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Microsoft SharePoint Premium: A complete guide

Read time: 8 minutes

Summary: SharePoint is a top-quality platform for data management and collaboration but with the rise of AI, Microsoft is taking steps forward to innovate and upgrade SharePoint to make it an AI-integrated platform: SharePoint Premium. With easy document management to advanced content analysis in full-automated mode, SharePoint Premium is changing the lives of businesses. Moreover, we will introduce a quality and reliable tool, Kernel Migration for SharePoint for all your SharePoint migration needs.

Since its release, SharePoint has transformed from a simple document management platform and storage system to an all-in-one cloud-based content management platform. This is truly an example of Microsoft’s full commitment to creativity and innovation. In particular, they are making use of the power of Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the fullest. The latest evolution, SharePoint Premium, represents an important point in this digital journey.

AI plays a huge part in boosting the capabilities of SharePoint. It provides intelligent automation and restructures the organization and management of content. The processing of documents becomes more effective and accurate. Advanced content analysis, automatic tagging, sophisticated governance tools, etc. are all part of SharePoint Premium’s latest AI-powered features.

Besides raising productivity, these functions also guarantee compliance and security. They make SharePoint Premium a true one-stop solution for modern content management. This incorporation of the AI with SharePoint is an enormous step forward, giving businesses unprecedented ability to manage their content.

Key features of SharePoint Premium

Content experiences and solutions

SharePoint Premium redefines content management with enriched content experiences and solutions. Their goal is to increase the productivity of employees by enabling smooth cooperation across a range of file types. It helps companies to keep their content fresh and well placed, in turn improving business operations.

These capabilities are all made possible by AI-driven optimization of critical business document processes such as contracts, invoices and statements of work (SOWs), combined with high levels of security and workflow management.

  1. Employee productivity enhancement
  2. The user-friendly interface makes it easy for employees to interact with the content on SharePoint Premium. Its platform effortlessly integrates Microsoft 365 tools such as Teams & OneDrive. Thus, employees can easily find the documents they need to stay on schedule. With this integration, assisted by AI capabilities, employees can concentrate in a better way with more focus.

  3. Business process improvements
  4. SharePoint Premium facilitates the standardization of business processes. Through automating the handling and processing of documents, it saves time in tedious data entry work as well. This automation even extends to the management of contracts, invoices and other such important business documents and keeps both accuracy and consistency throughout all major operations. Furthermore, the platform can integrate into different Microsoft 365 products to speed up process efficiency.

  5. AI integration in document management
  6. A vital part of SharePoint Premium is the integration with AI, especially in SharePoint document management. Intelligent content analysis is just one of the many Artificial Intelligence functions in SharePoint Premium. This is an extraordinary feature for dealing with large amounts of content, so that documents are easily located and retrieved.

Content processing

AI-assisted automation makes content processing in SharePoint Premium more refined. This refers to using AI to build, classify, and tag documents, thereby it leads to organized content. The automation, driven by AI makes sure content is prepared effectively for use with Microsoft 365 Copilot. It boosts productivity and creativity in creating and managing the content itself.

  1. Preparing content for Microsoft 365 Copilot
  2. SharePoint Premium lets users easily design and present content in a manner that is convenient to access, usable by the AI assistant to support Microsoft 365 Copilot. Preparing for Copilot will involve tagging and classifying content, making it easier to retrieve information when needed. This integration represents a step toward an interactive and intelligent digital workplace.

Content Governance

Management of content lifecycle, access control and security are all parts of SharePoint Premium’s content governance. Tools which actively address problems such as over-sharing and content scatter are provided by the platform. With the SharePoint Premium content lifecycle, users can ensure that their content is up-to-date and compliant to the requirements.

  1. Managing content lifecycle
  2. The content lifecycle in SharePoint Premium includes the creation of content, its storage and retrieval, archiving or disposal. The platform provides tools to automate many aspects of this lifecycle so that content is managed efficiently and in compliance with organizational policies and regulations.

  3. Access control and security measures
  4. Security is a very important aspect of SharePoint Premium, and it includes strict access control functions to protect confidential information. Administrators can determine which users have access to specific content, thereby allowing only authorized people to view or edit sensitive documents. This grade of security is necessary to protect the integrity and confidentiality of organizational information.

SharePoint Today

  1. Collaboration, information, and delivery capabilities
  2. Today’s SharePoint is a hub of collaboration, information dissemination and content delivery.

