8.5.16
With Microsoft hoping that the new release of SharePoint 2016 will remedy SharePoint usage issues by adding more features, new research by independent information management analysts, AIIM, reveal that only 43 percent of respondents are somewhat aware of what SharePoint 2016 offers, and 29 percent indicate they have no awareness at all.
With more than 200 million SharePoint users worldwide according to Microsoft, the software allows users to collaborate on files, on storing and synchronizing group work files, and on document management. Yet the AIIM study, ‘The Impact of SharePoint – 2016,’ completed by 274 respondents, reveals that “SharePoint 2016 has the potential to continue to be an underused piece of software for many enterprises,” warned Bob Larrivee, vice president and chief analyst, AIIM.
“Using SharePoint has always meant a change in the way we work, and given that SharePoint has been with us for many years, it is disheartening to find that many organizations are still saying that their SharePoint project has stalled or failed due to either inadequate user training (67 percent of respondents) or bad user experience (66 percent of respondents),” continued Larrivee.
On the flip side, 26 percent of respondents indicated that they plan to increase spending on SharePoint add-on products, with a further 27 percent looking to increase spending to integrate with other repositories, so it is clear that SharePoint is delivering value for some organizations.
For those who are planning for SharePoint 2016, indications are that they see this as following the SharePoint upgrade path (14 percent) or the Microsoft roadmap (11 percent) with 15 percent seeing a move to SharePoint 2016 as part of their strategic platform vision in building their information management ecosystem.
Microsoft’s direction for SharePoint 2016 is supported by market trends and does appear to be the platform of choice for ECM solutions, with 35 percent of AIIM’s respondents indicating that SharePoint adoption as the primary ECM system is a top priority.
Internal training on SharePoint is top a priority for 58 percent of respondents while 50 percent plan to update and enforce their Information Governance (IG) policies.
“This should be reassuring for Microsoft, and we hope SharePoint can further empower people and organizations,” concluded Larrivee. “It is a platform that can offer a lot to any organization and its people. The right training and user support is essential for SharePoint to deliver even more value than it does now.”
The survey was taken using a web-based tool by 274 individual members of the AIIM community between June 2, and July 1, 2016.
