Microsoft SharePoint is a bit of a do-it-all tool. SharePoint makes it easy to organize, store, and share information with your coworkers. All you need to start using SharePoint is a computer with an active internet connection. Pretty easy, right?
While those may sound easy, there are plenty of other features that lie within SharePoint. SharePoint is full of various technologies, such as SharePoint in Microsoft 365, SharePoint Servers, OneDrive, and more. You can do a lot more with SharePoint than simply share an Excel spreadsheet.
To take advantage of SharePoint and get the most out of your Microsoft subscription, you need a SharePoint consulting company. Today, we’re going to talk about how and why you should consult with a SharePoint expert to help you and your business.
They Know all of the Out-of-the-Box Features
As stated above, SharePoint is more than a simple way to share documents and spreadsheets amongst coworkers. Like the popular fast-food chain In-N-Out, there is much more than meets the eye.
When you first go through SharePoint implementation, you may notice many options but you’re not sure how to use them. Some of the most popular are:
- Business intelligence reports. Through Excel, Visio, and other features, a SharePoint consultant can create dashboards for users.
- Custom development. Experts can create logos and themes for your SharePoint, giving it a personal touch.
- 3rd-Party Integration. If you’re using other software or apps, experts can help you integrate this into your SharePoint.
- Content Management. File sharing and more are some of the key features with SharePoint, but an expert can help you do this more efficiently.
Even regular SharePoint users may not know about these features or may not know how to use them.
They Can Build up a Document Library
If your company is managing thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of documents, then you need an organized document structure. Not just for yourself and current employees but for any team members that may jump on later.
With multiple libraries, you’ll need organized folder structures, metadata, term sets, managed properties, and more. With so many documents, it can be easy to get overwhelmed and create a library that’s difficult to search and even harder to manage.
A SharePoint consultancy company can help set up your library in an organized manner with a clear flow to finding documents and more. If you try to do it yourself, you might create a library that makes it more difficult to find what you need.
SharePoint Continues to Evolve
SharePoint, just like every app, software, and program you can find, goes through regular updates. Keeping up with SharePoint and all of its changes can be a full-time job. SharePoint undergoes a major revision every few years. The last major revision took place in 2019 and brought over several new features as well as some big changes.
If you’re just occasionally managing your SharePoint, you might miss a major update or smaller updates along the way that could drastically alter your SharePoint experience.
Mistakes with SharePoint Can Set You Back
SharePoint has improved greatly over the years but it is still far from a ‘set up and go’ type of software. You need a long-term, planned strategy before you and your company start using it.
Like your library, you need to have a long-term strategy in place before you even upload your first document. Here are some questions you should ask yourself:
- What do I want the site navigation to look like?
- What about the sub-site structure?
- Do we need to have various security levels or groups for different users?
- How will we handle document sharing for those outside of our organization?
- Do we need to set up various permission levels?
- How do we configure our metadata?
- Should we be concerned with governance?
Your organization might find more questions that need to be answered, but this shows that not having a strategy in place could set you back. You don’t want to waste time and money playing catchup with a strategy you should have already had in place.
Less Training and Downtime
If you decide to go the solo route when it comes to implementing SharePoint, you might be playing catchup when it comes to training. Instead of trying to figure it out yourself, a SharePoint consulting expert will be able to come in and give more direct training to your employees and team members.
With an on-hand expert, you can rest assured knowing that your questions will be answered by someone with plenty of experience. This means you and your employees have access to immediate training and won’t have to waste time figuring out the nuances of SharePoint.
Seamless Integration with Other Tools
We’ve mentioned how a SharePoint expert can help you with integrating third-party tools, but there are also plenty of other Microsoft tools that may need an expert’s hand.
If you’ve got the Microsoft Office 365 package, there are plenty of tools that you can connect with SharePoint:
- Microsoft Teams
- Microsoft Power Apps
- Microsoft Planner
- Yammer
- Microsoft Flow
When it comes to third-party tools, here are some we often see integrated with SharePoint:
- Nintex
- AvePoint
- Fly
- ShareGate
Integration with a SharePoint expert is a guaranteed way to make sure you’re getting the most out of all your tools and not wasting any time or money. Even if you’re choosing SharePoint online consulting, they can still make a difference.
Custom Development
Perhaps the biggest advantage (there’s a reason we saved it for last) is that a SharePoint expert can help you develop custom solutions for your business.
We’re big fans of custom software development and SharePoint developers can help make your experience unique and fit for you.
Many times, the out-of-the-box features don’t quite meet what you’re looking for and you need something a little extra for your business. This often means creating a custom or hybrid solution with SharePoint. That could look like developing ASP.NET applications, configuring custom workflows, or developing unique applications.
Atiba is a Leading SharePoint Consulting Company
If you’re looking for SharePoint consultancy services, then you’ve come to the right place. With nearly 20 years of SharePoint experience, we’ve been working with companies of all sizes to help them integrate, customize, or tweak SharePoint to their business standards.
Do you already have a project in mind or do you just have a question? Get in touch with us today!
