SharePoint Optimization & Governance Assessment
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Project Overview
A large construction and development organization operating across multiple business units faced mounting inefficiencies in its Microsoft 365 environment. With hundreds of employees relying on SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive for daily operations, the organization was experiencing performance degradation, governance gaps, and rising costs. Document libraries had grown beyond manageable limits, folder structures were deeply nested, and external sharing was broadly enabled without oversight. These issues were compounded by fragmented tool usage and limited staff awareness of SharePoint’s capabilities. The organization sought to regain control, reduce operational risk, and establish a scalable, secure digital workspace aligned with best practices.
Execution
The optimization initiative focused on transforming a sprawling Microsoft 365 environment into a streamlined, governed, and user-friendly platform. A hub-and-spoke site architecture was proposed to replace nested subsites, enabling flatter structures that support faster access and simplified navigation. Governance policies were introduced to manage external sharing, permissions, and data lifecycle. The solution emphasized stakeholder engagement, content rationalization, and end-user enablement to ensure long-term sustainability and adoption across departments.
• Environment Inventory & Analysis — Assessed over 290 SharePoint and Teams sites to identify inactive content, deep folder hierarchies, and sharing risks.
• Stakeholder Interviews — Engaged IT, Finance, Project Management, and Quality Assurance teams to understand workflows, pain points, and readiness for change.
• Governance Configuration Review — Evaluated tenant-wide settings across SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, Entra ID, and Microsoft Purview to uncover gaps in permissions and external access.
• Architecture Flattening & Site Restructure — Proposed a hub-and-spoke model with standardized libraries and metadata to improve usability and reduce URL path errors.
• Policy Implementation & Training Roadmap — Recommended sensitivity labels, DLP policies, guest access expiration, and structured ownership, supported by targeted training to drive adoption.
Results
The assessment delivered a strategic roadmap that enabled the organization to streamline its Microsoft 365 environment, reduce operational costs, and enforce governance. By identifying inefficiencies and risks, the client was positioned to consolidate content, improve collaboration, and prepare for future digital transformation initiatives. The shift toward centralized tools and structured policies laid the foundation for automation, records management, and improved compliance.
• Identified over $3,000/month in potential savings through storage optimization and site consolidation.
• Reduced permission complexity and external sharing risks through governance policy enforcement.
• Increased staff awareness and adoption of SharePoint’s collaboration features via targeted training.
• Established a scalable architecture to support future automation and compliance initiatives.