Microsoft has announced it is adding new features and options to SharePoint and Teams, changes which could encourage more companies to subscribe to SharePoint and Office 365.
The new SharePoint features were announced on a Microsoft blog published on November 26th. The software giant is making deployment of SharePoint on Office365 sites easier and the SharePoint Framework will work with several web services, including non-Microsoft ones.
Office 365 integration
SharePoint will allow developers to create applications that include elements created in Office 365 documents, including graphs.
Microsoft is making team and communication sites built with SharePoint more mobile friendly, and SharePoint is making it easier to deliver content with lists and many pages. It is hoped that moves towards increasing speed and ease of use will help businesses save money through increased efficiency.
Teams integration
The blog confirms there will also be improved integration between SharePoint and Teams. Tabs created in Teams can be included in SharePoint sites, and SharePoint web parts can be used in Teams.
A Microsoft spokesperson said:
"With some adjustments to the package metadata, every web part you've built can become a Tab in Microsoft Teams, made available via the Microsoft Teams Tenant App Catalog,"
Complete applications
The integration of SharePoint, Teams and Office 365 is designed to help developers build full business applications that include SharePoint security, lists, files, graphs and Azure Active Directory Secured APIs. Microsoft calls this the ‘full-page experience’.
Should you move to SharePoint online?
Many of the new features announced by Microsoft are for the online version of SharePoint, but some business customers do not feel ready to move to the cloud. Microsoft has therefore released SharePoint Server 2019, the on-premises version of SharePoint.
Microsoft will cease to provide support for SharePoint 2010 from October 13th, 2020, which means there will be no more security updates as of that date. Users of SharePoint 2010 can upgrade to later versions, but may want to consider subscriptions for SharePoint online and Office 365 – especially since some features, including Hub Sites and Site Designs, are missing from the on-premises version of SharePoint.
Users of older versions of SharePoint may face a learning curve to adapt to the modern interface of online SharePoint, but once they do, they should find SharePoint easier to work with.
One major feature of SharePoint is Hub Sites, which brings all Communication and Teams sites to one place where aggregated content, news and lists can be viewed.
It has been suggested that Microsoft will add its most innovative features to online SharePoint but that they will be missing from on-premises versions, which will be another incentive to move to the cloud.
There is also the issue that administering on-premises servers adds to the IT budget and these costs can be saved by moving data and applications to the cloud. Upgrading from one version of SharePoint Server to a later version is not straightforward, but SharePoint Online and Office 365 upgrade seamlessly without needing attention by the IT staff.
If your company wants to migrate online, talk to the team at WM Reply – the SharePoint and intranet experts.