When you think of making the most from hiring the SharePoint consulting company, you can get hold of communication, manage documents and share content. However, it is important to make sure that SharePoint is achieved and laid out as planned. In a SharePoint environment, you would still need a trusted SharePoint consulting company! How can this be even clear to be understood as the need of time?
But how do you know you’re choosing the right one? How can you make sure that the costs prove to be reasonable, and the project delivers the results you aim for? In this blog, we take you through everything you need to know before hiring a SharePoint consulting firm.
Up to our best knowledge, we have included real-life examples from companies that trusted us, the types of services you can hire us for as your SharePoint partner, and the factors that impact the overall cost and success of your project!
Why You Need a SharePoint Consulting Company
Your existing SharePoint environment may not remain as useful as it used to be. A lot of times you seek the answer of why hire a SharePoint partner? The full scope of a SharePoint product can only be realized when it is properly implemented. Here is why businesses should hire SharePoint consulting services company:
- Customization & Configuration: To meet your business needs, SharePoint has unique features. These features work really well when it comes to customization. SharePoint consultants bring the technical skills to set up the platform and make it to order as per your organization needs
- Expertise in Best Practices: SharePoint is vast. Its set can become difficult. The consulting firms have experience in managing SharePoint with other systems. It is the expert consultant who makes sure that execution is safe, efficient and useful.
- User Training & Adoption: A successful SharePoint project doesn’t just include setting up. It needs proper user adoption. So, SharePoint development becomes handy because of the training services provided by the SharePoint developer.
- Ongoing Support & Maintenance: After the successful implementation, your business will need continuous support to solve any technical problems and make sure that the SharePoint platform develops as your business grows.
What Kind Of SharePoint Services Are Out There?
About a decade ago, SharePoint consultants were considered as unicorns who took care of everything, especially providing SharePoint document management solution. Many IT managers proposed to hire a SharePoint expert for this purpose.
On the other hand, The SharePoint role is divided into the following now:
- SharePoint Developer or Full-stack developer
- SharePoint Consultant / Technical Advisor / Trainer
- All-in-one: business analyst/ solutions advisor, advanced user, and trainer
- SharePoint consulting services company
- SharePoint product/consulting services company
Individual Expert vs. SharePoint Consulting Services Company
Here’s a breakdown of the differences between an individual expert and a SharePoint consulting services company:
| Individual Expert | SharePoint Consulting Services Company |
| Direct one-to-one interaction | Team of smart and experienced professionals |
| Typically less costly | Typically more costly |
| Can work faster and adapt quickly | Formalized process (may work slower and may take time to adapt) |
| Deep knowledge and expertise | Bring a wide range of knowledge, experience and expertise |
| Has the capacity to handle a specific volume of work | Has the ability to cater large volume of work |
| May be subject to overload | Can manage many projects with specific deadlines |
| May not have the broad expertise required for complex SharePoint projects | Have wide range of expertise in complex projects |
| May not offer holistic solutions | Offer holistic solutions (comprehensive understanding) |
| Less stable | More stable |
| May lack ongoing support | Offers long-term support |
Would you be looking to work with an individual or a consulting firm for your SharePoint needs?
SharePoint Solution Partners
| Type Of Partner | Range of Capabilities | Understanding of Difficulty | Supervision Needed | Risk Tolerance | Cost |
| Developer | LOW | LOW | HIGH | LOW | LOW |
| Consultant | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | LOW | MEDIUM |
| Product and Services Company | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | LOW | HIGH | LOW |
| Consulting Services Company | HIGH | HIGH | LOW | MEDIUM | HIGH |
Key Indicators
| Most Constraints | Use Caution | Least Constraints |
How to Prepare for Hiring SharePoint Consultants?
Surely, hiring the right SharePoint consultant can make or break the success of your project! Be it a SharePoint Intranet project plan, preparation is must when you choose the right partner. Here is how to set yourself up for a frictionless and successful hiring process:
1. Define Your Needs and Goals
Do you want to have a wholesome platform that manages documents, team communication or help you integrate SharePoint with other systems? Then the answer is SharePoint! However, it is ideal to pick a reliable provider for SharePoint services. We often advise you to share your pain points and goals with the consulting company.
2. Assess Your Budget
If you are unsure or don’t know the ground reality of your budget limitations, it is highly possible that SharePoint development will cost you even more! There are many types of SharePoint solution partners but not everyone shows a clear picture! However, the one who tells you about the expected licensing fees, customization, training and support must be trusted than others.
3. Consider the Version of SharePoint
SharePoint comes in many versions such as SharePoint Online (cloud), on-premises and hybrid. Think about the best version that matches your business needs. For a business that needs scalable and cloud-based solutions, SharePoint Online is the best.
