For many organizations, content in M365 SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive has evolved organically since SharePoint’s initial deployment. This organic growth presents two significant challenges.

First, there is often a considerable amount of redundant, obsolete, and trivial (ROT) content that could provide Co-Pilot with outdated information, leading to inaccurate or misleading results.

Second, permissions for content within these collaboration platforms are frequently not tightly managed, leading to over-sharing. This lack of control may inadvertently expose sensitive data through Co-Pilot.

Organizations must address these two major risks when preparing for the deployment of Co-Pilot to ensure effective and secure use of the platform.

AI language models available with SharePoint Premium can be utilized to automate document classification and metadata extraction, streamlining the creation of precise taxonomies and enhancing users’ ability to search metadata. By harnessing the power of AI, sensitive data can be efficiently tagged and protected, business processes can be optimized, and overall content management system efficiency can be significantly improved. This results in improved searchability, stronger data protection, and more streamlined workflows.

The M365 collaboration platform, consisting of three distinct applications—SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive—can be challenging for users to navigate. The key is a data placement strategy with an information architecture. The data placement strategy provides clarity to the users on what information goes where while the information architecture must be both flexible and robust, allowing it to evolve with the organization.

The lifecycle management of content on M365 requires both container and file metadata tracking to effectively manage data at scale. The key to container management is establishing an information architecture that is both flexible and growth-oriented, allowing it to evolve with the organization. Metadata tracking of the files will allow accurate lifecycle management to keep data up-to-date in the system while adhering to compliance requirements. Overall, the information architecture will ensure resilience for effective long-term data management.

Removing ROT can feel like a herculean task, and many organizations often leave it up to users to manage their own cleanup. However, if users were truly effective at eliminating ROT, the problem would likely not exist in the first place. Even with a coordinated effort encouraging users to clean up their data, tackling ROT without the right tools can be a daunting task. Consider your own experience the last time you had to organize your old hard drives.

At General Networks, a fit-for-purpose ROT tool is employed within an engagement process that systematically assists organizational units in identifying ROT and restructuring their data in a manner that is sustainable for future growth.

Traditionally, the data published in the industry has shown that ROT accounts for about 30%, with recent figures increasing to as high as 50%. In our practice, we have consistently achieved a removal rate of 30% to 50% of ROT during our engagement efforts.

A significant issue with generic training is that it tends to focus on technology, leading to technology fatigue among users while failing to address their primary concern: “Where is my data?”

To tackle this, we adopt a philosophy of customized training materials, focusing on the specific data architecture and strategy implemented within the organization. This approach trains users on how to effectively adhere to and maintain a system tailored to their needs.

Security is a complex issue that encompasses various endpoints across the network and the controls established around them. When focusing on data security in content management, two primary channels should be considered.

First, managing data permissions can be challenging without a well-defined information architecture. Effective container management is essential to minimize over-sharing, which necessitates a connection between the container and an easily manageable information architecture, along with a structured process for permission audits.

Once permissions are properly managed, applying sensitivity labels can provide an additional layer of control for data that is sensitive, confidential, or critical to the organization. However, a systematic approach is required to ensure that sensitivity labels are consistently and accurately applied to the data.

Migration should never be a simple lift-and-shift, as M365 containers differ significantly from those of other systems. It is crucial to establish an information architecture that is both flexible and robust, enabling it to evolve alongside the organization, prior to migration. This approach ensures that data is effectively integrated into the information architecture, accompanied by appropriate metadata enrichment.

One key reason for information sprawl in M365 is that users struggle to locate the data they need, prompting them to create their own copies in separate containers, OneDrive, and Teams. When information is replicated across these different applications, new versions are generated continuously, leading to an accumulation of duplicate data. This scenario often escalates to terabytes of information, making it increasingly challenging to find anything relevant. Furthermore, the problem worsens when tools like Co-Pilot consume this scattered data, resulting in skewed responses.

To effectively combat sprawl, it’s essential to address the root cause by establishing a solid information architecture that organizes and houses the data. Additionally, implementing process controls is vital to ensure that containers are properly managed throughout their creation, usage, and disposition phases.

What are your business goals? Many of our clients focus on three critical objectives: compliance, security, and efficiency. While it is essential to manage documents and records effectively to meet compliance and security standards, enhancing the efficiency of knowledge workers is equally vital.

By streamlining processes and improving content management, organizations can significantly reduce the time spent searching for information. This not only empowers employees to be more productive but also lays the groundwork for advanced capabilities such as enhanced search functionalities, process automation, and harnessing AI for knowledge extraction.

Investing in efficiency isn’t just an operational improvement—it’s a strategic advantage that drives innovation and growth while ensuring your organization remains compliant and secure. Don’t let inefficiencies hold your team back; prioritize a system that supports all three goals for sustainable success.