SharePoint Features and Capabilities for Teams and Businesses

SharePoint is often seen as a place to store files. It’s that—but it’s also a full platform for collaboration, automation, and content management across Microsoft 365 and on-premises environments. Teams can co-author pages and documents, track work with lists, automate routine steps, and apply governance without jumping between tools.

Many organizations underuse SharePoint because they focus only on document libraries. That narrow view leaves powerful capabilities on the table: site-level publishing, list-driven processes, integrated approvals, records management, and apps that extend SharePoint for specific business needs.

This article aims to surface what matters most: the core features, the benefits they unlock, and practical ways to apply them in real projects—whether you run SharePoint Online or SharePoint Server on-prem. We’ll cover key capabilities, highlight new options for collaboration, documents, and processes, and show how to extend SharePoint with apps and Web Parts. By the end, you’ll know where SharePoint fits, what you can do with it today, and how to choose the right approach for your organization.

General Overview of SharePoint Features

SharePoint is Microsoft’s enterprise platform inside the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. It’s designed to organize document storage, enable employee collaboration, support project management, and automate business processes. You can run it as SharePoint in Microsoft 365 or as SharePoint Server on-premises, with a consistent experience for sites, libraries, lists, permissions, and governance.

💡 Learn more about the differences between SharePoint Online and On-Premises here: SharePoint On-Premises vs SharePoint Online: Cost, Control, Security and Migration

SharePoint is versatile. Organizations use it for content management, internal portals and intranets, team workspaces, and corporate communications. The modern experience brings fast pages, mobile-ready sites, and tighter integrations—so work happens where people already are: Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, and Microsoft Search.

What is the feature of SharePoint?

At its core, SharePoint helps you structure information and control access:

• Sites (team sites, communication sites, and intranet portals) to organize people, content, and navigation.
• Document libraries to store files with version history, approvals, sharing links, and sensitivity labels.
• Lists to track tasks, events, issues, assets, and any other structured data.
• Permissions at site, library, folder, and item level to match real-world access needs.
• Built-in integrations with Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, and Microsoft 365 Groups for identity, chat, meetings, and file sync.

Basic capabilities you’ll use every day

Here’s what most teams rely on day to day. These building blocks—libraries, lists, sites, and integrations—keep content organized, make collaboration straightforward, and ensure changes are tracked without extra effort. Use them as-is or tailor them with views, metadata, and simple rules.

• Document libraries for storing and sharing files with versioning, check-in/out, and easy external sharing (including the latest single “hero link” approach to simplify link management).
• Lists for managing work—tasks, issues, events, contacts—with rules, views, and forms.
• Sites (team, communication, hub/intranet) for collaboration, announcements, pages, and navigation.
• Deep Microsoft 365 integration so documents, lists, and pages surface in Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, Viva Connections, and Microsoft Search.

💡 Learn more about SharePoint document management here: 

• Optimize Your Business with SharePoint Document Management
• How to Create and Manage a SharePoint Document Library
• Best Practices for SharePoint Document Management, Library, Folder Structure and Security

What are SharePoint capabilities?

SharePoint goes beyond file storage:

• Organization-wide content management. Build pages, publish news, manage records and retention, and apply labels and policies at scale.
• Employee, partner, or customer portals. Create intranets and extranets with targeted content and secure access.
• Project workspaces. Spin up sites with flexible permissions, shared libraries, lists, calendars, and dashboards.
• Process automation. Use built-in approvals, rules, and Power Automate flows to digitize reviews, notifications, and handoffs; extend forms and apps with Power Apps.
• Modern collaboration enhancements. Coauthor in Office on the web and desktop, use Loop components in pages and conversations, and leverage Copilot in SharePoint to draft pages, summarize content, and find what matters faster.
• Advanced content services. Pay-as-you-go document processing (formerly Syntex, marketed for a while as SharePoint Premium) adds AI-assisted classification, metadata extraction, translation, and eSignature.
• Developer platform. SharePoint Framework (SPFx) for web parts/extensions and SharePoint Embedded to build document-centric applications that inherit Microsoft 365 security and compliance.

Taken together, these features make SharePoint a single platform for storing content, coordinating teamwork, and automating business operations—whether you’re in Microsoft 365 or running a supported on-premises environment.