4. Prepare for Collaboration
When we talk about successful projects, we rely a lot on strong communication. Be ready to work closely with your SharePoint consultant. He will provide you feedback and keep you involved throughout the process.
How to Choose the Right SharePoint Consulting Company?
Before hiring the SharePoint consulting company, keep these factors in mind so that you make the right choice:
1. Experience with SharePoint Versions
Depending on your needs, you might be looking for a SharePoint Online consultant or SharePoint on-premises. A reliable consulting firm should have experience with all versions of SharePoint, including:
- SharePoint Online: It is a cloud-based platform and can be the ideal choice for businesses that don’t want to manage the infrastructure. To know more about this, read the SharePoint Lookbook!
- SharePoint On-Premises: On-premises is ideal for companies that need full control over their infrastructure. It also promises to meet the regulatory compliance needs.
- Hybrid Deployments: Sometimes you might need to have a combination of both SharePoint Online and On-premises. So, SharePoint project consultants should offer hybrid deployments.
2. Industry-Specific Knowledge
To gain adequate knowledge, many SharePoint consultants attend SharePoint conferences. This gives them a chance to learn the unique considerations that come with certain industries. SharePoint solution partners offer industry-specific knowledge that can help to make sure that your SharePoint environment aligns with industry regulations.
3. Communication & Support
When you get in touch with a reliable SharePoint consultant, make sure that you are able to get ideas about their responsiveness and strong communication skills. Are they all ears while listening to your needs? Do they provide clear explanations? Lastly, post-project support is a key service to ease SharePoint development!
Questions To Ask From SharePoint Solution Partners Before Hiring Them:
- What SharePoint versions do you specialize in (Online, On-Premises, Hybrid)?
- Can you share examples of similar SharePoint product you’ve successfully completed?
- How do you handle customization and integration with existing systems?
- How do you ensure security and compliance within SharePoint environments?
- What training and user adoption strategies do you offer for SharePoint administration?
- Can you provide a detailed project timeline with key milestones?
- What’s your pricing model—hourly, fixed price, or retainer?
- Do you offer post-implementation support or maintenance such as SharePoint support and helpdesk?
- Can you provide client references or case studies relevant to our industry?
Case Study: Our Successful SharePoint Intranet Project Plan
Client Overview
A global manufacturing company contacted us with a SharePoint Intranet Project plan. The company has offices in multiple locations. Their prime goals were to integrate internal communications, improve communication, up to date document management and make employee engagement better.
Project Goals & KPIs
| Goals | KPI | Targets |
| Improved Communication and Collaboration | Better cross-departmental communication | 30% increase – engagement with internal communication tools
40% improvement – team collaboration via shared spaces and communication features |
| Improved Document Management | Reduced document recovery time and improve document compliance | 50% reduction – document research time
95% – compliance rate for document storage |
| Enhanced Output | Reduced time spent on manual processes and document management | 20% reduction – time spent on administrative tasks (workflow automation and document management processes) |
| Boost Employee Engagement | Adoption of employee and use of the intranet platform | 80% – employees actively using intranet in first three months
90% – increase in overall engagement by the end of 6 months |
Scope of the Project
The project scope focused on addressing the client’s core needs. After understanding their demands, we kept in mind the KPIs.
- SharePoint Site Design & Customization:
- Custom Branding & UI: They wanted us to create a responsive and user-friendly design that matches well with the brand.
- Role-based Navigation: Being SharePoint experts, we keep our focus on role-based navigation.
- Document Management System
- Document Libraries with Metadata: Execute metadata tagging and advanced search to facilitate document recovery.
- Version Control & Workflows: Our SharePoint consultants set up document approval workflows and version control well.
- Collaboration Tools & Integration
- Team Sites: We were asked to create dedicated collaboration spaces. These spaces are all set for each department focusing on shared resources and task lists.
- Microsoft Teams Integration: In a SharePoint environment, we planned to integrate with MS teams for smooth communication and collaboration.
- Employee Dashboards & Personalization
- Tailored Content: Create made-to-order dashboards for employees to display news, tasks, and resources related to their roles.
- Security & Permissions
- Role-based Access: Set up permissions to make sure that access to sensitive data is only for the authorized persons.
- Data Compliance: Implement safety controls for compliance with relevant regulations in the existing SharePoint environment.
- Training & Adoption
- Comprehensive Training Program: As a SharePoint consulting company, our offer is to train employees and administrators.
