SharePoint Online (SPO ) is a Microsoft cloud-based service that allows businesses to manage and share content and applications. SharePoint empowers teamwork, seamlessly collaborates with the organisation, and quickly searches for information. SPO enables an organisation’s team member to create a Teams SharePoint document library to share site documents with external partners, colleagues, and customers. It provides a set of tools to maintain an enterprise’s intranet service. Microsoft Office 365 Subscriptions include a SharePoint plan in most business and enterprise subscriptions.
With SPO, Users can organise and collaborate on content, data, and news to stay on the same page. It is used for internal core purposes to bring an organisation together. SharePoint is the number one choice of businesses and Microsoft’s best-selling product.
Why Migrate to Microsoft 365 SPO?
All businesses strive for increased productivity, and having SharePoint can make this happen. The collaboration features easily lead to productivity improvement and cost savings for any business. SharePoint benefits the business industry, so over 75% of Fortune 500 use Microsoft SharePoint Online. Companies use Microsoft Office 365 SPO the box solution as it is a secure place to store, arrange easily, segment and access information.
- Simple sharing and seamless teamwork – Collaborate fluently and securely with team members within and outside your organisation across PCs, Macs and mobile devices.
- Ease of Use—SharePoint features allow you to quickly build business tools and solutions without a web development background.
- Engage and advise your organisation – Drive organisational efficiency by distributing common resources and applications on portals. Stay updated with personalised news with SharePoint Home and the SharePoint mobile app.
- Harness collective knowledge – SharePoint’s productive content management enables your organisation to take full advantage of expertise. A quick SharePoint online training can help you learn more about the benefits of SharePoint online.
- Transform business processes – With SharePoint lists and libraries, you can create digital experiences with forms, workflows and custom apps for every device.
- Easily customisable—SharePoint allows you to keep features as they come, or the development team can easily customise applications. SPO also offers many alternatives for customisation. According to the needs of the business, SharePoint provides a choice of functionalities and features, including SharePoint online reports.
- Management of External Users is easy—SPO made external user access much more manageable. You can share folders, documents, and sites with any foreign guest by adding them to the Office 365 guest list. You can also create an anonymous link that permits editing or reading without asking for authentication.
- Security and integrity – The Microsoft Office 365 SPO platform allows businesses to protect data integrity from unauthorised use.
- Free Storage space –Depending on the type of subscription bought, Microsoft SharePoint initially offers 1 TB of storage per organisation; however, additional storage can be purchased separately.
Microsoft Office 365 SharePoint Online Plan
By migrating to SharePoint Online, you are decreasing the cost of the infrastructure in-house. There is no need to buy expensive Server Hardware. SPO (SharePoint Online) helps reduce your IT budget under control.
Microsoft SPO is typically bundled with Microsoft Office 365 business and enterprise subscriptions; however, you can buy it as an online SharePoint plan. If not already bundled with your Office 365 subscription, you can purchase SharePoint Online Plan 1 or SharePoint Online Plan 2 as an independent SharePoint online subscription.
SharePoint Online Plan 1 vs. Plan 2 Comparison
| Feature | SharePoint Plan 1 | SharePoint Plan 2 |
| Storage | 1 TB per user | Unlimited personal storage |
| Sharing and Collaboration | Yes | Yes |
| External Sharing | Yes | Yes |
| Security | Standard security features | Enhanced security features |
| Content Management | Basic content management | Advanced content management |
| Search | Standard search capabilities | Advanced search capabilities |
| Intranet and Team Sites | Yes | Yes |
| Business Process Automation | Basic workflows | Advanced workflows, Business Process Automation with Power Automate integration |
| Data Loss Prevention | Not available | Yes |
| eDiscovery | Basic | Advanced eDiscovery capabilities |
| Reporting and Analytics | Basic reporting | Advanced reporting, Power BI integration |
| Customer Support | Standard support | Premium support options are available |
| Price per User per Month (approx.) | £4.10 | £8.20 |
How can we help?
