What is SharePoint?
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It provides organizations with tools to create websites (intranets), manage documents, share information, and collaborate seamlessly across teams. SharePoint is used by organizations around the world for storing, organizing, sharing, and accessing information from any device- it has over 200 million users worldwide.
What is SharePoint used for?
SharePoint is a robust platform and there are many uses for it, such as:
Document management
SharePoint allows organizations to store, organize, and manage documents in a central repository. It supports version control for documents, which tracks changes and allows users to revert to previous versions. This makes it easy to collaborate on files while maintaining a clear history of edits but also uses a lot of storage space.
Collaboration
SharePoint helps in boosting team collaboration by providing shared workspaces where users can work together on projects, share files, communicate through discussion boards, and manage tasks.
Intranet and communication sites
Organizations use SharePoint to create intranet sites that serve as internal portals for employees. These sites can be used to disseminate news, policies, and company-wide announcements, as well as to host resources like training or marketing materials, and various other organizational knowledge.
SharePoint features
Here are just some of the features that make SharePoint stand out when it comes to helping organizations handle their data:
Workflows and automation
SharePoint supports the automation of business processes through workflows. You can use them to centralize and improve tasks like approvals, document reviews, and issue tracking. SharePoint also integrates with Power Automate, allowing even more advanced automation scenarios.
Search and Enterprise Content Management (ECM)
SharePoint’s powerful search capabilities allow users to quickly find documents, sites, and other content across the organization. The ECM also offers features like metadata tagging, content types, and retention policies that help IT teams and content owners manage content lifecycle and compliance.
Customization and development
SharePoint is highly customizable. Developers can build custom apps, web parts, and workflows using SharePoint Framework (SPFx) and other development tools to adjust SharePoint to their organization’s specific needs.
Security and permissions
SharePoint provides effective and granular security controls that allow administrators to define who can access, edit, or share content. It is possible to set permissions at various levels, from site-wide to individual documents, which helps ensure sensitive information is protected.
