How to Break Free from the SharePoint Permissions Limit: A Winning Strategy

 

 

As your business expands and data complexities increase, managing unique permissions within SharePoint libraries can bring inherent challenges. Navigating this terrain demands a strategic approach to ensure you have proper access to your valuable information.

Let’s picture Microsoft SharePoint as a digital city, with each house representing the files and folders within your SharePoint instance. In this virtual cityscape, you have the authority to grant keys (access permissions) to various individuals for each house (file or folder). These access permissions can vary, from granting access to all houses (site-wide) to just a select few (individual files).

SharePoint allows you to regulate all this. However, the excessive distribution of keys (access permissions) can lead to complex management and potential issues if too many of them are used within a single neighborhood (library or list).

The Problem with Unique Permissions for Big Companies

So, here’s the scoop: Microsoft states that the maximum unique permissions you can have for items in a SharePoint document library or list is a whopping 50,000. But – and this is a big but – the recommended limit is just 5,000. Going beyond 5,000 can slow things down and eventually bog down SharePoint. As you may know from experience, a bogged-down SharePoint instance can wreak havoc on your team’s performance, not to mention those all-important project deadlines.

The situation only gets worse as the volume of clients and employees increases. Large corporations dealing with a massive number of items that need to be managed and protected within SharePoint makes staying within the unique permissions limit a comparable task to trying to fit an elephant in a phone booth. It is not pretty.

Manual SharePoint Permissions Management Isn’t the Way

Now, you might be thinking, “Hey, I’ll just organize my SharePoint libraries manually.” Well, think again! If you are bumping up against the unique permissions limit, manually organizing your SharePoint lists and libraries means you will have to sort through a considerable number of files, one by one. Doing this process manually is a one-way ticket to a headache.

The only realistic way to achieve this is by leveraging automation in your strategy, as this can be easily done through third-party software designed to specifically tackle the SharePoint unique permissions limitation. If it is possible, why not let technology do all the heavy lifting for you?

Automating Your SharePoint Document Library Permissions

And here is the part where we tell you how this can be done! SharePoint Structure Creator is your knight in shining armor when it comes to unique permissions management beyond what SharePoint can handle on its own.

This solution does not extend the limit of permissions you can set. It instead reorganizes the way your files are stored in SharePoint using a structure that you can adjust to ensure you never exceed Microsoft’s unique permissions limit of 50,000 or even 5,000 permissions in a single SharePoint document library.

You can define the organizational structure that SharePoint Structure Creator will use by setting rules. There are several pre-set rules that you can choose from. Additionally, you can create a custom rule that meets your exact requirements using a LUA script. Here is a comprehensive overview of the ways in which you can choose to organize your SharePoint libraries:

Essentially, it is just like having a super-organized librarian who never gets tired! This means your SharePoint instance remains speedy without suffering any declines in performance, and the users at your company stay happy.

Integrating Dynamics 365 & SharePoint

But wait, there is more. While Microsoft SharePoint is a robust system for storing all sorts of digital files, some users have files stored in SharePoint that originated from Dynamics 365. This is a common use case that can happen for several reasons – for example, to free up Dynamics 365 storage due to specific integration needs, data workflows, etc.

The problem is that storing Dynamics 365 documents in SharePoint brings another wrinkle to consider: Dynamics 365 privileges do not automatically carry over to SharePoint. In other words, SharePoint users can access files even if they have not been granted privileges for them in the CRM. This can be compared to locking your front door but leaving the back door wide open – a true security hazard.

Manually configuring access settings on each D365 file in SharePoint is an impossible task to complete, and just as with unique permissions, the case gets worse as company size increases.

Integrating Dynamics 365 with SharePoint in a way that allows for the successful synchronization of access permissions across both systems would be the ideal fix to address this security vulnerability. Automating this process ensures that only the specific groups of users who can access certain files in Dynamics 365 are the only ones who can access the same files over on the SharePoint side. For this, CB Dynamics 365 to SharePoint Permissions Replicator, another top solution by Connecting Software, is a game-changer!

Effectively bridge this security gap and synchronize D365 privileges to comply with GDPR and other data privacy laws:

Mastering SharePoint Permissions & Dynamics 365 Privileges

In the ever-evolving world of data management and collaboration, having robust solutions is a must. SharePoint Structure Creator and CB Dynamics 365 to SharePoint Permissions Replicator are your dynamic duo for tackling the unique permissions limit and the D365 – SharePoint security gap head-on, all automatically.

As these solutions go hand in hand for Dynamics 365 users using SharePoint as their document repository, SharePoint Structure Creator can easily be configured through the CB Dynamics 365 to SharePoint Permissions Replicator dashboard. Grab your FREE 15-day trial or reach out to our team with your questions and let us supercharge your business and leave those integration gaps in the dust!

Good to know!
CB Dynamics 365 to SharePoint Permissions Replicator is WCAG 2.1 AA compliant, and its product page has just been updated!

 

Dynamics 365 & SharePoint Integration – Supported Versions

And just before we go, let’s talk compatibility. SharePoint Structure Creator and CB Dynamics 365 to SharePoint Permissions Replicator have your back for the following Microsoft Dynamics version:

• Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement:
  • Dynamics 365 Sales
  • Dynamics 365 Customer Service
  • Dynamics 365 Field Service
• Dynamics CRM 2013, 2015, 2016
• Custom Dataverse solutions

And for SharePoint, it’s all systems go for:

• SharePoint 2013
• SharePoint 2016
• SharePoint 2019
• SharePoint Online

Time to unlock the true potential of your collaboration and secure data management!

 

Ready to maximize the potential of Dynamics 365? These related reads will guide you on your path to success:

• Automating Permission Replication: Connecting Software Solutions Improve Document Access at Liebherr
• Bridging the Security Gap in a SharePoint Dynamics 365 Integration
• Do You Know the Risks of Not Complying with GDPR and Other Privacy Regulations?

 

By Diogo Gouveia, Connecting Software. Connecting Software has been developing integration and synchronization software since 2004. Connecting Software has approximately 40 employees spread over 4 different countries.

Collaboration: Ana Neto

 

 

 

We operate globally, and we are also a proud “Top Member” and “Top Blogger” at CRMSoftwareBlog.

 

 

 

 

The post How to Break Free from the SharePoint Permissions Limit: A Winning Strategy appeared first on CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365.