Here is an overview of the main practices based on our experiences working with various organizations, which Microsoft also recommends for companies to follow:

• 1. Multi-factor Authentication (MFA): Implementing MFA is a crucial step in protecting your accounts, requiring additional verification methods besides a password. This significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access.
• 2. Protection of Administrator Accounts: Ensure that administrator accounts have extra protection due to their elevated privileges. This may involve using separate accounts for daily and administrative tasks.
• 3. Email and Collaboration Security Policies: Use Microsoft 365’s preset security policies to protect against threats such as spam, malware, and phishing. These policies help protect your email communications and collaborations on platforms like SharePoint and OneDrive.
• 4. Device Protection: Protect all devices that have access to your Microsoft 365 and SharePoint data. This includes both company-owned and personal devices, ensuring they meet your security standards.
• 5. Data Encryption: In SharePoint and OneDrive, data is encrypted both in transit and at rest. Microsoft uses top-level encryption methods to ensure data security, and only a limited number of employees have access to data centers.
• 6. Zero Trust Framework and Least Privilege: Adopting a zero trust framework ensures that every access request is verified, minimizing unauthorized access risks. The principle of least privilege limits users’ access rights only to what is strictly necessary for their job tasks.
• 7. Conditional Access Policies: You can implement conditional access policies to control who accesses your Microsoft 365 resources based on conditions such as user role, device status, location, and identified risks.
• 8. Phishing Protection: Training and tools are essential to protect against phishing attacks, which are common and complex. Microsoft 365 includes features that help recognize and protect against such threats.
• 9. Audit Logs and Automated Reporting: SharePoint’s audit logs allow you to monitor activities and automate reporting to ensure effective monitoring and compliance. Various products and solutions can automate these audits, providing detailed reports for review.
• 10. Data Leak Prevention Policies: Implement smart data leak prevention policies to avoid unauthorized sharing of sensitive information. Tools like Microsoft Purview help manage, protect, and govern sensitive data across your organization.
• 11. Regular Security Reviews: Automate security risk reviews and manage external sharing rights vigilantly. It is crucial to regularly review externally shared content and adjust rights as needed to maintain security.
• 12. Using Third-Party Solutions: Consider using third-party solutions for additional security measures and monitoring options. These can provide extended features and specialized security functions that complement Microsoft’s built-in tools.
• 13. Data Backup and Security: To reduce potential damage from a cyber or ransomware attack, it is prudent to back up business-critical or personal data in Microsoft 365 and SharePoint. Whether it’s third-party cloud backup or a local backup solution, securely storing data and documents until their end of life is essential. More information about data backup can be read in our blog article on this topic.

Protecting managed content and data in Microsoft 365 and SharePoint is an ongoing process that requires attention to detail, awareness of the latest threats, and a proactive approach. Implementing these best practices significantly improves your organization’s data security situation.

If you want to ensure that your organization’s data in Microsoft 365 and SharePoint is protected in the best possible way and do not know how to independently implement or deploy the above technical solutions, contact us, and we will support you.

Intranet – still very relevant

Intranets serve as the backbone of internal communication in an organization. They provide a secure, private network where employees can find and share information, collaborate on projects, and access essential services. This internal ecosystem fosters a culture of openness and connectivity, crucial for boosting innovation and productivity. In the era of remote work, the intranet offers a virtual space where the community and a sense of belonging are maintained, which is key for engaging and retaining employees.

When combined with other internal communication channels such as instant messaging platforms Teams and Slack, the result is a well-functioning ecosystem that supports effective real-time collaboration and well-managed information distribution across the organization or within teams.

Key Aspects to Consider When Choosing an Intranet:

Scalability

As organizations grow, their intranet must adapt to accommodate an increasing number of users and more complex processes. The chosen solution should offer easy scalability to support business development and growth without significant rebuilds.

User Experience

A user-friendly interface is crucial to encourage adoption and ensure that employees can effortlessly find the information they need. The findability of information, the number of clicks to reach information, and well-structured diverse content contribute to faster adoption of the intranet by users. An intuitive design reduces training requirements and enhances overall productivity.

Integration Capabilities

An effective intranet solution must seamlessly integrate with a wide array of external applications and systems used in the company. This integration capability ensures that employees have easy access to the tools and data they need for their daily work, allowing for more efficient operation and quicker task resolution.

