Microsoft puts the sexy in the unsexy software

I have not used SharePoint for nearly 10 years and I never thought I would use it again voluntarily. That changed this week after Microsoft unveiled its latest sizzle video. The software giant usually reserves them for the new Surface hardware or the flashy features of Windows and Office, but the latter (see above) is about the "innovations" of SharePoint.

It's colorful, pretty and makes SharePoint seem sexy instead of the boring company intranet site that most people associate with it. The Microsoft video also contains the bubbles that are part of the new SharePoint logo, as part of a broader redesign of the Office icons of the company being deployed. It also includes a series of Microsoft Fluent Design elements that are part of the company's important efforts for open in-house design.

So, why did Microsoft create such a vivid video for SharePoint? The company hosted a SharePoint conference earlier this week and launched a new feature of SharePoint home sites. It's a new destination site for a company's intranet that combines information, events, content, videos and even conversations. Businesses are using SharePoint to encourage collaboration and these new hosting sites are emerging as a much more modern way to achieve this.

This is not the first time that Microsoft has been using stylish videos to promote software that is not really fashionable. Microsoft unveiled its new Windows Terminal to Build earlier this month, with a sensational video. Hey Buko, a relatively unknown pop duo, plays music full of bongos and applause. A terminal and SharePoint are not exactly next-generation Surface products, but Microsoft uses all the tools at its disposal to make them sexy.