Why Businesses Need SharePoint Advanced Management

With over 200 million users, SharePoint has proven itself to be essential for business collaboration, document management and information sharing.

When a business grows, naturally, data management becomes more complex, therefore companies need more advanced tools to maintain security, compliance, and efficiency. SharePoint Advanced Management (SAM) is designed to address these needs, providing businesses with enhanced governance, security, and automation capabilities.

But what is SharePoint Advanced Management and how can it benefit your business? 

What is SharePoint Advanced Management?

SharePoint Advanced Management is an add-on that upgrades your current SharePoint Online in Microsoft 365. Its features are designed to improve an organisation’s ability to manage and secure its SharePoint content while ensuring compliance with global regulatory requirements. 

Key features of SAM include:

Enhanced Compliance and Retention Policies

Businesses operating in regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare and government administration need to ensure that their data handling complies with industry standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, or ISO 27001. SharePoint Advanced Management helps by providing:

• Retention Policies – Automate content retention and deletion based on business rules to meet compliance obligations.
• Sensitivity Labels – Classify and protect sensitive data, enforcing encryption and access control based on its classification.
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP) – Identify and restrict the sharing of confidential information to prevent purposeful and accidental data leaks.
• Extended Audit Log Retention – Standard SharePoint audit logs retain records for 180 days, but SAM extends this to up to 10 years for forensic investigations and compliance reporting.

Advanced Security Controls

With over 50% of businesses in the UK experiencing some sort of cyber security threat in 2024, businesses of all sizes and specialisms need to be making security a top priority. SAM provides robust security features that help organisations mitigate risks:

• Access Reviews – Regularly review and verify user access to sensitive SharePoint content to ensure only authorised personnel have permissions.
• Conditional Access Policies – Restrict SharePoint access based on device type, location, and risk level to prevent unauthorised logins.
• Restricted Search Scope – Limit search results in SharePoint for specific groups or users, preventing overexposure to confidential information.
• External Sharing Governance – Set controls over external file sharing to ensure only approved, internal recipients can access and use company data.

Improved Governance and Content Oversight

Data governance ensures that content is properly managed and controlled. SAM helps businesses streamline this with:

• Site Lifecycle Management – Automatically identify inactive sites and archive or delete them to prevent information sprawl.
• Usage Analytics – Gain insights into SharePoint site activity to optimise workflows and improve user experience.
• Data Access Governance Reports – Identify sites with overshared or sensitive content to enforce appropriate security policies.
• Activity Tracking – Monitor document interactions to detect anomalies or potential security threats.

Boosting Productivity and Operational Efficiency

SAM is not just about compliance and security – it also helps organisations work more efficiently by reducing manual work and improving collaboration amongst departments and locations:

• Content Insights Dashboard – Get an overview of file usage trends and active users to make data-driven decisions.
• Automated Policies – Reduce administrative burden on internal IT teams by setting up automated site management and access control rules over a set period of time
• Seamless Integration with Microsoft 365 Copilot – Ensure AI-driven assistance pulls from already verified data, preventing misinformation being shared amongst users

Why Businesses Need SharePoint Advanced Management

So that’s the features of SAM however, what’s the benefit to you?

Strengthened Data Security and Risk Mitigation

Data breaches are costly and can damage a company’s reputation not only with their customers but with their employees too. SAM provides organisations with enhanced security measures to prevent unauthorised data access from cyber attackers and unauthorised employees. Features like access reviews, conditional access policies, and restricted search scopes help businesses minimise risks and strengthen their position when it comes to data security.

Simplified Regulatory Compliance

Regulatory compliance is a significant challenge for any business but especially those dealing with mass amounts of financial data, healthcare records, or personal information. With its advanced retention policies, audit log retention, and data loss prevention features, SAM simplifies compliance management, reducing the risk of legal penalties due to non compliance. 

Enhanced Data Governance and Lifecycle Management

Without proper governance, the SharePoint environment can become disorganised, making it difficult to manage content effectively. SAM’s tools help businesses maintain a structured, clutter-free SharePoint environment by automatically identifying and managing inactive sites, and monitoring data sharing.

Prevention of Oversharing and Unauthorised Access

One of the biggest risks in SharePoint environments is unintentional data oversharing. With SAM, businesses can implement external sharing governance policies, track file activity, and restrict access to prevent confidential information from being exposed to unknowing, unauthorised users.

Increased Productivity and Collaboration

By automating compliance tasks, security policies, and site management, SAM allows IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than manual tasks. Employees also benefit from a more organised and secure SharePoint experience, improving collaboration, efficiency and overall workplace happiness. 

Better Insights for Decision-Making

With usage analytics, file activity tracking, and content insights dashboards, SAM provides businesses with valuable data-driven insights per individual in turn help allowing for optimised workflows, improved user engagement, and an enhanced overall SharePoint strategy.

Cost Savings in the Long Run

While SAM requires an additional upfront investment, it can ultimately save businesses money in the long run by reducing compliance risks, preventing security breaches, and removing the burden of manual administrative tasks. The cost of non-compliance, data breaches, and inefficient workflows far outweighs the investment in SharePoint Advanced Management.

Is SharePoint Advanced Management Right for Your Business?

We’ve already established that SharePoint Advanced Management offers significant benefits, however it’s important to determine whether it’s the right fit for your business. Consider the following factors:

• Company Size and Complexity – Large enterprises with extensive SharePoint usage and complex data structures will benefit the most from SAM’s governance and security features.
• Industry and Compliance Requirements – If your business operates in a heavily regulated industry (eg: healthcare, finance, government), SAM’s compliance tools will help meet legal and security obligations.
• SharePoint Usage – For businesses that already rely on SharePoint, investing in SharePoint Advanced Management is a strategic move that improves security, compliance, and efficiency while reducing risks and operational costs both from the second of deployment and beyond.
• Security Concerns – If your company deals with sensitive data, SAM’s security features can prevent breaches and unauthorised access.

With cyber-attacks becoming more clever and even more harmful, businesses must be proactive in securing sensitive information and ensuring compliance with industry regulations. SAM helps organisations achieve these goals by offering advanced security controls, automated governance policies, and insightful analytics.

At Spanish Point, we understand the importance of having an enhanced Sharepoint experience for your employees, alongside the importance of safeguarding your data. For more information on how we can help your business boost your knowledge on Sharepoint, you can contact us here to kickstart your journey.

Ready to take control of your SharePoint environment?
Get in touch with our team at Spanish Point to explore how SharePoint Advanced Management can enhance your data security, streamline compliance, and drive smarter collaboration across your organisation.