Security and Manageability

Given the sensitive nature of the information stored in the intranet, strict security measures and compliance with regulatory standards are indispensable for any potential solution.

SharePoint Online as an Intranet Platform

SharePoint Online, part of the Microsoft Office 365 suite, is an example of an intranet solution that excels in the aspects mentioned above, making it an excellent choice for organizations of various sizes and processes. It is designed for those looking for a powerful, quickly deployable solution with extensive integration and customization options.

Scalability

SharePoint Online is designed to grow with your organization. Its cloud-based approach ensures easy scalability for accommodating more users or content without significant investment in IT infrastructure.

Exceptional User Experience

With customizable templates and intuitive design options, SharePoint Online allows for the creation of a user-friendly intranet tailored to any organization’s specific needs and branding. Its modern interface ensures that users can easily navigate the content and quickly find the information they need.

Extensive Integration Capabilities

One of SharePoint Online’s strengths is its seamless integration with the Office 365 suite and other Microsoft products like Teams and Yammer. This integration facilitates the creation of a unified work environment where communication, collaboration, and content management flow smoothly between different platforms without the user noticing. Additionally, a competent technology team can easily create connections with other systems used in the company, whether they are financial, HR management, or other software solutions.

Security and Manageability

SharePoint Online offers advanced security features, including data loss prevention, information rights management, and secure access controls. It also meets a wide range of international, regional, and industry-specific standards (e.g., ISO 27001, GDPR, CIS, CSA, WCAG), ensuring that sensitive information is protected as effectively as possible.

In conclusion, the intranet remains a vital component of any organization’s internal communication strategy. When selecting a technical solution, it is important to consider scalability, user experience, integration options, and security. SharePoint Online stands out as an example of an intranet platform that meets these criteria, offering a versatile, secure, and user-friendly environment that supports the evolving needs of modern organizations. For those responsible for internal communication, SharePoint Online offers a great solution for promoting an accessible, connected, and productive workplace.

What is business process automation?

Before delving into SharePoint’s capabilities, it is important to understand what business process automation, or BPA, is. BPA means using technology to automate complex business processes and functions that exceed conventional data processing and entry tasks. Essentially, its aim is to streamline and optimize workflows and reduce the number of manual activities.

SharePoint plays a significant role in implementing BPA by providing a collaboration platform that allows organizations to automate routine tasks, manage content, and facilitate smooth communication between teams.

Does your company need SharePoint automation?

To determine whether your company needs SharePoint automation, assess current workflows, identify bottlenecks, and recognize improvement opportunities. If your organization faces recurring tasks, challenges in document management, and working effectively together, SharePoint may be the right solution.

Automation can significantly reduce human errors, improve consistency, and free up valuable time so that employees can focus on more strategic tasks. SharePoint’s automation capabilities can be customized according to the specific needs of your organization, making it a suitable solution for companies of any size.

How to use SharePoint for business process automation?

Operational inefficiencies can lead to significant revenue loss. Market research firm IDC estimates that companies lose 20–30% of revenue annually due to inefficient processes. Using SharePoint workflows helps manage and automate various processes—from collecting signatures and feedback to monitoring routine activities.

Below we’ll explore in more detail how SharePoint can be used to automate workflows and provide an overview of other Microsoft 365 solutions that, when integrated, further increase productivity.

Real-time updates using SharePoint notifications

Stay informed of changes in various documents and files using SharePoint notifications This way, you receive notifications every time a file or folder important to you is changed. Users can easily set up notifications and alerts in SharePoint for lists, libraries, folders, files, or specific SharePoint rights or groups. The result is fewer situations where important documents or files have changed without the employees who use them daily being aware.

Set up confirmation flows

With Power Automate, you can activate the functionality of confirmation flows in SharePoint, especially for documents containing sensitive information. By creating document confirmation flows, you can smoothly manage document approval. Documents awaiting approval remain hidden until they have successfully gone through the process. This ensures a controlled and secure workflow so that important documents are visible only after all necessary approvals have been obtained.

Using SharePoint workflows to simplify processes

SharePoint-based workflows offer a versatile solution to solve common business problems, from approvals and feedback to digital signatures, task management, and content publication. For example, collecting signatures or requesting document approval requires manual effort but could be easily automated with SharePoint.

