SharePoint: Capabilities and Benefits for Companies
SharePoint is an information and collaboration platform developed by Microsoft and first released back in 2001.
The history of the SharePoint platform
- The beginning (2001–2003): The first version of SharePoint was released in 2001 as SharePoint Portal Server and focused on building corporate portals and managing data. In 2003 the second version appeared, named Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003, bringing numerous improvements.
- Growing into a universal platform (2007–2010): In 2007 Microsoft introduced SharePoint Server 2007, which included many new features such as business portals and shared access to documents and websites. SharePoint 2010, released in 2010, continued to evolve and became a more universal platform for collaboration and data management.
- Adopting cloud solutions (2013–2016): SharePoint 2013 and SharePoint 2016 brought improvements in cloud services and integration with Microsoft Office 365. These versions expanded collaboration capabilities and let users work on projects and documents from anywhere.
- The move to cloud services (since 2019): SharePoint Server 2019 was the last version available as an on-premises solution, and with the arrival of SharePoint Online in Microsoft 365 Microsoft focused its efforts on developing cloud versions of the platform. SharePoint Online became popular with companies thanks to how easy it is to implement and update.
- Modern solutions and integration (since 2020): SharePoint continues to evolve, adding new collaboration features, integration with other Microsoft products and support for building apps on the platform. There has also been significant progress in adopting artificial intelligence and improving analytics in the system to help users be more productive.
Why is Microsoft SharePoint today one of the most popular integrated platforms for collaboration and data management in modern organizations?
The system gives companies many ways to store, share, organize and access information effectively.
Benefits of using SharePoint
- Centralized information storage. One of SharePoint's main advantages is the ability to store all important information centrally. You can create different sites and libraries to store documents, images, videos, email archives, specifications, project data and other information. This makes it easy to organize and structure your company's data.
- Convenient access to information. SharePoint makes access to information simple and convenient. Your information is available from any internet-connected device, making work more flexible and mobile. In addition, configurable access rights keep information secure and let you restrict access to the employees who need it.
- Teamwork and collaboration. SharePoint makes teamwork and collaboration between employees easier. You can create shared sites where teams work together on projects, edit documents in real time, discuss tasks and send messages. This boosts productivity and improves communication in the company.
- Task and project management. SharePoint includes tools for managing tasks and projects. You can create task lists, set deadlines, track progress and assign owners. This gives you secure control over projects and helps ensure tasks are completed on time.
- Document version history. SharePoint automatically keeps a history of changes for every document. This means you can view and restore previous versions of documents when needed. It helps prevent data loss and keeps valuable information safe.
- Analytics and reporting. SharePoint provides tools for analyzing data and creating reports. You can track user activity, analyze resource usage, identify the most active employees and much more. This helps you make informed decisions and make business processes more efficient.
- Integration with other products. Microsoft SharePoint integrates well with other Microsoft products such as Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, Outlook and others. This makes working with documents and data even more convenient and efficient.
- Lower costs and risks. Implementing SharePoint can help reduce the cost of storing and processing data and minimize the risk of losing information. By providing a reliable, centralized way to store data, SharePoint reduces the risk of losing documents or of unauthorized access to them.
- Support for large volumes of data. If your company has a large volume of data, SharePoint can become an indispensable tool for managing it. You can easily organize, categorize and search large amounts of information.
- Extensibility and customization. SharePoint offers extensive options for extending and customizing it to your company's needs. You can build your own solutions and apps with the SharePoint Framework to extend the platform's functionality.
SharePoint is a powerful tool for information management and collaboration in a company. Implementation of the platform by the specialists atProgresia can increase productivity, reduce risks and provide centralized access to important information.