💡 Learn more about Loop here: What Is Microsoft Loop? Features, Benefits, and How to Use It

Benefits of SharePoint

SharePoint pays off when you use it as the hub for content, collaboration, and processes—not just a place to park files. The modern experience in Microsoft 365 adds fast pages, tighter security, Copilot assistance, and integrations that keep work flowing across Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive.

What are the main benefits of SharePoint?

Here’s the value in plain terms. SharePoint brings your content, people, and processes into one governed workspace so work is easier to find, track, and finish—whether your team is in one office or spread across time zones.

1. Centralized storage and version control

Keep documents, pages, and list data in one governed place. Libraries track version history automatically, so teams can compare edits, restore earlier copies, and avoid duplicate files. The newer single hero link simplifies sharing and reduces link sprawl.

2. Increased workflow transparency

Built-in approvals, reminders, and notifications make status visible without chasing email threads. List rules and Power Automate flows keep owners and stakeholders informed, while dashboards and views surface who’s responsible, what’s blocked, and what’s next.

3. Support for remote and global teams

SharePoint Online works wherever your people are. Users get secure browser and mobile access to sites, libraries, and lists, with granular permissions for internal teams and external guests. Sensitivity labels, conditional access, and audit logs help you collaborate confidently across regions and partners.

4. Integration with other Microsoft 365 applications

SharePoint is the content backbone for Teams, OneDrive, Outlook, and Office apps. Open, coauthor, and share Word, Excel, and PowerPoint directly in Teams or the browser; changes are saved to SharePoint with versioning intact. Microsoft Search connects it all so content is discoverable in the tools people already use.

5. Customization options for business needs

Shape SharePoint to fit your processes. Create tailored sites, structure libraries and lists with content types and metadata, and assemble pages with modern web parts. Extend further with Power Apps, SPFx solutions, and third-party apps and web parts (e.g., Virto) to add calendars, Kanban boards, notifications, and more.

6. Modern collaboration and content intelligence

The latest experience adds real-time coauthoring, Loop components for atomic collaboration, and Copilot in SharePoint to draft pages, summarize content, and answer questions across your sites. For advanced scenarios, pay-as-you-go document processing brings AI-driven classification, extraction, and eSignature to reduce manual effort and improve compliance.

💡 Learn more about the modern and classic SharePoint experience here: SharePoint Modern vs. Classic: Key Differences and Reasons to Migrate

7. Developer and integration flexibility

When you need to go beyond out-of-the-box, use SharePoint Framework for custom web parts and extensions, or SharePoint Embedded to build document-centric applications that inherit Microsoft 365 security, compliance, and sharing—without standing up a separate content platform.

Bottom line: SharePoint centralizes content, clarifies ownership and status, scales to global collaboration, and plugs into the Microsoft 365 apps your teams live in—while still giving you the flexibility to tailor, automate, and extend for your business.

Key SharePoint Features List

SharePoint’s modern experience is built to manage content as a business asset. It centralizes access, streamlines collaboration, and adds automation and protection so work moves faster without sacrificing control.

What can SharePoint offer?

SharePoint delivers full document management: structured libraries, real-time collaboration, approvals, retention, and security—plus tight integration with Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, Power Automate, and Power Apps.

Working with documents and libraries

Think beyond folders—use libraries with metadata, views, and versioning to keep content tidy, traceable, and easy to find:

• Corporate repositories with structure. Create libraries with folders, metadata, and content types so teams can store, sort, and filter files by project, department, confidentiality, or lifecycle stage.
• Collaborative editing. Coauthor Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in real time from the browser, desktop, or inside Teams. Loop components keep lightweight content in sync across pages and chats.
• Versioning you can rely on. Every change is captured. Compare edits, restore earlier versions, and track approvals without spawning duplicate files.
• Access control and sharing. Apply permissions at site, library, folder, or item level; use the latest single hero link for simpler, safer sharing; extend access to guests with auditing and expiration.
• Metadata and compliance. Tag content with columns, managed metadata, sensitivity labels, and retention policies so search works better and governance travels with the file.
• Content intelligence (optional). Pay-as-you-go document processing adds AI-assisted classification, extraction, and eSignature to reduce manual processing for high-volume libraries.

