4 Ways to Make the Most of Microsoft SharePoint

4 Great Features Of SharePoint File Sharing

When Microsoft SharePoint launched fourteen years ago—back in 2001, it was one of the early “intranet” services, a way to connect computers and share information.

Nowadays, SharePoint has evolved to include content management, cloud computing, document management, and more. While you can still purchase and install SharePoint as an on-premises private networking system, many choose to access its many features through SharePoint Online. Microsoft offers this standalone service for as low as $6.10 per month, or you can use SharePoint through an Office 365 subscription.

Basically, what SharePoint allows users to do is share information with colleagues, for more convenient collaboration. This fundamental and extremely important function is key to running a successful small business. Simply owning SharePoint isn’t enough, though—learning how to use it to the fullest and unlocking its hidden features can help you take your company to the next level. In this post, we cover four features you can use to make the most of SharePoint.

1. Build new connections through enterprise social networking.

We all know how important networking is when you’re looking for a job, but connecting with colleagues can also be quite important in a small business setting. SharePoint’s MySite feature allows employees to create a sort of company-wide LinkedIn network. You can follow out your coworkers’ skills, projects, and blog posts to learn more about them and come up with new solutions together. This feature is especially useful for small, remote teams.

2. Create a collaborative company encyclopedia with Wikis.

If you’ve ever looked something up on the Internet, you’re probably familiar with Wikipedia, the massive user-created encyclopedia. With SharePoint, you and your team can write a private, company-specific wiki pages (about your marketing guidelines, clients, or any other relevant topics). This way, if someone has a question, he or she can check the wiki rather than wasting valuable time discussing it with colleagues. Likewise, if one of your employees finds a new piece of information or comes up with a great new strategy, he or she can post it in the wiki for future use.

3. Find the information you need with Personal View.

When used to its true capacity, SharePoint contains a treasure trove of important documents, blogs, lists, projects, and other corporate content. Simply viewing this data as it’s automatically rendered may not be ideal for each individual employee, however. For example, a project manager may need to highlight different marketing files than a sales representative. To make finding the information your staff needs more efficient, SharePoint offers Personal View. This feature allows each user to customize and filter what he or she sees when he or she opens SharePoint.

4. Share from anywhere with SharePoint Mobile.

Gone are the days when all work was done on bulky desktops. Most of your employees probably have (and at least occasionally complete work-related tasks using) mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. SharePoint Mobile allows them to access the data they need from any device. As CMS Wire explains: “Clearly recognizing the massive rise in use of mobile smart devices, Microsoft has done some nice work to make it easier to access SharePoint content from a mobile device. Adding to the existing classic view, SharePoint 2013 offers two new views for mobile devices, including a contemporary view for optimized mobile browser experience and a full-screen view which enables the user to have a desktop view of a SharePoint site on a smartphone device.”

Office 365 & SharePoint Services in Toronto: At TUCU, we’re dedicated to solving techaches and improving day to day work flows for our clients by providing exceptional IT services in Toronto.  If you’re ready to fully embrace the power of Microsoft Office 365 & SharePoint, our team can help. As Microsoft Certified Partners, we will provide start to finish Office 365 and SharePoint setup services, as well as ongoing tech support for your business.