Utilising SharePoint for storage- introduce collaboration, backups, and security.

SharePoint’s Secure Storage Solution

For day to day business operations where collaboration is essential to creating good workflow, SharePoint is a brilliant company file storage option that can transform the way small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) operate.

Developed, supported, and constantly tweaked by Microsoft, SharePoint is a modern day solution to file storage and team workflow that facilitates collaboration, file storage, and data management—all while integrated seamlessly with the already familiar and powerful suite of Office 365 applications, that I am sure almost all businesses know well, or have at least heard of; things like excel, word and PowerPoint! 

If you use these Microsoft 365 tools daily, it makes sense to use a file storage system that Is designed specifically to store these documents and help you to get the most out of their functionality. Especially if you are already using licenses that provide you with access to the SharePoint storage (Exchange business licenses) which most of the companies who use office 365 outlook as their email providers are!

This could even save your business a lot of money, letting you scale down the on site server requirements so when they inevitability come up for replacement (every 5 years) you can get a brilliant spec server that better suits your business for less!!

Understanding what SharePoint is, how it can be leveraged by SMBs, and its advantages over traditional on-site file storage systems can help businesses make the decision to move away from on site server storage and start to introduce collaboration, with security benefits and traceability.

What is SharePoint?

SharePoint is a web-based platform that allows businesses to create, manage, and share documents and information in a secure, scalable environment. It functions both as a document management system and as a collaborative platform, integrating smoothly with Microsoft Office 365. This enables teams to collaborate in real time (regardless of where they are currently based should I add!), especially with file types such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

Collaboration with Office 365

One of SharePoint’s standout features is its deep integration with Office 365. This allows users to:

• Collaborate in Real Time – Teams can work together on documents and spreadsheets without having to worry about who has the most updated version with the correct information as changes made by one user are immediately visible to others, enhancing teamwork and reducing errors. You can even see where other users are currently working in the document, so you wont overlap and ‘step on each other’s toes’.

• Access from Anywhere – SharePoint is completely cloud based which means that employees can access files and collaborate from anywhere in the world, provided they have internet access (and the relevant security access and permissions of course). This is particularly useful in the more remote working environments we see in businesses today. Opposed to the traditional on site server storage, where you would either need to have a VPN to connect into the office, or an expensive terminal server setup whereby staff members connect onto a server that is stored on site.

Advantages Over On-Site File Storage

While traditional on-site file storage systems have been the backbone of many SMBs, SharePoint offers several distinct advantages:

• Reduced IT costings- As I mentioned before, if you are storing using SharePoint, it eliminates the need for extensive on-site IT infrastructure for file storage. Businesses will save on hardware costs, maintenance, and even the space required to house servers. Something you may fail to consider is that the storage requirements for servers on site require you to buy more hard drives to get the same amount of space, as on a server configuration for each amount of server size you need you will have to double or even triple the amount of drives needed to achieve redundancy (should one or more drives fail), as servers rely on a raid configuration which protects data from drives that may fail.

• Enhanced Security and Compliance- With SharePoint, Microsoft takes on much of the responsibility for security and compliance, they have notoriously strong protection against data breaches and loss and lots of experience in the security side of software. Microsoft’s huge global configuration and their network of data centers, ensure that your data is handled and stored according to the highest standards of security. You are still in control of your data however and you can also set access permissions and restrictions much like how you would on a on site server setup!

• Continuous Data Backup- Unlike on-site file storage, which often relies on daily backups or shadow copies, SharePoint data is continuously backed up by Microsoft. This means that in the event of data loss or corruption, recovery is incredibly fast and data integrity is maintained, minimizing downtime and potential revenue loss. The amount of time it can take to bring an onsite server back up however can vary massively, and I have personally experienced it taking over a day in one case, from backup drive restored fully to a recovery server and then even longer to provide access to all staff members on and off site. The continuous data backup of SharePoint is by far one of its best features.

Scalability and Flexibility

SharePoint is highly scalable, which is essential for small or medium sized businesses. It allows for growth and as SMBs expand, their data management and storage needs grow with them. SharePoint’s cloud-based infrastructure allows for quick scalability, accommodating increasing amounts of data without the need for physical hardware upgrades.

Additionally, SharePoint’s flexibility means it can be customized to fit the specific needs of a business, this is something that is very important to us, as every business is different and has different requirements that need to be fulfilled by every solution we can offer them.

The security and continuous backup features provided by Microsoft give businesses peace of mind, knowing their data is safe and always available, and the traceability of data is a helpful feature to compliment everything else it offers.