Microsoft SharePoint has been named a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Content Services Platforms in 2021 for the fifth year in a row. With over 250,000 organizations currently utilizing SharePoint, it has become a go-to document management solution for intranet, document management processes and more.
As you can see, many organizations around the globe are using SharePoint as their document management system, and for good reasons.
One of the main ways that SharePoint and Microsoft Teams are interconnected is through their shared documents. In fact, all document management within MS Teams is essentially just a portal into SharePoint. Whether you access your digital documents through Teams or directly from SharePoint, they ultimately exist in SharePoint’s database.
This connection makes sense, given SharePoint’s roots as a Document Management System. Microsoft Teams has added to this foundation by offering additional SharePoint Online features, such as Conversations, Apps, and other integrations.
To fully understand how SharePoint Online can benefit your team, it’s important to explore the platform’s most effective document management system DMS capabilities.
These features can significantly improve collaboration and productivity among team members. By implementing these productivity tools within your organization, you can quickly achieve some easy wins.
Features of SharePoint Document Management System
Decentralized Document Management Solution
Here’s an overview of how the decentralized document storage and management structure works in SharePoint:
Site Collections and Individual Sites
SharePoint arranges its content using site collections and individual sites. Site collections consist of a set of related sites, while a single site serves as a storage space for various content like pages, lists, libraries, and other resources.
This organizational method enables companies to establish distinct sites or site collections tailored to specific departments, teams, or projects, thereby granting them greater autonomy and control over their content.
Document Libraries
Each site houses its content in document libraries, which serve as centralized storage and management hubs for various file types such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, and more. Within a single site, users have the option to create multiple document libraries to categorize and arrange content based on themes, projects, or other factors.
Sites vs Folders
In SharePoint, sites and folders play a crucial role in organizing and managing content on the platform. Both elements have distinct purposes and offer a variety of features to enable seamless collaboration and efficient content handling.
Sites
A site in SharePoint is essentially a web-based workspace tailored for collaboration and resource sharing within an organization. Each site can possess its own unique layout, functionalities, and permissions, catering to the specific requirements of a team, department, or a project management itself.
By customizing sites with diverse web parts such as document libraries, calendars, and task lists, users can easily access and collaborate on relevant content.
SharePoint sites can be structured hierarchically, with a top-level site (also known as the root site) serving as the primary entry point.
From this root site, you can create subsites dedicated to different teams, projects, or departments, each equipped with its own set of features, permissions, and appearances. This hierarchical arrangement enables an organized and easily navigable environment for users.
Folders
In SharePoint, folders function as containers for storing and organizing files within document libraries or lists. Similar to conventional file folders on your computer, Microsoft SharePoint folders allow users to categorize and organize digital documents based on specific criteria, such as projects, departments, or content types.
Utilizing folders in SharePoint simplifies locating files and navigating large document libraries. However, relying exclusively on folders for content organization might result in intricate folder structures that become challenging to manage over time.
To tackle this issue, SharePoint also offers metadata and views. Metadata refers to additional information about a file or item, including tags, categories, or custom properties.
By assigning metadata to files, you can generate custom views that filter and sort content according to specific criteria, making it simpler to locate and access relevant documents without navigating through multiple folders.
In a nutshell, sites and folders in SharePoint provide a versatile and customizable framework for organizing and managing content within an organization. While sites act as web-based workspaces for teams, departments, or projects, folders help organize and classify files within document libraries and lists.
By effectively using these components, you can establish an organized, efficient, and user-friendly environment for collaboration custom workflows, and content management.
Best Practices for Metadata Creation
To effectively use metatags in the SharePoint document management solutions, users should familiarize themselves with these essential concepts and best practices:
Grasping Metadata
Metadata is additional information added to documents or items to provide context, enhance searchability, and improve organization of documentation. Examples include document categories, author names, project codes, and creation dates.
Creating Columns
Metadata in SharePoint is often added as columns within a list or document library. Advise technology users to learn how to create and configure these columns to organize information and store metadata properly.
Managed Metadata
SharePoint Online offers a centralized, hierarchical system called the Term Store for managing metadata. Users need to understand how to create and manage term sets, terms, and enterprise keywords within the Term Store.
Content Types
Content types are templates that define the metadata and behavior of specific content, such as digital documents, tasks, or events. Users should know how to create and manage content types and associate them with lists and libraries.
Metadata Navigation:
Understanding how to set up metadata navigation in lists and libraries is crucial for easy filtering and sorting based on metadata values.
Search and Refinement
Knowing how to use metadata to refine search results and create custom search queries is vital for efficient SharePoint usage.
Users should follow best practices when using metadata, such as maintaining consistent naming conventions, limiting the number of terms, and routinely reviewing and updating metadata.
Security and Permissions
It’s essential for users to be aware of the security implications of metadata and ensure that sensitive information is accessible only to authorized individuals.
By mastering these key concepts and adhering to best practices, users can effectively leverage metatags in SharePoint Online to enhance organization, searchability, and overall user experience.
