S2: Ep 4 | The evolution of SharePoint as a platform, with Mark Kashman

Fresh Perspectives: Living in the reality of SharePoint intranets

Mark Kashman spent over a decade inside Microsoft working on SharePoint, from the early days of SharePoint 2007 to becoming the first product manager for SharePoint Online. Now as an independent consultant, he shares insights that only come from being on the engineering side of one of the world's most widely used platforms.

In this conversation, Mark breaks down the evolution of SharePoint from a document storage system requiring a "SharePoint PhD" to the modern collaboration platform that now powers Microsoft Teams, Lists, Loop, and countless other applications. He explains why SharePoint succeeded by being both an application and a platform, and how this flexibility creates both opportunities and challenges for organizations.

The discussion covers the reality of intranet ownership, from governance planning to the never-ending nature of digital workplace evolution. Mark shares surprising use cases he's encountered, from managing 500 delivery trucks with Funko Pop shipments to massive enterprise deployments with pixel-perfect branding requirements.

We explore the future of digital workplaces in an AI-driven world, examining how Copilot and similar tools will complement rather than replace traditional intranet experiences. Mark explains the crucial difference between pull-based AI interactions and the push-based communication that organizations still need for announcements, training, and company-wide initiatives.