Pros & Cons of Microsoft SharePoint Workflow Platform

Implementing a platform to automate and streamline business operations has become a crucial part for every business, in order to maintain a competitive edge within the modern business environment. Optimizing the business network and centralizing the business processes allows businesses to save money and time.

Microsoft has been the vanguard supporter of business technology for a long time now; and their MS SharePoint Workflow platform offers a huge collection of collaboration and project management tools, that allows project teams to be more efficient and communicative at work. Still, as technological innovations are progressing, business professionals are contemplating the pros & cons of MS SharePoint Workflow in relation to other similar options available in the market.

The Paybacks – The Pros of MS SharePoint Workflow Platform

MS SharePoint is available in two different versions/environments i.e. SharePoint Online & SharePoint On-Premise. Both of these versions offer great benefits to businesses aiming at optimizing business processes and centralizing workflow management. SharePoint Offline or SharePoint Server is the on-premise version, whereas the recently releases version for the platform is SharePoint Online which is cloud-based. Both the SharePoint versions are helpful in optimizing collaboration, centralization, and content management, depending on the basis of unique set-up requirements and needs of every business organization.

Below mentioned are the key benefits offered by MS SharePoint Workflows.

1. Enriched Team Work, Workplace Collaboration & Communication

SharePoint was designed to be a collaboration software and hence it provides enriched team collaboration experience to business organizations. MS SharePoint has an extensive range of collaboration tools that enable employees to stay connected to the projects and teammates without any issues. Built-in tools like Tasks, Calendar, Docs, and MS Outlook offer remarkable integration abilities to enhance workplace collaboration and communication while keeping employees updated with the latest information all the time.

 2. Centralized Business Process & Access to Business Applications

SharePoint provides businesses with a wide variety of tools that are intended to centralize business operations and processes while resulting in increased efficiency. Functions like Site Directory, My Sites, and the Enterprise Portal Template enable businesses to use only one platform for Intranet, Extranet, and Internet-based apps. This results in ultimate convenience and flexibility for employees to navigate through external and internal resources more efficiently.

3. Content Management

When it comes to content management and controls, nothing can beat the outstanding reputation of Microsoft SharePoint. MS SharePoint has inclusive in-built intelligence tools to provide administrators’ control for employee access and sharing abilities while developing useful user data and insights.

Additionally, MS SharePoint has a full-fledge array of integration tools for efficient management of the company’s content both externally (on the websites) and internally. Apart from these top three benefits, SharePoint offers a wide variety of dynamics benefits and features to business enterprises which include the following;

• Customized User Dashboards.
• Compliance Management Tools.
• Noting and Tagging Features & Tools.
• Project Management Tools.
• Real-time Editing and Document Collaboration.
• Enterprise Wikis.
• Enterprise Level Social Networking through Yammer.

 

Drawbacks & Limitations – The Cons of MS SharePoint Workflow Platform

We all agree to the fact that SharePoint is a great platform, but everything has its limitations and drawbacks. However, like any other business software, it is very important to understand your business nature and unique needs before making any kind of implementation decisions. Because investing in software that does not align with business needs and requirement is a nightmare to any business owner. Below mentioned are the limitations of MS SharePoint Workflow platform for business organizations.

1. High Maintenance Infrastructure

SharePoint has very particular requirements for maintenance when it comes to IT and time resources; due to its complex interface. The requirements are even more complex if you choose SharePoint Server. According to a user survey conducted by GitHub, 43% of business users found maintaining the system as a very tough task, while 46% of users said that content management is a real hassle.

2. High Cost

Staying competitive in terms of cost is the primary concern for any business. Hence, it is very crucial to always consider the costs and expenses attached to the software that you are intending to implement in your company. If we talk about SharePoint, it is certainly expensive software. Summing up the upfront cost of the software, license cost, maintenance fees, up-gradation charges, and provisional cost, SharePoint On-Premise can cost businesses thousands of dollars for acquiring a single license).

However, you can avoid some of these costs by choosing SharePoint Online. Companies that implemented SharePoint Online and SharePoint On-Premise are usually required to hire a dedicated SharePoint Expert to integrate, configure, update and maintain the platform. Costs of SharePoint implementations are unrealistic for small and medium-size businesses.

3. Complex & Confusing Interface

One of the biggest misconceptions about MS SharePoint is that it is a single product. But, in reality, SharePoint is an ecosystem with multiple product modules. It is great when you require versatility, but it is certainly not a user-friendly software product. In fact, even business professional needs to check out Microsoft’s Website to learn about SharePoint. Most business owners find it difficult to use and navigate through SharePoint, which often results in loss of business money, time and efforts until they learn how to hold the helm.

4. Unnecessary Efficiency For a Small & Medium Business

SharePoint offers a wide range of features, but for some businesses, especially for small and medium-sized companies, these features are way too much. For instance, if a business is only looking for a cloud storage solution, the SharePoint would be too extra for it, because of its unnecessary and robust features. Hence, for SMBs, investing in a platform like SharePoint comes with a colossal, unnecessary cost.

Conclusion

In sum, MS SharePoint is the most feature-enriched and comprehensive platform for workflow management. However, your company size really matters when it comes to affordability. It is smart, but indeed costly. So, if you are not looking for something that is ‘too loaded’ in terms of features, and require basic data and workflow management, you can opt for other market options like G Suite, Box for Business, or Huddle, etc. But, if you need a super workflow management system like SharePoint, then we would recommend you to take professional advice first to make sure you are investing in the right software solution. For expert SharePoint Consulting Service, contact Code Creators Inc.