Large Healthcare Provider Establishes a Modern SharePoint Foundation

Like many large organisations transitioning from legacy technology, this healthcare provider had an established Microsoft 365 environment, but their staff intranet remained on an outdated, legacy platform.

The intranet continued to support day-to-day operations, but the organisation recognised an opportunity to make better use of the capabilities already available within SharePoint Online.

As an initial phase of their intranet redevelopment, the focus was on establishing the structure, governance and information architecture needed to support future improvements.

The decision was to start with the foundations.

FiveP delivered a focused SharePoint Foundations engagement designed to help the organisation make better use of the Microsoft 365 capability it already owned.

The engagement included:

• A tenancy evaluation and current-state assessment across SharePoint Online and the broader Microsoft 365 environment
  •Information architecture, site structure and navigation recommendations for a modern SharePoint Online intranet
• A metadata model, content types and page templates that could be extended by the client’s internal team
• Governance framework options, ownership models and content lifecycle recommendations
• An implementation guide and knowledge transfer to support a staged content migration and rollout

The engagement was delivered as planned and formally accepted within three weeks.

The organisation has since successfully launched its new SharePoint Online intranet, supported by the framework, architecture and implementation guidance established during the engagement, supported by an ongoing Microsoft 365 Support arrangement.

By establishing governance, information architecture and content management foundations first, the organisation now has a more structured and scalable foundation that can support continued improvement over time.

Many organisations assume that improving the employee experience requires new technology or a significant redevelopment project.
Often, the greatest opportunity comes from making better use of capabilities that already exist within Microsoft 365.

SharePoint Online provides a strong foundation for intranet and internal communication needs. The challenge is rarely the platform itself. More often, it is establishing the structure, ownership, governance and content management practices that allow the platform to deliver value consistently over time.

Good information management also creates future options. Organisations that invest in structure, metadata and governance today place themselves in a stronger position to take advantage of new capabilities, including AI, as their needs evolve.