We will be disabling the ability for users to create new sub-sites in SharePoint Online from Monday 24 July.
User impact
Other than the withdrawal of this functionality that some users may be familiar with, there will be no user impact. It will not affect owners and users of existing SharePoint Online sub-sites.
Next steps
UIS will conduct an audit of all the SharePoint sub-sites and associated permissions structures currently extant in the University Microsoft tenancy to understand the scale of the issue and to inform a decision about any future action.
Why this is happening
Microsoft's latest best practise recommendation is to no longer use sub-sites in SharePoint Online.
UIS is adopting this recommendation because we have observed that the way permissions may be inherited from the parent site can often confuse users and could result in sensitive information being shared more widely than they had intended.
Queries and concerns
Please direct all feedback and queries via the UIS Service Desk at servicedesk@uis.cam.ac.uk.