Quick answer. Yes, enterprises still use SharePoint, and any organization on Microsoft Teams uses it whether or not anyone chose it, because Microsoft stores each team’s files in a SharePoint site. The useful question is which of your workloads SharePoint should carry.
Suppose someone in a budget review has called SharePoint dated, and you now owe a CFO or an audit committee an answer on whether to keep funding it or plan an exit. A defensible answer separates three things that travel under the one name: the file layer under Teams, which you cannot opt out of while Teams stays; the server versions whose support dates have passed; and the individual workloads, each of which either belongs on the platform or does not.
The Short Answer: Yes, and Teams Already Depends on It
If your organization runs Microsoft Teams, part of the question was settled when the first team was created. Microsoft’s overview of Teams and SharePoint integration states that “SharePoint sites can be used independently and can also be used by Teams for file storage (called Teams-connected sites),” and that “A Teams-connected site is created automatically whenever you create a team.” The same overview states that “The files you see on the Files tab in a team are stored in a SharePoint site,” that “Each private channel has its own SharePoint site for file storage,” and that “Each shared channel has its own SharePoint site for file storage.”
For an organization that keeps Teams, leaving SharePoint altogether is therefore not one of the options on the table. The real choices sit at the level of workloads: which bodies of content you build on SharePoint on purpose and govern well, and which you move to a platform suited to what they have become.
What Regulated Enterprises Run on SharePoint Now
If you are building the case to keep funding SharePoint, the workloads to put in front of a CFO are the ones that match what Microsoft says a site is for. Its overview describes a SharePoint site as “a web site in SharePoint where you can create web pages and store and collaborate on files.” Four workloads fit that description in a regulated estate.
Document and records management. Policies, controlled procedures, contract files and program records, where the requirement is one authoritative copy with a named owner and a permission model someone can explain to an auditor.
Intranet and knowledge. The pages and reference material an organization publishes to its own staff, from HR policy to engineering standards, where the value is that people find the current version in one place. When a geotechnical engineering products company’s intranet portal had fallen into low usage, i3solutions replaced it on SharePoint with an online product catalog and an employee directory, as Enhancing Employee Engagement and Efficiency describes.
Governed collaboration. Working files for projects and programs, where access has to follow membership and a reviewer later needs to see who could open what.
The content layer under Teams. The files on each team’s Files tab, stored in SharePoint sites by Microsoft’s own design, whether or not the line appears in your budget.
Why SharePoint Feels Dated, and What Actually Changed
When the complaint you are hearing traces back to a SharePoint Server farm, part of it is simply true, and the reason is a date. Microsoft’s lifecycle listings, read on 2026-09-22, show SharePoint Server 2016 and SharePoint Server 2019 under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy with an Extended End Date of July 14, 2026, so a farm still running either version is past the end of Microsoft’s extended support. The same listings show SharePoint Server Subscription Edition under the Modern Lifecycle Policy, with a start date of 11/2/2021, marked In Support. Sources, Microsoft Learn (read date 2026-09-22): SharePoint Server 2016 (Microsoft Lifecycle); SharePoint Server 2019 (Microsoft Lifecycle); SharePoint Server Subscription Edition (Microsoft Lifecycle); Ending Support in 2026.
The other half of the reputation comes from customization. Code and heavily modified pages written for an older server version were written against that version, so when the version reaches its support date the customizations reach it too, and the upgrade off that version has to account for each of them one at a time.
Neither fact is a verdict on the platform. An out-of-support farm is a version problem, and whether its successor should be SharePoint Online or an on-premises farm is a separate decision, set out in SharePoint Comparison: Online vs On-Premises.
How to Decide Which of Your Workloads Stay
Once you have to defend the answer workload by workload, four tests do the sorting, and each can be answered from something you can open or export.
Support-date test. Which SharePoint Server version does the workload run on, as your server inventory records it? If the answer is SharePoint Server 2016 or SharePoint Server 2019, the first decision is the move off that version, and the question of whether the workload belongs on SharePoint comes after it. Sources, Microsoft Learn (read date 2026-09-22): SharePoint Server 2016 (Microsoft Lifecycle); SharePoint Server 2019 (Microsoft Lifecycle).
Teams test. Do the workload’s files sit on a team’s Files tab? If they do, they are stored in a SharePoint site by Microsoft’s design, and moving the workload changes how that team works as well as where a library lives.
Document test. Is the workload mostly files that people create, store and collaborate on, with a named owner in your site inventory? Microsoft describes a SharePoint site as serving that use, and a workload that passes is one to keep and govern well.
Application test. Does the workload behave like an application built on SharePoint, more than a body of documents stored in it? Read the site’s inventory of lists, custom code and flows for the answer. If it does, check it against When SharePoint Is Not the Right Platform: Enterprise Signs; a workload that shows those signs belongs on a purpose-built application, whatever its history.