Sites and team spaces

Start with the right site type, then add pages, lists, and web parts to match how your team actually works:

• Team sites for projects and departments with shared libraries, lists, calendars, pages, and dashboards.
• Communication sites for organization-wide news, campaigns, and knowledge hubs.
• Intranets and hubs that stitch sites together with consistent navigation, targeting, and search so people find what they need quickly.

Sites connect people, data, and processes in one place. They plug into Teams for chat and meetings, Outlook for calendars and news digests, Viva Connections for home experiences, and Microsoft Search so content is discoverable across Microsoft 365.

Learn more about different SharePoint sites here:

• SharePoint Site Types Explained: Choosing the Right Site for Your Needs
• SharePoint Hub Sites: for Simplified Collaboration and Easy Navigation
• SharePoint Team Site vs Communication Site: Choosing the Right One 
• SharePoint Communication Site: Improve Communication and Teamwork

Process automation

SharePoint helps you digitize routine work:

• Built-in rules and approvals. Trigger reminders, route content for review, and track status directly from lists and libraries.
• Power Automate flows. Send notifications, collect approvals, publish news, sync data, and integrate with line-of-business systems without custom code.
• Power Apps forms and apps. Replace email- and spreadsheet-driven processes with guided forms and mobile apps tied to your SharePoint lists.
• Developer options. Use SPFx for custom web parts and extensions or SharePoint Embedded to build document-centric apps that inherit Microsoft 365 security and compliance.

💡 Learn more about SharePoint automation here:

• SharePoint Automation: Best Practices, Use Cases and Recommended Tools
• SharePoint Workflows: How to Create and Use Them

What is included in Microsoft SharePoint

Out of the box you get sites, pages, lists, and document libraries with versioning, sharing, search, and permissions. You also get native integrations with Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, and Office apps; automation with approvals, rules, and Power Automate; customization with web parts and Power Apps; and optional pay-as-you-go document processing for advanced content processing. 

Here’s a more detailed look at the offering of both SharePoint Online and On-premises:

SharePoint Online (cloud)

You can get SharePoint as part of Microsoft 365 suites; the standalone plans are being retired.

• Microsoft 365 Business & Enterprise suites – SharePoint is included in Business (Basic/Standard/Premium) and Enterprise (E1/E3/E5) plans alongside Teams, Exchange, OneDrive and the Office apps. Choose the suite for the security/compliance features you need; E3/E5 add the richer compliance, DLP, and eDiscovery capabilities many enterprises expect.
• Standalone SharePoint plans – SharePoint Online Plan 1 covers core sites, lists, and document libraries; Plan 2 adds advanced features (historically more compliance/search depth). Microsoft is retiring both: no new customers after May 31, 2026, no renewals after January 2027, and end of service in December 2029.
• Storage & limits – Tenant storage is 1 TB + 10 GB per licensed user (pooled), with 25 TB per site possible. You can buy extra storage if needed.
• External/guest collaboration – Built-in external sharing for files, folders, and sites with policy controls in the admin center.

Learn more on plans and limits here: 

• Compare Microsoft 365 Enterprise Pricing and Plans 
• SharePoint limits - Service Descriptions | Microsoft Learn
• The Ultimate Guide to SharePoint Limitations in 2026: Online vs On-Premises

Add-ons and adjacent options:

• Document processing for Microsoft 365 (formerly Syntex, marketed for a while as SharePoint Premium): AI-assisted content processing (autofill columns, classification and extraction models, OCR, translation) and eSignature, billed pay-as-you-go through an Azure subscription. Per-user licenses are no longer sold. Ideal for high-volume content scenarios.
• SharePoint Advanced Management (SAM): extra admin/governance features (DAG insights, block-download, lifecycle/ownership policies, AI insights). SharePoint admins get most of it once at least one user in the tenant has a Microsoft 365 Copilot license; otherwise it is the SharePoint Advanced Management Plan 1 add-on, which a few features (such as restricted site creation by apps) always require.
• SharePoint Embedded: for developers building document-centric apps. It’s pay-as-you-go via Azure—billed on storage, API transactions, and egress—separate from your Microsoft 365 storage entitlements.

