SharePoint Online is a cloud based storage and collaboration service provided by Microsoft as part of the Office 365 suite. SharePoint Online allows you to create websites you can use to store files, collaborate with others, create tasks, manage schedules, build workflows, or start a blog. Features include easy to use tools such as drag and drop, and ability to edit share and follow documents with a single click.

A single SharePoint site can store up to 25TB of data and there is no restriction on the number of sites a department can have. The maximum size of a single file that can be stored in Sharepoint is 250GB. 

At Imperial, SharePoint is most commonly used as either a file repository or an intranet site for a department. Files are stored in Document Libraries which can be synced to the user's desktop for ease of access. 

Features and benefits

SharePoint offers best-in-class security, a scalable solution that meets security and compliance requirements while ensuring unified policies are applied across every workload and every device. End users get the productivity they’ve been asking for while the IT department gets the cloud security and compliance requirements they require.

Features include:

  • Access SharePoint from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection
  • Simple sharing and collaboration of documents both internally and externally using the Microsoft Office tools in a shared file repository
  • A single SharePoint site can store up to 25TB of data
  • Deleted files and folders can be restored up to 90 days after deletion
  • Storage space for SharePoint is covered by the College's Office 365 subscription so there is no charge to departments

Training

Staff can access SharePoint training via LinkedIn Learning for free. We recommend you watch the SharePoint essential training and SharePoint new features videos. Further training may also be provided by your faculty

For more resources, visit the Microsoft SharePoint support pages

Sensitive Data

You should review data to assess if it is sensitive or not; data deemed not to be sensitive can be stored on SharePoint.

If you believe your data is sensitive, or are unclear if it is, then contact ICT Security for guidance, as required by our College’s Information Security Policy

For more information on what is expected of all staff, please visit our Data Protection webpages

Access and permissions

SharePoint sites are authenticated and accessed using a College username and password.

When a user visits a site/library/list or another type of resource that they do not have permission to access, they will be prompted to complete a web form to request access. This request will then be sent to the site owner.

If external access is granted, it is the responsibility of the Site Owner to ensure the external user is aware of the responsibility for abiding with the College’s Information Security Policy

Support

Administration and support services

Contact the ICT Service Desk.

Faculties and Departments

Contact your Faculty Web Officer.