A widespread discussion about SharePoint On-premises vs. Online remains a significant point of contention among organizations with an existing SharePoint-based intranet and those seeking to have one.
Indeed, the increasing demand for a centralized, secure, and user-friendly digital platform to efficiently communicate, collaborate, and perform organizational tasks has become imperative in the current competitive landscape. And the SharePoint intranet, with its exceptional capabilities, emerges as the preferred solution to address challenges posed by the changing workplace dynamics.
With the evolving versions of SharePoint, it becomes challenging to decide on an ideal solution that fits best with the organization's size, requirements, preferences, and objectives. Here are some core factors that can be decisive when choosing an optimal platform for your company intranet.
Scalability
The scalability for an intranet is its ability to grow, perform, and adapt to changing organizational requirements. The increase in user base, departments, or data volume within the organization is inevitable but healthy for a growing business. When comparing the two SharePoint versions for scalability, the On-premises infrastructure is prone to manual adjustments or requires the purchase of additional hardware, server configurations, and more. On the other hand, the online version, being a cloud-based solution, offers seamless accessibility and allows organizations to scale their usage according to actual requirements.
Security and Compliance
The topmost priority is Securing the organization's strategic resources like financial records, employee data, documents, ongoing projects, and many more. The SharePoint On-premise versions offer greater customizations and allow users to implement tailored security measures, but the onus of keeping the infrastructure safe falls on them.
Whereas SharePoint Online, controlled directly by Microsoft, comes with automatic updates and security patches, identification and access management, advanced threat protection, and two-factor authentication, making it an obvious choice for organizations.
Upgrades and Maintenance
Regular upgrades and maintenance often include critical elements like security patches, bug fixes, performance optimization, etc., necessary to create an efficient, productive, and secure workplace environment. The On-premise version is best for organizations with data residency and sovereignty concerns coupled with adequate expertise to handle manual planning and execution of updates. However, the Online version emerges as a more resource-efficient solution with automatic updates managed by Microsoft, reducing the IT workload while maintaining consistency across the environment.
Cost
Cost can be a crucial factor for many organizations with budgetary constraints. Indeed, having an easily scalable digital solution with lesser maintenance and operational costs ensures that the organization's financial expenses are aligned with its idea of sustained success.
SharePoint Online, in this case, proves better as the cloud-based setup eliminates the need to invest a substantial amount in maintaining physical infrastructure. Also, it operates on a subscription-based model that charges organizations exclusively for the chosen application and user base.
To summarize, SharePoint On-premise, with its exceptional customization capabilities, goes well for organizations operating in a highly controlled environment with strict regulatory compliance and having an in-house team of IT experts to manage their intranet ecosystem. Meanwhile, the Online version emerges as a resource-efficient, secure, cost-effective, and scalable solution for organizations of different sizes and domains. Both SharePoint versions come with their respective advantages and disadvantages. And the choice must solely be based on the requirements and preferences of the organization.
The home office trend is the current driver because cloud-based collaboration applications such as Microsoft Teams are used extensively.Engage Executives to Convey the Goals & Business Benefits of MigrationIn the case of a planned migration from SharePoint On-Premises to Office 365, a thorough assessment of the initial situation with subsequent planning usually takes place at the start.
By providing users with comprehensive information about the project at an early stage, acceptance is achieved right from the start and potential resistance is taken out of the sails.
Finally, with a governance plan for SharePoint, goals can be clearly defined and their implementation stipulated and fulfilled on a permanent basis.Specialized Migration Tools Can Do More Than Microsoft AppsCode Creators Inc. is the leading provider of professional SharePoint migration solutions.
The company specializes in modern workplace solutions such as Office 365 and is certified as an Azure Architect, Azure Administrator, and Team Administrator.The most important question of migration is how to transfer the data easily and without errors from the on-premises infrastructure to Office 365.
The range of functions varies greatly depending on the manufacturer.It should be noted that in such projects there is usually more than just sites and documents to move.
For this reason, migration tools that support the full range of SharePoint workloads are recommended.SaaS Solutions Make Extra Infrastructure UnnecessaryWith SharePoint migrations, more than just sites and documents have to be moved, often mailboxes and workflows as well.Another decision criterion is the delivery platform.
Due to increasing cyberattacks on on-premises Exchange servers, many organizations have either migrated to cloud-based Office 365 or are in the process of doing so.
This shift has been witnessed recently due to ransomware attacks on-premises Exchange server by a threat group named HAFNIUM.
Although Microsoft releases security updates to counter such attacks, on premises Exchange servers are still vulnerable to various malicious attacks, physical damage, hardware or software failure, etc.On the other hand, Office 365 or Exchange Online offers better security features.
In this guide, we help you migrate mailboxes from Exchange on-premises version to Office 365 with step-by-step process.How to Migrate Exchange from On-Premises to Office 365?To migrate Exchange on-premises to Office 365, you have five different methods:Cutover MigrationStaged MigrationHybrid DeploymentPST UploadEDB to Office 365 Migration SoftwareThe first three methods are specific and do not work with all Exchange versions.
It uses parallel processing technique and thus, migrates up to 4 mailboxes simultaneously.
This can help you minimize the downtime and quickly restore mailbox connectivity.Steps to migrate Exchange on-premises to Office 365 via PST method are as follows:Step 1: Assign Mailbox Import Export RoleTo export mailboxes from Exchange on-premises server database to PST, Mailbox Import Export role should be assigned to the user account, which will be used to export the mailboxes via Exchange Admin Center (EAC) or Exchange Management Shell (EMS).
The major advantage offered by SharePoint to the users is that it allows the files to be stored in a single location, allowing access to all members of a group.
When maintaining sites time and money is required however SharePoint allows the users to create sites for proper use within their company's Intranet, as required.
Irrespective of whether they are department sites or document libraries users can create sites with SharePoint.Choose a company that offers complete range of SharePoint development services to help clients develop and utilize SharePoint solutions.
If you choose a reliable and reputable SharePoint developing service providers having several years of experience in delivering effective SharePoint solutions you gain from their expertise in delivering total solutions.
The professional services from trustworthy development companies online ensure better ROI and enhance business growth.When hiring a team of SharePoint consultants ensure that they analyse your business requirements to provide suitable SharePoint solutions as per business needs of clients.
The services include customization of themes and templates, page layout design, CSS, Microsoft Silver-Light etc.