When the tests point different ways, the support-date test is settled first, because an unsupported server is a risk whatever the workload’s fit. After that, the application test outranks the Teams test: a workload that behaves like an application is a candidate to move even when its files already sit in Teams, and the Teams test then tells you how much of the team’s way of working the move will touch. Where a workload passes the Teams and document tests, the answer for your CFO is to keep it on SharePoint and fund its governance. Where it fails the application test, the answer is a planned exit for that workload, not for the platform.
When a SharePoint Strategy Assessment Is Worth It
If the four tests leave more than a handful of workloads undecided, or the answer has to stand up in front of an audit committee, the sorting is worth doing as a structured assessment, because the committee will ask for the reasoning workload by workload. Enterprise SharePoint strategy assessment engagements typically run four to six weeks elapsed time with two to three i3solutions consultants. All i3solutions SharePoint developers, architects, and consultants are 100% U.S.-based. The wider SharePoint practice is set out on Enterprise SharePoint Development & Integration Services Built for Scale and Governance.
Key Takeaways
- SharePoint is still in enterprise use, and Teams depends on it: Microsoft stores the files on a team’s Files tab in a SharePoint site.
- For an organization that keeps Teams, the decision is made per workload, not about leaving the platform.
- Microsoft lists SharePoint Server 2016 and SharePoint Server 2019 with an Extended End Date of July 14, 2026 and SharePoint Server Subscription Edition as In Support, so a dated farm is a version problem, not a platform verdict. Sources, Microsoft Learn (read date 2026-09-22): SharePoint Server 2016 (Microsoft Lifecycle); SharePoint Server 2019 (Microsoft Lifecycle); SharePoint Server Subscription Edition (Microsoft Lifecycle); Ending Support in 2026.
- Four tests sort the workloads: the support-date test, the Teams test, the document test and the application test. The support-date test is settled first, and the application test outranks the Teams test.
- A workload that fails the application test moves to a purpose-built application; a workload that passes the Teams and document tests stays on SharePoint and is governed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does anyone still use SharePoint?
Yes: enterprises still use SharePoint, and if your organization runs Microsoft Teams it uses SharePoint whether or not anyone chose it, because Microsoft states that the files on a team’s Files tab are stored in a SharePoint site, and that a Teams-connected site is created automatically whenever a team is created. For an IT leader deciding whether to keep investing, the useful question is which workloads SharePoint should carry, sorted by four tests: the support-date test, the Teams test, the document test and the application test.
Is SharePoint being phased out?
If you have heard that SharePoint is being retired, Microsoft’s lifecycle listings do not show SharePoint as a whole reaching an end date. Read on 2026-09-22, they list SharePoint Server Subscription Edition under the Modern Lifecycle Policy and mark it In Support. What has ended is extended support for two older server versions, SharePoint Server 2016 and SharePoint Server 2019, whose Extended End Date under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy was July 14, 2026; a farm on either one now runs without Microsoft’s extended support. Sources, Microsoft Learn (read date 2026-09-22): SharePoint Server 2016 (Microsoft Lifecycle); SharePoint Server 2019 (Microsoft Lifecycle); SharePoint Server Subscription Edition (Microsoft Lifecycle); Ending Support in 2026.
Should we keep investing in SharePoint or plan an exit?
If you run Microsoft Teams, the choice is made per workload, because Microsoft stores each team’s files in SharePoint sites and leaving SharePoint altogether is not an option while Teams stays. Settle the support date first, since a farm on SharePoint Server 2016 or SharePoint Server 2019 is past Microsoft’s Extended End Date of July 14, 2026. Then keep and govern the workloads that are mostly documents with a named owner, and plan a move for the workloads that behave like applications built on SharePoint, which are the candidates for a purpose-built application. Sources, Microsoft Learn (read date 2026-09-22): SharePoint Server 2016 (Microsoft Lifecycle); SharePoint Server 2019 (Microsoft Lifecycle); Ending Support in 2026.
Is Microsoft Lists being phased out?
No. The retirement Microsoft documents is for the Microsoft Lists mobile apps for Android and iOS, which were retired in mid-November 2025, not for Microsoft Lists itself. Microsoft’s support page, Microsoft Lists mobile apps retirement, says the app was removed from the App Store and Google Play and that existing users get an error if they try to open it. The same page says your lists and data are not affected and continue to be available through Microsoft Lists on PC / desktop or through a mobile web browser. If you have heard that Lists is being retired, this app change may be what you heard about. Source, Microsoft Support (read date 2026-10-09): Microsoft Lists mobile apps retirement.
Working With i3solutions on a SharePoint Decision
If the answer you owe your CFO depends on workloads nobody has sorted yet, the next step is a conversation about which ones they are.
