Microsoft has launched SharePoint Embedded, a novel platform aimed at enabling businesses and enterprise clients to develop custom applications. These applications will directly store their content within existing Microsoft 365 tenants. The announcement was made during the European SharePoint Conference (ESPC) held in Amsterdam. With SharePoint Embedded now available in public preview, enterprises and independent software vendors (ISVs) alike are poised to enhance their app development capabilities.
Capabilities and Integrations
SharePoint Embedded is engineered to bolster line-of-business applications, furnishing users and system administrators with a cohesive and intuitive experience. ISVs, in particular, can leverage this advanced technology to incorporate Microsoft 365 content management functions seamlessly into their enterprise applications. Upon adoption, SharePoint Embedded ensures that documents are managed within the customers' tenant, providing access to a robust content management system renowned for its reliability, global security, and compliance.
Microsoft's recent initiatives, including Microsoft Loop and Microsoft Designer, have already incorporated SharePoint Embedded, demonstrating the platform's versatility and integration potential. With SharePoint Embedded, enterprises can build apps that support a multitude of Microsoft products and services. These features range from collaborative co-authoring in staples like Word or PowerPoint to the implementation of safety protocols involving Microsoft 365 Backup and Archive services. Additionally, the integration extends to Microsoft's semantic index, now utilized in Copilot for Microsoft 365, enhancing content accessibility and utility.
Pricing and Availability
Looking ahead, Microsoft anticipates a full release of SharePoint Embedded for all Microsoft 365 enterprise customers by the middle of 2024. Pricing for the service will be determined by the storage footprint, API call volume, and data transfer rates used by businesses. Importantly, companies will not face additional charges for extra Microsoft 365 user licenses. Microsoft's strategic move with SharePoint Embedded seeks to simplify the app development process while maximizing the intrinsic value of their existing 365 infrastructure for their enterprise customer base.
SharePoint Add-In Going into the Sunset
In other SharePoint news this week, Microsoft announced the upcoming retirement of SharePoint Add-In. Microsoft announced that starting from March 1, 2024, it will stop accepting new SharePoint Add-Ins for listing in the public marketplace. Moreover, from July 1, 2024, users will not be able to acquire SharePoint Add-Ins from the public marketplace. However, this change does not affect the use of a tenant app catalog, which will continue to support third-party SharePoint Add-Ins until the final retirement date.
Customers who have used custom-developed SharePoint add-ins should begin to plan their transition to SharePoint Framework-based solutions. These new solutions offer better integration with modern web technologies and Microsoft 365 services, providing a more reliable and future-ready way to extend SharePoint's functionality.
