Turn Your ECM/DMS into AI Infrastructure with SharePoint Embedded

Microsoft

Feb 23, 2026

TL;DR: SharePoint Embedded helps customers easily bring their legacy ECM/DMS apps into the modern era, delivering Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Purview security and compliance, and Microsoft 365 Office collaboration capabilities automatically, as part of the project.

Across a range of industries including healthcare, manufacturing, government, financial services, and legal, organizations face a common reality: vital business operations depend on documents which are offline and isolated from crucial tools the rest of the organization enjoys with Microsoft 365. Legacy systems keep case files, records, correspondence, contracts, evidence, and institutional knowledge locked away in enterprise content management (ECM) or document management systems (DMS) systems built for a different era.

In the age of AI, our customers realize that transforming ECM and DMS is no longer a background IT initiative, it’s a strategic imperative.

Modernizing your ECM/DMS apps with SharePoint Embedded (SPE) delivers Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Purview, and full Microsoft 365 Office collaboration capabilities as part of your app, all secured within the trusted boundaries of your Microsoft 365 tenant. SPE is an API only version of SharePoint, provided as an Azure service. SPE data is logically partitioned from SharePoint Online and OneDrive content, and does not consume Microsoft 365 entitlements.

LexisNexis Transforms Document Management with SharePoint Embedded

LexisNexis, a recognized innovator in the legal industry, offers a clear example of how this approach works in practice. Through a deliberate adoption journey, the company validated SharePoint Embedded for legal document management and built a consolidated ECM architecture designed for long-term scalability.

Their work progressed through three phases:

Phase I: Discovery and learning validated SharePoint Embedded as a foundation for legal industry document management

Phase II: Framework creation resulted in OmniDMS - LexisNexis’s purpose‑built document platform layer, designed to abstract SharePoint Embedded and Microsoft Graph into a reusable, legal‑grade document service that can power multiple products

Phase III: Product integration embedded this architecture into Everyfile and Visualfiles. By delivering the same OmniDMS foundation across products serving different legal operations and customer segments, LexisNexis demonstrated that SharePoint Embedded can underpin a scalable, multi‑product legal document platform rather than a one‑off integration.

This approach allows documents to remain inside their customers’ Microsoft 365 tenants while supporting differentiated product experiences. Governance, security, and identity align with existing enterprise controls, simplifying implementation and adoption.

As a result, conversations around risk and compliance become clearer, governance operates through familiar controls, collaboration follows established Microsoft experiences, and documents remain within the enterprise environment organizations already trust.

According to Nigel Williams, Product Director, LexisNexis, “SharePoint Embedded allowed us to rethink document management as a platform capability rather than a third party, separate system. By combining SPE with our OmniDMS architecture, we can deliver modern, AI‑ready document experiences across Everyfile and Visualfiles - while keeping customers firmly in control of their data inside Microsoft 365.”

“It’s great to see LexisNexis accelerate their customers’ adoption of modern cloud capabilities with SharePoint Embedded. SPE is the next generation way to deliver Copilot, Purview, and Office collaboration as part of intelligent enterprise applications.” Shyam Narayan, Group Product Manager, Microsoft

SharePoint Embedded gives LexisNexis a foundation to continuously evolve document centric capabilities, AI assisted reasoning, and collaboration across the legal lifecycle - without forcing customers into disruptive platform changes.

The SharePoint Embedded Cost Advantage

For mid‑to‑large enterprises, traditional on‑premises ECM systems often cost $1,500–$3,500 per user over five years once licenses, infrastructure, storage growth, upgrades, and ongoing operations are fully accounted for.

SharePoint Embedded replaces that fixed, capital‑heavy model with a simple, usage‑based approach, typically averaging $3–$5K per terabyte annually. By eliminating upfront license costs, on‑prem infrastructure, and much of the administrative overhead, organizations shift from unpredictable CAPEX and maintenance spend to transparent OPEX tied directly to real usage.

The result is a materially lower total cost of ownership, fewer hidden costs over time, and a more flexible foundation for modern, AI‑ready content applications built inside Microsoft 365.