SharePoint policy management limitations: an honest assessment
We often get asked by potential customers if they can use SharePoint straight out of the box for effective policy management. It’s a good question and often gets asked from a number of different stances:
So, is SharePoint enough for compliance?
The answer is no. SharePoint straight out of the box is not policy management software, and it is not enough. However, it does have some features that help with compliance and policy management.
What SharePoint does well for policy management
SharePoint policy management limitations: What it cannot do without significant configuration or customisation
The ‘we’ve configured SharePoint to do it’ scenario
Many organisations have responded to these gaps by building custom Power Automate flows or even introducing custom development. Others have assigned someone to chase reviews by email and track these using a spreadsheet; this approach is highly inefficient and time-consuming.
The SharePoint policy management limitations of custom-built processes are numerous:
- they are dependent on the people who built them and that might be an external agency you no longer work with or an in-house person who has left.
- they can produce significant technical debt and a high maintenance overhead.
- they do not scale.
- they rarely produce the kind of audit trail that a serious regulatory inspection requires.
When SharePoint policy management is possible
SharePoint alone is likely workable if your organisation has:
- fewer than 50 employees.
- a small and relatively static policy library (under 20 documents).
- no serious regulatory exposure requiring formal employee attestation.
- IT resource capable of building and maintaining the configuration and workflows needed.
- a named owner to keep an eye on everything.
When you need to move beyond SharePoint
However, SharePoint policy management is unlikely to be possible for companies that don’t meet the above criteria. If you are already using SharePoint for policy management and you’re experiencing any of the following, then it will be worth looking at other options:
- Your compliance team is spending significant time chasing reviews and attestations that should happen automatically.
- Policies are lapsing unnoticed because there is no automated review cycle.
- You cannot answer ‘has everyone who needs to acknowledge this policy actually done so?’ without building a spreadsheet.
- You are preparing for an audit and cannot easily produce the evidence needed.
- You have grown beyond the size where manual tracking is manageable.
- There is no culture of compliance and policy management is not being taken seriously by stakeholders.
What Microsoft 365-native policy management looks like in practice
A Microsoft 365-native policy management solution like Xoralia has the advantage of using all the SharePoint features that support policy management but then it also fills all the gaps that come with using SharePoint Online out of the box.
A robust policy management solution built for Microsoft 365 should deliver:
- Easy access to policies from the tools that employees are using every day – Microsoft Teams, a SharePoint intranet, Outlook and Microsoft Search.
- The ability to acknowledge policies from Teams and SharePoint, as well as via mobile devices.
- Compliance dashboards that are built in Power BI.
- Flexible workflows to support policy lifecycle management including regular reviews and approvals.
- Policy owners and employees receiving notifications through Outlook.
- Use of existing Entra ID groups for targeting and notifications.
- No data leaving your Microsoft 365 tenant.
- Data residency aligns with your existing policies that already apply to your Microsoft tenant.
- Granular access to support watertight security policies.
- Automation at scale.
- And more!
SharePoint vs dedicated policy management software
| | SharePoint | Dedicated platform |
|---|---|---|
| Document storage & search | | |
| Version history | | |
| M365 / Teams integration | | accessible via Teams, SharePoint and Outlook. |
| Automated review cycle reminders | requires Power Automate build. | |
| Employee attestation tracking | | |
| Audit-ready evidence export | | |
| Audience targeting by role/team | | assigned by document owners using existing Active Directory groups. |
| AI knowledge checks | | |
| Real-time compliance dashboards | requires Power BI build. | |
| Maintenance overhead | HIGH | LOW |
| Targeted views for different roles | | although not present in all solutions. |
Frequently asked questions
Can you do policy management in SharePoint without a third-party tool?
Yes, with significant configuration and ongoing maintenance. The question is whether the cost and risk of maintaining that custom build is less than the cost of a dedicated platform.
Does Xoralia replace SharePoint?
No. Xoralia extends the power of Microsoft 365 rather than replacing it. It is effectively a governance and automation layer that sits within your Microsoft 365 environment, enhancing SharePoint’s document management capabilities to fully support policy management, while enabling access from SharePoint, Outlook and Microsoft Teams.
How much does it cost to add policy management to SharePoint?
A meaningful cost comparison requires accounting for the cost of any custom development and configuration, maintaining that, the risk-related cost of the gaps that remain, and any cost associated with compiling evidence manually to ensure compliance.
About the author
Dan Hawtrey
Dan Hawtrey
How policy management software can help
We think the best place to store your policies is inside SharePoint. Most companies already have SharePoint as part of their Microsoft 365 subscription. Using SharePoint means you have full control of your policies, and many best practices can be achieved right out of the box. However, there are gaps and certain best practices are hard to achieve.
To fill these gaps, and for best results we recommend using purpose-built policy management software for SharePoint and Microsoft 365.
We’ve developed a dedicated solution called Xoralia (pronounced Zor-ra-lee-a) that will ensure you have the best overall approach to policy management, supporting your users, policy owners and administrators.
We learned all about policy management from many years of building custom solutions for our clients on SharePoint. But we kept coming up against the same challenges, mostly caused by feature gaps in SharePoint. One day, a client asked us to build a policy management tool that filled these gaps. The trouble was, they didn’t have a lot of budget. But we had a good relationship with them and so we decided to collaborate on it provided we got to keep the code. Looking back, it was a pretty simple tool but over the years we have added more features and relaunched it. We’re now on version 3 and our original customer is still using it!
3 benefits you can expect from Xoralia
Make it easy to find policies
Centralised policy library with powerful search and filtering
Reduce administrative burden
Automations and notifications so that all policy tasks are carried out on time
Demonstrate compliance and best practice
Sophisticated tracking and dashboards to drive and measure compliance.
And lots more!
What our clients say
A great time saver and tool for document management
We have found Xoralia to be very beneficial to us as it has allowed us to focus on other area’s as Xoralia will take care of who has read the documents and notify them if they have not. A great time saver and tool for document management all together.
Tim Galer
IT Coordinator
Hughes
Ideal partner for our regulated environment
LifeArc operates in a strictly regulated sector where compliance and information security are critical. It is essential that LifeArc’s workforce have easy and effortless access to the latest up-to-date policies and procedures, which is the structure Xoralia gave us.
Adam Lythgoe
IT Manager
LifeArc
How to get started with Xoralia
Step 1: Explore or request a demo
Start a free trial for instant, hands-on access, or fill out our form to book a personalised demo at a time that suits you.
Step 2: Get a price proposal
If Xoralia looks right for your organisation, ask us for a tailored quote. We’ll outline any options and packages to fit your needs.
Step 3: Install and launch
Set up Xoralia in your environment with our support. We’ll provide onboarding, training, and full assistance to get your team up and running quickly.
Here's what you'll get
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Central policy library
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Search and filter tools
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Mandatory read policies with attestations
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Quizzes
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Notifications and alerts
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Employee dashboard
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Line manager dashboard
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Works on mobile, in Teams and SharePoint
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New policy creation workflows
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Policy update workflows
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Review and approval gates
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Policy version history
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Compliance dashboard
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Audit trail
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Full reporting
And last but not least:
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Professional implementation service and support
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Evergreen software – frequent updates and improvements
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Comes with our "it just works" support warranty – we’ll fix any bugs, often before you even notice
Ready to get started?
Connect with us to streamline your policy management and ensure effortless compliance.
Uniting excellence in integration and features for seamless policy management
As the newly appointed IT Manager at our company, I was tasked with implementing the Xoralia policy management tool, and the experience has been nothing short of impressive.
Rian Stuart
IT Manager
TwinStream
