SharePoint Catalog Management just picked up a real governance upgrade. Microsoft is expanding Catalog Management inside SharePoint Advanced Management so admins can build custom groups of sites, using CSV uploads, SharePoint site properties, or Microsoft Entra ID extension attributes (MC1413301). No user workflow changes, no migration, and it is rolling out worldwide right now.
For SharePoint admins who have been improvising taxonomy with naming conventions and hope, SharePoint Catalog Management is the first native way to group sites by department, team, or business unit and have that grouping actually mean something to the platform. This post covers what SharePoint Catalog Management does, why it matters for governance, how to set it up, and the Paul-Take on where to start.
What Is SharePoint Catalog Management
SharePoint Catalog Management is a capability inside SharePoint Advanced Management that lets administrators create catalog categories and assign sites to them. Instead of relying on naming conventions or a spreadsheet somewhere to track which sites belong to which department, SharePoint Catalog Management gives you three real ways to build that structure directly against the platform.
The three ways to build categories in SharePoint Catalog Management
- CSV uploads, bulk-create catalog categories and assign sites in one pass, useful when you already track site ownership in a spreadsheet
- SharePoint site properties, use existing site bag properties to drive categorization automatically
- Microsoft Entra ID extension attributes, target category visibility based on attributes already living in your directory
That range matters. Some organizations already have clean site properties to lean on, others have Entra ID attributes doing the heavy lifting, and some just need to get a CSV in and move on. Microsoft does not force one method on you.
What SharePoint Catalog Management does not change
- No migration activities are required
- No end-user workflow changes are introduced
- Existing sites keep working exactly as they do today
- Nothing is enabled automatically that changes permissions or access
Why SharePoint Catalog Management Matters for Governance
Most SharePoint governance conversations start with permissions and end with sharing links. This release adds a layer most tenants have been missing, a real taxonomy that the platform itself understands, not just a naming convention your admins agreed on in a meeting eighteen months ago.
Reporting that actually reflects your organization
Once sites are grouped through SharePoint Catalog Management, governance and reporting can be sliced by department, business unit, or whatever taxonomy you define. That is the difference between ‘here is a list of every site’ and ‘here is what Marketing owns, here is what Finance owns.’
The features this unlocks later
Microsoft has already flagged two future integrations building on SharePoint Catalog Management categories:
- Governance boundaries across additional SharePoint Advanced Management features, using catalog groups as the scoping mechanism
- Pay-as-you-go storage management, where departmental billing scenarios use catalog groupings to split cost by team or business unit
If departmental chargeback for storage has ever come up in a budget conversation, this is the plumbing that makes it possible without a custom script.
Entra ID targeting gives you dynamic categories
Because SharePoint Catalog Management supports Microsoft Entra ID extension attributes, category visibility does not have to be manually maintained. If your directory already tags users or groups with department or region attributes, the feature can lean on that instead of a parallel list someone has to keep updated. That pairs well with the same discipline you would apply to Restricted Content Discovery admin delegation, where scoped admin control depends on getting your directory attributes right in the first place.
How to Set Up SharePoint Catalog Management
The setup itself is not complicated. The value is in doing the classification work properly before you touch a single setting.
Rollout timeline
| Stage | Window |
|---|---|
| Rollout start | Early December 2025 |
| General Availability (Worldwide) | Began June 2026, completing by mid-July 2026 |
| Migration required | None |
| User impact | None |
Admin steps to enable SharePoint Catalog Management
- Review your current SharePoint information architecture before touching the tool
- Identify existing SharePoint site properties that could drive categorization automatically
- Review the Microsoft Entra ID extension attributes already available in your directory
- Decide which method fits your organization, CSV upload, site properties, or Entra ID attributes
- Bulk-create your first catalog categories via CSV if you are starting from an existing spreadsheet
- Communicate the new categories to your SharePoint governance and information architecture teams
- Document the taxonomy so it survives the next admin turnover
Admin Tips
- Do not run all three methods in parallel on day one, pick a primary source of truth and stick to it
- If you plan to use this for future storage billing, get the department boundaries right now rather than reorganizing later
- Treat this as a data hygiene exercise first, a tooling exercise second
- Pair category definitions with your existing site provisioning process so new sites get classified automatically going forward
License requirements
SharePoint Catalog Management is delivered as part of SharePoint Advanced Management. No additional per-user license is required beyond your existing SharePoint Advanced Management entitlement. There are no GCC High or DoD considerations published for this rollout at this time.
The Paul-Take on SharePoint Catalog Management
Honest opinion. SharePoint Catalog Management is one of those releases that looks small in the Message Center and quietly matters a lot more in practice. Grouping sites by department or business unit sounds like housekeeping, until you realize most tenants have never had a reliable, platform-native way to do it. Everyone has a version of a taxonomy. Almost nobody has one the platform actually understands.
The three input methods are the smart part. CSV covers the admin who already has the data in a spreadsheet and just wants it in the system. Site properties cover the tenant that has been disciplined about metadata already. Entra ID attributes cover the org that wants categories to update themselves as directory data changes. Pick one, do not try to run all three as your source of truth, because that is how you end up with categories that disagree with each other by next quarter.
The part worth watching closely is the future integration list. Governance boundaries built on catalog groups and pay-as-you-go storage billing by department are not small features, they are the reason to get your taxonomy right now instead of later. If departmental storage chargeback has ever been a fight at budget time, this is the foundation for solving it without a custom PowerShell reporting script that only one person understands.
My advice, do not wait for the future integrations to show up before you start. Review your information architecture this month, pick your input method, and get your first real categories built while the migration cost is zero and nobody is under pressure. This is the kind of groundwork that pays back later, similar to how getting SharePoint DLP adaptive scopes right early saves a rebuild down the line.
This should be rolling out worldwide through mid-July 2026 according to Microsoft.
Quick checklist for SharePoint Catalog Management readiness
- Current SharePoint information architecture reviewed
- Primary input method chosen, CSV, site properties, or Entra ID attributes
- First catalog categories created for a pilot department or business unit
- Governance and information architecture teams briefed
- Taxonomy documented for future admin handover
- New site provisioning process updated to assign categories automatically
Related Resources
SharePoint Catalog Management fits inside the wider SharePoint governance picture. Pair this post with the rest:
- Restricted Content Discovery admin delegation
- Adaptive Scopes for SharePoint DLP in Microsoft Purview
- SharePoint RSS Retirement, migration to RCD
Microsoft official references:
MVP Reference List
- Message Center: MC1413301
- Microsoft Learn, Catalog management: catalog-management
- Microsoft Learn, SharePoint Advanced Management overview: advanced-management