Curious about how to get real value from Microsoft Copilot? In this Ask Sympraxis episode, we dive into the Maturity Model for Copilot: Agents - breaking down the journey from out-of-the-box tools to fully custom engine agents. We’ll explore SharePoint agents, Copilot Studio, third-party options, and how to choose the right path for your organization. Whether you’re just getting started or ready to go deeper, this conversation is packed with practical takeaways you won’t want to miss!| Sympraxis Consulting
In this Ask Sympraxis episode, the team explores the foundational considerations for preparing your organization for Microsoft Copilot. As excitement builds around AI integration in the workplace, it’s essential to pause and examine the critical issues of readiness, governance, and long-term strategy. What is Copilot readiness? At its core, Copilot readiness is about evaluating your organization’s current state in terms of security, privacy, compliance, and governance. It shines a spotlig...| Sympraxis Consulting
This is a special and fun episode of Ask Sympraxis as we celebrate five whole years of laughing, learning, and growing together in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem! Back in April 2020 - early COVID times when conferences were canceled and seeing people in person became a distant dream - we decided to start this series. At the time, it felt like a small thing, just a way to stay connected and talk shop, even if it didn’t get much traction. But here we are, five years later, and not only is it sti...| Sympraxis Consulting
Microsoft’s recent announcement about changes to OneDrive licensing has significant implications for organizations managing unlicensed accounts. These changes, which began taking effect on January 27, 2025, mean that unlicensed OneDrive accounts - those associated with users who have had their Microsoft 365 licenses removed - will either be deleted or incur storage charges. The transition period for these changes extends until May 16, 2025, and will be applied to tenants gradually.| Sympraxis Consulting
In this Ask Sympraxis session, we dive into the collaboration power of OneDrive and SharePoint and how they work together to streamline file access and management. You’ll learn the key differences between Sync and Shortcuts, the benefits of using Shortcuts for easier navigation, how to migrate from Sync to Shortcut effectively, and much more. Whether you’re managing personal files or collaborating across teams, this session will help you optimize your Microsoft 365 experience.| Sympraxis Consulting
Effective Document Management Strategies for Microsoft 365 - Intranet Edition Managing documents within a Microsoft 365 intranet requires a thoughtful approach to ensure content remains organized, accessible, and properly controlled. Below, we outline key strategies for effective document management within a Microsoft 365 intranet. Document Management Problem Statement An intranet serves is a hub for company-wide content consumption. The primary challenge is balancing accessibility with contr...| Sympraxis Consulting
Struggling to find your files in Microsoft Teams? You’re not alone! In this Ask Sympraxis webinar, we dive into effective document management strategies to help you stay organized and in control. From understanding where your files live to optimizing Teams scenarios, folders, and libraries, we cover key tips to take your document management to Maturity Level 500.| Sympraxis Consulting
Managing documents effectively in Microsoft 365 SharePoint is a common challenge for organizations. To address challenges that arise, organizations must implement a structured approach to document management that evolves based on their needs. Join as we explore different levels of document management maturity, from default document libraries to advanced extensibility solutions. Document Management Problem Statement Common document management issues include difficulties in locating files, poor...| Sympraxis Consulting
Recently, Microsoft introduced “intelligent versioning,” a feature designed to optimize storage and enhance usability by prioritizing newer versions of documents. In this blog, we’ll explore the fundamentals of SharePoint versioning, its benefits, potential pitfalls, and how to configure it effectively—plus what makes intelligent versioning such a game-changer. What is SharePoint versioning? SharePoint versioning allows users to maintain a history of changes to documents and list item...| Sympraxis Consulting
In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-powered tools, SharePoint Copilot agents stand out as a game-changer for enhancing workplace productivity. These specialized AI assistants integrate your organization’s knowledge and data sources with Microsoft Copilot, enabling users to perform a range of tasks more efficiently. From automating repetitive processes to offering actionable insights, Copilot agents can transform how teams interact with data and make decisions.| Sympraxis Consulting
