Microsoft SharePoint is a web-based collaboration and document administration platform developed by Microsoft. It is a Microsoft’s content management system that allows teams to set up a centralized and password protected space to share the documents. Here, the information can be stocked, downloaded, edited, also can be uploaded for a continued sharing. This intranet system help users to improve their organization’s effectiveness via the streamlining administration and access to data. It is an enterprise info portal, that can be organized to run on any computer network, Extranet or Internet sites. Many organizations use SharePoint to generate websites. Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Internet Explorer, or Firefox are some web browsers that are required to use this application.

 

The SharePoint has a quite fascinating history. This service currently has at least 4 versions still in active mode:
Here is a quick timeline of recent history:

  1. SharePoint 2007: Released in 2006
  2. SharePoint 2010: Released in 2010
  3. SharePoint 2013: Released in 2012
  4. SharePoint 2016: Released in 2016

Why Should We Use SharePoint?

SharePoint is a prime tool utilized by 78% of IT companies to grow their online and offline business capabilities. It is an industry-leading program for intranets, secure document governance, collaboration, and much more. Here are some main benefits of SharePoint 2016 that an enterprise can get:

  • Context around documents and folders
  • Enable constant communication with staff
  • Store entire information in a central location
  • Encourage collaboration and communication
  • Content Management removes the need for paper
  • Develop views for better content discovery
  • Flexible folders and easy accessing
  • Easy to follow version control
  • Secure content and manage document lifecycle
  • Stores the critical documents of business

Why SharePoint 2016 is Better than earlier Versions of SharePoint?

SharePoint 2016 comes up with incredible performance and easy maintenance procedures. This latest version uses the copy operation on the content database level to enhance the site collection creation speed. This benefits users with list view thresholds, faster upload times, and enhanced security compliance.

Here are the key benefits of SharePoint 2016 and their comparison with its earlier versions:

CharacteristicsSharePoint 2016SharePoint 2013SharePoint 2010
Max file Size to uploadIncreased to 10GBDefault file size is 250 MB, that can be increased up to 2GBDefault file size is 250 MB, that can be increased up to 2GB
Filename support for special charactersYesNoNo
Site Collection Per Content Database100,000 per content DB2000 recommend and 5000 maximum2000 recommend and 5000 maximum
MinRole Farm TopologyPresentAbsentAbsent
Zero Downtime PatchingPresentAbsentAbsent
Integrated Project ServerPresentAbsentAbsent
Fast Site Collection/ Site GenerationYesNoNo
List ThresholdIncreased list Threshold > 5000100 million per search service application. 10 Million per index partition100 million per search service application. 10 Million per index partition
ODF Support for Document LibrariesPresentAbsentAbsent
ReFs File System supportYesNoNo
Durable LinksYesNoNo
Site FoldersYesNoNo
Mobile ExperienceImproved mobile navigation experienceChannelsNo
Power Pivot add-in and power viewYesAdd-in not availableAdd-in not available
SharingImprovedBasic SharingBasic Sharing
HybridAdvancedBasicAbsent
Search for sensitive ContentYesNoNo
SMTP Connection EncryptionYesNoNo
Site Page PinningYesNoNo
Picture and Document Preview in Document LibrariesYesNoNo

As everyone knows SharePoint 2016 offers some advance services so users can easily move their data to its latest versions. However, sometimes converting all business related data is not an easy task for normal users. Following wrong guidelines may lead organizations to the condition of permanent data loss. Now, the question arises that how to migrate from an older version of SharePoint to latest?

We suggest users, take help from a trusted third-party tool i.e., SharePoint Migrator. This tool help users to migrate the database between various versions of SharePoint even without any risk of data loss. The best thing about this software is that it is compatible with all versions of SharePoint. SharePoint Server must be present on user’s PC to execute SharePoint to SharePoint migration successfully.

Final Verdict

As it is clear now that SharePoint 2016 comprises many useful features that can be helpful to make a transparent communication. Hence, it is recommended that upgrade your old SharePoint versions to SharePoint 2016 and utilize a simple and beneficial teamwork.

I am SQL DBA and SQL Server blogger too. I like to share about SQL Server and the problems related to it as well as their solution and also I do handle database related user queries, server or database maintenance, database management etc.

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