So you've got your new SharePoint site up and running? Congratulations! SharePoint is capable of just about anything under the sun, from document management to task management to business process automation, so I gather you've honed in on the most important features and developed them into your site, either with the help of one of our expert SharePoint Developers here at KGC Solutions, an in-house Developer, or you've tackled the beast on your own! However you got here, it should feel good. Take a second to revel in it, then meet me in the next paragraph.
So what now? Well, I've compiled a few SharePoint site management tips that you'll want to keep in mind as time moves in the forward direction, assuming that will be the case most of the time.
1) Updates
One could say Microsoft is a fairly large company and they do a fair amount of work. That includes transforming feedback from its user-base into real features. To have gotten here in the first place, it's safe to say you're at the very least adaptable in the face of a changing tech world. Some of the updates you'll love, and others you may loathe. Everyone is different - so it goes. Either way, you'll want to stay on top of updates, which are generally released once per month, and most of the time they consist of important security enhancements and minor changes to a SharePoint feature or tool (if any).
If you're running SharePoint 'on-the-premises', your IT team or SharePoint Administrator will need to apply the updates manually for all users. Fortunately, this does give an element of control; they'll just need to keep track of when the updates are coming out. See this website for the latest SharePoint Server 2019, SharePoint Server 2016, SharePoint 2013, and SharePoint 2010 updates: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/sharepoint-updates
If you're on SharePoint Online and Office 365, you're using the latest and greatest, and your updates happen automatically. Easy, peasy. Just make sure to keep track of what's changing, either by going to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters= or setting up an automatic email notification in your subscription settings.
2) Handling internal SharePoint site change requests
Now that your SharePoint site has "Gone Live", everything will work perfectly and you'll never want to change a thing. It will solve all of the internal process qualms you've ever had, and automatically! Sit back and let SharePoint run the business while you take that 2-month vacation to Aruba. Finally, innovation has given us the freedom we've been seeking all along.
Just kidding. SharePoint is pretty awesome, and after Go-Live it will look and perform just like you built it to, but your users will want to change stuff from time to time. Let's say the Director of Human Resources would like a new form built for the on-boarding process. You'll want to implement a consistent process for submitting and approving requests. Our clients often decide to submit SharePoint requests through their company's internal Help Desk system. You can also use a task management system like Planner in Office 365. Make sure to designate a point person to handle those requests.
3) How do I.....????
Here at KGC Solutions, it is always our goal to give our clients the tools they need to manage their SharePoint site on their own when development is complete. We help them establish who the owners of the site will be, and provide them with the training they'll need to maintain the system. We also provide customized how-to documentation that they can reference as time continues to move in that general forward direction. We ain't gonna leave ya hangin', but you'll want some go-to resources handy when you have a quick question:
- Microsoft Technet: https://technet.microsoft.com , for fancy IT questions
- Microsoft Developer Network https://msdn.microsoft.com , for Developer training resources
- Open a Microsoft support request ticket through us if we are your Partner of Record on your Office 365 subscription.
- Open a Microsoft support request ticket by going to support.microsoft.com and signing in.
I realize these are very basic tips and it can get complicated. If your company could use a training session on SharePoint site management best practices, feel free to send us a message here, call, or email our Solutions Specialist (that's me!) and we'll set up a time to discuss your situation and find a solution that fits your needs.
Happy intranetting!
