Best Essentials About SharePoint Integration
SharePoint has an adoption rate of 67%.
73% of its users are highly satisfied with its use in the first year itself.
SharePoint serves as a collaborative platform for managing and sharing documents, information, and different kinds of resources.
Why is SharePoint so popular?
It is widely used by companies for website creation, documentation management, for creating intranet portals, workflow automation, integration, security, and compliance.
Those enterprises that were earlier using file servers, legacy intranet sites, depending on email collaboration, manual workflows, legacy content management systems, project management tools, and older kinds of document management systems have all switched to SharePoint or are in the process.
To make the most of SharePoint, integrating it with the already available systems is a way to move ahead. Every company used some other system before SharePoint, and some of them can really integrate well with SharePoint.
While others (outdated custom applications, old mainframe systems, non-standard databases, legacy CMS, and unsupported software) can’t and might need complete replacement.
Figure 1: Reasons why some kinds of legacy systems cannot integrate with SharePoint
Why is SharePoint integration slowly taking over?
Almost 80% of Fortune 500 companies prefer to use SharePoint.
Also, there are several steaming features arising out of SharePoint integration that make people want it more.
Features of SharePoint Integration
-
Flawless Office Integrations
Are you already using MS Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, or Excel?
If you are, then integrating SharePoint is the next best thing to pursue.
Users can open, edit, and save documents within SharePoint’s environment easily.
In this way, organizations can promote a smooth workflow.
-
Ease of Power Platform Integrations
Those who are already using Power Apps, Power Automate, or Power BI can also integrate SharePoint.
Creating custom apps, automating workflows, and generating interactive reports as well as dashboards are some of the uses of Power Platform and SharePoint integration.
-
Increased Collaborations
Collaborating with documents and projects in real-time becomes possible with SharePoint’s integration with Microsoft Teams.
With this combination, users can share documents with other users, co-author them, hold discussions, manage tasks, and connect with each other anytime.
-
Easy Third-Party Integrations
We are tackling third-party integration with SharePoint every day. Integrations with SalesForce, SAP, or other CRM or ERP platforms are much easier to pursue now.
Data centralization and business process improvement are easily possible with such third-party integration.
-
Unified Experiences
Creating, sharing, collaborating, and editing documents in real-time has become so easy with SharePoint that integration of old with SharePoint has turned out to be an obvious choice.
After editing documents, being able to synchronize them across integrated platforms is what people love about SharePoint.
-
Enhanced Document Management & Security
Document management, access control, and security enhancements are possible with SharePoint integration. Secure storage of documents and effective management of accesses are possible very well with SharePoint.
But benefiting from this integration and use of its features successfully would mean your software must have some pre-requisites.
Software Requirements for SharePoint Integration
When trying to integrate different software applications with SharePoint, you will need the following:
-
For SharePoint versions
SharePoint Online, SharePoint Server 2019, SharePoint Server 2016
-
On-premises operating system installations
A Windows server operating system.
For SharePoint Server 2019, Windows Server 2016 is necessary.
-
Server Requirements
SQL server for database requirements.
SQL Server 2016 or later for SharePoint Server 2019.
-
For Web Browsers
A modern web browser is necessary.
Supported Browsers: MS Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari.
-
Office Applications
The latest MS Office version is required.
-
Power Platform
Services like Power Automate, Power Apps, and Power BI with SharePoint need to be appropriately configured and licensed.
-
Third-Party Connectors
Salesforce, SAP, and other 3rd party software require connectors and middleware.
Which third-party software can be integrated with SharePoint for improved business value?
A question we need to understand if we are willing to carry out integrations suitably with SharePoint.
Also, we will try to find out which third-party software integrates better with SharePoint in the next segment to generate an idea about what they can help companies with and in what way.
The Benefits of Different Kinds of SharePoint Integration
Different SharePoint integration platforms that will add immense business value include:
-
MS Teams
Integrating MS Teams with SharePoint can ease your life.
Benefits of SharePoint and MS Teams Integration
- Sharing and co-authoring documents in real-time is possible with this collaboration.
- Conducting discussions and meetings can become easier.
- Collaborating on projects will become far more feasible.
-
Yammer
Yammer is a social networking platform.
Recently, Yammer evolved into MS Viva Engage.
It offers new leadership features, helps with new events, scatters knowledge, and generates decent analytics.
Benefits of Integrating Yammer with SharePoint
- This integration will help improve internal communication scopes.
- Sharing updates, collaborating on projects, and engaging in discussions becomes easier with this integration.
-
CRM Systems (Dynamics 365, Salesforce)
It is a cloud-based CRM software company.
It helps with several CRM functions.
Dynamics 365 is our own product and helps integrate sales, customer service, field services, operations, finance, marketing, and project service automations.
Benefits of CRM systems and SharePoint integration
- With this integration, managing the sales and marketing process becomes even more efficient.
- Through this integration, it is possible to integrate CRM data automatically into different templates and centralized document storage.
Finance, HR & ERP Systems (Workday, SAP, Oracle)
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and HR systems help align a lot of different functionalities.
Using SharePoint with these kinds of systems better fortifies and streamlines data and information.
Benefits of integrations
- It helps centralize data.
- With it, automating workflows becomes possible.
- Such systems reduce manual effort.
- Integration helps improve accuracy.
IT & HR Support (Zendesk, Jira, ServiceNow)
SharePoint integration with IT & HR support apps help provide improved IT and HR support.
Benefits of integrating these systems
- Supports processes when integrated with SharePoint and helps centralize ticket management.
- It also improves the response times of different HR & finance related activities.
Power Platform (Power BI, Power Automate, Power Apps)
Power Platform is Microsoft’s very own, and with its help, there are a lot of process and workflow streamlining possibilities available.
What are the benefits of such an integration?
- It helps create customized business applications.
- Power Platform can help automate workflows.
- With it, dashboards can become more interactive.
- Valuable insights and improved efficiency are possible with such integrations.
Meeting Room Booking Systems (Condeco)
Such systems are used for streamlining the booking systems and processes for rooms within and outside organizations.
Benefits of such integrations
- Such an integration will simplify the booking process for meeting rooms.
- It will help manage resources better.
- Overall organizational efficiency will improve.
Bots and AI Tools
SharePoint integration with bots is often attempted to improve the efficiency of these systems.
Benefits of Integration
- It helps automate routine tasks.
- With SharePoint, instant support is possible.
- Improving user experience is also targeted.
Uses of SharePoint integration
SharePoint integration can offer several different uses to users.
Here are some of its uses that have impacted those who have integrated SharePoint with different software and applications.
Apart from these uses, there are several other uses of it which have been previously discussed in a different light.
- Centralization of data allows better access and management, thereby improving data consistency and accessibility.
- Automating approval processes, notifications, and data synchronization is suitably possible.
- Apart from all of it, enhanced collaboration is also feasible.
How can Evolvous be your best Business Partner?
SharePoint integration can transform the way you have been pursuing your business needs to date.
The future is an altogether different place, and Evolvous is every day trying to prevent enterprises from moving into an uncertain future.
Taking help from us can alter your vision for the future, and it will benefit your understanding of what to expect in the coming times.
Our experience allows us to understand the integration process better.
Being in this industry for so long, we have had the opportunity to work with different industries across sectors.
As we have been in the business for a long time, we have the required skillsets and talent to carry out these necessary integration processes.
Do you want to understand how we would be able to help you better with your integrations?
How can we make you future-ready and technologically competent?
=====
Plus read:
