Organizations often fall into these traps without realizing it. By the time the symptoms become visible,
teams are struggling to locate information, multiple versions of the same document exist, and nobody is
quite sure which content should be considered the source of truth.
SharePoint is a great example. In my opinion, SharePoint is one of the most capable document and content
management platforms ever created. It is flexible, scalable, integrates well with Microsoft 365, and
offers organizations a secure and highly available platform for managing business information.
The problem isn't SharePoint.
The problem is that many organizations purchase the platform and assume users will naturally understand
how to organize and manage content within it. Little time is invested in governance, training,
ownership, or long-term planning. The platform becomes another place to store files instead of an
opportunity to improve how information is managed.
The result is often a familiar pattern: site collections containing subsites, which contain more
subsites, which contain additional subsites. Libraries and lists become increasingly complex.
Permissions are broken at multiple levels. Individual folders, files, and list items are shared with
different combinations of users until nobody fully understands who has access to what.
To be fair, this didn't happen because users were acting irresponsibly. For many years, hierarchical
structures and deeply nested sites were common recommendations. Organizations simply carried their
traditional file server mindset into SharePoint.
Unfortunately, moving a messy filing cabinet into a modern platform doesn't eliminate the mess. It
simply gives the mess a new home.
Technical debt begins to accumulate. Duplication of effort increases. Teams recreate content they can't
find. Multiple versions of documents begin circulating. Employees spend valuable time searching for
information instead of using it.
Modern SharePoint Online offers a better approach. Hub Sites, Team Sites, Communication Sites, and flat
architecture models allow organizations to organize information in ways that are easier to navigate,
maintain, and govern than the deeply nested structures of the past.
If an organization recognizes that content management has become chaotic, it is not too late to make
improvements. The first step is acknowledging that the problem exists. The next step is identifying
duplicated content, unclear ownership, unnecessary permissions, and outdated organizational practices
that no longer serve the business.
Technology teams should engage with management and team leaders to understand how content is created,
maintained, and consumed. Better processes can then be proposed, ownership can be established, and Team
Owners can be held accountable for the information their teams manage.
One common example involves highly sensitive documents that only a small number of people need to
access. In many cases, these files do not belong in large team repositories. Assigning a document owner
and storing the document in that owner's OneDrive, while sharing it with the appropriate individuals,
can often be a cleaner solution.
A common concern is what happens when the document owner leaves the organization.
Fortunately, Microsoft 365 provides mechanisms for recovering and transferring ownership of content. A
knowledgeable SharePoint administrator can access the former employee's OneDrive and transfer
responsibility to a new document owner when necessary.
Many business leaders do not spend much time thinking about content architecture. Their focus is
naturally on sales, human resources, operations, quality, customer service, or other business
priorities. That's understandable.
However, content management is not separate from those activities. It is part of delivering those
services.
When information becomes difficult to locate, duplicate work increases. When ownership is unclear,
accountability decreases. When governance is absent, confusion grows. Every department eventually feels
the impact.
This is why communication and training are so important. Good governance isn't something that happens
once and is forgotten. It requires ongoing conversations with management, Team Owners, and end users. It
requires periodic review, reinforcement, and education.
Communication Sites can serve as excellent hubs for organization-wide information. Regular updates help
employees stay informed and connected to what is happening across departments.
Team Sites should function as collaborative workspaces focused on content that directly supports the
mission of a specific team.
Power Platform services such as Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI can further improve business
processes by providing structure around data collection, approvals, reporting, workflow automation, and
decision-making.
At the end of the day, technology rarely creates the chaos. More often than not, technology simply
exposes existing process issues and amplifies them over time.
The good news is that the same technology can also be used to solve those problems when organizations
are willing to invest in governance, ownership, communication, and training.
My two cents. 🐦🐦