SharePoint Online Rebuild and Security Update
Introduction
Michelmersh Brick Holdings PLC (MBH) is a leading UK manufacturer of premium clay products, operating multiple well-established brands across the construction materials sector. With a fully integrated business model spanning brick production, specialist clay products, and land development operations, MBH places strong emphasis on operational efficiency, compliance, and effective internal communication.
As the organisation’s digital workplace evolved, MBH sought to modernise and enhance its Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online environment. The primary focus was to improve the intranet experience, strengthen document management processes, and introduce more robust security and permissions control across internal content.
Dolphin IT Solutions was engaged to redesign and enhance the SharePoint intranet platform, delivering a more intuitive, secure, and scalable digital workspace aligned with MBH’s operational needs and branding requirements.
Challenges
Although MBH already had a fully licensed Microsoft 365 environment and a SharePoint Online intranet, several limitations were preventing the platform from fully supporting business requirements.
Key challenges included:
- An outdated and inconsistent intranet landing page design, limiting usability and engagement
- A need to rebuild and restructure document management processes to improve findability and governance
- Insufficient security controls and permission structures across intranet content
- Requirement for granular access control, particularly for sensitive documents such as GDPR policies
- A user experience that was considered overly complex and visually inconsistent with modern intranet standards
- Limited use of SharePoint’s modern web part capabilities and extensibility features
The organisation required a redesigned intranet experience that would improve usability, strengthen governance, and provide a scalable foundation for future SharePoint enhancements.
Our Solution
Dolphin IT Solutions began by reviewing MBH’s existing SharePoint intranet environment and engaging with stakeholders to understand both functional requirements and user experience expectations.
Following a collaborative design process, multiple concept designs were produced for the new intranet homepage. A final design direction was agreed in consultation with MBH stakeholders, ensuring alignment with business branding, usability expectations, and internal communication needs.
The solution focused on delivering a modern SharePoint Online intranet experience using a combination of native SharePoint capabilities and custom front-end enhancements where required.
Intranet Redesign and User Experience Improvements
The intranet homepage was rebuilt to provide a cleaner, more structured, and more engaging user experience.
Key features introduced included:
- A dynamic company news feed to improve internal communication
- An interactive office location map to support organisational visibility
- Integration of a social media feed to surface relevant company updates
- A centralised policy and document listing area for easier access to governance materials
The overall design approach focused on simplifying navigation, reducing visual clutter, and improving usability across departments.
To support enhanced functionality and customisation, Dolphin IT Solutions utilised SharePoint’s extensibility features alongside custom development using HTML, JavaScript, JSOM (JavaScript Object Model), and the HighMaps JavaScript mapping library for interactive location-based components.
This allowed the intranet to go beyond standard SharePoint templates and deliver a tailored digital workplace experience aligned with MBH’s operational requirements.
Document Management Modernisation
A key component of the project involved improving MBH’s document management capabilities within SharePoint Online.
The existing structure was reviewed and reconfigured to improve usability, governance, and searchability across the organisation.
Enhancements included:
- Introduction of structured metadata tagging across document libraries
- Improved search functionality and discoverability through consistent document classification
- Reorganisation of document libraries to better align with business functions and user needs
- Recommendations for improved governance and long-term content management practices
These changes significantly improved the ability of users to locate and manage documents efficiently, while also strengthening overall information governance.
Security and Permissions Enhancements
In addition to usability improvements, the solution introduced more robust security and access control mechanisms across the intranet.
Dolphin IT Solutions implemented refined permission structures within SharePoint to ensure that access to sensitive content was properly controlled.
This was particularly important for regulated and governance-related documentation, including GDPR policy materials, where access needed to be restricted to designated users.
By applying structured permission models, MBH gained improved control over who could view, edit, and manage specific content areas within the intranet environment.
Results
The redesigned SharePoint Online intranet provided MBH with a significantly improved digital workplace experience, combining modern design principles with enhanced functionality and governance.
Key outcomes included:
- A modern, user-friendly intranet homepage aligned with corporate branding
- Improved internal communication through integrated news and content feeds
- Enhanced document management with improved metadata and search capability
- Stronger governance and security through refined permission structures
- More intuitive navigation and improved user experience across departments
- Extended SharePoint functionality through custom development and web parts
The result was a scalable and modern intranet platform that improved employee engagement, strengthened information governance, and provided MBH with a flexible foundation for future Microsoft 365 enhancements.
