Benefits for users

Could your team benefit from having a SharePoint Online site?

Small office teams

• Easily maintain your own shared document library
• Create shared group calendars
• You don't have to waste time granting sharing permissions to people individually from your own personal filespace (e.g. OneDrive or Dropbox)
• Never lose access to shared resources when colleagues leave
• Keep track of your documents using version control
• Automatic audit trails
• Automate your file retention policies using auto-delete feature – you won't have to worry about cluttering up your filestore
• Build your own workflows to boost productivity
• Easily recover from accidental deletions – if one team member accidentally deletes a file, it can be recovrered from the Recycle Bin
• Share information with individual University colleagues outside your group, and even the whole University

Distributed or virtual teams

• Work anywhere there's an internet connection
• You don't need desktop Office software to work on documents – edit documents in your browser, or using Office 365 apps
• Secure authentication using your combined UIS Password – your credentials are stored in Cambridge
• Access all your files when working away from the office – you don't have to rely on having a local copy
• Edit your files directly in a browser – you don't need Office apps installed on your device
• Mobile-friendly – SharePoint Online is designed for mobile devices
• Work collabratively on the same file at once – you don't all have to be in the same room
• Always work on the current version of a file – you won't get out of sync if someone else has changed a document
• Assign tasks to your colleagues
• Keep track of deliverables with the gantt chart view

Research groups

• Free at the point of use, saving your research budget
• Keep your collaborators up-to-date with the news alert features
• Collaborate with external partners – you can add anyone with a Microsoft account to your SharePoint Online site
• Publish web pages (viewable by anyone with a Microsoft account)
• Manage your data's lifecycle – automate the deletion process when sensitive data needs to be destroyed
• Easily manage photo libraries – drag-and-drop to upload images, and browse a thumbnail view
• Create Wiki pages
• Create discussion boards to keep the ideas flowing
• Built-in audit trail means you won't have to worry about falling foul of the auditors