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How to Improve Your SharePoint Online Performance

One of Microsoft's most popular and rapidly expanding products is SharePoint. What might have started as a straightforward deployment for a single workgroup might quickly spread to include the entire firm, with everyone competing for SharePoint resources. Thus maintaining optimal performance is essential for continued use and adoption as SharePoint expands.

Below are best practices to improve the performance of your SharePoint online performance.

1. Use Content Delivery Networks When Possible

Users who are near your SharePoint instance receive excellent service. Inferior service is provided to those who are further away. Thus a Content Delivery Network (CDN) helps in the following ways:

• It bridges the distance created by hosting locations by enabling you to use popular JavaScript and CSS libraries elsewhere than in a single folder on a site.
• A Content Delivery Network (CDN) bridges the distance created by hosting locations.
• It will reduce the load time for the file will for both nearby and far-off visitors by adding references to a CDN that hosts a library like jQuery.
• CDNs are intended to be both widely distributed and very quick. 

2. Planned Customizations

When customizations are deployed to SharePoint, the databases save and retrieve full content and code bases each time a page is queried. Inefficiently written code might overload the database and lower its speed: 

• To gauge the tolerance for bespoke solutions, test and test again.
• Take advantage of the SharePoint Dispose Checker Tool (SPDisposeCheck) before implementing any custom solutions.
• Never test SharePoint updates in live environments since they could have unexpected effects on custom code.
• Install and test every bespoke solution in a Dev/QA environment; otherwise, your production system isn't "truly" operational.
• Do not ever accept non-wsp or non-packaged solutions.

3. Defragment Database Indexes

To optimize read operations and query efficiency, SQL Server has its own set of indexes for data kept in different databases. These indexes are subject to fragmentation, just like files saved on disk. Preparing for routine maintenance procedures, such as index defragmentation, is crucial. Since they are resource-intensive and frequently prohibit data from being written to or retrieved from the indexes, special attention should be exercised while scheduling these activities.

4. SQL Database Parameters

Every SharePoint farm uses SQL databases to handle data and store content. SQL could therefore become a bottleneck if it is not adequately controlled. There can be performance improvement by making minor adjustments to the default configurations, like;

• Pre-grow database
• Initially, need more space
• Dramatically improved performance
• Databases prefer continuous length.
• Auto-growth
• Don't employ "Grow by%."
• Eschew 1 MB increments
• Plan maintenance work for off-peak hours to measure growth and size.
• Content databases
• 200GB is the suggested cap (it can be 4TB in certain situations)

5. Logs and Maintenance Of Your SharePoint

It would be meaningless data if there were no log files to inform the database of its location inside the large file. Having the appropriate recovery model for your needs is crucial for this reason. There are two types, one providing the reverse of what is desired and requiring more information but taking up less room and needing less upkeep. Whatever model you use, ensure it is well-maintained and the logs are truncated to prevent building up a volume exceeding the database's capacity.

6. Separation of Services

Web front-end (WFE) servers, application servers, and SQL servers make up a typical SharePoint farm; these servers are all different host services required for SharePoint to function. Businesses may frequently sacrifice performance to reduce the number of servers by merging services. The application role of other servers should never, at the very least, be shared with the server that is indexing searches. The servers hosting content are required to handle the search traffic generated by the index server. Search results could be delayed, and users could be in danger if one server is used to query content and provide results.

What are the steps in implementing SharePoint

Without a good understanding of how your business can align with the capabilities of MS SharePoint, your deployment can fail. Many organizations have Microsoft SharePoint in their system but don't utilize it sufficiently to realize its capabilities; some may not even know how it works.

Below are steps you can use in implementing Sharepoint in your business.

1. Create your SharePoint Goals and Vision

Write a company strategy before setting goals. The high-level approach is outlined in this business plan, written in an easy-to-understand style for your sponsors. This business plan outlines the objectives and realizes the vision that your SharePoint sponsors gave. It establishes connections between other initiatives critical to the SharePoint rollout (Quality and Project Plans). 

The sponsors must also outline what they believe to be SharePoint's future, specifically how they anticipate SharePoint to support their corporate objectives. It's critical to specify your objectives clearly while setting goals, for example: Does the business seek to lower the total cost of ownership for data management? Is the company working to define and raise the bar on standards? Is the company attempting to offer its staff a more comprehensive content management system? Etc.

2. Technical Planning

Integrating your material into SharePoint is a prerequisite before you can start the rollout process. You can leverage Microsoft's wide range of migration-simplifying tools, such as the; SharePoint migration tool, Microsoft Fastrack and PowerShell, etc., for your integration. The functioning of your service, including monitoring and documentation, must also be defined. You should establish ground rules as well as your standards and policies.

3. Define Service Operations

You'll want to keep things moving if your SharePoint setup is eventually successful. SharePoint Service Operations has many different aspects. It entails preparing for a self-adapting SharePoint (templates, permission models, etc.), developing and documenting monitoring rules for your environments, being aware of your service model and offering, etc. Writing all of this down now will be pretty helpful in the future and will provide you with a clear understanding of how SharePoint will be able to meet the objectives of your project.

4. Follow the Implementation's Best Practices

A SharePoint deployment goes through numerous stages before any newly finished components are put into production, much like any other IT project or technology project. After establishing the concept intent, it will be produced and tested in a development environment before moving on to the Quality Assurance stage in a dedicated domain. It's finally time to go live in the production environment once it satisfies all requirements and standards.

Tips to Help you Know if Your Business Needs a SharePoint Upgrade

Technological advancement, migrating from one version to another, is more manageable than before. The process is less complicated, and individuals can upgrade independently. How will you know that your business needs a SharePoint upgrade? Will your business thrive? Below are tips to show you if your business needs a SharePoint Upgrade:

1. Updates

When your business uses many resources, planning, and data auditing to update your system, it is time for your SharePoint upgrade. You may need to shut down a part of your business without an automatic updating system to rebuild your SharePoint. Rebuilding takes a lot of time and resources; thus, instead of struggling to update manually, you should migrate to SharePoint Upgrade.

2. Limited Space

Suppose your SharePoint has limited space, and you cannot save some of your files. In that case, your business needs SharePoint Upgrade, which offers unlimited space and the ability to purchase more space when your business needs it. 

3. Limited Features

You need the SharePoint upgrade when your business cannot perform certain functions because it lacks critical functionalities. You will enjoy the new features and templates, making you competitive. Some of the latest features include:

4. Accessibility

If you cannot operate your business from any location, you have to go to your office to do your work, and then it's time to upgrade. In this era, where calamities have attacked the world severally, your business needs flexibility. Your team needs to work from anywhere and access documents; hence, if your business is still limited to office space, you need to upgrade.

5. Phasing Off

When Microsoft introduces a new version in the market, it will give the previous users a timeframe to join the latest version or risk the older version being phased off and your business losing important information. The stipulated timeline will inform you that your business needs the SharePoint upgrade.

Conclusion

All businesses should use SharePoint Online, but only if it functions well. The most straightforward approach to keeping SharePoint functioning is to address performance issues before they become a problem. SharePoint has unlimited capabilities. Planning and filling in the gaps beforehand save time and money afterward. By heeding the above recommendations, you can enhance the functionality of your SharePoint Online site and make it function the way you desire. Reach out to Guru solutions for professional SharePoint services.