💡 Learn more about these options here:

• SharePoint service description 
• SharePoint Advanced Management overview - SharePoint in Microsoft 365 
• SharePoint Embedded Overview | Microsoft Learn 

SharePoint on-premises

When you need to keep content on your own infrastructure—whether for data residency, network isolation, or bespoke integrations—SharePoint on-premises is the path. You manage the servers, updates, and security posture, but you gain maximum control over architecture and change cadence. Here’s how the current on-prem option stacks up:

• SharePoint Server Subscription Edition (SE) – Microsoft’s current on-prem product under the Modern Lifecycle Policy, with twice-yearly feature updates (the 2026 releases are 26H1 and 26H2) and monthly security updates; each SE Public Update is supported for one year. Best for customers that must keep content on-site.
• SharePoint Server 2019 – Out of support since July 14, 2026, when its extended support ended; no new features and no more security updates. If you’re on 2019, move to SE or SharePoint Online.
• Security reality check – Unpatched or out-of-support on-prem farms are actively targeted; keep current with CUs and hardening guidance.

Learn more about SharePoint On-Prem here:

• SharePoint Server Subscription Edition - Microsoft Lifecycle 
• New and improved features in SharePoint Server Subscription Edition Version 26H2
• SharePoint Server 2019 - Microsoft Lifecycle
• Microsoft Put Older Versions of SharePoint on Life Support. Hackers Are Taking Advantage | WIRED

Quick chooser: which route fits?

Not sure where to start? Use this quick guide to match your needs to the right path—cloud suites, standalone plans with add-ons (existing subscribers only), developer options, or on-prem—so you only pay for what you’ll use:

• You want modern collaboration, Copilot, and least admin overhead → Microsoft 365 suite with SharePoint Online.
• You need advanced admin guardrails → add SharePoint Advanced Management; consider pay-as-you-go document processing for content-heavy processes.
• You must build custom, document-heavy apps → SharePoint Embedded (metered via Azure). 
• You have strict data-residency or disconnected requirements → SharePoint Server SE; keep to current CU and feature update rings.

👉 What are the most important SharePoint updates going into 2027 that a typical user should be aware of? In SharePoint Online, Copilot in SharePoint began rolling out to general availability on September 30, 2026 for users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, and the “hero link” sharing model began rolling out in October 2026, giving each file one primary link you can widen or narrow later. The content services once marketed as SharePoint Premium are now pay-as-you-go document processing for Microsoft 365. Several legacy features are gone: SharePoint Add-ins and SharePoint 2013 workflows stopped working on April 2, 2026, and SharePoint Alerts in July 2026. On-prem, SharePoint Server Subscription Edition keeps receiving twice-yearly feature updates (Versions 26H1 and 26H2 in 2026), while SharePoint Server 2016 and 2019 have been out of support since July 14, 2026. Admins should stay current with the monthly security updates: zero-day attacks hit unpatched on-prem farms in 2025. More on these changes below.

SharePoint Online Features and New Capabilities

SharePoint Online is the cloud version of SharePoint inside Microsoft 365. You don’t manage servers—Microsoft handles updates, security, availability, and scale—so you get a continuously improving platform suitable for small teams and global enterprises alike.

Deep integration is the standout strength. Store documents in SharePoint, coauthor them in Teams, sync files with OneDrive, and surface events and news in Outlook and Viva. The result is a unified workspace where content, conversations, and tasks stay connected.

What are the features of SharePoint Online?

Here’s what you get out of the box in the cloud—core capabilities that keep content organized, secure, and easy to collaborate on inside Microsoft 365.

• Modern sites with responsive design. Team and communication sites load fast, look good on any device, and support hub navigation, audience targeting, and multilingual pages.
• Real-time collaborative editing. Coauthor Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in the browser, desktop, or Teams—with version history and approvals.
• Flexible permissions. Grant access at site, library, folder, or item level; invite guests securely; apply sensitivity labels and sharing policies.
• Centralized content management. Use pages, news, libraries, and lists with retention, records, and search to keep information governed and discoverable.

