Can SharePoint replace a VDR?

Only with significant configuration effort and per-tenant external-sharing limits. Even then, you lose the natural data-room structure (Q&A workflows, NDA gating, per-recipient view-only modes, automatic expiry) that purpose-built VDRs ship with. Most Australian advisors prefer a dedicated VDR for the audit trail alone.

Is SharePoint Australian data resident?

Microsoft 365 Australian tenants store data in Sydney and Melbourne by default, but external sharing routes content through Microsoft's global edge. ShareAndGo's data path is Sydney-only end-to-end — no cross-border edge caching.

How long does SharePoint take to set up for external sharing?

Configuring SharePoint for safe external sharing typically requires 4-8 hours of admin work (sharing policies, conditional access, DLP rules, audit retention). ShareAndGo is configured the moment your account is created.

Does SharePoint have view-only enforcement?

SharePoint 'View Only' relies on the Office Web Apps server and can be bypassed by sophisticated users (browser DevTools, screen-recording tools). ShareAndGo converts PDFs to images for no-download viewers and blocks keyboard shortcuts at the browser layer.

ShareAndGo vs SharePoint

SharePoint is a fine internal document library — but a poor external data room. ShareAndGo is purpose-built for confidential sharing: ready in minutes, not days.

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Feature	ShareAndGo	SharePoint
Setup Time for External Sharing	Under 5 minutes	4-8 hours of admin work
Australian Data Residency End-to-End	GCP Sydney, no edge caching	M365 AU tenant, global edge
Tamper-Evident Audit Trail	SHA-256 hash-chained, immutable	Activity log, M365 retention
No-Download View Enforcement	PDFs → images, keyboard blocked	OWA view-only, bypassable
NDA Gating Built In	Required signature pre-access	DIY via Power Automate
Per-Link Expiry	Default 30 days, configurable	Available, requires policy setup
Email-First Recipient Access	No Microsoft account needed	Recipient needs M365 / guest invite
Watermarking	Per-recipient email + timestamp	Available in M365 E5 only
AI OCR + Document Search	Gemini 2.0 Flash, all plans	Microsoft Search, E5 tier
AI PII Redaction (TFN/ABN/BSB)	Australia-specific, all plans	DLP available, manual config
Q&A Workflows for Due Diligence	Threaded, email-notified, owner-resolved	Not native
Per-Tenant External-Sharing Limits	Unlimited external recipients	Capped by M365 SKU
Office Co-Editing	View-only by design	Native Word/Excel/PowerPoint
Existing M365 Single Sign-On	Standalone account / Google login	Native AD integration
IT Admin Required	Self-serve	Typically requires M365 admin

When to keep SharePoint, when to add ShareAndGo

You don't have to choose. Most firms keep SharePoint for internal collaboration and use ShareAndGo for the external-facing rooms where audit trail and recipient controls matter.

SharePoint wins for

Internal document libraries with M365 SSO
Real-time Office co-editing across the team
Integration with Teams, Planner, and Power Platform
Long-term records management under M365 retention

ShareAndGo wins for

External tax-audit or due-diligence rooms
Recipients who don't have a Microsoft account
Tamper-evident audit trails ready for regulator production
Spinning up a room in minutes without IT involvement

ShareAndGo or SharePoint: who should choose what

Choose ShareAndGo if…

You want to share externally without buying licences or configuring IT
You want real VDR controls and a room running in minutes
You want Australian data residency and per-document access logs

Choose SharePoint if…

You are a Microsoft 365 shop standardising internal document management
You have IT resources to configure and maintain it

Need a room ready by Monday?

Skip the M365 admin queue. Spin up a confidential data room in under 5 minutes.

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