The International Data Corporation has predicted that by 2022, organizations will spend $1.97 trillion on services and technologies to enable digital transformation. The digital workplace market is expected to grow from $13.4 billion in 2018, to $35.7 billion in 2023, with document management being the primary focus for small to mid-sized companies[1].
SharePoint is one of the most popular solutions for enterprise document management, and in today’s post we’re going to examine 5 ways that organizations can use it to facilitate digital “collaboration” transformation.
1) Centralized Storage
It’s impossible to enhance document management transparency, or build a coherent content field when various departments are operating within their own individual silos. Whether filing paper documents or using disparate digital repositories, the possibilities for confusion are endless.
SharePoint’s document management system (DMS) ensures a singular classified repository for all your business-critical content. And while the platform’s primary aim is centralization, SharePoint is also capable of differentiating between levels of access (i.e. allowing you to limit access to certain documents based on custom inputs), and support up to 30 million items in 250 different file formats.
2) Organized and Easy to Find
32% of employees will avoid sharing a document because it is too difficult to find, and 23% say that it takes them at least 5 to 10 minutes on average to find the document they’re looking for. In today’s digital era, we expect to have the things we need available on demand, at our fingertips. Digital transformation isn’t just about transitioning from paper to digital files, it’s about organizing those files in a way that’s user-friendly and intuitive.
SharePoint addresses this through:
- Proper design of information architecture
- Defining an effective document taxonomy
- Implementing metadata structure and capability
- Introducing Enterprise labeling standards
- Ensuring document security parameters
- Folders and libraries that enable users to save documents according to the format, project, or topic
- Document versioning preserves history for legacy awareness
- Document cloning alerts prevent users from uploading duplicates
- Document search makes it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for on all SharePoint sites
3) Easier Collaboration
Uniformity in file type and document storage enables teamwork. Users can easily find and collaborate on the creation of stored files through the following capabilities:
- Co-working features allow users to modify documents on and offline, including sharing, asking for feedback, and leaving comments
- Diverse collaboration formats are available to Microsoft 365 users, including discussion boards, Microsoft Teams, and Office 365 groups
- Remote collaboration is enabled regardless of a user’s location or chosen device
Secure external sharing is a major aspect of document management and collaboration. It’s critical to first have a methodical understanding of the right way to secure your company’s documents and implement this capability from the beginning to ensure you’re sharing securely.
4) Improved Workflows
SharePoint boasts a pre-built set of workflows that can instantly allow your team to organize well-controlled workflow practices. Functions like Out-of-the-Box Approval, Collect Feedback, and Collect Signature keep the work moving ahead without the need to meet in person.
Document workflows can be custom-built according to your requirements, and can be as detailed as you need them to be. This function keeps everything organized, and gains approvals while identifying and resolving bottlenecks.
5) Growing Digital Culture
For an organization to fully embrace the digital landscape, it’s critical to introduce platforms and tools that are easy to use, intuitive, and well-organized. SharePoint’s user-friendly interface and customizable environment makes it the perfect foundation for a digital-friendly future. Over the last 20 years, SharePoint has adapted to various enterprise environments and collaboration scenarios, equipping the platform for use at organizations of all sizes.
Transform Your Document Management Practices Today
SharePoint is a powerful tool for digital transformation. And while its capabilities are impressive, so much of ensuring a sustainable digital future is tied to what happens during the initial launch. Putting the time in at the beginning to tailor the access points, workflows, and document organization standards will lead to greater rates of adoption and a more sustainable future.
As a Microsoft Gold Partner, CrucialLogics drives business outcomes through the development of masterfully planned and meticulously executed IT strategy. Our solutions help clients transition smoothly into new technology systems, and our customer service capability enables us to work closely with our clients as those transitions progress.
To learn more about how CrucialLogics can help your organization to begin the digital transformation with SharePoint, contact us today.
[1] Collab365 Community, “5 Digital Transformation Challenges You Can Address with SharePoint Document Management”, https://collab365.community/5-digital-transformation-challenges-can-address-sharepoint-document-management/