Deliverables Of The Project:
| Deliverables | Milestones | Targets |
| Project Timeline and Milestones | Met on time (design approval, development, testing and deployment) | On-time delivery of the SharePoint Intranets |
| Custom SharePoint Intranet Design | A feature-rich, responsive and user-friendly SharePoint Intranet (SharePoint web parts) | 90% positive feedback on design in post-launch surveys |
| Document Management System | Completely functional document libraries (for SharePoint development) |
|
| Collaboration Tools |
|
40% improvement in team collaboration |
SharePoint Intranet Cost Breakdown
For this project, the estimated SharePoint project cost breakdown was as follows:
- Licensing Costs (Microsoft 365)
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- SharePoint Online licenses (Enterprise E3 plan): $20/user/month
- For 600 users: $12,000/month
- Annual Licensing Cost: $144,000
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- Consulting & Implementation
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- Design & customization: $30,000
- Development & integration: $40,000
- Project management and consulting: $15,000
- Total Implementation Cost: $85,000
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- Training & Adoption
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- Employee training sessions (500 employees): $10,000
- Administrator training: $5,000
- Total Training Cost: $15,000
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- Ongoing Support & Maintenance
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- Annual IT support (outsourced): $20,000
- Total Ongoing Maintenance Cost: $20,000/year
Total First-Year Cost:
- Licensing: $144,000
- Implementation: $85,000
- Training: $15,000
- Ongoing Support: $20,000
- Total First-Year Cost: $264,000
Total Ongoing Annual Cost (After Year 1):
- Licensing: $144,000
- Ongoing Support: $20,000
- Total Annual Cost: $164,000
Results and Success
The SharePoint Online Intranet project yielded measurable success against our KPIs:
- Achieved a 40% increase in team communication across departments
- Document search times were reduced by 50%
- Luckily, document version control compliance reached 95%
- Automated workflows help to reduce 20% time spent on human-driven processes
Transform Your SharePoint Experience
Struggling with SharePoint setup or customization? Our experienced team can tailor solutions to meet your unique business needs.
Schedule a call with our experts now and see how we can help!
Real-Life Success Stories: How Companies Trusted Us with Their SharePoint Projects
It is our good fate that we have had the chance of working with fortune 500 companies across many industries for SharePoint development. Here are a few success stories:
1. A Global Manufacturing Company
A global production company reached out to us to centralize their document management system. They requested for a solution that could make sure access to documents, simplify communication and assist in regulatory compliance.
We advised SharePoint Online as the ideal solution. To meet their demands of scalability and safety, we offered excellent features. As a SharePoint expert, we customized the platform as per their workflows. Additionally, we provided training to all employees to ensure smooth adoption.
Result: The company achieved a major reduction in document recovery time, better compliance tracking and a bug-free collaboration process.
2. A Financial Services Firm
A financial services company needed a SharePoint document management solution. The purpose is to handle their legal and financial contracts. We made sure that we provide a solution that ensures strict version control, audit trails and integration of their CRM.
Therefore, we decided to execute SharePoint on-premises to offer maximum control over their sensitive data. As a SharePoint consultant, we also provided extensive training for their legal team.
Result: The overall outcome of our SharePoint project is full control over the documents. Moreover, compliance improved, reduced errors and a more efficient workflow.
Understanding Project Costs: What to Expect
Have you ever thought about the elephant in the room when it comes to SharePoint consulting? Yes! We are talking about the costs.
SharePoint consulting costs can be different depending on various factors such as the complexity of the project, the version of SharePoint and SharePoint environment customization. Generally, here’s a breakdown of what impacts the cost:
- Scope of the Project: A simple SharePoint site for managing documents may not be very costly. On the other hand, execution of SharePoint for an enterprise has custom features and integrations.
- Customization: Prices increase with more customization of SharePoint project.
- Training & Support: Extensive training and continuous post-implementation support add to the overall costs.
- Number of Users: The larger organizations have more users which may end up in higher costs.
Approximately, for a simple and small SharePoint implementation, it will cost around $10,000. Whereas, the price increases to $100,000 for large and complex enterprise-level projects.
Conclusion: The Key to a Successful SharePoint Implementation
If you’re looking for a partner that truly understands your business needs and can guide you through the SharePoint journey, the right consulting company will be there every step of the way—from planning and implementation to training and ongoing support. With the right team by your side, SharePoint can become a game-changer for your organization.
Why hire a SharePoint partner? To make your SharePoint implementation an overall success! As a top SharePoint consulting company, NGS Solution offers the right expertise. So what are you waiting for?
Harness the power of SharePoint and improve collaboration, document management and overall efficiency! Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to enhance your current setup, we’ve got you covered.
Get in touch today to schedule a free consultation!
Let’s unlock the full potential of SharePoint for your business. Reach out now!
