Are you still using a cumbersome, out-of-date legacy system to organize, share, and modify your company's files? If so, it means you haven't switched to SharePoint, and your team isn't being as productive as it could be.
In the past, the most efficient way of managing documents and collaborating on them entailed using a shared file system that was accessible from a company server. Today, we know that isn't enough. The recent pandemic has clearly demonstrated that teams need to be able to work together smoothly when they are cities, even continents apart.
Businesses worldwide have embraced the new work-from-home concept, and cutting-edge tools and technology have made it possible for them to interact virtually almost effortlessly. Microsoft SharePoint Online is one solution that makes current business operations considerably simpler and more effective.
But how does this tool work, and more importantly, how can you benefit from it? Read on to find out how to use SharePoint to transform your company from the inside out.
SharePoint is a tool that enables staff members to build platforms where they may store, arrange, share, and access vital company data from any device. It is useful software for companies adopting remote or hybrid working styles. Ensuring that every staff member has direct access to mission-critical documents and business intelligence is crucial for a better workflow.
With SharePoint, every authorized employee can open, edit, review, and share data from any location on the globe. You can also utilize specialized features such as a web interface, advanced search options, indexing, and integration with third-party apps. Additionally, SharePoint is a very secure platform, so you don't need to be concerned about data safety.
Microsoft claims that the benefits of SharePoint are so compelling that more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies, including Windex and Viacom, use it. In fact, over 200 million clients from all over the world use this software each month.
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If you are a small-business owner, tools and technology that can unite your remote and on-premise staff might be worth looking into. The SharePoint application can cut expenses and streamline corporate procedures.
Additionally, it could promote communication, decision-making, and cooperation. There are many more Microsoft SharePoint Online benefits for developers, designers, and users. Let's take a look at the top ten.
According to a study, a typical American employee spends 28% of the working hours reading and replying to emails. That equals more than 100 emails and nearly three hours of low productivity daily. This statistic indicates that today's workers are overwhelmed by data. If it isn't email, it could be anything from meeting minutes to marketing reports and requests for customer service.
However, attempting to arrange all the piles of data is a daunting task. Sure, you can organize your work-related papers in a complex file system on your desktop, but what happens if a remote employee has to review one of the files? Your firm's documents probably relate to several projects, which means they should be available to all team members. It is challenging for even the most talented leaders to control the information flow without good tools and systems.
That's where SharePoint can come in handy. Your staff can quickly get the precise data they want without having to dig through a mountain of files and documents. Furthermore, if you use SharePoint Online, a cloud-based platform, your employees will be able to easily find what they need anytime, from anywhere. What's more, to take advantage of this new data management method, you don't even have to give up your current proven practices. Simply integrate them with your new SharePoint system.
Consider the processes you use to oversee your regular business operations, such as collecting feedback or signatures, tracking a project or an issue, or routing a document for review. How does your company go about starting, running, and reporting on routine tasks?
With SharePoint, you won’t have to disrupt your usual working methodology. Your team can simply link well-known web browsers, email programs, and client apps with this software and get a straightforward and uniform user experience. What’s more, SharePoint contains a number of pre-built features that automate these procedures, as well as many others.
Numerous industries, ranging from healthcare to the financial and legal sectors, have stringent regulatory criteria and norms that all employees must follow. Effective document control is a major component of many of the requirements they must meet. In particular, your company should implement protection to guarantee that only authorized individuals can see your client’s and employees’ private information.
One of the significant SharePoint benefits is that it enables you to choose security settings that adhere to your compliance standards. Additionally, you can specify how long company records should be stored, how to audit them, and what to do with expired information. As a result, your company can efficiently control and manage data crucial to its operations while maintaining compliance.
Nonetheless, even if your company doesn't have to follow strict data guidelines, you must have control over who can access information within your organization. Luckily, SharePoint lets you create special permissions regarding who has the authority to access web apps, lists, folders, documents, and sites.
Likewise, you may configure security settings that mandate your staff members to revise documents before modifying them, examine any edits made, and even instantly restore a copy to its initial condition. These and many other SharePoint security settings ensure that your communications and documents are safe. To protect your data, the software features strong data encryption and cloud backup.
Many of your team members, from media specialists to blog writers, work in the background to enhance your company's content strategy. But a quality strategy requires prompt approvals, modifications, and input from the rest of your staff. So, if you rely on a network of separate folders to provide comprehensive content management, you will most certainly fall short.