Task management and tracking, including forwarding documents and sending reminders, often requires significant additional work. This can be burdensome for you and your colleagues. Using SharePoint workflow templates automates specific tasks. For example, a SharePoint document approval workflow automates the review, tracking, and management of automatic reminders and forwarding during the document collaboration process.

In situations where tasks are delayed or other problems arise, existing workflows generate notifications that keep you informed. This not only reduces the need for constant manual monitoring but also ensures that you are immediately notified of any deviations in the workflow. Overall, SharePoint’s built-in workflows alleviate the burden of manual intervention in repetitive processes.

Using Power Automate in SharePoint

Power Automate, integrated with Microsoft Lists, SharePoint, and OneDrive, allows you to easily create workflows that save work time. Such automated flows help maintain consistency and efficiency in routine tasks. Power Automate extends possibilities even beyond SharePoint, covering various Microsoft 365 services and third-party applications if needed.

Here are several ways you can use Power Automate in SharePoint:

• Data collection: Simplify data collection from Excel sheets, PDF files, and other documents. This speeds up the data acquisition, validation, and report generation process and improves data-driven decision-making.
• Document processing: Power Automate allows you to automatically collect information from forms, PDFs, images, emails, and various data sources. This lets you create and share documents faster.
• Workflow automation: Simplify and automate key steps in work processes. For example, you can automate tasks such as checking inventory, placing orders, filling invoices, and sending information to customers. Automating these routine processes saves valuable time and reduces the volume of lower value-added manual work.
• Automating the flow of critical information: Ensure efficient handling of important documents and business information. Power Automate integrates seamlessly with SharePoint, offering numerous connections and “plugs.” This simplifies activities such as obtaining email attachments, monitoring social media updates, managing tasks, and much more. Additionally, you can automatically save and share this information with your colleagues, regardless of their location.
• Automating manual and external party-related processes: Simplify processes that involve extra steps, such as data verification, sales information validation, and other workflows. Use the opportunities arising from SharePoint tools and various extensions to increase the accuracy and efficiency of task execution.
• Automating repetitive work processes: Maximize your workday and reduce the time spent on activities from hours to minutes. Power Automate allows you to automate tasks such as sending emails, creating tasks in Planner, and sending messages to the team. This not only saves time but also ensures that routine processes operate consistently.

Joined forces with Microsoft Teams

SharePoint’s integration with Microsoft Teams opens up even more possibilities for collaboration automation. Create automated channels where activities in SharePoint trigger notifications or updates in Teams, raising team collaboration to a new level.

For example, you can automatically notify a Teams channel when a new document is uploaded to SharePoint, ensuring that relevant team members are informed without separate communication or sending an email.

User-friendly forms and data validation

Use SharePoint and Power Apps to create user-friendly forms. These forms can then be added to SharePoint, automating data entry. Apply validation rules to the data entered to ensure its correctness. Automatically collecting data through customized forms not only reduces errors associated with manual data entry but also improves the overall user experience. This supports the adoption of the Microsoft 365 platform throughout the company.

In summary

To survive in the competitive market, company processes must be efficient. SharePoint is a great tool for achieving this, offering powerful automation features that improve collaboration and productivity. Assess your company’s needs, use SharePoint workflows, and adopt Power Automate for process automation. If it’s not quite clear how, then we’re happy to help you navigate the possibilities— contact us.

We have helped many companies increase efficiency using Microsoft 365 platforms, including SharePoint workflows, Power Automate, and Power Apps. Our goal is to provide tools for more effective business process management and their management. Over 15 years of SharePoint consulting and development experience allows us to offer solutions for tasks of various sizes and complexity.

Regardless of your role in the company, SharePoint Online has something to offer you. For this, we have highlighted some practical uses of SharePoint Online and common pitfalls to avoid.

But what is SharePoint Online?

SharePoint Online, unlike SharePoint 2013 and SharePoint 2017, is part of the Microsoft 365 suite – a cloud-based service intended for businesses of all sizes. It allows teams to collaborate in an efficient and secure environment. From storing documents to managing projects, SharePoint Online offers a variety of functions.
And best of all – it comes FREE with Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

What SharePoint Online is great for?

