Overview
Why Enterprises go Beyond Out-of-the-Box
Out-of-the-box SharePoint works well, until enterprise scale, governance, and complexity push past its limits.
Our enterprise SharePoint development approach adds the custom workflows, integrations, and controls large organisations need—reducing risk, unifying data, and creating intuitive experiences that drive adoption across regions, business units, and devices.
- Enterprise-Ready Custom Web Parts
- Integrated Enterprise Business Tools & Apps
- Intelligent Search, Navigation & Personalisation
- Compliance, Governance & Security by Design
Out-of-the-box SharePoint web parts often struggle in large-scale environments, where performance, flexibility, and employee expectations are far higher. Our enterprise-grade custom web parts go beyond aesthetics—they’re engineered for resilience, compliance, and global reach.
Examples include:
- Global dashboards pulling real-time metrics from multiple enterprise systems
- Smart forms with advanced business logic, validation, and automated workflows
- Interactive visualisations such as maps or calendars that handle large, complex datasets
- Role-based content surfaces that adapt to user profiles, regions, or business units
By tailoring functionality to the way your enterprise operates, we remove the inefficiencies of “workarounds” and create tools that support large-scale adoption, productivity, and consistency across teams.
Enterprises often rely on dozens of systems—HR, finance, IT, CRM—leading to silos, duplication, and wasted time. Our custom SharePoint applications connect these platforms into a single, secure digital workplace.
Common enterprise-grade tools include:
- Compliance tracking apps with mandatory read and acknowledgement functionality
- Enterprise provisioning systems with built-in governance and automated approvals
- Global event platforms for scheduling, registration, and reporting at scale
- Request portals that integrate with ITSM, HR, or finance systems
- People-finder tools surfacing expertise, location, and availability across geographies
Replacing fragmented systems with SharePoint-based apps helps reduce cost, streamline governance, and simplify IT management. We build tools with enterprise scalability in mind—ensuring performance, security, and usability remain strong as demand grows.
In enterprise organisations, the biggest challenge isn’t storing information—it’s making it easy to find and use. Default SharePoint search and navigation often fall short when thousands of employees, sites, and documents are involved.
We deliver solutions such as:
- Enterprise-wide navigation menus aligned to your organisational hierarchy
- Search with advanced filters and metadata tagging for precision results
- Personalised dashboards and content hubs tailored to role, location, or department
- Accessibility-first layouts that work seamlessly across devices and meet compliance standards
These enhancements transform SharePoint into a tool employees actively rely on. By aligning content delivery with employee needs, we reduce frustration, improve adoption, and free people to focus on high-value work rather than navigating complexity.
For enterprises, compliance and governance can’t be afterthoughts—they must be baked into every tool. Out-of-the-box SharePoint provides a baseline, but enterprise environments demand greater control, accountability, and auditability.
Our solutions embed compliance into the platform, including:
- Mandatory read tracking for compliance-critical content
- Advanced approval workflows with role-based permissions
- Comprehensive audit logs for monitoring and reporting
- Governance frameworks built directly into provisioning and content management
We design with both security and usability in mind, ensuring compliance requirements don’t slow down adoption. And we’ve seen the difference this makes: IT leaders gain confidence in oversight and risk management, while employees get a platform that still feels simple and intuitive to use.
Real Results from Real Clients
Our SharePoint design ideas have helped leading organisations transform how their teams connect,collaborate and communicate. Below we share examples of how thoughtful design has driven real impact.
Client Stories
7 Day Intranet Transformation
A brand-aligned design refresh for financial services firm TP ICAP.
Empowering Higher Education Comms
A new branded intranet with custom page templates for the University of Leeds.
Award Winning Intranet
Storming success as the Met Office sets the standard for accessible collaboration for 2,000+ employees.
Bauer Media Group set out to create a personalised intranet experience that truly works for every employee.
In this 60 second overview, see how we brought that vision to life using SharePoint and Beacon.
Video created by our friends at The Surgery
Let’s Talk Design
Whether you’re refreshing your homepage or building a new intranet, we’re here to help. Book a free consultation and explore what’s possible.
FAQs
Find answers to common questions about planning, migration, accessibility, and ongoing support.
How can SharePoint handle complex workflows across large organisations?
SharePoint’s out-of-the-box workflows are useful for basic processes, but enterprises often need more sophisticated automation across multiple departments, regions, and systems. With custom development, we can create workflows that span multiple Microsoft 365 apps, trigger automated approvals, enforce compliance rules, and integrate with external systems like HR or finance. This ensures processes are consistent, auditable, and scalable.
At Silicon Reef, we prioritise building workflows that don’t simply automate tasks—they reduce friction, enforce governance, and improve visibility across the enterprise, helping senior leaders trust that critical processes are being followed without slowing down day-to-day operations.
What are the key risks when scaling SharePoint for an enterprise?
Scaling SharePoint introduces risks around performance, security, compliance, and adoption. Out-of-the-box features can struggle with thousands of users, high document volumes, or complex permission structures.
Silicon Reef’s approach involves custom architecture, optimised data models, and governance frameworks tailored to enterprise needs. We focus on risk mitigation through proactive planning: ensuring search remains performant, content is secure, and reporting tracks compliance. From our experience, investing in custom development early reduces technical debt, simplifies administration, and allows the platform to grow with the organisation—turning SharePoint into a reliable, enterprise-grade system rather than a collection of disconnected sites.
How can custom SharePoint solutions improve user adoption in large organisations?
Enterprise adoption often fails not because of technology, but due to complexity and inconsistent experiences. Custom solutions help by creating intuitive, role-specific interfaces, personalised dashboards, and centralised navigation that reflects how employees actually work.
For example, integrating tools and data from multiple business systems into a single SharePoint experience reduces friction. At Silicon Reef, we design with the end-user in mind: making SharePoint easier, faster, and more rewarding to use. By aligning technology with real workflows, enterprises see higher engagement, faster onboarding, and ultimately, greater return on investment.
Can SharePoint securely support external collaboration at enterprise scale?
Yes—but out-of-the-box SharePoint often requires careful configuration to safely collaborate with external partners, suppliers, or clients. Custom development allows enterprises to create portals and workflows that control access dynamically, track activity for compliance, and integrate external collaborators without compromising internal security.
Our experience at Silicon Reef shows that combining SharePoint with automated governance, dynamic group management, and audit logging creates a secure, scalable environment for external collaboration. This approach not only reduces risk but also improves efficiency by allowing partners to engage with the organisation seamlessly, without IT intervention for every request.
How do custom SharePoint solutions support compliance in regulated enterprises?
Large organisations face strict regulatory and internal compliance requirements—covering data access, retention, audit trails, and approvals. Out-of-the-box SharePoint provides some controls, but custom development allows enterprises to enforce complex policies consistently.
We build solutions that integrate automated approvals, mandatory-read tracking, retention rules, and audit logs, all tailored to organisational and regulatory needs. At Silicon Reef, we emphasise designing compliance without creating friction: employees can complete their work naturally, while IT and leadership maintain full oversight. This ensures enterprises meet obligations confidently, reduce audit risk, and avoid the hidden costs of manual compliance processes.
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