Server Consultancy London is your go-to expert for seamless SharePoint Online implementations. As part of our Microsoft 365 migration services, we make SharePoint migration hassle-free, tailoring the platform to your business needs. We understand that every London business is unique, requiring bespoke solutions for team collaboration, data management, and workflow automation. Our seasoned consultants offer in-depth assessments and strategic planning to ensure your SharePoint Online environment aligns perfectly with your business objectives. With our hands-on training and ongoing support, you’ll maximise the return on your investment, making your London business more productive, secure, and collaborative than ever before.
What is SharePoint Online?
SharePoint Online, a vital component of Microsoft 365, is a robust collaboration platform teeming with many creative and co-working features. This platform is crucial for businesses looking to improve team collaboration and productivity. Microsoft 365 migration often includes transitioning to SharePoint Online, offering companies a more unified and dynamic workspace. A Microsoft 365 migration incorporating SharePoint migration can enhance team cohesion, streamlined project management, and more efficient data sharing, particularly for businesses in fast-paced industries. The amalgamation of these capabilities makes SharePoint Online an indispensable tool in the Microsoft 365 suite.
What’s the difference between SharePoint and SharePoint Online?
SharePoint and SharePoint Online are both part of Microsoft’s suite of services, but they differ primarily in how they are hosted and managed.
SharePoint (often called SharePoint Server) is an on-premises version of SharePoint. It requires physical servers and infrastructure, which the organisation’s IT department maintains. This setup allows extensive customisation and control over the server environment, including the security settings and the update schedule. Organisations opt for SharePoint Server when they need tight control over their data or have specific requirements that cloud solutions cannot meet.
On the other hand, SharePoint Online is a cloud-based service offered as part of the Microsoft 365 suite. It eliminates the need for physical infrastructure by hosting data on Microsoft’s servers. This model benefits from Microsoft’s robust security measures, regular updates, and scalability. It’s simpler to manage than the on-premises version because Microsoft handles all the technical maintenance, updates, and compliance challenges.
The choice between SharePoint and SharePoint Online typically depends on the organisation’s specific control, compliance, scalability, and cost needs. SharePoint Online is often favoured for its convenience and lower upfront costs, while SharePoint is chosen for its customizability and potential for deeper integration into highly specific enterprise environments.
Is SharePoint Online the same as Microsoft Office 365?
SharePoint Online is a Microsoft Office 365 suite component that is not identical to Office 365. It provides cloud-based collaboration and document management services, enabling businesses to store, organise, share, and access information from any device. SharePoint Online is handy for creating websites and secure document storage areas teams can access for collaboration.
On the other hand, Microsoft Office 365, now commonly referred to as Microsoft 365, is a broader subscription service that includes a range of productivity tools, applications, and services. This suite typically includes SharePoint Online but also features other applications such as Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, and more, depending on the specific plan chosen.
Thus, while SharePoint Online is part of Microsoft 365, it represents just one of the many components offered within the complete Microsoft 365 suite.
How do I access SharePoint Online?
You can access SharePoint Online in several ways, including directly through a web browser or by integrating it into your everyday tools for more convenience. The simplest method is to log into the Microsoft 365 portal at office.com using your business credentials. From there, use the ‘App launcher’ icon at the top left corner to find and open SharePoint.
Consider syncing SharePoint libraries to your PC using OneDrive for a more streamlined workflow. This integration allows you to work with files directly from your system, even offline. To set this up, navigate to the SharePoint site or library you want to sync and click the ‘Sync’ button. This will prompt you to open or install OneDrive if it’s not already set up on your computer. Once configured, your system will create a folder that mirrors your SharePoint library, ensuring automatic syncing when you go online.
For quick and easy access to frequently used SharePoint sites, consider creating shortcuts by bookmarking them in your web browser. Go to the SharePoint site you wish to bookmark and use your browser’s bookmarking feature to create a shortcut. This method allows you to bypass the need to navigate multiple pages, saving time and effort.
You can download the SharePoint mobile app, which is available for iOS and Android devices. This app provides a user-friendly interface for viewing and managing your files on the go.
