As the speed of innovation accelerates, the time required to move from an idea to execution is getting smaller. If businesses want to evolve with the rapid pace of innovation, they must work to increase efficiency with technology wherever possible. Microsoft SharePoint is the tool that's helping organizations do just that.

While there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to leveraging SharePoint (and the ability to right-size the solution to meet an organization's specific needs is one of its biggest draws), there are several key use cases in which every organization can benefit from using SharePoint to reduce the time it takes to perform routine tasks and ultimately drive greater business value.

Six Ways Companies Are Using SharePoint to Improve Collaboration and Save Time

1) Information Publishing

• Communication you can quickly and securely share company-wide or limit to targeted groups.

2) Personal Notetaking, Organization, and Document Storage

• Need a centralized place to take notes, store your docs, and organize your info? You can do that in SharePoint and keep it private and secure, eliminating the need for multiple network drives.

3) Real-Time Document Sharing and Collaboration

• No more saving multiple versions and attaching to emails and different drives, and then trying to figure out which one is the last version. With SharePoint, you can review and live-edit documents independently or in collaboration with your team in one place.

4) Community Development

• SharePoint is also frequently used as a virtual meeting place for communities to collaborate and plan. For example, BDO Digital's Data Analytic Community “meets” via their SharePoint page to chat via discussion boards, share project info, and plan trainings and outings.

5) Task Lists and Assignments

• Teams can have more visibility and accountability by sharing task and assignment checklists on SharePoint, providing a more consistent method of communicating expectations and project management tracking.

6) Instant Communication and Virtual Meetings

• Companies are sharing live documents during meetings (in-house or remotely) making collaboration more efficient.

Sustaining and maximizing the return on value from SharePoint continues to be a challenge. Many organizations invest up to $200K for a SharePoint deployment, only to see adoption fall by the wayside soon after launch.

SharePoint Managed Services allows your organization access to dedicated SharePoint experts to help you figure out how to identify the features that will be the most useful to your team overall. As the platform evolves with your needs, BDO Digital will help you customize your SharePoint solution to focus on your business, your users, and your success.