Hello and welcome to 2024, SharePoint and Microsoft 365 tech savants! I am thrilled to start the year by reviewing Microsoft’s SharePoint Embedded, which entered public preview on November 28, 2023. As someone deeply ingrained in SharePoint’s evolution for over two decades, I view SharePoint Embedded as a pivotal development in custom app integration within Microsoft 365. Set for general availability in mid-2024, it symbolizes a significant leap forward, blending SharePoint’s robust capabilities with modern application development needs in today’s swiftly evolving modern workspace.
SharePoint Embedded
SharePoint Embedded is another update in the SharePoint saga; it represents a paradigm shift. This new approach centers around a headless API-only model, which enables the integration of Microsoft 365’s content management features available in SharePoint into just about any application. It’s an important update for enterprises and ISVs alike, who can now harness SharePoint’s capabilities within their existing Microsoft 365 tenant, ensuring security, collaboration, and compliance are at the core of their custom in-house developed applications.
At the heart of SharePoint Embedded lies the innovative concept of “File Storage Containers”. These containers function similarly to document libraries but are exclusively accessible through SharePoint Embedded’s API, allowing for IT to have more secure and isolated environment for content management. This containers feature also aligns perfectly with Microsoft’s focus on security and compliance in the cloud, as the API integrates with Microsoft 365 Admin Center and the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.
The practical applications of SharePoint Embedded are going to become vast and varied fairly quickly. One example Microsoft provided during the ESPC23 in Amsterdam, was KPMG‘s use in their global audit platform, demonstrating API’s capability to handle sensitive financial documents efficiently, and how data remains secure and compliant. Similarly, another example provided was Peppermint Technology‘s collaboration with Pinsent Masons, demonstrating the versatility of SharePoint Embedded in creating a next-generation legal document management system.
Comprehensive Features of SharePoint Embedded
App Documents Within Microsoft 365 Tenant
SharePoint Embedded facilitates a unique partition within the consumer’s Microsoft 365 tenant, solely accessible through APIs. This partition houses the “File Storage Containers,” ensuring that while documents are easily accessible to the application, they remain within the consumer’s tenant for heightened security and compliance. When a consumer installs/registers another SharePoint Embedded application in their Microsoft 365 tenant, SharePoint Embedded creates an additional SharePoint partition.
File Storage Containers
These containers, accessible via Microsoft Graph APIs, are akin to API-only Document Libraries in SharePoint. They allow both ISVs and enterprises to store a substantial amount of content, up to multiple terabytes, in an organized, secure, and isolated environment within each tenant.
App Managed Content Experiences
SharePoint Embedded applications are the exclusive gateways to the content they manage. This management extends to leveraging Microsoft 365’s capabilities, including: SharePoint’s Core content management features like file and folder support, search, sharing, automatic versioning, recycle-bin, etc. Additionally available is SharePoint’s collaboration and Office integration features enabling view, edit, and co-authoring in Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, through Office Web and Desktop applications.
Usage Across Microsoft Products and External Applications
Products such as Microsoft Loop and Designer already utilize SharePoint Embedded for managing customer content. Likewise, ISVs can use SharePoint Embedded to manage content within their customers’ Microsoft 365 tenants, and enterprises can use it to manage content within their own tenants, albeit outside the regular Microsoft 365 entitlements.
Consumer Microsoft 365 Settings on App Documents
All documents within the SharePoint Embedded partition adhere to the Microsoft 365 tenant’s settings. This includes Microsoft Purview compliance, risk, and security settings. Documents stored here benefit from features like eDiscovery, auditing, DLP, retention policies, sensitivity labels, and conditional access.
Billing and Setting Up SharePoint Embedded
SharePoint Embedded adopts a pay-as-you-go model, meaning organizations pay for the storage, API calls, and data transfers they use. This flexible billing model can be an advantage for businesses looking to manage costs efficiently without the need for additional user licenses. SharePoint Embedded partitions in a Microsoft 365 tenant are billed separately via an Azure subscription. This follows the pay-as-you-go consumption model based on total storage and API call volume, providing a flexible approach to managing costs. For more detail on SharePoint Embedded pricing, see the following https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/embedded/terms-of-service.
Developers interested in SharePoint Embedded can begin by following the Getting Started article. It involves enabling SharePoint Embedded from the SharePoint admin center and utilizing Microsoft Graph APIs to interact with File Storage Containers. This initial setup lays the groundwork for further development, with resources available to assist throughout the app development life cycle.
Personal Reflections
Microsoft’s rollout of SharePoint Embedded marks a significant chapter in the SharePoint saga, reinforcing its ever-growing relevance in our rapidly evolving tech world. For me, SharePoint Embedded is a shiny button in the vast control panel of Microsoft 365. It illuminates the path forward for application development within the Microsoft ecosystem. The way it seamlessly weaves SharePoint’s formidable powers into custom applications is like giving developers a Swiss Army knife when they’ve been using just scissors!
Reflecting on my journey with SharePoint — from its early versions, where it felt like we were just stacking digital bricks, to tackling complex migrations that sometimes felt like defusing a bomb with a manual in ancient Greek — SharePoint Embedded feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s a natural progression; like finally getting a jetpack in a world where we’ve been using ladders. It aligns beautifully with the modern demand for flexible, secure, and robust content management, especially for custom applications crafted in the cloud. It’s almost like watching your kid graduate — you’re proud, a bit nostalgic, and excited about what they’ll do next.
What excites me the most is how SharePoint Embedded democratizes high-level content management capabilities. Content management is no longer for the big players only anymore. Businesses of all sizes can would have access to this feature, making it a growth accelerator, a kind of digital fertilizer helping small and medium businesses blossom.
As someone who has navigated the ebbs and flows of SharePoint deployments, from the vast oceanic data migrations to intricate architectural designs and developing apps, I see SharePoint Embedded as a tool that could have simplified many complex scenarios we faced, and especially as a viable replacement for legacy SharePoint web services. It’s like having a GPS for a journey you’ve been navigating with just a compass and the stars.
Stay tuned for my upcoming article later this week, where I’ll discuss the New Microsoft Teams and shifting away from Teams classic. We’ll see if Teams is following in SharePoint’s jetpack-equipped footsteps or carving its own path through the digital cosmos. Spoiler alert: It’s looking pretty exciting!
About the Author:
Sousouni Bajis
I am Sousouni Bajis, a veteran Microsoft Consultant with a profound journey through the realms of software engineering, solution architecture, and Microsoft 365 administration. My expertise in SharePoint deployments and development has led me to spearhead projects for industry giants and government agencies, specializing in seamless migrations, system architecture, and workflow automation. With a passion for aligning technical solutions with business objectives, I have been at the forefront of transformative IT consultancy.
Bajis, S (2024). SharePoint Embedded: A Game-Changer for Custom App Developers. Available at: SharePoint Embedded: A Game-Changer for Custom App Developers | LinkedIn [Accessed: 26th September 2024].
