How to turn SharePoint into a collaborative tool?

SharePoint is a platform that allows you to share and manage content to optimize teamwork. Find out here how you can turn it into a real collaborative tool and thus promote team cohesion in your company!  

A short history of SharePoint

A first version of SharePoint was launched in 2001, with the aim of providing Microsoft users with a way to centrally manage and share documents, facilitating collaborative working through the deployment of team sites quickly and easily.

Before that, services such as Microsoft Frontpage were used to share information between users.    

SharePoint was therefore developed to meet a growing need for a central tool containing applications, files and documents.

Two different versions of SharePoint were released in 2001: SharePoint Team Services (STS), which was developed from Microsoft Frontpage and is a solution offering basic features for creating intranets to manage team sites within companies. SharePoint Portal Server (SPS) is a collaborative work tool that facilitates content creation, information retrieval and document management. But these solutions were considered imperfect, which led to the development of SharePoint in 2003, the first version to be considered a truly integrated solution for sharing information within a network.

In 2012, in response to the wave of the Cloud computing, Microsoft announced the release of SharePoint Online as a 100% SaaS offer.

SharePoint Online is a service hosted by Microsoft, whose offer is dedicated to companies of all sizes. It is used by companies to create intranets, and also for content management and electronic document management.

The benefits and limitations of SharePoint

SharePoint allows you to create intranets and business applications, as well as share files, documents, data and resources. It promotes teamwork by creating sites dedicated to each team, department or division. These sites can be customized. In addition to making company organization more flexible, SharePoint also promotes the sharing and coordination of information within work teams. For example, by using the features of a SharePoint intranet, it is possible to find (and also to modify and share) documents in a matter of seconds. This makes document management easier.

Security is also ensured: it is possible to collaborate with all team members, both inside and outside the company, regardless of the device used (PC, Mac, tablet, smartphone). For example, SharePoint Online has advanced security features that authenticate users and prevent unauthorized access. In fact, according to Vanson Bourne's study for Last Past Trend, 92% of companies face difficulties in authenticating to their company's platforms. As a result, the adoption of SSO ( Single sign-on) is the solution to this problem. Here again, SharePoint allows the use of this reliable and secure identification method. Users can log into their SharePoint space once and navigate from one application to another without having to re-authenticate, thus limiting any risk of cyber attacks.

One of the main advantages of SharePoint is therefore the creation of a pleasant and efficient working environment, especially for teleworking, which has developed strongly in recent years: 38% of employees teleworked in 2021. Another advantage is the centralization of company tools, which makes it possible to increase efficiency and productivity.

Overall, SharePoint was designed to maximize business efficiency.

However, there are a few limitations that need to be addressed. For example, installing SharePoint in an organization can potentially change the way people work and generate a certain resistance to change. Furthermore, SharePoint has the ability to interact with different tools, but these must be compatible with each other. It is therefore important to favour Microsoft tools in order to guarantee their compatibility. Finally, SharePoint has some graphical limitations (especially in terms of design and customization) as well as some functional limitations. In fact, not all communication, collaboration and knowledge management needs are covered by the basic features offered by Sharepoint.  

How to break down SharePoint's limits with Mozzaik365?

Mozzaik365 is a natural extension to SharePoint (i.e., a plugin) that allows you to create collaborative intranets. As such, Mozzaik365 adds features to SharePoint and allows it to reach its full potential.

Thus, the features offered by Mozzaik365 provide the possibility to go even further in the use of SharePoint 365 and to create new uses:

• Dashboards: With the Digital Workplace, employees can search for content and access communities and applications in one place;
• News walls: You can create beautiful news walls and take advantage of Mozzaik365's advanced features in SharePoint by targeting your news feeds by topic or by audience. You can also integrate your LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Youtube feeds into your SharePoint and Teamspaces. The result: optimized communication;
• Company directory: the directory displays the user's profile and allows them to search for other users by name, department, location or skills. It can be set up for a variety of uses, such as presenting members of a department or newcomers, searching for specific skills, connecting employees, etc;
• Community groups: these allow people to come together around specific interests and expertise, which creates links between employees and facilitates remote working;
• Centralization of documents: simply set up your search centre with the filters you choose to obtain a tailor-made search experience and optimize your document management;
• HR Intranet: to disseminate news, internal job offers, mobility;
• Etc.

The use of Mozzaik365 can therefore improve and optimize the SharePoint experience, especially in these specific areas:

• Internal communication ;
• Team collaboration ;
• Knowledge management.

🤔 Watch the replay of our webinar to learn everything about setting up an intranet with SharePoint, its features, its benefits and how to overcome the limitations of this tool!

Mozzaik365 and SharePoint: for an attractive Digital Workplace

In addition to overcoming the functional limitations of SharePoint, Mozzaik365 allows you to contribute content to the Digital Workplace and create a custom intranet that meets the needs and specifics of your company. You can bring your company's culture to life by creating an engaging intranet with a modern design.

💡 To go further and know all the good reasons to create your intranet with Sharepoint in Microsoft, read our dedicated article!  

Mozzaik365 and SharePoint 365 are, in short, revolutionizing internal collaboration in companies. A well-established culture of collaboration within the company can have a positive impact on knowledge sharing (for 69% of employees), team productivity (65%), overall motivation (60%) and creativity (59%).

Would you like to know more? You can find all the information about internal collaboration on our website.

How to implement SharePoint 365 in your company?

SharePoint Online is a cloud-based SaaS solution. Included in the Microsoft subscription, it allows employees to access their documents and information anywhere, anytime.

SharePoint Server, its local version, can be used with a Microsoft 365 subscription. It offers additional features to companies. However, its latest version dates from 2019 and no longer receives updates.  

Regardless of the version chosen, SharePoint 365 is fully secure and can be shared through permissions. This means that access to files is controlled, and each employee can track changes to documents and the progress of their colleagues' work through the shared history.

Conclusion

With SharePoint, companies of all sizes can create intranets, business applications and team sites, as well as share files and documents and facilitate the transmission of information. SharePoint can be used to optimize the management of collaborative work and improve employee well-being, especially when working remotely. At a time when the collaborative culture is becoming a success factor for companies, this is particularly important. Indeed, for one in four employees, a collaborative culture is synonymous with an innovative way of dealing with issues (Ipsos/OpenMind Kfé study).

And with Mozzaik365, you can unleash the power of SharePoint by getting more advanced features. This will further enhance your company's collaborative experience.