What is SharePoint?
SharePoint is Microsoft's cloud content management, document collaboration, and intranet platform. It stores files, lists, and pages — organized into sites accessible to specific people or groups — and integrates tightly with the rest of Microsoft 365: Teams, OneDrive, Outlook, Power Automate, Microsoft Purview, and Copilot. Most users encounter SharePoint without thinking about it: every standard Microsoft Teams team is backed by a SharePoint site, and the Teams Files tab is a SharePoint document library.
SharePoint has been in Microsoft's portfolio for more than two decades. The product was introduced in 2001 and has gone through major architectural evolutions: SharePoint Portal Server (2001), SharePoint Server 2003 / 2007 / 2010 / 2013 / 2016 / 2019, SharePoint Server Subscription Edition (the current on-premises edition, GA 2021 and rolling forward), and SharePoint Online (the SaaS edition that ships as part of Microsoft 365). In 2026, the strong majority of new deployments are SharePoint Online — but Server SE remains the right answer for FedRAMP-High, IL5/IL6, air-gapped, and specific regulated workloads.
SharePoint Online vs SharePoint Server Subscription Edition
| Dimension | SharePoint Online (SaaS) | SharePoint Server Subscription Edition (on-prem) |
|---|---|---|
| Hosted by | Microsoft | Customer (own data center / private cloud) |
| Licensing | Included in Microsoft 365 Business / E3 / E5 / F3 | Per-server + per-user CAL, subscription model |
| Update cadence | Continuous (Microsoft manages) | Major releases on slower cadence |
| Best for | Most enterprises moving to Microsoft 365 and Copilot | FedRAMP-High, IL5/IL6, air-gapped, content sovereignty constraints |
| Copilot grounding | Native — first-class grounding source | Hybrid scenarios via federation; Copilot grounding requires cloud sites |
Hybrid configurations — Microsoft 365 in the cloud, SharePoint Server SE on-premises, with federated identity and cross-farm search — remain common in regulated industries.
The main building blocks of SharePoint
Sites
Top-level containers. Two flavors: communication sites (broadcast / publishing) and team sites (collaboration, typically backed by a Microsoft 365 group or Teams channel).
Document libraries
File storage with versioning, check-in/check-out, sensitivity labels, retention, and Office co-authoring. The backbone of SharePoint and the storage layer for Teams.
Lists
Structured data tables with custom columns, views, and Power Automate triggers. Modern replacement for many Access and Excel workflows.
Pages
Modern WYSIWYG pages built from web parts. The intranet content surface.
Permissions
Role-based access via Microsoft 365 groups and SharePoint group memberships. The control plane for oversharing.
Microsoft Search
Surfaced across SharePoint, Microsoft 365, and Copilot. The grounding layer that decides what AI can see.
SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, and Copilot — how they fit together in 2026
Every standard Microsoft Teams team is backed by a SharePoint site. The team's Files tab is a SharePoint document library. OneDrive is the personal sibling of SharePoint — same storage substrate, different ownership model. Simple rule: yours → OneDrive; team or company → SharePoint.
Copilot for Microsoft 365 grounds its answers in the content the user has permission to see — almost all of which lives in SharePoint and OneDrive. When a user prompts Copilot, the response is composed from accessible files, with sensitivity labels, retention, DLP, and Entra ID role assignments controlling what surfaces. This is why SharePoint governance — sensitivity-label architecture, oversharing remediation, retention policies, Microsoft Purview integration — is the single most consequential decision in any Microsoft Copilot deployment. Unresolved oversharing means Copilot can surface salary spreadsheets, draft contracts, or strategic memos a user was never meant to see. EPC Group's Governed AI on Microsoft Framework codifies this discipline.
Common enterprise use cases for SharePoint in 2026
- Microsoft Teams collaboration storage (every Teams team uses a SharePoint site)
- Corporate intranet and employee portal (communication sites + SharePoint Premium)
- Department and project team sites with document management
- Regulated content management (records, retention, eDiscovery — under Purview)
- Process automation (lists + Power Automate workflows)
- External partner / client collaboration (external sharing with conditional access)
- Knowledge management and search (the backbone of Copilot grounding)
- Legacy file share modernization (network drives → SharePoint document libraries)
Training paths for SharePoint in 2026
Free official
Microsoft Learn at learn.microsoft.com/training/sharepoint — the official self-paced curriculum. Surrounding certifications: MS-203 (Microsoft 365 Messaging) and MS-700 (Microsoft Teams Administrator) cover the integrated stack.
Paid official and well-known training providers
- Microsoft Press SharePoint titles — including EPC Group founder Errin O'Connor's SharePoint books.
- Pluralsight — SharePoint and Microsoft 365 paths.
- LinkedIn Learning — modern SharePoint, governance, and admin courses.
- Pragmatic Works — known for Power BI but publishes SharePoint training.
- Microsoft Tech Community — free SharePoint blogs, Community Stories, monthly product team AMAs.
How EPC Group helps with SharePoint
EPC Group has the most distinctive SharePoint credentials of any named Microsoft consulting firm. Founder Errin O'Connor co-authored multiple Microsoft Press SharePoint titles, and the firm has consulted on SharePoint architecture, governance, and migration since the early 2000s — including federal-scale engagements at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (TARP eDiscovery, reporting up to the Congressional Oversight Committee) and the National Archives.
Current 2026 offerings:
- Tenant architecture and information architecture (IA) design
- SharePoint Online and Server SE migrations (from Google Sites, Confluence, network file shares, legacy SharePoint farms)
- Intranet modernization to communication sites and SharePoint Premium
- Governance and oversharing remediation under the Governed AI on Microsoft Framework
- 24/7 managed SharePoint operations under the Microsoft Cloud Orchestrator Practice
Verifiable credentials, source-linked at /about/facts: (founded 1997 since 1997), four-time Microsoft Press & Sams author (Power BI, SharePoint, Azure, large-scale migrations), G2 Leader for seven consecutive quarters (Fall 2024 through Fall 2026), G2 average 4.4/5 across 15 verified reviews.