What’s new and what changed going into 2027

SharePoint Online changed a lot in 2026: Copilot moved into sites, sharing got a new model, and several legacy features were switched off. Here is what is live or rolling out as of October 2026, and what no longer works, so you can plan the year ahead.

• Copilot in SharePoint. General availability began rolling out on September 30, 2026. With a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, users can ask questions about site content, create and edit pages, lists, and libraries, generate Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, and set up simple rules and approvals in plain language. Work at a larger scale, such as building whole sites or scheduled AI automations, uses Copilot Credits through usage-based billing. Site owners manage it under Settings > Site AI.
• SharePoint agents. Anyone who can create files on a site can build an agent that answers questions from selected sites, folders, or files. The agent is saved as an .agent file and shared like one, and its answers draw only on content each user is allowed to open. People without a Copilot license can use agents once the tenant turns on pay-as-you-go billing.
• A redesigned SharePoint start. The new SharePoint experience, rolling out since May 2026, replaces the SharePoint home page with Discover, adds Publish and Build to the app bar, and switches the interface to neutral theming so your own branding stands out. In the SharePoint brand center, brand managers keep the organization’s colors, fonts, and themes in one place, and site owners pick them in Change the look.
• Hero link sharing. Microsoft’s next generation of sharing began rolling out in October 2026: each file gets a single hero link that controls access, whether you copy the link, send an email, or paste the address from the browser. Senders can widen or narrow that link after it went out, Share and Manage access merge into one panel, and existing links keep working.
• Loop and Copilot Pages. Loop workspaces, Copilot Pages, and Copilot Notebooks are stored in SharePoint Embedded containers that count against your tenant’s SharePoint storage. Loop components created in a Teams channel stay on the team’s SharePoint site; those created in a private chat, Outlook, or OneNote live in the creator’s OneDrive. Admins govern them with the same retention, sensitivity label, and eDiscovery tools as other Microsoft 365 content.
• Governance that comes with Copilot. Once at least one person in your organization has a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, SharePoint admins get most SharePoint Advanced Management features: site ownership, inactive-site and attestation policies, block-download policies, oversharing reports, and restricted content discovery. A few, such as restricted site creation by apps, still need the SharePoint Advanced Management Plan 1 add-on. Inactive sites can move to Microsoft 365 Archive, a lower-cost storage tier that keeps permissions and metadata until a site is reactivated.
• Pay-as-you-go document processing. The Syntex content services, marketed for a while as SharePoint Premium (autofill columns, document processing models, OCR, translation, eSignature, and content assembly), are now called document processing for Microsoft 365. They are billed per use through an Azure subscription, and per-user licenses are no longer sold.
• Retired in 2026. SharePoint Add-ins and SharePoint 2013 workflows stopped working in SharePoint Online on April 2, 2026; SharePoint Framework and Power Automate replace them. SharePoint Alerts were removed in July 2026, and Microsoft points to list rules and Power Automate instead; apps such as Virto Alerts & Reminder App also email people when a list item changes and remind them before a date. Standalone SharePoint Online Plan 1 and Plan 2 have taken no new customers since May 31, 2026.

💡 Microsoft’s own pages on these changes:

• Get started with Copilot in SharePoint | Microsoft Learn
• Microsoft 365 roadmap: The Next Generation of File & Folder Sharing
• Prerequisites for SharePoint Advanced Management | Microsoft Learn
• SharePoint Alerts retirement | Microsoft Support

Most of the new AI features need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license or pay-as-you-go billing, while the retirements apply to every tenant, so check both before you plan the year. The rest stays familiar: SharePoint Online remains tightly linked to Teams, OneDrive, Outlook, Viva, and the rest of Microsoft 365.

Practical Uses of Microsoft 365 SharePoint Features

SharePoint works best when you match its building blocks—sites, libraries, lists, pages—to real business scenarios. Here are common, practical ways organizations use it today.

Document management

SharePoint acts as a corporate repository where access follows your permission model. Administrators can set rights at the site, library, folder, and even file level, with options like sensitivity labels, link expiration, and the hero link model, rolling out since October 2026, for simpler sharing.

