SharePoint Online: Everything You Need to Know

They say that sharing is caring. It’s true, in a way. If both users and companies share the relevant data, then they can benefit mutually. It is just as important to speed up file sharing as it is to share information in the digital age. No one likes to wait.

Microsoft has created cloud services such as OneDrive and SharePoint online that allow you to store files on your computer instead of your server. This blog will focus on Microsoft Office SharePoint. We’ll discuss SharePoint: what it is, how it can be built, where it can be used, and how.

What is Microsoft SharePoint?

Microsoft SharePoint is a collaboration platform that allows users to simultaneously share and edit files. The file can only be edited by one person at a given time, even though it is being shared using both traditional sharing tools and SMB (CIFS protocol). SMB allows only one user to open a file. Other users will not be able see any changes made by a user to the file. Only they can see the changes if they open the original file again after the first user saves the changes and closes the file. If other users want to modify the file, they can save the changes in the copy and take it with them.

Each file copy can be modified in a unique way. It will be difficult to combine them all into one file. Multiple users editing the same file at once is not an ideal way to collaborate. Microsoft created SharePoint to address this problem. It allows users to edit and save a shared file.

What is Microsoft SharePoint used for?

Microsoft SharePoint is used by companies to share data across their organization. It can be used to build websites and content libraries and organize content. Files can also be shared and managed. This allows them promote collaboration among team members and automate business processes. SharePoint improves teamwork efficiency, it has been proven. SharePoint is used by large and medium-sized corporations with more than 100 users. Traditional server files were not able to handle the increasing number of users. SharePoint is the answer. There are many ways to develop SharePoint that businesses and developers around the globe can use to create and manage data storage systems.

What is Microsoft SharePoint Online?

SharePoint Online is a cloud-based edition of Microsoft SharePoint. This platform was launched in 2001 and is an integral part the Microsoft Office 365 suite. This platform requires that you manually deploy a SharePoint Server and then support it with storage and security patches. Active directory can also be installed. Your SharePoint server can be hosted locally, so it is completely independent and under your complete control.

SharePoint Online is also known as Sharepoint 365. All software-related updates for SharePoint Online will automatically be installed on your Microsoft datacenter if you use it. Microsoft takes care of all maintenance and support tasks. Microsoft 365 subscriptions are required by companies. This includes SharePoint Online. Once you’ve done that, you can access a SharePoint portal anywhere you are with an internet connection.

How does Microsoft Office SharePoint work?

Microsoft Office SharePoint, as we have already mentioned, is a document and collaboration software. It can be installed on a Windows server or it can be run on a Microsoft data center in the cloud. We will now discuss the core components of SharePoint. SharePoint is both a web portal as well as a collaborative platform that allows you to store and share files with your team. There are two types of SharePoint sites: a team site and one that is communication.

The team site allows the team to share content. It can be used to add web pages, create libraries to store files, customize web elements, and manage data. You can also use a communication website to share information with others. It can also be used to send a message to a particular audience. SharePoint libraries can be used by users to collaborate with others in your team. Any user can make a change to files. The information about the changes and the person who made them will be displayed in a SharePoint Library. Users collect the data from the site and organize it using a SharePoint list.

You can customize the file by adding columns that show different types of data to the storage files, such as date, time and currency. Companies use these lists to organize, filter and sort data in many different ways. This allows users to track versions, alter the history and modify the history of shared files. ASP.NET technology can be used with IIS to generate some sites automatically. These sites are known as SharePoint. These websites’ content is stored in an MS SQL Database, which allows it to interact with other apps and similar platforms such as MS Exchange or MS Project. Web servers, database servers, and application servers are the three main types of server roles that were used in the past.

SharePoint can also be described as a content management system that allows you to store content in various types of logical blocks. If that is true, then the SharePoint site collection would be the largest block. It is linked to the site homepage URL and a web application on an IIS server. Site collection refers to multiple websites. If the user wants to identify the correct URL for a SharePoint portal, they must be able to understand the structure of these SharePoint websites. As it affects traditional file systems, the logical structure also impacts permissions for parent objects. You must apply permission to any group at the root site level of the structure to access any object on this website.

SharePoint Online Features

Sharepoint Online offers many useful features that will make your life easier. Let’s go for a walk if you are interested.

