The highly anticipated SharePoint 2016 has finally been released to the public for its first preview. There are many new features that are guaranteed to make everyone’s life just a little easier and a little more organized. The newest features span many different categories; each category is made up of several sub-categories that are each designed to improve the SharePoint user experience.
Hybrid Possibilities
While it is not the only new SharePoint 2016 feature, this new combination of Office 365 and SharePoint is one of the largest changes. This hybrid model includes OneDrive redirection, meaning that when clicking on OneDrive you’ll be redirected to your Office 365 My Site, instead of your On- Premises. Another new change is a hybrid cloud search, which has created a single search capability. When searching in Office 365, you will be taken to the SharePoint search index, which will bring all results from both systems. Another new SharePoint 2016 feature is being able to follow all your sites in one place. All sites from On-Premises and Office 365 can be viewed in the App Launcher. This combination of several features keeps all information organized in one central location.
Infrastructure and Performance Advancements
Microsoft has improved many features of SharePoint 2016. These features include the installation of a single role on Sharepoint, meaning it will only install what is required. SharePoint will also make sure that all involved servers are compliant. Servers can be modified to run different roles. Microsoft has also removed the downtime that was once required in order to update the servers. In addition, there is now a capability of uploading any size file. While technically there is no limit to the size of the file, Microsoft has warned users to avoid uploading files that exceed 10 GB. This prevents a slowing down of the system and potential disconnection from the system.
New Compliance Center
The last main SharePoint 2016 feature is the introduction of new sites to help build your own policies and apply them in your own individual environment. This includes a Document Deletion Policy Center, which allows companies to control which files can be deleted after a certain amount of years. This new center also allows for an increase in data security, which includes monitoring platforms. An increase in security creates a more trusted platform!
The Greatest of the SharePoint 2016 Features: Improved User Experience
One of the most important features is a user-friendly experience. All programs should be easy to use and should be designed with the user in mind. One of the biggest differences between SharePoint 2013 and SharePoint 2016 is the added layer of user-friendly features. This can mainly be seen through the new hybrid features, combining the two programs which create a centralized location for all data, which increases convenience.
The new SharePoint 2016 features have been proven to be incredibly useful and user-friendly. However, it is important to remember that Microsoft has only published a preview of SharePoint 2016 and is highly encouraging feedback in order to continue developing and improving SharePoint 2016.