The evolution of SharePoint as a platform, with Mark Kashman

David Bowman and Jarbas Horst welcome Mark Kashman, former Microsoft SharePoint product manager and now Principal Microsoft 365 Consultant at KashBox LLC. Mark shares his unique journey from being the first product manager for SharePoint Online in 2007 to becoming an independent consultant helping organizations maximize their SharePoint investments.

Mark addresses the common perception that SharePoint is boring or complicated, explaining how the platform has evolved from requiring a “SharePoint PhD” to becoming more user-friendly while maintaining its powerful extensibility. He discusses the critical balance between SharePoint’s out-of-the-box capabilities and the enhanced experiences that solutions like Fresh provide, emphasizing why organizations need dedicated governance and user experience strategies to succeed. The conversation explores practical advice for intranet owners, the importance of storytelling in technology adoption, and why AI tools like Copilot complement rather than replace well-designed intranets.