What’s Happening with Delve? Microsoft recently announced the retirement of Delve, a move that has been on the horizon for some time. Delve provided a central hub for users within the Microsoft 365 suite, offering access to profile details, connections, recent documents, and activities of colleagues based on permissions. A Brief History of Delve Delve debuted in 2015 with a bold blue logo, introducing users to an innovative way of showcasing collaboration through the Office Graph. Initially...| Sympraxis Consulting
In today’s collaborative work environment, it’s essential to seamlessly interact with individuals outside your organization. Microsoft 365 offers a way to invite guest users—external individuals—into your tenant to work together within your environment. This capability fosters cooperation with clients, partners, or contractors, but it’s important to manage these external users carefully to ensure they only access what they need.| Sympraxis Consulting
Permissions in Microsoft 365 can be complex, but a clear approach can help simplify management, protect data, and enhance collaboration. Below, we break down the highlights from our recent Ask Sympraxis session, The Many Faces of Permissions in Microsoft 365, which explores our philosophy on permissions, the many sharing settings, and best practices for permissions in Microsoft 365.| Sympraxis Consulting
At Sympraxis, we love hosting our Ask Sympraxis Anything sessions, where we answer questions directly from our audience. These episodes provide an opportunity to dive deep into the challenges, innovations, and nuances of Microsoft 365. Below are some highlights from our recent session! Can you trigger multiple edit items from PnP Modern Search web parts? Yes, you can! You can achieve this by using a custom list column. Start by creating a custom HTML anchor tag with a URL that directs users t...| Sympraxis Consulting
What Happened with SharePoint Lists? The new Microsoft Lists user experience has rolled out for SharePoint. With this a lot of changes have happened. In the past, the lists and libraries experiences in SharePoint were owned by different teams at Microsoft. Meaning that the same features would be implemented by two different teams, which often resulted in two different user experiences. Additionally, the Microsoft Lists app, likely managed by yet another team, further complicates this issue. T...| Sympraxis Consulting
The SharePoint platform has been evolving rapidly, bringing new features and adjustments that can impact both user experience and governance. While many of these changes offer exciting opportunities, some also introduce challenges. In this session we take a closer look at key updates to SharePoint’s editing experience, offering insights on what works well, and where caution is needed.| Sympraxis Consulting
Backup and archive: understanding the differences Backup and archive serve distinct purposes, although many confuse them for the same thing. Backup refers to warm storage, focusing on active content and ensuring easy access to recover data if a problem arises. On the other hand, archiving is akin to cold storage, dealing with inactive content that isn’t regularly used. Syncing data does not serve as a backup or archive; it merely keeps two copies of the same data synchronized, without provi...| Sympraxis Consulting
In this Ask Sympraxis session, we expand on the foundational concepts discussed in the previous episode, focusing on the role of SharePoint Managed Metadata for Search. If you haven’t caught up on that episode yet, we recommend starting there to better understand the central role of the term store and managed metadata in building a robust information architecture. Term store vs. managed metadata The term store and managed metadata are often mentioned together, but it’s important to differ...| Sympraxis Consulting
In this Ask Sympraxis session, we delve into the intricacies of the SharePoint Term Store, a critical component for maintaining consistency in how we categorize and tag content across an organization’s intranet. What is the SharePoint Term Store? The Term Store in SharePoint is essentially a repository for commonly used terms. It provides a tenant-wide or site-wide source of terms organized hierarchically, ensuring we use the same language when working in SharePoint. This consistency is cru...| Sympraxis Consulting
In this session, we explore the significant updates to Learning Pathways in version 5 and the changes to the Lookbook. Developed by Julie and Stefan Bauer, Learning Pathways has developed into a great tool for most organizations. With Derek’s help maintaining the code updates, this knowledgeable team has collaborated to bring you the latest improvements in the beta version of v5. If you’re looking for more in-depth assistance with Learning Pathways beyond this 30-minute session, we highly...| Sympraxis Consulting