What this looks like in practice:

• Contract library. Legal owns the library with edit rights; sales managers get contribute access to their folders; executives get read access to finalized agreements. Versioning, approvals, and required metadata (client, region, term) keep everything traceable. Optional eSignature is available as a pay-as-you-go document processing service.
• Company knowledge base. Policies, procedures, and templates organized by department. Employees see targeted content based on role or location; owners publish updates as news with digest emails sent via Outlook. Search, filters, and labels help people find the right artifact quickly.

Why it helps:

• Centralized access with clear ownership
• Real-time coauthoring in Word/Excel/PowerPoint
• Auditing and retention for compliance
• External sharing controls for partners when needed

Project management

Create a project site for each initiative so files, tasks, and conversations stay connected.

Typical components:

• Task tracking with lists. Custom columns, views, and rules for due dates, owners, and status. Add a board view (Kanban) for workflow clarity.
• Calendars and meetings. Surface the project calendar on the site and pin the site in Teams; meeting notes can live as pages or Loop components.
• Dashboards. Use web parts for progress metrics, risks/issues lists, timeline highlights, and a Power BI report if you track KPIs.
• Document library. Structured folders or metadata (phase, workstream) with required properties and approvals.

Example:

• A project site with a meeting calendar, Kanban task board, risks/issues list, and a documentation library available only to the core team. Guests from a vendor get limited access to a shared folder with link expiry and block-download enabled.

Team communication

Communication sites help you publish news and run an intranet that reaches everyone—on web and mobile.

What to include:

• News and pages. Announcements, leadership posts, and campaign pages with images, quick links, and callouts.
• Targeting and subscriptions. Audience targeting ensures people see relevant content; automated digests send highlights to Outlook.
• Viva integration. Surface your SharePoint home as the Viva Connections dashboard in Teams, so updates, resources, and tasks are a click away.
• Feedback and engagement. Add forms for questions or suggestions; enable comments and reactions to keep the loop tight.

Example:

• An internal portal with company news, an HR hub (policies, benefits, onboarding), and a feedback form. Updates publish to Teams and Outlook automatically, and employees can discuss posts in Teams without leaving the page.

Across these scenarios, modern SharePoint features—coauthoring, Loop components, Copilot-assisted summaries and page drafts, Microsoft Search, and precise sharing—reduce friction for day-to-day work. Whether you run SharePoint Online or a supported on-premises environment, the same patterns apply: use sites to group people and goals, libraries and lists to structure work, and pages to communicate clearly.

👉 What is SharePoint functionality? SharePoint functions are the core capabilities that let you create sites, pages, document libraries, and lists to organize work. They include versioning, permissions, metadata, and Microsoft Search so content is secure, traceable, and easy to find—plus real-time coauthoring in Office apps. SharePoint also integrates with Teams, OneDrive, and Outlook and supports automation with approvals, rules, and Power Automate, as well as custom forms with Power Apps. For advanced needs, you can extend with web parts/SPFx, Copilot, and pay-as-you-go document processing for AI-driven content processing.

SharePoint Best Practices

The fastest wins come from simple habits: teach people how SharePoint works, keep access tidy, structure content with metadata, and extend with the right apps. Here’s a practical playbook that reflects the latest SharePoint Online experience.

Regular employee training

SharePoint has depth—sites, libraries, lists, pages, approvals, Loop components, Copilot, and more—so features aren’t always obvious at first.

• Run short, role-based sessions. Focus on “how we work here”: where to save, how to share (use the hero link), and how to coauthor.
• Publish quick guides. Use a communication site for tips: saving versions, restoring files, using filters and views, posting news.
• Schedule refreshers. Example: quarterly mini-trainings on new SharePoint Online updates, plus a 10-minute “what changed this month” digest.

Configure access rights and mfa to protect data

Permissions are the backbone of SharePoint security.

• Use groups, not individuals. Grant access via Microsoft 365 groups and SharePoint groups to simplify changes over time.
• Enable MFA for everyone. Pair with Conditional Access and sign-in risk policies.
• Review sharing regularly. Audit external guests, set link expirations, and prefer the single hero link per file to reduce link sprawl.
• Label and retain. Apply sensitivity labels and retention policies so protection and lifecycle travel with the file.
• Quarterly access reviews. Re-confirm who can see high-risk libraries when people change roles or leave.