You will find it difficult to tell who has edited the document, how often it has been reviewed, and whether the version you're viewing is the most recent one. On the other hand, investing in SharePoint provides you with quick solutions to these and other issues. Within seconds, your staff can create and submit material for approval. For instance, you can arrange for your content to go live on the SharePoint intranet at a specific time.
That way, you never have to question if your post has gone through the necessary review steps ahead of time. Moreover, SharePoint is up to the challenge if you're a multinational corporation with multilingual content management requirements. The program offers document library templates that simplify switching between an original document and its numerous translations.
Even if you have a small team, each member needs to be able to communicate and work together. But if they don't have access to tools that help them achieve this goal, strife and chaos may arise far too easily, particularly regarding document control.
A specific benefit of SharePoint is version control. This feature keeps track of each copy update, who created it, and what time the changes were applied. In order to avoid duplication of effort, the file can only be accessed by one user at a time. Such real-time file sharing and online update among coworkers enhances teamwork, workflow, and efficiency.
And the collaboration doesn’t end there. Your team members can instantly connect via chat whenever they want. As a result, they can work together in real-time while sharing screens to increase productivity.
How much time do you believe your staff spends each month searching the archives to find a particular file? Wasting hours on a futile search in the middle of a hectic workday is pointless and irritating, whether going through a file cabinet or diving through an endless stream of folders.
Thankfully, SharePoint makes searching a breeze. All papers are stored on the software; it only takes a few clicks to find what you want. Therefore, it's unnecessary to send your staff down a rabbit hole in search of a single file. Instead, set up an MS SharePoint site that only contains the folders and files you require. That way, when you urgently need a specific document, you can easily obtain it by going straight to the main source.
Even though this is a useful tool for company managers, your team can also benefit from it. They will be able to spend more time on their primary tasks instead of wasting it on vain searches for bits and pieces of information.
If you're in charge of your business's SharePoint solution, there may be a few instances where you might need to customize the setup as per your business requirements. Given the platform size, you might even anticipate this process to be a considerable burden. However, that’s not the case. SharePoint has a central administration console that simplifies the setup process making it easy for you to modify the software as needed.
Instead of navigating many pages, authorized administrators can make all changes in one place. You can view, track, and change system settings, security settings, general application settings, management features, backup and restorations, and upgrades. No matter how widely used your platform is, this feature enables you to keep control over it all.
Despite the robustness of the core SharePoint functionality, your teams may need customized features to carry out their duties. If so, a SharePoint developer can create and link bespoke apps with the program.
Thanks to this option, your staff will always have immediate access to the necessary resources to do their assignments. The software also lets you make adjustments to further personalize your experience. For instance, you can add the company logo or change themes, headers, and layout.
A part of your company's success depends on its capacity to stay relevant and tech-savvy as trends change. That means you may be asked to develop unique solutions to fulfill the demands of your clients. Are you worried you won't be up to the task because you never learned to code? With SharePoint, you won't have to.
This software has tools and features that let you move forward without knowing how to build applications. With SharePoint, you can develop a unique online tool or customized apps for your team members, create a website from scratch for internal use, or upgrade an existing site.
It could be challenging for business owners and managers to stay on top of each team member's specific skill sets and duties. So, how do you find that one person with the right knowledge to give you the advice or information you seek? Finding a coworker is not too difficult if your firm is small and centralized, with only 20 or so employees. But for mid-sized companies, this phase takes longer.
One example of the benefits SharePoint provides is organizational charts. Creating them is very easy, and they help you speed up the organization process. They graphically illustrate each person's position within the larger team. You can add their skills, achievements, work goals, availability, and more to the charts, which will allow employees to connect easily with people and the skills they need.
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Microsoft SharePoint is one of the most popular systems for document collaboration. It has made a name for itself by giving users access to some incredible possibilities. There's a reason why some of the most influential companies across various industries use this software, and if you want to join their ranks, you should follow the lead.
In other words, SharePoint is your business's golden ticket to better organization and improved workflow. The program contains a variety of options to ensure that corporate cooperation is as effective as possible, from advanced data management and cybersecurity to centralized software management. Your internal teams' increased productivity alone will be enough to make the investment worthwhile.
For this reason, AJTC offers an easy transition to SharePoint. As one of the companies that provide IT support (Chicago area), we can also train your team members to take full advantage of both the SharePoint and SharePoint Online benefits.
Want to learn more about business IT? Visit our blog and read other useful tips that will help your company prosper.
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