It's time to give SharePoint a second look; chances are you'll be using it in the very near future. Reports are showing that approximately 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies are using this multi-platform collaboration tool. Why? Because using this software improves team productivity and data management, it has a heightened level of security as well as the ability to integrate other application software, and most of all, the user interface continues to improve and is easier than ever to navigate.

With every SharePoint site created, there is also a group email, a group calendar, a group Notebook via OneNote, a group document library and access to Teams, Planner and more! No more guessing about information missed when absent from a meeting. View the group calendar, and copy the event links to your own calendar. Take a look at the meeting notes on the group OneNote, and submit your input to the team document library. Utilize the group in Teams to hold discussions, share ideas and information and even to make that meeting via a video call.

Within SharePoint, an End User will find the new modern version so much more improved and easier to use. Adding Web Parts is as easy as clicking the + sign to add a Web Part or clicking the pen along the left side to edit a Web Part on any SharePoint page. Clicking on the settings gear is the place to add an app. With 19 apps to choose from, users will find tools to use such as the document library, custom lists, task lists, calendars and more. And did you know that you can create multiple document libraries and lists? Think of a document library as a folder in the old ways, and STOP using those outdated folders. Folders make your site less searchable and more difficult to find information.

Microsoft is working overtime to increase the security in SharePoint sites. Know exactly who is accessing your information with permissions and memberships in SharePoint. And speaking of permissions, always, always list at least two people with full control ownership. Set permissions to a whole site, or set unique permissions just for a single document or list. Create memberships other than the Owner, Member and Visitor default groups, and customize the permissions that each of those groups will have.

Increasingly, I am seeing more and more people in our SharePoint for Office 365 End User class. Time and time again, people are singing the SharePoint praises! SharePoint is complex; it is not easily maneuvered without some type of training. To sign up for our next SharePoint for Office 365 class scheduled May 21 – 23, 2019 at our Bloomington facility, visit our website. This class is scheduled at our Springfield facility July 10 – 12, 2019.

I’m looking forward to seeing you in class soon!

Kelly Cummings
Education Services, Instructor
Kelly.Cummings@lrs.com