Use metadata and structured libraries for search

Good structure makes content findable and reportable.

• Define columns that matter. Examples: document type, client, department, effective date, status.
• Standardize with content types. Reuse the same schema across libraries to keep views and rules consistent.
• Build useful views. Create “My department,” “Due this month,” or “Ready for approval” views with filters and grouping.
• Example: contract library. Tag by contract type, effective/expiry dates, and responsible department; require key fields before publish.
• Coach on search. Show how Microsoft Search surfaces results from pages, files, and conversations—and how metadata improves ranking.

Connect additional apps for automation and visualization

Extend out-of-the-box features where it saves time or adds clarity.

• Power Automate. Route approvals, send reminders before deadlines, and post status updates to Teams.
• Power Apps. Replace email-driven processes with guided forms tied to SharePoint lists (mobile-friendly).
• Web parts and third-party apps. Add calendars, Kanban boards, charts, and notifications (e.g., VirtoSoftware apps) to turn sites into working hubs.
• Power BI. Embed dashboards on project or department sites for at-a-glance metrics.
• Copilot in SharePoint. Use it to draft page summaries, generate highlights, and answer site-specific questions (respecting permissions).

Extra hygiene that pays off

• Plan site architecture. Use hubs for navigation and targeting; avoid sprawling subsite trees.
• Keep pages lightweight. Favor modern web parts, reusable page templates, and image compression for fast load times.
• Set lifecycle rules. Archive inactive sites, close old projects, and apply retention so storage stays clean.
• Monitor and iterate. Use site analytics and (optionally) SharePoint Advanced Management insights to spot oversharing or stale content.

Adopting these practices builds a SharePoint environment that’s easier to use, safer by default, and ready to scale—whether you’re supporting a single department or a global intranet.

💡 Learn more about some of the best SharePoint practices in our dedicated guides:

• Best Practices for SharePoint Document Management, Library, Folder Structure and Security
• SharePoint Share with External Users: Best Practices for Collaborating 
• SharePoint Secure File Sharing: Methods, Best Practices, and Advanced Tips
• SharePoint Automation: Best Practices, Use Cases and Recommended Tools

Extending SharePoint with Virtosoftware

VirtoSoftware adds ready-made apps and web parts that turn SharePoint into a practical hub for planning, task flow, reminders, and richer forms—whether you’re on SharePoint Online or running an on-premises farm.

Check Out VirtoSoftware Apps

Virto Calendar App M365

Overlay SharePoint lists, Exchange and Outlook, Planner, Google and room calendars in one color-coded view.

Virto Kanban Board App

Turn SharePoint lists into Kanban boards, so work moves stage by stage where it already lives.

Virto Alerts & Reminder App

Alerts and reminders on SharePoint list items, for any user or group, on the schedule you set.

Sharepoint Online (Microsoft 365) apps

Use these Microsoft 365 apps to add planning, task flow, reminders, and richer forms right inside SharePoint and Teams—installed from Microsoft Marketplace, no heavy setup required:

• Virto Calendar App – Unified, color-coded calendar overlays that combine SharePoint lists, Outlook/Exchange, meeting rooms, and iCalendars. Available from Microsoft Marketplace for SharePoint Online and Microsoft Teams; ideal for event and project scheduling inside Teams and SharePoint.
• Virto Kanban Board App – Visualize any SharePoint list as a Kanban board, manage tasks and sub-tasks, drag across columns/swimlanes, and track activity—usable in SharePoint pages and Microsoft Teams.
• Virto Alerts & Reminder App – Create flexible, rule-based notifications for list and library changes and reminders before deadlines or events; send them by email or to a Teams channel to keep stakeholders aligned without manual follow-ups.
• Virto Forms Designer App – Drag-and-drop New, Edit and Display forms for SharePoint lists and libraries: the layout needs no code, and rules such as validation are written in JavaScript in the form’s properties. Use it to standardize requests, registrations, or intake.