As we mark the milestone of our 100th episode of Ask Sympraxis, it’s incredible to reflect on the journey we’ve embarked on since our first episode on April 20, 2020. Back then, the world was quite different, and in many ways, so was the landscape of technology. Over the years, Ask Sympraxis has grown, evolved, and adapted, much like the tech ecosystem we seek to demystify.| Sympraxis Consulting
Microsoft has introduced SharePoint Premium, a comprehensive suite of tools designed to enhance content experiences, processes, governance, and backup/archive functionalities. SharePoint Premium aims to elevate content management to a higher maturity level, integrating various advanced tools and capabilities. SharePoint Advanced Management (SAM) Located in the SharePoint Admin Center, SharePoint Advanced Management (SAM) offers a range of capabilities, including sophisticated reporting tools ...| Sympraxis Consulting
When managing data in SharePoint and Microsoft Lists, understanding the various form customization options available and how they interact with these platforms is essential. Forms serve as the primary interface for collecting data, and while they might appear simple, the underlying complexity varies depending on the type of form and its intended use. This session explores the different form customization options available for SharePoint lists, libraries, and Microsoft Lists, including their c...| Sympraxis Consulting
Back in the day, SharePoint developers reveled in the ability to craft pixel-perfect intranets and websites, wielding full control over branding assets. However, this era of limitless customization came at a cost - considerable technical debt. If you built an intranet with custom branding, you had to account for every web part, how it was used, and how it was branded, often at the expense of performance. The good news is all that changes in the new modern brand center as it is slowly giving u...| Sympraxis Consulting
A couple of weeks ago, the Microsoft 365 Community Conference took place, offering a deep dive into the latest advancements and future directions for Microsoft 365. The central theme of the conference was the transformative influence of Copilot on the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Copilot Studio One of the significant announcements was the full availability of Copilot Studio. Previously available on a limited basis, Copilot Studio is now accessible to more users, although not all functional...| Sympraxis Consulting
In today’s tech-driven world, AI is a hot topic of conversation. Whether you’re excited about its potential or have reservations, there’s no denying that AI offers numerous opportunities to streamline tasks and boost productivity. However, it’s essential to remember that while AI can be incredibly helpful, it’s not infallible. Join us as we delve into some of the ways we harness AI’s power and explore important considerations to keep in mind along the way.| Sympraxis Consulting
Crafting a compelling home page on SharePoint is an art and a science, requiring a delicate balance of strategic planning and creative execution. At the heart of it all lies the principle of consistency. Whether the page serves as an intranet hub or a team site, users should encounter a familiar layout and navigation that guides them to their desired content. Rules of thumb Beyond consistency, we recommend placing crucial content in the top left corner. This ensures visibility without requiri...| Sympraxis Consulting
Within your organization, effective management of the Microsoft 365 site lifecycle is critical. First, you must recognize that not all sites hold equal significance in terms of their lifecycle. While certain sites, such as HR intranet sites, may exist indefinitely, other components, like document libraries or collaboration sites, need lifecycle oversight. With no lifecycle organization, companies often face the issue of sprawl. Understanding site lifecycle Regarding the Maturity Model and sit...| Sympraxis Consulting
Migrating to and within Microsoft 365 can sometimes be a daunting task fraught with challenges, from data integrity to user adoption. That’s where the Sympraxis Approach comes in. This session of Ask Sympraxis digs deeper into migrations, focusing specifically on a redesign approach. If you’d like a broader overview of migrations in general, please visit our prior session What does migration really mean?. Redesign: Pros and Cons The consensus is clear: lift and shift approaches are a thin...| Sympraxis Consulting
Feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of migration? Don’t worry, this session of Ask Sympraxis is here to assist you! Our discussion covered various aspects, ranging from the definition of migration all the way to potential speed bumps. Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of the key takeaways: Understanding migration Migration, simply put, involves moving content from one place to another. This process takes different forms, such as organizational mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, reorganiz...| Sympraxis Consulting
