SharePoint, OneDrive, & Related Technologies Chapter

SharePoint is a Web application platform that includes a suite of applications and components for functions such as team collaboration, corporate portal hosting, enterprise search, content management, and business intelligence. The product line includes the SharePoint Online Microsoft-hosted service (part of Microsoft 365) and the SharePoint Server software for on-premises and partner-hosted deployment. Also included under SharePoint technology is the OneDrive for Business file-sharing server components and Microsoft Lists, a service based on SharePoint lists.

Product roadmaps covered in this chapter include the following: 

• SharePoint Online 
• SharePoint Server
• SharePoint Online and Server Timelines
• OneDrive for Business
• Microsoft Lists
• Loop.

SharePoint has many competitors, including Google Workspace, cloud storage services such as Box and Dropbox, enterprise search products such as those from HP Autonomy, enterprise content management products such as EMC Documentum, and business intelligence offerings from SAP and other vendors. Competitors inside Microsoft include many Microsoft 365 components and applications such as Teams and the Viva suite. However, SharePoint also integrates with these and other applications, serving as a portal and a content management hub or in other roles.