Sharepoint On-Premises web parts

On classic server farms, these web parts close key gaps with the cloud. Deploy them to your farm or site collection to boost automation, monitoring, and visualization without leaving on-prem:

• Virto Workflow Automation – A large set of no-code workflow actions for SharePoint Designer that extends what you can automate in SharePoint Server 2016/2019/SE. Useful when Power Automate isn’t available on-prem.
• Workflow Status Monitor – Part of Virto Workflow Automation. A control panel for running workflows across a site: filter by list/item, see in-progress/error states, and stop/restart as needed—on SharePoint Server 2016, 2019 and SE.
• Virto Notifications & Alerts On-Premises – Schedule email/SMS alerts and reminders from SharePoint Server lists to keep processes moving even when out-of-box alerts fall short.
• Other extensions – VirtoSoftware’s on-prem catalog also includes Virto Calendar On-Premises, Virto Kanban Board On-Premises, Active Directory and password self-service tools, and field types such as Virto Cross-Site Lookup that round out classic SharePoint farms.

Bottom line: with VirtoSoftware, SharePoint becomes a full workflow and collaboration hub: plan with Virto Calendar App, visualize flow with Virto Kanban Board App, automate follow-ups with Virto Alerts & Reminder App, capture data with Virto Forms Designer App, and—on-prem—extend workflow logic and monitoring with Virto Workflow Automation to keep operations moving.

One license, many apps: VirtoSoftware also offers productivity kits that make licensing simple. Virto M365 Productivity Kit gives Microsoft 365 tenants one yearly subscription to five apps for SharePoint Online and Microsoft Teams—Virto Calendar App, Virto Kanban Board App, Virto Forms Designer App, Virto Alerts & Reminder App and Virto Multiple Operations—with support and updates included. It’s designed to boost planning, task flow, and content operations without piecemeal purchases. Virto On-Premises Productivity Kit is the on-premises suite for SharePoint Server 2013 to Subscription Edition (some web parts start at 2016), with 11 web parts—such as Virto Workflow Automation, Virto Multiple File Operations On-Premises and Virto Notifications & Alerts On-Premises—as one yearly subscription per WFE server, updates and support included. These kits let you standardize on a full toolkit and scale as needs grow.

Explore VirtoSoftware Use Cases

Multiple File Management

Built for high-compliance organizations: Virto Multiple File Operations On-Premises uploads, moves, copies, deletes and re-tags SharePoint files in bulk, under the permissions you already set—without scripting or IT help.

Learn moreLearn more about Multiple File Management

Notifications Automation for Government

For government, legal and finance teams: Virto Alerts & Reminder App sends email and Teams reminders before the deadlines kept in your SharePoint lists and alerts owners when items change.

Learn moreLearn more about Notifications Automation for Government

Secure Productivity for IGOs

Transform your secure project management, enhance mission coordination, and get your security and compliance features running like clockwork with VirtoSoftware's NATO-tested secure productivity solutions.

Learn moreLearn more about Secure Productivity for IGOs

Conclusion on Microsoft SharePoint Features 

SharePoint is more than file storage. It’s a powerful platform for managing documents, projects, and everyday business processes—built to centralize content, keep teams aligned, and apply the right controls as your organization grows.

As part of Microsoft 365, SharePoint helps you create a unified workspace where files, pages, lists, and conversations connect across Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, Viva, and Microsoft Search. The modern experience brings fast pages, real-time coauthoring, Loop components, and strong governance so work moves quickly without sacrificing security.

You can take it further with Virtosoftware. In SharePoint Online, apps like Virto Calendar App, Virto Kanban Board App, Virto Alerts & Reminder App and Virto Forms Designer App add planning, visualization, automation, and richer data capture. On-premises, Virto web parts—Virto Workflow Automation with its Workflow Status Monitor, Virto Notifications & Alerts On-Premises, and more—close gaps and bring classic farms closer to the cloud experience. Together, these solutions turn SharePoint into a full workflow hub tailored to your teams.

Ready to see it in action? Schedule a demo of the Virto apps and start a free trial directly from the VirtoSoftware site.

Also, peruse additional resources for more context:

Official Microsoft resources:

• What is SharePoint – Overview of features 
• What's new in SharePoint - Microsoft Support 
• What is SharePoint? - Microsoft Support 
• SharePoint service description 

VirtoSoftware blog:

• SharePoint Content Management
• SharePoint Data Management
• SharePoint Guide
• SharePoint Security
• SharePoint Ensemble