SharePoint is a web-based document and information management system that integrates with Microsoft Office. SharePoint uses pages and web components, similar to WebPress, to organize content. Before Missouri State switched to Office 365 Education, some departments housed their documents on SharePoint sites to create an intranet for employees. Now that we use Office 365 for Education, SharePoint Online is included with each user’s subscription.
SharePoint Online
As Microsoft describes it, SharePoint Online (also referred to as SharePoint 2016) is a cloud-based service that helps organizations share and collaborate with colleagues, partners, and customers. With SharePoint Online, you can access internal sites, documents, and other information from anywhere — at the office, at home, or from a mobile device. Here at Missouri State, SharePoint Online is integrated with our Office 365 Education subscription. Office 365 Groups utilize SharePoint Online without the need for users to manage an actual SharePoint site, but if your department or team is interested in creating and managing a full SharePoint site (beyond what Office 365 Groups can offer), you can contact User Support via the
Help Desk to request a SharePoint site be set up; you can also request that your Office 365 Group be deleted once you transfer to a full SharePoint site if you no longer want or need to use the Group.
Office 365 Groups and SharePoint Online
If you’re a member of an
Office 365 Group, you may have noticed that your Group files are stored in SharePoint. This can be a little confusing because the University uses OneDrive for Business as its cloud storage system, but when you access your Group files the top of the page says “SharePoint." SharePoint Online is where all Office 365 Groups are housed; by using SharePoint Online, Office 365 Groups are integrated with other Microsoft applications like Delve, Sway, Planner, and Yammer. This means that users can access their Group documents from both OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online because Group files are stored on SharePoint servers rather than OneDrive servers. Users do not need to update or maintain their Group SharePoint sites; this is an automated process, and SharePoint Online simply serves as an access point for Office 365 Group features.
Training Resources
Computer Services does not currently offer training classes for SharePoint Online; however, there are many training options on the web. Listed below are just some of the resources that will help you get started with SharePoint Online:
To request help related to this article, please see our Service Catalog.