If you are like most SharePoint users, you are eagerly awaiting the final word on several updates and are wondering if some of the buzz you hear has been true. Here are some updates for SharePoint in 2015 that have been announced officially, with more to come throughout the year!
- A new on-premises version has been promised. Later this year, Microsoft has committed to releasing a new on-premises version of SharePoint. This will be good news for smaller businesses that rely on intranet as well as big players.
- SharePoint in the cloud will evolve. While the exact direction of that evolution is still up in the air, SharePoint has definitely moved in the direction of online collaboration growth with Yammer, portals and search. In the past 30 months, SharePoint Online and Office 365 have merged forces to create exponential rates of change in cloud-based computing.
- Hybrid versions will continue to remain available. Hybrid versions of SharePoint have been available for some time, and this will not change. These can be perfect for businesses that want some online connectivity but also want to isolate their platform to a company intranet as well.
- Office 365 will be the focal point. For those who are using Office 365 products, this is good news. What is less clear is how SharePoint will integrate non-Office programs into its structure. However, what is certain is that new programs will be conformed to Office, not the other way around.
- User experience will remain consistent. User experiences will remain consistent across SharePoint platforms as the programs develop. This is very important to SharePoint developers who have been vocal about the need to maintain a consistent brand.
- New experiences will be added. Microsoft will not stop with current user capabilities. There are a number of targeted new Office 365 experiences that hinge on collaboration and connectivity that will develop in a device-neutral setting, such as search, portals, files, team sites and business intelligence as well as social media.
- Management capabilities will continue to grow. SharePoint will continue to offer better management capabilities for its users, allowing them to have greater control than ever over data and security.
SharePoint has been developed over the past decade with the help of millions of developers’ input. Microsoft has a strong tradition of listening to users to determine what they want. 2015’s developments should reflect that exchange and give users the updates they want!