Find Out if Microsoft SharePoint is Right For Your Business

There are several options on the market that you can deploy to securely store, organize, share, and access your information for your staff. SharePoint, Microsoft’s intranet solution, is worth considering for your data access and sharing needs.

SharePoint is part of Microsoft Office 365. The advantage of SharePoint is that it can be accessed via web browser (IE, Chrome, or Firefox) on virtually any Internet-connected device, which means that you don’t have to have the SharePoint app downloaded on the device in order to view and access your files. SharePoint can be hosted on-premises (in your own IT infrastructure) or on the cloud.

SharePoint is a versatile tool that Microsoft utilizes in a variety of ways. The Microsoft support website explains the different SharePoint technologies that are available to consumers.

• SharePoint Online. A cloud-based service, hosted by Microsoft, for businesses of all sizes. Instead of installing and deploying SharePoint Server in-house, you can subscribe to an Office 365 plan or to the standalone SharePoint Online service. Also, your employees can create intranet sites to share documents and files with colleagues and clients.
• SharePoint Foundation. SharePoint Foundation is available for on-premises deployment. You can use SharePoint Foundation to create many types of sites where you can collaborate on documents, lists, calendars, and other data.
• SharePoint Server. Organizations can deploy and manage SharePoint Server on-premises. This offers additional features and capabilities such as Enterprise Content Management, business intelligence, enterprise search, personal sites, and a news feed.
• OneDrive for Business folder sync. A desktop program that you can use to sync offline versions of files or a OneDrive for Business library to a folder on your computer.

SharePoint allows you and your team to easily organize all of your corporate data so that everyone who needs it can access and share it. Here are a few ways that small businesses can use SharePoint:

• Share documents and files with employees and partners.
• Host internal training guides.
• Manage and organize projects.
• Keep commonly updated documents in order.
• Build and maintain repeatable processes.
• Use it as a single, central location for everything going on internally.

Businesses that are already heavily-dependant upon Microsoft Office with its apps like OneDrive will get the most out of SharePoint. Microsoft has even taken big strides to integrate SharePoint with other popular enterprise software too, like Yammer, a corporate-style social network.

Is SharePoint right for your company’s data needs? Before you officially select a cloud-based tool to handle and organize your company’s information, we recommend that you first check with the IT professionals at Directive. Contact us at 607.433.2200 and we’ll take the time to analyze the data needs of your organization, and pair it up with the best solution available.