In the latest Ask Sympraxis session, we delved into the world of templates for Microsoft Teams, unraveling the nuances that play a crucial role in ensuring consistency and efficiency. The session began with an overview of templates in general. If you’d like to dive deeper into the various types of templates available in Microsoft 365, please check out the other posts in this series.| Sympraxis Consulting
At its core, a template serves as a blueprint, allowing repeatability, consistency, and encapsulating institutional knowledge. For more detailed information and an overview of templates in general, please visit our prior Ask Sympraxis session. Maturity Model approach As we love to often reference, templates can also be viewed in relation to the Maturity Model. Starting at level 100, templates are completely absent, and everything is configured manually on the fly. The Microsoft provided templ...| Sympraxis Consulting
In this Ask Sympraxis session, we explore the intricacies of page templates in SharePoint and Microsoft 365. For a broader understanding of templates, check out our templates overview session. In short, templates play a crucial role in ensuring consistency, repeatability, and encapsulating institutional knowledge. Creating Page Templates To create a page template, we suggest starting off with building a page using your desired content. Once the content is ready, select the ‘Save as Template...| Sympraxis Consulting
This session the team focuses specifically on content types and document templates. Within the Microsoft ecosystem, we must emphasize their role in ensuring repeatability, maintaining consistency, and encapsulating institutional knowledge. Content types as templates Content types are defined as collections of structured or unstructured data representing business objects, for example: benefits, contracts, and vacation requests. Content types play a crucial role in defining these entities and t...| Sympraxis Consulting
In this Ask Sympraxis session we explore the vast landscape of templates within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Discover how templates serve as essential building blocks for evolving sites over time. A template in the conventional sense may be thought of as a guide. In Microsoft 365, we consider a template something aimed to deliver repeatability, consistency, and encapsulating institutional knowledge. Content types as templates Content types serve as templates for business objects like invoices...| Sympraxis Consulting
Microsoft Ignite was held this year November 15-17th. In this recap, we’ll delve into key highlights, updates, and renames discussed. However, there is one overarching theme we must emphasize, which is the significance of grounding security, governance, and structure of your Microsoft 365 content in preparation for the much-anticipated arrival of Copilot. Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 The spotlight was undoubtedly on Microsoft Copilot, which claimed its place in the Book of News a sta...| Sympraxis Consulting
This Ask Sympraxis session focuses on what we are most thankful for, and that’s community-driven initiatives! These diverse and valuable resources within the Microsoft 365 community are aimed at improving user experiences and optimizing organizational workflows. Microsoft 365 Community Content The Microsoft 365 Community Content project is an open platform where anyone can contribute. It emphasizes practical content designed to help users comprehend and effectively utilize Microsoft 365 too...| Sympraxis Consulting
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Microsoft Teams is constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of its users. In this session of Ask Sympraxis, we dive into several exciting new features and enhancements to boost your Teams experience. While we’ve provided a brief overview of what was covered, for in-depth information on these updates, we encourage you to watch the entire episode. Multi-Account Management The new Microsoft Teams allows you to seamlessly integrate multiple Microsoft accounts into your Teams workspace and...| Sympraxis Consulting
We had another highly productive “Ask Sympraxis Anything” session! Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who submitted questions and actively participated. Here are the key insights and takeaways from the session! What are the ramifications of breaking permission inheritance in SharePoint online? We highly emphasize the importance of avoiding haphazardly breaking permissions. In the past this resulted in performance issues. This isn’t as much of an issue now as the landscape of SharePoint ha...| Sympraxis Consulting
Intranet owners have a wealth of resources at their disposal, catering to their needs across various aspects of intranet management. Whether you’re looking to configure your intranet, enhance your knowledge through self-guided learning, explore powerful user configurations, or seek inspiration from configuration examples, there are numerous community-driven assets available to you. Basic Configuration Intelligent Intranet by Microsoft Intelligent Intranet is a Microsoft site that offers ins...| Sympraxis Consulting
