SharePoint 2019

SharePoint 2019 is a platform for knowledge and document management. Developed by Microsoft, SharePoint is used as a framework for setting up a website, which serves for information sharing and online collaboration within a group or organisation. This allows employees anywhere to collaborate securely, productively and efficiently at any time and on any device. 

What is SharePoint?

SharePoint is the ideal solution for organising, managing and streamlining all knowledge, information and processes within an organisation. Using interactive team sites, files, data, news or other information can be created per department or team. But it is also possible to organise, share and edit. SharePoint is usually integrated with other Microsoft applications. For example, it forms the basis for document management in Microsoft Teams. Furthermore, it is also possible to link with Power Automate and Power Apps, allowing all kinds of tasks and business processes to be automated in SharePoint.

An important concept in SharePoint are the libraries, in which documents are stored. The stored documents are enriched with metadata linked to the document. Libraries can have version control and, in doing so, any digital file can be stored in SharePoint. Other SharePoint functionalities include information sharing, calendars, tasks and surveys.

Why use SharePoint?

Using SharePoint can come in very handy when an organisation or company continues to digitise. After all, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep information accessible, secure, findable, up-to-date and manageable. The old-fashioned file servers with network drives no longer meet the requirements when carrying out contemporary activities. For instance, network drives are not set up when setting up processes, which is currently increasingly important for companies or organisations.

SharePoint is set up as an online DMS (Document Management System). This provides a perfect platform for modern, digital document management. The platform allows the creation of document libraries, lists, workflows and forms. Version management can also be done, as mentioned earlier, and archiving policies can be applied automatically. Furthermore, SharePoint also features personal profiles. Indeed, personal profiles can be added on the intranet, allowing others to see who they are working with, what their function is and what their interests are. This allows the user to search for someone within the company and thereby improves overall communication.

Incidentally, SharePoint is also suitable for an intelligent quality and knowledge management system. In it, business information and processes can be clearly and centrally recorded, managed and secured.

SharePoint Applications

Every company or organisation has its own reasons for choosing or not choosing SharePoint. Below are therefore a number of reasons why companies or organisations use SharePoint.

SharePoint provides a central platform to which employees can easily access information and documents for their work. This way, employees do not have to search for information stored in different places, which can save time.

SharePoint can also help improve collaboration within a company or organisation. This is because documents can be edited in real-time, so what is added or modified can be seen on an instant basis.

Furthermore, SharePoint can be used to automate workflow. This means that certain tasks are performed automatically when certain conditions are met. This can lead to an increase in process efficiency and also helps prevent errors.

Key features SharePoint 2019

The previous version of SharePoint, called SharePoint 2016, already came with a number of useful features. The features consisted of: Media Preview, large files, full privacy and an improved mobile experience. With the entry of the improved version SharePoint 2019, a number of features have been added. The most important features will be explained below:

Improved support for business processes

Businesses or organisations trust SharePoint as a tool to support collaboration, business process automation and customised business applications. Moving complex workloads or other files to the Cloud can be very chaotic. SharePoint 2019 features process automation and form technologies, such as PowerApps and Flow to help connect to on-premises data.

SharePoint home page

The home page gives users a new way to get started. It simplifies the task of finding and accessing SharePoint0sites within the company or organisation. Users can also find news from suggested sites or those they visit regularly. Moreover, it is also possible to create your own sites from the home page, provided this is set up by the administrator.

Lists and library

The latest preview features modern experiences for lists and libraries on team sites. This keeps the user always up-to-date with SharePoint online. In fact, users get optimised default lists and library experiences based on common tasks. This ensures that users can copy and move files using the command bar. It is also possible to pin documents, add files as links, there are filtering and sorting options and formatting can be applied to columns.

Modern search experience

SharePoint 2019 offers a new search experience. It is possible to see results before anything has been typed. These results are based on the most common search intentions and are optimised for each person. Incidentally, the search results will also update as the user types something, ensuring relevant search results. The search results page further shows an overview of search results grouped by type.

SharePoint 2019 End of Life

Microsoft's products have an End of Life (EoL) date. This means that a product is only supported for a certain period of time. This also applies to SharePoint 2019, which distinguishes between two different types of support: basic support and extended support. SharePoint 2019 was released on 22 October 2018 and basic support ended on 9 January 2024. The extended end date is on 14 July 2026, here SharePoint 2019 only gets security updates. New features and enhancements are only available through basic support.