Chapter 2

Introducing SharePoint Online

IN THIS CHAPTER

Exploring SharePoint Online

Determining why SharePoint Online has become so popular

Figuring out the difference between SharePoint Online and SharePoint On-Premises

Understanding some of the benefits to a cloud-based offering

Just a handful of years ago, it wasn’t easy to adopt SharePoint. SharePoint fell squarely into the realm of enterprise-class software. Enterprise-class software is powerful but expensive and resource-intensive, so in order to adopt SharePoint, you needed to be a large organization with big bucks and a large IT support team.

The rapid rise of super-fast and ubiquitous Internet connectivity caused a paradigm shift in the software world. Microsoft and other companies quickly came out with new applications that offered enterprise-class software, including SharePoint, over the Internet. Microsoft branded its SharePoint offering as SharePoint Online and packaged it with products such as Exchange (email), Skype for Business (instant communication), and Office (productivity). The combined package of services (SharePoint, Exchange, Skype for Business, and Office) is called Office 365. To find out how the technologies in Office 365 fit together, check out Office 365 For Dummies 2nd Edition by Rosemarie Withee (Wiley).

In this chapter, you see how SharePoint Online has changed the game and what it means to use a cloud-based solution. You read about the differences between SharePoint Online and SharePoint On-Premises ...

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