Introduction to Microsoft 365 Groups When discussing Microsoft 365 Groups, we like to tailor our explanations to suit the audience. For example, these groups resemble familiar concepts like Active Directory security groups for IT professionals. In contrast, when addressing end-users, we liken them to distribution lists in Exchange - a unified permission entity providing access across Microsoft 365 apps. In either description, creating a Group not only grants you a SharePoint site but also set...| Sympraxis Consulting
In this Ask Sympraxis session, we delve into the essence of AI, how to harness its potential, and the tools that stand at our disposal. What is AI? The term AI refers to an ever-expansive landscape, where the term is almost meaningless as it covers so many different things. It encompasses a vast expanse of technologies such as:| Sympraxis Consulting
In the dynamic landscape of PnP Modern Search, fine-tuning your search experience is not just a possibility, but a powerful tool in your hands. Dive into these insightful tips and techniques to elevate your search experience. Crafting an effective information architecture To pull precise data subsets based on metadata, you first need to build a strong foundation. This is done by an efficient information architecture. The root of success lies in robust and well-defined content types. This make...| Sympraxis Consulting
In this episode of Ask Sympraxis we begin by looking at the home and start page experiences in Microsoft 365 through the lens of the Maturity Model. The journey begins at level 100, where some users have isolated site collections. These site collections lack interconnectedness. At level 200, this could include the utilization of the Microsoft Viva Connections Home Experience, which consolidates news and conversations from various sites, along with surfacing the SharePoint app bar navigation. ...| Sympraxis Consulting
In today’s fast-paced world, effective internal and external communication is crucial for organizations. SharePoint News provides a centralized platform to streamline news delivery and enhance collaboration. Join as we delve into the various features and capabilities of SharePoint News. The Maturity Model In relation to an organization’s news and the Maturity Model, an organization at the 100 level solely relies on email for news distribution. Level 200 introduces newsletters and aggregat...| Sympraxis Consulting
Is having employees complete their Microsoft 365 profiles the most effective method to enable a searchable “area of expertise” property in our employee directory? There are multiple approaches to achieve this, and your decision should depend on your long-term goals and platform extension capabilities. The simplest solution is to utilize the existing “skills” and/or “you can ask me” sections in SharePoint User Profiles. To enhance this solution, you can map the values from the skil...| Sympraxis Consulting
The Microsoft 365 conference took place Spring of 2023 and introduced the community to a lot of updates road mapped for the platform. Continue for Sympraxis’ take on many of these changes! Copilot Microsoft Copilot is going to be rolling out slowly and is a new artificial intelligence software. Although there is a lot of excitement about this introduction, we need to mention that it’ll likely be a service you’ll have to pay for and the cost is yet to be announced.| Sympraxis Consulting
Business use case: Benefits documents Join the Ask Sympraxis team for this session focusing on building sustainable information architecture (IA) through the use case of benefit documents management in your Microsoft 365 environment. From backend management of the content owners, to easy front-end consumption in your intranet, we walk through many of the challenges that are unique to benefits documents.| Sympraxis Consulting
In this session of Ask Sympraxis Derek, Julie, and Todd are joined by Andrew Connell, developer and SPFx expert, and Stefan Bauer, developer and designer, to discuss when and why to build custom Microsoft 365 code that extends its functionality, particularly in SharePoint and Teams. However, we only suggest extending the platform when the out-of-the-box solutions fail to meet 80% of your business requirements. From there, try some of the tried-and-true technologies that exist such as PnP Mode...| Sympraxis Consulting
This session of Ask Sympraxis focuses on different methods and steps you can take to empower users while you build your intranet and how to set up Microsoft 365. Not every suggestion will be pertinent to your organization, which is why we suggest starting with the Maturity Model and determining your current and desired levels! This session is also a great reference to come back to as your organization levels up in maturity.| Sympraxis Consulting
