SharePoint 2016 generated a lot of buzz in the SharePoint upon its release. Now, many organizations wonder why they should upgrade. How will the latest version benefit their organization? What functionality will they lose if they don’t upgrade and stay with SharePoint 2013?
In the following post, we’ll explore three reasons why SharePoint 2016 is of value to enterprise organizations.
Improved Infrastructure
SharePoint Server 2016 is the first born-in-the-cloud SharePoint product produced by Microsoft. Developing SharePoint directly in the cloud brought many architectural and performance-related improvements to the technology.
For example, the zero-downtime patching capabilities paired with MinRole deployment allows organizations to maintain their business functions without major interruptions. File size for uploads have been increased and Site Collections can be created very quickly by using database level methods.
In addition, SharePoint Framework has improved the quality of tools and methods needed to achieve mobile-friendly user experiences. In fact, SharePoint 2016 comes with a touch-friendly interface.
At the same time, Share Point has improved the overall performance of the platform by leveraging additional browser capabilities.
Hybrid Possibilities
Many organizations would like to move to SharePoint Online to experience lower IT costs and increased flexibility, but can’t due to compliance, data, or technical regulations. This is where SharePoint Server 2016 adds value – it allows organizations to have a footprint in the cloud and on-premises.
Improvements to hybrid search and file sync with OneDrive for Business are included in SharePoint 2016. It also features new team sites, integrated personas (in-cloud and on-premises), improved mobile connectivity and improved sharing experiences. All of these improvements help organizations bring their cloud and on-premise environments closer together.
Enhanced Security, Privacy and Compliance
Often, organizations have to establish data access and storage policies in order to conform with regulatory policies. Because SharePoint is a major data-rich environment for corporate collaboration, it often requires a significant level of control.
SharePoint Server 2016 offers a tailored, central configuration and administration interface that helps organizations manage sensitive data in order comply with internal and external policies. Enhanced data loss prevention capabilities and advanced eDiscovery, paired with flexible audit and authorization options, are directed at reducing the number of security challenges organizations face.
SharePoint feature packs allow innovations that were developed and implemented in the Office 365 ecosystem to be distributed to on-premises SharePoint Server 2016 farms. From there, organizations can granularly control the implementation of such features.
Simply put, SharePoint Server 2016 enables organizations to achieve more by realizing the value that both environments offer, and be successful in the hybrid world.
