Your work team might soon hate Microsoft SharePoint a little less

A man copying from the laptop screen of his colleague
(Image credit: Shutterstock / Fizkes)

Using Microsoft SharePoint to orchestrate your team's work could soon be a lot more pleasant thanks to several upgrades to the software.

The online collaboration and work sharing platform has revealed it is working on a number of new site templates, a move it says should make using team sites clearer and more intuitive.

The new templates include sites for your IT helpdesk, crisis communication team, and new employee onboarding team, covering several key milestones for all businesses.

SharePoint site templates

In its entry in the official Microsoft 365 roadmap, the change is listed as being in development now. However it has an expected release date of August 2022, meaning that users may get to experience the new site templates relatively soon.

SharePoint web users around the world will be able to enjoy the new templates, but we'll stay tuned for specific release date information.

The update comes as Microsoft looks to ensure all its Office 365 programs are providing the efficiency and productivity boost workers need as many companies embrace hybrid working.

This includes adding improved voice dictation for apps such as Outlook and Word, allowing users to dictate documents, emails and more using their voice.

But the company has also introduced information barriers in Microsoft 365, where organizations can restrict communication and collaboration among specific groups of users for both business and security purposes.

SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams and OneDrive for Business all support the new tool, with admins able to define policies that allow or prevent communications between groups of users. Using information barriers in SharePoint Online and OneDrive can prevent unauthorized collaborations like adding a member to a site, accessing a site or content, sharing a site or content or searching a site.

The updates will hope to make customers appreciate the value of Microsoft's services after the company recently introduced price rises for Office.

The move, which was the first increase since the launch of Office 365, saw prices rise across the board, with consumer and business users both affected.

Mike Moore
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Pro

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.

Read more
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is getting one of Facebook's worst features, and I can't see why you'd ever use it
A group of people video conferencing.
Best Microsoft Teams app of 2025
Team collaboration
Best online collaboration tool of 2025
Microsoft Teams Phone
Microsoft Teams Rooms introduces digital signage and AI features to revolutionize hybrid workspaces
female graphic designer pointing with finger on laptop computer during collaboration with male colleague on common project in coffee shop
Best project management software of 2025
A person working from home using two laptops.
Best productivity tool of 2025
Latest in Software & Services
woman listening to computer
AWS vs Azure: choosing the right platform to maximize your company's investment
A person at a desktop computer working on spreadsheet tables.
Trello vs Jira: which project management solution is best for you?
Autonomous finance
Quickbooks vs Quicken: what are the main strengths and weaknesses for your business
finance
Quickbooks vs Xero: which is the best for your business?
Group of people meeting
Zoom vs Google Meet: which is the best video conferencing tool for your business?
Fingers typing on a computer keyboard.
Microsoft 365 Personal vs Microsoft 365 Family: are there any real differences?
Latest in News
Stability AI 3D Video
Stability AI’s new virtual camera turns any image into a cool 3D video and I’m blown away by how good it is
The Google Wallet app with a mode for kids shown on-screen.
Google Wallet’s new kid-friendly payment system is a win for parents
A man holds a smartphone iPhone screen showing various social media apps including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Instagram and X
A worrying Apple Password App vulnerability reportedlyleft users exposed for months
Google Pixel 9a
Google is delaying the Pixel 9a to fix a mystery “component quality issue”
The bottom left corner of an Android phone, showing the Phone, Messages, Google icons and Google Search bar
Google Messages remote delete will soon save you from texting embarrassment – and here's how it works
ExpressVPN mobile app and Aircove
ExpressVPN ‘reduces workforce’ for the second time in two years