Office 365 presents a unique value proposition for organizations by offering affordable data storage and high-performance enterprise content management functions that replace older file share systems. This opens new opportunities for business growth based on an efficient, cost-effective cloud environment.
For SharePoint Online users, for instance, the cloud-based Office 365 makes it possible to grow site collections in ways that didn’t exist before, with no limit to the number of site collections you may have. When using SharePoint on-premises for content management, by contrast, you have to be very cognizant of how content is distributed per site collection and the growth of your site collection, making sure that you have the hardware and infrastructure to support the platform and back up the data.
Moving your content management to the cloud is an attractive proposition in many different ways. Here are four factors organizations need to consider before making the move.
- Improved productivity and findability: A major factor in moving content to the cloud is the opportunity to reorganize your content from a file share structure to a more web-based document management system. This is a large leap for the average user accustomed to an Explorer view with folders. The problem with a traditional file-share structure is that only those who authored and saved the content know where it’s stored. Folders aren’t easily searchable, and because they lack versioning and coauthoring features, they work poorly as collaboration tools.Rethinking the overall organization and information architecture at this juncture yields time savings and productivity gains due to improved findability. Be aware that using SharePoint Online as a file share replacement is likely to require significant training and effort. This upfront effort, however, is vital to getting the most from cloud-based content management. Simply moving file share folders directly into a SharePoint document library isn’t taking advantage of today’s flatter structure, metadata-driven organization and improved enterprise search.
- Cost savings: File shares require a lot of storage space, and tend to keep growing. When digital assets are the bread and butter of your organization, storing and maintaining that intellectual property onsite becomes very costly. In comparison, using the cloud for content management is very attractive. Some cloud storage options offer flat fee subscriptions on a per-user basis. Office 365 enterprise plans include One Drive for Business, which comes with 50 gigabytes of space per user.
- System uptime: When using any cloud platform for infrastructure or enterprise content management, your access depends on the availability of the system. Microsoft’s Office 365 service-level agreements (SLAs) guarantee 99.98 percent availability, which is more than enough to feel confident about your access. Unlike most on-premises solutions, the people maintaining this cloud platform designed and built it, and run it from the some of the world’s most sophisticated data centers.
- Infrastructure challenges: Even when your cloud provider offers excellent uptime, your access depends on your internet connectivity. Your internet service provider needs to ensure your people have a good connection and the right amount of bandwidth so that workers are able to access your content management systems and business assets. If you’re concerned about maintaining access, consider how often you’ve encountered problems with an on-premises installation. An on-premises system does not guarantee 100-percent uptime.
In the end, companies have a great opportunity to replace their file share systems with SharePoint Online and Office 365. This transition requires investing in roadmap planning and change management but many organizations find the overall value proposition so appealing that they are willing to make this change. Compared to an on-premises solution, moving to the cloud is a great way for organizations to cut infrastructure costs while maintaining current digital assets, adding capabilities as well as planning ahead for future growth.
Learn more about how to leverage today’s enterprise content management tools by contacting Portal Solutions.