• • Document management and collaboration: One of the main strengths of SharePoint is a host of useful functionalities that facilitate document handling within a company. It serves as a central place where your team can store, share, and collaboratively work on documents, reducing email and multiple file version confusion. SharePoint Online ensures secure document storage, using Microsoft’s top-level security measures. This means your important business documents are protected against unauthorized access and potential cyber-attacks.
• • Team sites: Create sites tailored to your team or project needs. Each site can be unique or use site templates to create a standard structure for each project. Each site can establish team access, design, links, folder structure, content pages, and much more. Site creation can also be automated. A team site offers a unified environment for sharing team or project information and documents, facilitating easier collaboration, and keeping the team updated with the latest project information.
• • Integration with Office 365: Collaborating with colleagues in Word or Excel stored in SharePoint is convenient and quick, mirroring a SharePoint page or documents in Teams is just a few clicks away, and Forms surveys can be easily added to any SharePoint page. These are just a few examples of the tightly integrated services on the MS 365 platform.
• • Corporate Intranet: SharePoint Online enables the creation of a central platform where employees can find company news, events, employee contacts, view upcoming birthdays, and access other important materials. Thanks to a customizable user interface, every company can create an intranet that reflects their brand and corporate culture.
• • Workflow automation: Say goodbye to manually doing tedious tasks! With PowerAutomate, SharePoint allows for the automation of daily simple workflows, such as document approval or onboarding processes, saving time and reducing errors. Automation can be implemented for each employee’s tasks or create automated processes for the entire company.
• • HR processes management: SharePoint efficiently manages processes such as vacation planning, employee arrivals and departures, and other personnel-related procedures. Employees can easily submit vacation requests, track their vacation balances, and managers can quickly approve or reject these requests, making the whole process smoother and more transparent.
• • Quality management: SharePoint Online is particularly useful for companies that must adhere to ISO standards or other quality management requirements. SharePoint makes it easy to store and manage quality manuals, procedures, ISO documents, and other quality-related documents. Thanks to the precise application of access rights in SharePoint, only the right people have access to the right important documents, ensuring compliance and easy access to necessary information.

This list is far from exhaustive but gives a little insight into how the SharePoint Online platform can be implemented in a company.

What SharePoint Online is not great for?

• Replacement for a database system: Although SharePoint is excellent for managing various types of information, it does not replace a database system. SharePoint lists can store information like tables and relate tables to each other, but it is not a relational database and is not suitable for large data volumes.
• • Complex project management: For complex project management needs, a better choice might be specialized software – like Microsoft Project. SharePoint is well-suited for simple to medium complexity project tracking but may not suffice for complex project management.
• • For a homepage or external web: SharePoint Online is primarily intended for internal company use and is not a good choice as a platform for a public homepage or external web. While SharePoint allows creating web pages, it is not intended for complex, high-traffic public websites where advanced SEO features and customized user experiences are necessary. Simpler external web pages can be created using PowerApps Pages.
• • Warehouse system or ERP: SharePoint Online is not intended for warehouse management and logistics. Although it allows for document management and data storage, it lacks specific functions necessary for efficient warehouse management, such as inventory tracking, shipment tracking, or complex logistics management.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome them

• • Not knowing how to start: Implementing SharePoint Online might initially seem daunting, especially without prior experience with similar platforms. Like with anything, it is recommended to start with a goal – what SharePoint will be used for? Often the initial plan includes everything – intranet, document management, CRM, etc. Then the plan should be divided into stages, and each stage further detailed. Certainly, involving an external specialist to help the team better understand the system and more clearly turn the goal into a concrete action plan can be helpful.
• • Lack of knowledge about system capabilities and fear of breaking something: Ignorance about the capabilities and functions of SharePoint Online can cause fear of misusing the system or “breaking something.” To address this concern, it is important to involve an external SharePoint expert and organize thorough trainings or workshops focused on the system’s capabilities and best practices. Often, there is a fear that an external expert is a major expense for the company – but in practice, the cost of initially doing it yourself and later reaching the point where external help is essential turns out to be much greater.
• • Employee adaptation: Introducing a new tool can be challenging and create resistance among people. Our recommendation is always to start with a small group of people who are curious and enthusiastic about trying new solutions. If a test group of people is already ‘on board,’ then later they also remain support persons for the rest of the collective, from whom to seek advice and encouragement.
• • Management: Establish clear guidelines on how SharePoint should be used in your organization to avoid misuse or information overload. Creating guides and support materials that help users understand and effectively use the system should certainly be considered. Keep guides and support materials using the SharePoint platform itself.