SharePoint Search has been available for quite some time and can be managed by a variety of flexible tools. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Microsoft Search tends to be more rigid as it’s not as mature. Although Microsoft is constantly adding capabilities to Microsoft Search, we are focusing primarily on SharePoint Search for this article. Building columns In SharePoint, a common use is to build a list or library with columns to organize information. Those columns are called list colum...| Sympraxis Consulting
We’ve come across many clients who express the need for an employee directory. We have learned this may mean something slightly different for each company. We always return to, what problem are they trying to solve? This week we are discussing how you’ll find people, their information, and different surfacing options. User stories| Sympraxis Consulting
In this episode of Ask Sympraxis we are focusing on search optimization. Search may seem initially as simple as typing into a box and having results show up, however you’ll soon learn that there are a tremendous number of options to customize search to truly be the most effective possible for your users. Maturity Model approach How individuals think about and/or use search in their organization can be broken down into different levels of maturity. Often, the starting point is a search box o...| Sympraxis Consulting
Notifications vs approvals Before jumping headfirst into notifications and approvals in SharePoint lists and libraries, it’s important to note that there are crucial differences in their definitions and use cases. Notifications are often seen as routine and intuitive. They are a one-way form of communication. Approvals on the other hand, go both ways as they require a reply or action. The use cases for each differ as well. When it comes to thinking about the impact on your employees and/or ...| Sympraxis Consulting
This week on Ask Sympraxis we are focusing on managing links to external resources or tools in your intranet. Join us as we dive into the current state and limitations, the Maturity Model approach, and a few customizable solutions. Current state and limitations| Sympraxis Consulting
As with many people at the start of a new year, we decided to begin 2023 with a new year’s resolution. However, we tailored ours a bit. We like to call it a New(s) year’s resolution as our goal is to teach you about SharePoint News and how it can improve your communication this year!| Sympraxis Consulting
As announced in September at Microsoft IGNITE, Microsoft Viva Connections will have new capabilities including Viva home. This new Viva home experience will surface all the Viva modules you’re licensed for, all the adaptive cards you’ve added to your dashboard, Yammer conversations, SharePoint news and navigation through the SharePoint app bar, frequent sites, and followed sites etc. One of the best parts is that all of this will be accessible through Microsoft Teams with minimal configur...| Sympraxis Consulting
Do you still have videos saved in Microsoft Stream Classic? It’s time to migrate your videos to SharePoint! Originally Stream Classic, and before that Office 365 Videos, was a separate destination than content saved in SharePoint. However, as videos are essentially just another object that people need to interact with, similar to a document, bringing videos into SharePoint allows you to manage all your content in one location regardless of the file type. Now that videos will be stored in Sh...| Sympraxis Consulting
User research places people in the center of your design process. It’s all about asking the right questions so that you learn the user’s behaviors, needs, and desires, leading you to build the right solutions. The type of research you will conduct depends on the type of project you’re working on, where you are in the process, your timeline, budget, etc. Follow along as we outline different research methods, risks involved with skipping research, and a brief case study.| Sympraxis Consulting
Ensure smooth offboarding processes using Microsoft 365. Explore best practices for transitioning employees, security, and optimizing organizational workflows.| Sympraxis Consulting
It is impossible to condense all of Ignite into a 30-minute session so we have rounded up these highlights. For more robust details and further explanation on the announcements, please check our resources. In this session, we focus on the three main areas that correlate best with the common work we do at Sympraxis: Administration, Intranet & Employee Experience, and Customization, Integration, & Extension.| Sympraxis Consulting
Missed the Microsoft 365 Community Conference 2025? We’ve got you covered. In this episode of Ask Sympraxis, we break down our biggest takeaways and highlight key announcement. Whether you were there and want to compare notes, or couldn’t make it and need a quick, insightful recap - this is your chance to catch up on all the Microsoft 365 news and community buzz!| Sympraxis Consulting