What vs. Where: Why Metadata Matters More Than Folder Structure in SharePoint

Microsoft SharePoint remains a core enterprise platform for collaboration and document management. But as content volumes grow, even well-organized folder hierarchies can quickly become a maze—forcing users to know “where” something is instead of quickly finding it based on “what” it is. A metadata-first approach flips this dynamic by making content findable and governable at scale.

The Limitations of Folder-Based Organization

Most CTG clients I engage with still rely on traditional folder-based systems. However, these reinforce a “where” mindset, requiring users to know the exact location of a file to access it. This method, often used in lieu of understanding what the document represents, can lead to several issues:

• Sprawl: Over time, the proliferation of nested folders creates a complex directory structure that is challenging to govern.
• Security Issues: Even with password protected files, it is difficult to track changes that are made, who made them, and determine the most current version.
• Inconsistent Naming Conventions: Variations in naming conventions can make it difficult to locate specific documents, even within the correct folder.
• Limited Searchability: Searching within a folder structure often requires users to remember the exact path, which is time consuming and error prone.
• Descriptive: This describes what a document is, for example, Document Type, Title/Subject, Keywords, Department/Business Unit, and Asset Type.
• Administrative: This supports management, governance, and lifecycle decisions, for example, Created/Modified By, Security Classification, Retention Category, Approval Status, Date Modified, and other compliance-related data.
• Structural: This defines how documents are related to other documents, for example, Asset/Project ID, relationship to parent/child items, document set membership, and version relationships.
• Secure: This limits access by type of file or groups of information. It also captures details related to users who updated information such that prior versions can be recovered if unauthorized changes were made.

Before: Document Chaos in a Pipeline Integrity Team

Consider a pipeline operator that stores inspection reports, welding records, corrosion assessments, compliance documents, and more in a deeply nested folder structure (Pipelines → Region → Asset → Year → Inspection Type). When an engineer needs to investigate an anomaly or respond to a regulatory inquiry, they search through folders hoping they remember the correct asset or year, struggle with inconsistent file names from different contractors, and waste time reconciling duplicate or old versions. In a safety-critical, heavily regulated environment, this slows response and complicates audits.

The Power of Metadata—Shifting from “Where” to “What”

Metadata can change how organizations manage information by focusing on what a document is, not where it resides. Metadata fields classify content by attributes such as document type, project, asset, year, or status. This makes files instantly searchable without relying on rigid folder paths. There are a few different types of metadata:

A metadata approach enables users to quickly find related files, link documents to projects or departments, automate workflows, and enforce retention policies. Ultimately, this improves compliance, usability and governance.

After: Metadata Driven Asset Intelligence

Remember our pipeline operator? After implementing metadata, an engineer tags content with attributes such as Asset ID, Pipeline Segment, Inspection Method, Regulatory Classification, Risk Rating, Inspection Date, Contractor, Document Type and more. Engineers can now filter across libraries to instantly surface every document for a given segment or inspection cycle. This results in faster anomaly investigations, smoother audits, and stronger governance of critical records.

Practical Steps to Transition from Folders to Metadata

Moving to a metadata-driven model requires more than removing folders and adding tags. Organizations must rethink how information is organized, accessed, and governed.

At CTG, we take a structured approach with our clients to ensure the transition is smooth and scalable. Here is what that looks like in practice:

1. Audit Your SharePoint Environment: Start by reviewing your libraries to identify redundant, outdated, and high-value content. Understanding how users currently search for and store information highlights pain points and informs which metadata attributes will be most useful.
2. Define Metadata Fields: Based on audit insights, collaborate with departments to determine which attributes matter most and define universal categories like: Document Type, Business Unit/Department, Asset/Project ID, and Lifecycle Stage. Using managed metadata term sets ensures consistency across sites and prevents ad-hoc tagging. We work with you to find the balance on tag creation ensuring users aren’t overwhelmed by selections during initial rollout.
3. Overlay Metadata Onto Existing SharePoint Libraries: SharePoint supports metadata at folder and document levels but applying it at scale can be time consuming and challenging. Third-party platforms like M-Files support overlaying metadata with existing folder structures, preserving familiar navigation while enabling smarter classification and search.
4. Automate Tagging With AI: AI auto-tagging can be leveraged to classify documents by type, client, project, or status, reducing errors and accelerating workflows. For example, incoming contracts can be automatically categorized, routed for approval, and made instantly searchable to support compliance and collaboration.
5. Governance: Adopting a “what over where” mindset requires training, reinforcement, and regular review cycles. This ensures the taxonomy evolves with business needs and drives measurable improvements in efficiency, searchability, and compliance.

Taking the Next Step

Adopting a metadata approach in SharePoint is much less daunting with an experienced Information Management and Document Control partner to help. At CTG, we help organizations bring order and intelligence to their content. From designing metadata frameworks to modernizing legacy folder structures, we ensure documents are findable, secure, and well-governed.

Ready to move from “where” to “what”? Contact our experts to start your journey toward better document management.