Here's how to set up a good governance for SharePoint Online

It is critical to SharePoint properly configured, just as it is for OneDrive for Business. A properly configured SharePoint environment provides not only stability, but also consistency and solid security. Since SharePoint Online often contains organizational data, thoughtful setup and governance plays an essential role.

In the Office 365 ecosystem, SharePoint Online forms the core of information and files. It acts as the central point where everything comes together and is seamlessly connected to other important tools such as Teams, OneDrive and Delve. By configuring SharePoint properly, you ensure that these collaborating tools can function optimally and your organization can work efficiently and streamlined.

A well-thought-out SharePoint design allows you to organize and manage important business information in a structured manner. This allows users to easily find and share relevant documents while enjoying a secure and controlled environment.

In short, SharePoint Online plays a central role in the Office 365 platform and has a significant impact on productivity and collaboration within your organization. Careful setup and governance of SharePoint will ensure that you leverage the full potential of Office 365 and create a solid foundation for a successful digital work environment.

What is governance for SharePoint Online within Microsoft 365?

Governance Brings people, processes, technologies & policies together.

Why is governance needed for SharePoint Online ?

To properly set up the 13 pillars below, it is necessary that proposed framework will be described around these themes. Rest assured, you really don't need to have them all ready.

How to start SharePoint Governance ?

Start small. Start small,.

• Avoid regulating everything. 'Govern everything' is not possible.
• Don't think the plan will come naturally. Put time and energy into clear understandable documentation.
• Don't make policies of things you can't enforce. Don't mix the human aspect with the policy/policy. Otherwise, you will stand still.
• Grow systematically toward a better version of the governance model.
• Policies carry the current culture of the organization. if there is now a lot of chaos and no rules. Then it is strange that you will institute many rules in your SharePoint organization. Your organization is not ready to handle this maturity. (Culture, people,....)
• Create a governance board. To add rules in subsequent versions. Don't put everything on the board. (Governance board has nothing to do with SharePoint Governance but can be a helpful way to grab questions from all over and give heard with timing & budget)
• Help people offer basic solutions/training so they become pro-SharePoint .
• Do it. Most important point. You can spend hours days dreaming and/or talking about Governance. Put it on paper. Because without getting it clearly down on paper, you haven't figured out for yourself how you will do it. WHY you think you will do it.

What it's best not to do

Some tips from practice:

• Don't just involve IT. Bring your entire organizational representatives to the table. HR, IT, Management, department heads.
• Allign governance plans with your organization's major groups. Not with everyone.
• A governance board creates a frame. But does not resolve the content. Don't think that if the point is on the board that it will happen by itself.
• Don't abort shadow-it, third-party or file server use if there is no alternative. People need tools. If SharePoint can't help them the problem is not in the fileserver or SharePoint.
• Make time. Not hours, but days. lots of days. If you don't make time to write out a clear policy. Then you don't have a solid policy. That can also be a choice. then express it very clearly.
• Don't expect everyone to understand the need. Don't try to convince everyone in words. DO!

Key features of SharePoint Online

SharePoint basic furnishing

The following built-in options can bring a framework of the menu you can choose from. Don't stare blindly at turning everything on or off. Default = good. Adjust the technology based on your needs.

Set up external sharing in SharePoint online properly

• Users can share with Anyone in the default settings. Inside but also outside the organization.
• I believe in using the defaults but using Information Protection to label and classify the effective information. Why? Because you don't want users to have to distinguish between sensitive data or not.
• Allow or block sharing with individuals in specific domains. This gives you room to block domains or partners you want to collaborate with, or don't want to collaborate with.
• External users must accept sharing invitations with the account on which the invite was received. If you really want to be 100% sure that the recipient is the account on which the invite was received. Check this box!
• Allowing remote users to further share your files or folders is on by default. It might be better to just turn this off. (OneDrive feature)
• Don't allow sharing outside your organization? You can do this if it really needs to be completely locked down.
• Allow sharing only with the external users who already appear in your organization's address list . Handy because then you can write a policy on how new guests will get permission to access your data.
• Allow users to invite verified external users and share items with them.
• Allow sharing with authenticated external users and use of links for anonymous access.

Who can share with users outside your organization?

• Allow only users in selected security groups to share with authenticated remote users
• Allow only users in selected security groups to share with authenticated external users and use anonymous links

Standard clutch type

• Direct - specific persons
• Internal - only individuals in the organization
• Anonymous access - anyone with the link

• In addition to the SharePoint configuration, you can also customize the OneDrive sharing capability.
• It's pretty logical that you will keep the 2 platforms short together. That's why Microsoft also put the 2 platforms together in the console.
• You can do this through OneDrive's Admin Console.

Access management for SharePoint Online

For unmanaged devices

• Full access - best practice - by default. But not the most secure solution.
• Allow limited web access.
• Block access. When you want to allow only trusted devices.

Logging out non-active session

• Automatically unsubscribe inactive users.

Network location

• Only allow access from certain IP address ranges. You can activate this when you know all IPs and no one from home should be able to access the SharePoint environment.

• Apps that do not use modern authentication
• Device restrictions cannot be enforced with some third-party apps and previous versions of Office. Use this setting to block all access from these apps.

Device Access

• Allow access only from certain IP address locations.
• Mobile Application management.

You can start with the MAM (Mobile Application Management) approach by configuring your OneDrive/SharePoint specifically. However, we recommend bringing this into a broader framework and for all Microsoft 365 Apps.

Also: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams,...

Site storage limits

• Manually for each site.
• Fully automatic is recommended.

SharePoint Notifications

• This is on by default.

Creating Sites

• Allow users to create sites from the SharePoint home page and from OneDrive. This is on by default.

Management Center

• If you still want to make technical adjustments in the 'former' SharePoint for the Modern UI , it is best to switch back to the classic SharePoint management center

More features

• Term Archive: Create and manage term sets to help users enter data consistently.
• User Profiles: Add and remove administrators for a user's OneDrive, disable OneDrive creation for some users and more.
• Search: Helping users find what they are looking for. Learn more
• Apps: Configure settings for the SharePoint store, monitor app usage, manage app licenses, and more.
• BCS: Manage connections to data sources such as Azure SQL databases or WCF Web services.
• Secure store: You can create and set the credentials for target applications used for BCS connections.
• Record management: Manage records on a record center site that acts as an archive.
• InfoPath: Enable browser-based InfoPath forms.
• Hybrid dialer: Use this wizard to automate some of the steps for setting up a hybrid environment.
• Page for classic site collection: display the list of classic site collections in alphabetical order by URL.

How can you make your SharePoint design succeed?

• Users in your organization often don't understand when drastic changes happen on the SharePoint environment. Try to communicate well internally in the organization. But also with external parties using your SharePoint environment.
• If you would choose not to share with outsiders communicate the new standard within the organization. And check how many links are currently open to the outside via Cloud App Security. Or through the Security-center or third-party tooling.
• Think carefully about the impact on your environment when parts or other hugely used features will be disabled.
• It is better not to limit too many technical possibilities around document collaboration. Users will otherwise start processing organizational data outside your SharePoint environment and you really don't want that.
• Writing out written policies, agreement frameworks, presentations, governance document(s) takes a lot of time and takes a lot of energy. Don't go into meetings to talk before you have thought about it yourself. Write out 10 concrete proposals. on the 4 pillars: People - processes - technologies - rules. Present the proposals, knock off, communicate and set up. Ask for feedback.