SharePoint Online is a versatile tool that significantly improves your company’s collaboration and efficiency. However, it is important to understand its capabilities, potential limitations, and follow best practices to get the most out of it.

Do you need more guidance or want to explore how SharePoint Online fits into your company? Definitely contact us, and we’ll make your business operations smoother and more efficient!

Is Data Backup Necessary?

Yes, it is because there is a direct relation to money and expenses, whether data loss is due to theft, force majeure, or just a cup of coffee accidentally spilled on the computer.

Every data loss incurs direct and indirect costs. If you have a backup, you can easily restore the data; otherwise, the data is permanently lost. Below, you’ll find an overview of various common causes of data loss.

Is Your (Company’s) Data Backed Up?

You might answer “yes” thinking Microsoft handles it because you are a Microsoft 365 user. The answer is “no”, because a SaaS (Software as a Service) provider like Microsoft is responsible for ensuring that the tools and infrastructure enabling their use are operational and secure.

Data and its security are your responsibility. According to Microsoft’s Shared Responsibility Model, data management and the protection of business-critical data are the user or client’s responsibility.

Read more on this topic here.

Is Using OneDrive and Archiving Files Enough?

It’s important to remember that while many built-in functionalities of Microsoft 365 give the impression of data backup, it’s not that simple.

Microsoft OneDrive does keep a copy of user files in Microsoft’s cloud, but it is not a data backup. If a user file is deleted or damaged by malware, this will be reflected in OneDrive through automatic synchronization. Thus, the original files can no longer be restored because they no longer exist or are encrypted.

The definition of data backup states that a backup is a copy kept separately in a different location, which can be used to restore data quickly and comfortably, if needed. If a backup exists, data can be restored – without it, data is permanently lost.

If you want to read more about how responsibility is divided between you and Microsoft, you can do so HERE.

Remember: Your data is your responsibility.

Regardless of the type of deployment, you always have responsibility for the following components:

• Data
• Endpoints
• Account
• Access management

Võta meiega ühendust, hea meelega räägime Sulle lahendustest ja võimalustest lähemalt.

Why is Data Backup Important?

Next, we introduce seven critical reasons why data should be backed up. What are these unintentional or intentional situations that can cause data loss and the associated costs?

• Mistaken deletion: This is the most common cause of data loss in Microsoft 365. Whether it happened intentionally or unintentionally, the data is deleted across the network. Having a backup allows for the restoration of an Exchange or Microsoft 365 user and data on the server.

• Discrepancies and shortcomings in data retention policies: Microsoft 365’s retention policies are designed to help organizations and companies meet the requirements arising from legislation, standards, and internal agreements; they are not backups. Following and managing all kinds of retention policies is a complex task. Data backup is a way of retaining data that is secure and stored in a separate storage location, enabling quick data restoration when needed.

• Internal security risks: When talking about business risks, external risks and data protection against them are often considered. However, many companies also face internal security risks. This issue is actually more current than is often assumed. The right backup solution significantly reduces possible risks and damages of data loss and destruction.

• External security risks: Malware is constantly evolving, and criminals find new ways to access company data. Often, a cyberattack leads to massive encryption of company data. Data backup allows, in such cases, to restore data to the state before the attack.

• Legal requirements and compliance: Although Microsoft 365 has built-in functionalities (e.g., eDiscovery), third-party backup solutions are specifically designed for this purpose. They allow searching and finding necessary data from the backup and restoring required data quickly to ensure compliance with all requirements.

• Mailbox management and migration: Migrating mailboxes to the MS365 environment and managing them in hybrid environments also requires careful data backup, regardless of the data’s original location.

• Teams data structure: The architecture for storing data in Microsoft Teams is much more complex than we might think. This means that data in Teams is not only stored in the app itself but also in other applications such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive. In this context, adequate protection of data is extremely important.

How Can I Protect My Data?

There are several ways, first, you can find solutions and opportunities to have the data properly backed up yourself. Another option is to use an experienced partner who has a constant overview of solutions offered on the market, has tested and used them, and can recommend the one that suits your needs.

At ShareCloud, we have extensive experience with various service providers and have currently selected the following: VeeAm and N-Able.

Contact us, and we would be happy to discuss the solutions and opportunities in more detail.