SharePoint Integration with Microsoft Teams
The core connection between the SharePoint platform and Microsoft Teams lies in the documents shared and stored within MS Teams. The explanation is quite simple; all document management in MS Teams serves as a gateway to what’s happening in SharePoint.
Regardless of whether you access the documents through SharePoint or Teams, they are ultimately stored in SharePoint. This is a logical arrangement considering SharePoint’s origin as a Document Management System.
Microsoft Teams enhances the SharePoint document management systems framework by incorporating additional features like Conversations, Apps, and other integrations.
Now, let’s explore the various other SharePoint document management features and functionalities, discuss how they can support team collaboration, your business needs and provide actionable insights for immediate implementation within your organization for quick wins.
Document Management features
Version History
Version History is a powerful feature in SharePoint that allows users to track and manage changes made to documents over time. With this functionality, users can view previous versions of a document, compare changes between versions, and even restore a previous version if necessary.
This ensures that important information is never lost due to accidental edits or deletions, and it provides a clear audit trail of document modifications.
Version History is especially useful in collaborative environments where multiple team members contribute to a document, as it helps maintain version control and prevent conflicting changes.
Collaboration
SharePoint offers robust collaboration features that enable users to work together on documents, projects, and other tasks more efficiently. Users can co-author documents in real-time, share files with colleagues, and communicate through integrated chat and commenting tools.
SharePoint also supports the creation of team sites, which serve as centralized hubs for storing, managing, and sharing team-related content and information.
These collaboration tools, coupled with seamless integration with Microsoft Teams and Office 365 applications, help foster a productive and connected working environment for teams across an entire organization together.
Security & Permissions
Ensuring the security and privacy of sensitive information is a top priority in any content management system, and SharePoint is no exception. SharePoint’s Security & Permissions features allow administrators to control access to documents, lists, libraries, as well as team and communication sites by assigning user permissions based on roles and responsibilities.
Users can be granted different levels of the access controls, such as read-only, edit, or full control, depending on their needs and authorization. Additionally, SharePoint offers advanced security features like data encryption, auditing, and compliance tools to help protect your organization’s information and meet industry standards.
File Versioning
File versioning in SharePoint is an essential feature that allows users to keep track of different versions of a document, making it easy to view the history of changes, compare various versions, and restore previous versions if required.
This functionality ensures seamless collaboration on documents while preserving crucial information and preventing data loss.
File Locking for Easy Editing
SharePoint’s file locking feature is designed to prevent multiple users from making simultaneous edits to a document, which could lead to conflicting changes.
When a user opens a file for editing, it gets locked, barring other users from making modifications until the first user has finished their edits and saved the document. This mechanism helps maintain the integrity of the file and prevents accidental overwriting of important content.
Backup and Recovery
SharePoint provides comprehensive backup and recovery options, ensuring that data remains protected and easily recoverable. Administrators can configure automatic backups for site collections, individual sites, and specific items, as well as establish disaster recovery plans.
In case of data loss or corruption, SharePoint offers tools to restore content from these backups, minimizing disruptions to business operations.
Restricted Data Sharing
SharePoint enables administrators to enforce restricted data sharing to maintain the security and privacy of sensitive information. This can be achieved by limiting access to specific users, groups, or teams, and applying restrictions based on the data’s sensitivity.
This approach ensures that only authorized individuals can access confidential information, helping organizations comply with various regulations.
Permission-Based Access Control
SharePoint uses a granular, permission-based access control system, allowing administrators to define and manage user access to sensitive documents and, sites, and other resources. Users can be granted specific permissions—such as read, edit, or delete—based on their role within the organization.
This structure ensures that users have access only to the information they need, safeguarding sensitive data and reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
Data Encryption
To protect sensitive information against unauthorized access and potential data breaches, SharePoint employs data encryption both at rest and in transit.
This means that data stored within SharePoint is secured using robust encryption algorithms, while data transmitted between the user’s device and SharePoint is encrypted using secure communication protocols. This ensures that even if an attacker intercepts the data, they would be unable to decipher or understand it.
Retention and Deletion Policies
SharePoint allows administrators to establish retention and deletion policies for documents and other content, ensuring that data is managed in compliance with organizational and regulatory requirements.
These policies can be applied automatically based on predefined criteria, such as the document’s age or the sensitivity of the data.
By implementing these policies, organizations can maintain compliance with data protection regulations while simultaneously reducing storage costs and enhancing overall efficiency.
Closing Thoughts
Truthfully, SharePoint offers a powerful content management platform that is secure and compliant. The system’s advanced features, such as versioning, file locking, encryption, user permission control, and retention/deletion policies help protect sensitive data while promoting collaboration within organizations.
If you’re looking for an efficient way to manage your organization’s content, create workflows and collaborate more effectively with team members, then SharePoint may be the perfect solution for you. Schedule a call with one of our Microsoft Office 365 consultants to get you started!