    • It allows dynamic site generation within Microsoft Teams, which creates a collaborative space.
    • SharePoint facilitates secure file sharing and personalized news distribution for better internal communication.
    • Its ability to manage and store both collaborative and transactional content on a scalable cloud platform is integral to its functionality, smoothly integrating across Microsoft 365.
  3. Integration with Microsoft 365 ecosystem
  4. The current capabilities of SharePoint are integrally connected with its integration into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

    • OneDrive, Teams, and other Microsoft 365 applications are powered by it.
    • With this integration, the suite provides top experience with data and resources available at your fingertips. This boosts productivity and simplifies work processes.
  5. Developer capabilities and extensibility
  6. Today, SharePoint gives robust developer capabilities and extensibility. It provides support for many developer tools, such as Power Platform, Microsoft Graph APIs and SharePoint Framework (SPFx).

    • With these tools, users can create their own applications and solutions outside the scope of SharePoint’s basic offerings.
    • This flexibility helps SharePoint to fill diverse business needs and makes it an unparalleled platform for organizations of all sizes.

Innovations in SharePoint Premium

  1. Better file viewer and business documents app
  2. In addition, SharePoint Premium offers an advanced file viewer capable of recognizing over 400 types. It provides the ability to annotate and collaborate notes on a wide variety of documents. The Teams app for Business Documents is another innovation. As a unified display, it simplifies workflows and offers an intermediate application environment within the familiar environment of most users.

  3. AI-driven contract management and eSignature
  4. By using AI, SharePoint Premium transforms contract management. It features an AI-driven rules deviation engine for contract comparison and a clause analyzer for risk assessment. The integration of SharePoint eSignature streamlines the approval process, keeping sensitive information within the Microsoft 365 trust boundary.

  5. Document portal for external collaboration
  6. The Document Portal in SharePoint Premium supports external collaboration. It is possible for organizations to set up externally accessible sites, spreading the brand image and permitting safe collaboration with shareholders, suppliers or customers on documents. This feature takes SharePoint ‘s capabilities to the next level, moving it beyond an internal tool and making use of its power in all types of business ecosystem.

Storage and backup solutions

Microsoft 365 Archive for cost-effective storage

  1. SharePoint Premium includes Microsoft 365 Archive, which provides economical storage.
    • It allows organizations to control storage costs while maintaining information architecture.
    • This feature assists in the archiving of older sites and content, preserving their full richness, including versions, metadata, and security.
    • Archived content is removed from direct user access but remains searchable and compliant with retention policies and provides a balance between accessibility and cost efficiency.

    Microsoft 365 Backup for data protection

  2. Microsoft 365 Backup is a key aspect of SharePoint Premium ‘s data protection. It offers strong backup functions, protecting important data against threats such as ransomware attacks.
    • This data backup solution protects against ransomware attacks and guarantees fast, and scalable recovery to maintain the integrity of critical business data.
    • With Microsoft 365 Backup available with new features in the first half of 2023, organizations can confidently safeguard their data within the SharePoint ecosystem.

    Availability and licensing

  3. Current and future availability
  4. SharePoint Premium is available now, with a suite of services comprising document processing; content assembly; OCR, eSignature, etc. Initially part of the Syntex brand, these services are present as a pay-as-you-go basis for all the Microsoft 365 plans. These services will come to SharePoint Premium by Q4 2024, with additional functions and expected improvements.

    Licensing models and pricing

  5. SharePoint Premium will have 2 types of licensing models.
    • The first model is a pay-as-you-go option that covers services namely document processing, eSignature and AI-driven features, available to most Microsoft 365 plans.
    • The second model is seat-licensed services that includes the new Business Documents app as well as an improved file viewer, with pricing to be announced at general availability in 2024.

With this dual-model approach, organizations have some flexibility in choosing the model that fits their needs and budget

Conclusion and future outlook

Modern content management has been powerfully influenced by SharePoint Premium, which integrates high-end AI functions; makes collaboration more convenient and efficient; simplifies document processing and governance. The role it plays in changing business processes and raising productivity is clear for all to see. This brings a new era of digital workplace solutions.

As for the future, SharePoint Premium will add more functions. It will incorporate even more AI integration and improve user experience. These upcoming developments will ensure the platform’s efficiency and flexibility, keeping up with business needs as they change.

For organizations planning to fix any issues with SharePoint migration, Kernel Migration for SharePoint is highly recommended. This utility provides an integrated, efficient solution to all SharePoint content migration needs and makes the transition smooth. Go for the trial version today.