SharePoint is available as the cloud service SharePoint Online, which is part of Microsoft 365, and as SharePoint Server for operation in your own data center. In small and medium-sized companies, SharePoint Online often replaces the classic network drives on the file server. Many employees use SharePoint every day without knowing it, because behind every team in Microsoft Teams there is a SharePoint site.
How SharePoint is structured
- Sites: Team sites are used for collaboration within a group and are usually linked to a team. Communication sites are suitable for intranet pages that many people read and few edit.
- Document libraries: This is where the files are stored. Libraries offer version history, real-time co-authoring and additional columns (metadata) that can be used for filtering and sorting.
- Lists: structured entries similar to a table, for example for inventory, requests or appointments.
- Permissions: Access rights apply at the level of the site, the library, a folder or a file, and are inherited downward by default.
- Synchronization and search: Via the OneDrive client, libraries appear in File Explorer. Search finds content across all sites a person has permission for.
Typical examples
- Department drives are transferred from the file server to SharePoint libraries.
- An intranet bundles news, policies and forms in one place.
- Contracts go through an approval process that is automated with Power Automate.
What companies should keep in mind
- Plan the structure: Do not copy existing folder trees one to one. Very deep structures and long paths cause problems with synchronization and editing.
- Assign permissions via groups: Rights for individuals and broken inheritance quickly make the environment confusing.
- Limit external sharing: Define whether links for anyone are allowed and how long they remain valid.
- Clarify backup: The recycle bin and version history help with small mistakes, but they do not replace a well-thought-out backup and recovery approach.
- Clean up before introducing AI: Assistants such as Microsoft Copilot find everything a person has access to. Overly broad permissions can therefore lead to confidential content appearing in answers.
How it differs
OneDrive is intended for personal work files, SharePoint for shared content of a team or the entire company. Technically, OneDrive in business use is built on the same platform.
View cloud expertise