SharePoint can transform how your organisation collaborates.
Salesforce’s recent Global Digital Skills Index surveyed 23,000 workers across 19 countries to determine their level of digital skills readiness. Results showed that only 30% of respondents felt very prepared for workplace digital skills now, with only 20% feeling very prepared for the skills they’ll need in five years.
Source: Raconteur – Are organisations equipped for the digital skills of the future?
SharePoint is a key component of the Microsoft Modern Workplace solution, designed to transform the way that organisations work digitally. It aids organisations in managing data, collaborating across business areas and streamlining business processes.
Over 200 million users rely on SharePoint, as Microsoft has been recognised as a Leader in the Gartner Content Services Platforms Magic Quadrant Report for five years running.
Basic SharePoint environments – known as ‘Files and Folders’ – can offer simple storage solutions, similar to DropBox or Google Drive. But, to maximise the benefits for your organisation, a Modern SharePoint ecosystem implements an intranet site, integrating all aspects of a business to leverage the latest features and tools, adding additional security and compliance processes.
Source: Jared Spataro Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365, Source: Gartner Content Services Platforms Magic Quadrant 2021
Typically, the costs to adopt a Modern SharePoint environment can be significantly cheaper than replacing old servers or moving to more basic but paid solutions that demand licence costs.
The benefits of a modern workplace environment
Mobile Device Management – Use Intune, a device management tool, to apply security defaults and ensure any software is managed and kept up to date.
Unlimited Microsoft 365 backup – for Teams, email, SharePoint, and OneDrive.
Allows Records Management – Oversee regulatory, legal, and business-critical records.
Document approval workflows – Automate your business processes.
Booking Apps – Address common office challenges by organising desks, rooms and parking spaces.
Microsoft Teams phone system – Going far beyond its typical use, Teams can be transformed into a modern cloud-based telephone solution that combines calling, chat, meetings, and collaboration into a single application that works on virtually any device.
How does SharePoint integrate with Microsoft 365?
SharePoint powers content collaboration across Microsoft 365:
- Underpins document sharing scenarios in OneDrive with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 320 other file types.
- Drives Microsoft lists experiences.
- Powers Mircosoft Teams meeting recordings.
- Enables end-users to create pages and portals with video from Microsoft Stream and conversations from Yammer to engage employees.
- Enables millions of developers to create solutions with SharePoint Framework (SPFx) and Power Platform.
All of this is available in both standalone SharePoint sites and hosted in Microsoft Teams.
How to implement a modern SharePoint environment
1. Discovery and innovation
Some of the important things to consider are: Understand the types of data you have, and how best to structure data storage and access control. take time to understand any other requirements and integrations tools. Have a detailed discussion with stakeholders about how best to automate manual work tasks and whether there are features offered by a SharePoint environment that would add future benefit to how you work as an organisation.
2. Proof of concept
Taking learnings from discovery to create a basic solution containing working features, structure and processes. Involve the wider team in beta testing and training to identify any changes or improvements needed. Seek approval for the concept before moving on to the next stage.
3. Design and build
Finalising the structure, and design include branding and design guidelines to ensure that any future work keeps in line with the founding strategy and goals.
4. Data migration
Form a clear strategy and process for migrating your data this includes how it will be moved, either by department or in one go.
5. Consultant-led training and go-live
The best practice is to make sure your teams know how to get the most out of the new environment. To ensure the environment is kept clean and optimised to work effectively. Have an expert explain new features, how they work and ways of getting the best results to ensure everyone fully understands and has the time to ask questions. Once live plan to have access to your SharePoint expert for an extended period to ensure any teething issues are quickly and professionally resolved.
How IT Champion can help you
We pride ourselves on our IT expertise and dedication to our clients. We have a portfolio of cyber security products and services that draw upon Enterprise level technology to enable you to reduce and manage your organisation’s cyber security risk without impacting daily tasks or changing long-term commitments.
Discovery and innovation
Experts who listen
Extensive knowledge and experience
User-focussed design
Practical and timely guidance
We needed to dramatically upgrade and simplify our IT systems and processes and engaged with IT Champion to help. They were fantastic. From the initial deep dive to understand our needs through the implementation process, the team held our hand all the way. Everything ran smoothly to pre-agreed timescales and the team were extremely helpful and polite. Our new system is fantastic and perfect for our current needs. We would highly recommend IT Champion and look forward to partnering with them going forward.
IT Champion has been very customer centric throughout the project. Shaun spoke with me regularly and quickly identified our needs and possible solutions. Shaun worked with team members at every level and had incredible amounts of patience when helping us to migrate our files from personal accounts and storage systems. Shaun even set up a separate account for archived data and kindly migrated everything for us. Additionally, having SharePoint and IT support managed by IT Champion helps to ensure seamless working.
IT Champion was quickly able to create a robust SharePoint Hub from which we can freely and securely access any device using external email addresses. Their ongoing managed IT support is not only fast, friendly, and effective but has also given us peace of mind that our important IT projects and organisation’s users are in great hands.
