SharePoint Modernization, UX/UI Redesign, Content Restructuring, User Training

Client: Top 25 Global Accounting Firm
Industry: Accounting, Tax & Advisory

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SharePoint_Modern Workplace Upgrade M365

About the Client

Client is a nationally recognized advisory, tax, and accounting firm that helps companies be more profitable, efficient, and future-ready. With over 45 years of experience, Client serves a diverse portfolio of clients across industries including healthcare, real estate, government, and technology. As part of their commitment to innovation, Client consistently invests in tools and platforms that foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among their internal teams.

The Challenge

Client’s internal SharePoint environment had become increasingly difficult to manage and navigate due to several core issues:

• Legacy Customization: The SharePoint portal was built on top of a heavily customized layer, creating significant limitations for layout changes, design improvements, and feature enhancements. Even small modifications risked disrupting key business functions.
• Outdated User Experience: The interface lacked the modern styling and structure expected by today’s users, resulting in decreased usage and engagement. Employees often bypassed the platform altogether in favor of external tools or manual workarounds.
• Poor Content Organization: Over time, libraries, documents, and pages had grown in an unstructured manner. There was no unified strategy for document management, metadata, or navigation. As a result, employees struggled to find what they needed quickly, impacting productivity.
• Limited Internal Expertise: Client had no dedicated internal SharePoint resource to redesign or reorganize the platform. They needed a team that could not only work within the technical constraints of the existing system but also provide long-term guidance and knowledge transfer.

Our Solution

eSoftware Associates partnered with Client to revitalize their SharePoint portal with a modern, user-friendly experience—without compromising their custom integrations. Our approach was structured, user-focused, and fully aligned with Microsoft best practices.

Key Areas of Focus:

1. UI/UX Redesign within Constraints
   We designed a modern interface that brought clarity, accessibility, and visual appeal to the existing portal. Our team carefully balanced aesthetics with functionality, ensuring the new design aligned with Client’s brand while staying within the limitations imposed by the legacy custom code.
2. Content and Document Restructuring
   We conducted a full content audit, identifying outdated materials, redundant folders, and inconsistent metadata. From there, we implemented a new information architecture:
   
   • Standardized document libraries with consistent metadata and tagging
   • Improved folder structures for intuitive browsing
   • Optimized search configurations to support faster, more accurate search results
   • Consolidated pages and content into logical, topic-based hubs for easier navigation
3. Enhanced Navigation and Findability
   With a cleaner site structure and better categorization, users can now quickly locate:
   
   • Departmental resources
   • Internal tools and systems
   • HR policies and forms
   • News, events, and announcements
   • Training materials and help documentation
4. Employee Engagement and Self-Service Tools
   We introduced new page templates and features that support employee engagement, such as:
   
   • Dynamic announcements
   • Team recognition areas
   • Embedded videos and news feeds
   • Quick links to tools like time tracking and IT support
5. Staff Enablement Through Training
   We provided tailored training sessions for Client’s site owners and power users, helping them:
   
   • Understand how to maintain and update pages
   • Use web parts effectively
   • Apply best practices in content creation
   • Manage permissions and access settings confidently

The goal was to reduce dependency on IT and allow departments to take full ownership of their digital workspaces.

The engagement led to tangible improvements across Client’s internal digital workplace:

Modern Look and Feel
Employees now interact with a fresh, intuitive SharePoint portal that reflects the company’s forward-thinking culture.

Improved Engagement and Usage
Usage analytics showed a measurable uptick in portal visits, time spent on key pages, and user interactions with news, documents, and internal tools.

Streamlined Content Access
With restructured content and improved search capabilities, staff are now able to find critical documents faster, reducing delays and minimizing frustration.

Empowered Internal Teams
Through our training and documentation, Client’s internal site owners are now equipped to manage and evolve their spaces independently, increasing agility and reducing reliance on IT.

Future-Ready Foundation
The redesigned environment provides a scalable and adaptable platform, laying the groundwork for further integrations, automation, and future upgrades to SharePoint Online or Microsoft Viva.