A basic guide to SharePoint governance

Introduction

A successful deployment of any software is incomplete without a proper governance objective, plan, and implementation. This is particularly true with previous versions of SharePoint which were on-premise as well as SharePoint Online as part of Microsoft 365. Surprisingly, it is often overlooked by a large number of organizations. Defining governance is not easy, however, overlooking it is not an answer either. Here’s why:

SharePoint Online and its collaboration impact are defined by end-users participation which also means how does IT enable them to have control. Without any form of governance in place, it soon becomes the wild wild west of content sprawl, duplications, and permission hell. It then becomes difficult for SharePoint administrators to impose or maintain any sense of order in the environment.

Furthermore, SharePoint has many touchpoints with other Microsoft 365 applications and services. Without defining a set of rules and guidelines, users would not know how to interact with such services which lead to potential anarchy and security issues. Also, a rapid increase in the number of users and growing digital footprint obstruct an efficient management of SharePoint collaboration environment.

Understanding SharePoint governance

SharePoint Online governance is all about a defined set of rules, procedures, processes and responsibilities that governs files, servers and IT teams to achieve the desired business objectives. Hence, it helps an organization to define roles and responsibilities to individuals and establish a content structure by configuring proper naming schemes, permissions and access, etc.

Further in this blog, we will discuss a few tips on how to use SharePoint governance so that you can identify and quantify the real ROI in it. Let’s begin.

Tip #1: Manage information using SharePoint governance

To maximize information usability and manageability, you need to assess your organization’s information architecture that determines how the information such as documents, webpages, lists and data are organized and presented to the users. Using governance, you can reform information architecture and enhance business effectiveness by:

• Using metadata for an easier data search and comparison of content.
• Managing various versions to ensure that you know which is the authoritative version of a document.
• Storing information properly so decision-makers can find and rely on the right data.
• Designing site navigation so that users can easily traverse to important sites and information.
• Defining a publishing strategy to control the design of the site and display of the content.
• Structuring site permissions and audiences for managing access to content.
• Managing libraries by configuring the content organizer to route documents
• Using workflows and approval for site pages where official documentation is stored

Tip #2: Manage applications in SharePoint governance

Using SharePoint governance, you can create policy to allow customization in your applications and set processes for managing those applications. For effective and manageable applications in your organization, consider the following:

• Customization policy – Some prominent customizable features available in SharePoint available are business intelligence, forms, workflow, and content management. As customization can introduce risks to the stability, maintenance, and security of your environment, you should develop a customization policy while controlling its scope.
• Lifecycle management – Manage applications throughout their lifecycle by following best practices and keep your environments in sync.
• Branding – A formal set of branding policies helps ensure that corporate style is maintained consistently across sites by using enterprise imagery, fonts, themes, and other design elements for a cohesive look and easier development.
• Solutions or apps for SharePoint – As SharePoint offers a new development model based on apps, you should decide whether a solution or an app for SharePoint would be the best choice for specific customization.

Tip #3: Go for automation

A far more effective and simple option to implement governance in SharePoint is automation. A comprehensive automation platform such as TeamsHub by Cyclotron that extends M365 capabilities enables businesses to incorporate SharePoint into workflows with disparate applications across their network. Using TeamsHub by Cyclotron, you can automate all SharePoint and IT processes on one single platform.

Let us have a quick look at how TeamsHub by Cyclotron streamlines SharePoint administration and make it effortless for you:

• No need of complex PowerShell programming. SharePoint automation is code-free.
• Manage permissions for content creation and access controls for your sites and subsites
• Manage SharePoint sites, groups and users including guests or external collaborators
• Manage the lifecycle of sites for a better organization using automated expiration policies
• Grab smart insights into users and activities that happen across SharePoint sites
• Track and manage information sharing between different users or parties
• Elevate security and protection of information using AIP (Azure Information Protection), DLP (Data Loss Prevention) policies to prevent misuse or accidental leakage of information.

Additionally, TeamsHub by Cyclotron offers custom development solutions for SharePoint governance. If you want to learn more about how to automate SharePoint governance using TeamsHub by Cyclotron, please visit https://teamshub.io or contact sales@cyclotrongroup.com to request a demo