could potentially have great impact on your business.
4. Collaboration and teamwork
if your files stored in the same central location then everybody who needs access to them has got access to them. For example, if you sales team have a number of documents that they use regularly, save them to SharePoint and everyone can access them as when they need to. Unlike saving to the server, it’s easy for multiple people to be in the same document at the same time.
you can see who else is in the same document as you and you can also see the changes that they are making more or less as soon as they make them. This means there’s no need for multiple versions of the same document, no need to have multiple email threads and it will help your business run more smoothly if everyone’s on the same page.
5. Customisable to your needs
the beauty of SharePoint is that two sites need not look the same. It’s fully customizable to your branding and you can even develop your own custom elements. Of course, you can leave it so it’s got default features, but the option is that if you want to make changes. If there are particular files you and your team need regular access to, you can create shortcuts on the front page so that they are just one click away, rather than being buried in the storage folders.
6. Integrate with Microsoft 365
if you use the office suite already, chances are you may have access to SharePoint with your licences. If you have Microsoft 365 Business Standard or business premium, SharePoint is included as standard. This means you won’t have to pay extra for storage, and you can seamlessly integrate apps like word PowerPoint and Excel with SharePoint.
Saving to SharePoint means you can access documents through the web or through their desktop application. You can even save the link to your SharePoint site to your File Explorer. If you’re used to saving and accessing documents through File Explorer, this is a great way of not having to get used to a new way of working.
7. Integration with Teams
Combining SharePoint with Microsoft Teams helps communication and collaboration go even further. You can add any SharePoint site into Microsoft Teams, as a tab for a chat or a team, and you and your colleagues can access documents three teams at the same time to make edits simultaneously.
If a conversation is required about a piece of work, you can phone colleagues without losing your place in a document to discuss and make changes as necessary. When you create a new team in Microsoft Teams and you SharePoint site will automatically be created. Any documents shared through that team will automatically be saved to the new SharePoint site making it easy for everybody to access the right documents.
Get SharePoint online
If you’re interested in SharePoint, whether you’ve got relevant licences or not, get in touch with the cloud experts at ACUTEC today. We will help you get your SharePoint sites up and running and usable for your staff.