File versioning

This feature allows you to view and restore previous versions of documents stored in your library or lists after changes have been made. File versioning allows you to track changes, view past versions, and restore files if necessary.

Indexing

This feature is useful for fast and precise searching for files. This feature allows you to quickly access the files. Microsoft Search allows you to quickly find any information that you require. Indexing is the process of scanning your website and sorting them. Then, the search database will be integrated with the results. It will take less time to search the entire file storage if a user types in a search query than it will to scan all files on your website.

Integration with Windows

Windows integration is one new feature. This allows you to connect SharePoint Online with Windows Servers on-premise. It is possible to map SharePoint Online to configure Windows 10 drive.

Web browsers support

Access to SharePoint sites is only possible with the Standalone Microsoft Office Apps and most popular web browsers. You can also access it from your smartphone using the mobile version of the web browsers.

Integration with OneDrive for Business

Are you looking to transfer files from OneDrive to SharePoint Online? This is the feature you need. This feature is possible with OneDrive for Business because SharePoint Online uses its sync agent functionality. You have the opportunity to create a unified Microsoft Office ecosystem that includes Microsoft 365 products such as Word Excel and Exchange Online.

Management of Permissions

You can now configure access to shared document library by using the permission management function. You can grant access to certain users and restrict others. You can also assign permissions to a group of users. One group of users may make changes to a shared folder, while another group of users can open it. The files will remain in read-only mode to them.

Governance

You must create data governance policies if your company is required to deal with sensitive or confidential information. Office 365 has a wealth of data governance tools that can help you.

Secure storage for documents

Encrypting files stored in the Microsoft cloud is essential. This is essential when network connections attempt to access files in SharePoint Online. Two-factor authentication can be configured in your Microsoft Office 365 account.

PowerShell Management

This advanced feature allows you to automate SharePoint Online. To automate repetitive tasks, create scripts with Powershell for SharePoint Online. Then run them from the command-line interface.

SharePoint deployment options

Sharepoint deployment can be done in three ways. These options are discussed below:

SharePoint on-premises

This is a standalone Microsoft Sharepoint server version like SharePoint 2019, SharePoint 2016 and many more. These must be installed on the physical servers, virtual machines or in your data center. This will give you full control of SharePoint within your company.

SharePoint Online

SharePoint Online, as we mentioned earlier, is a cloud-based edition of Microsoft SharePoint. There is no need to install anything. All you need is an Office 365 subscription plan. This can be used to improve your business.

SharePoint Hybrid

This combination solution uses both the previous deployment options. Cloud SharePoint and Local on-premise environments can be used simultaneously to share and integrate business data.

SharePoint Licensing

All of this sounds great, but what about the cost? You might be surprised to learn that the best stuff is expensive. Let’s take a look at both the online and on-premise Microsoft SharePoint prices to see if it is within your budget.

SharePoint Online uses an per-user subscription model.

  • SharePoint Online Plan 1: $5 per user/month
  • SharePoint Online Plan 2: $10 per user/month
  • Office 365 E3: $20 per user/month

SharePoint’s on-premises version uses a client access license (CAL). Each SharePoint user requires one CAL.

  • SharePoint Standard CAL: $180 per license
  • SharePoint Enterprise CAL: $180 per license (one-time purchase)
  • SharePoint Server license: $5,000 per server (per VM)
  • SharePoint Foundation license: Free

MS SQL Server licenses may also be required

Conclusion

This blog will discuss Microsoft Office SharePoint. We’ll also cover the main features and prices of SharePoint Online. Finally, we’ll talk about how SharePoint can be deployed. SharePoint allows you to share documents, and multiple users can simultaneously edit shared documents. SharePoint can be used by many operating systems. All you need is a web interface in order to access Microsoft SharePoint. Even if Microsoft 365 is not installed on your device, you can still edit your documents from a web browser. To use the subscription plan, you only need to purchase it.

SharePoint Online is part the Office 365 SaaS platform. Once you have purchased it, you won’t need to install or configure it in a local environment. SharePoint provides data backup solutions. Many SharePoint vendors recommend that you back up your Sharepoint data in case of an emergency. There are many options available that can help you backup SharePoint Server and SharePoint Online data, as well as other Microsoft 365 data. I hope that you enjoyed this article. Let me know which aspects of SharePoint interest you most, and if there are any questions.