HR, Compliance, and IT Security teams currently send policy updates by email and chase them by hand. Acknowledgement rates are low. The audit trail is a folder of forwarded replies. Policy Pulse replaces that workflow with a structured, audience-targeted, audited surface inside the intranet your staff already use.
A tick box proves nothing. When someone confirms a policy, Policy Pulse writes a permanent, append-only receipt to a dedicated SharePoint list, then rolls every receipt up into a live compliance dashboard. Here is exactly what gets captured, and what your compliance team sees.
Nothing is overwritten. Acknowledgement history is preserved even if a policy is later deleted. A defensible audit trail, not a checkbox.
Optionally require readers to scroll to the bottom before Confirm unlocks. Per step, or one master toggle across every step.
Change the content and the version bumps automatically, so everyone is required to confirm again. A reissued policy is never quietly treated as already read.
Audience totals resolve live from Microsoft Entra through Graph, so who still owes you a sign-off stays current as people join and leave groups.
Every confirmation writes a permanent record to a dedicated SharePoint list: who, the exact policy and version, a precise timestamp, the scroll depth reached, the onboarding step, and the browser. Records are immutable and preserved even if the policy is later deleted.
Optionally require readers to scroll to the bottom before the Confirm button unlocks. Apply it to a single step, or flip one master toggle to enforce it across every step.
Versions bump automatically when you change the content, so a reissued policy is never quietly treated as already read. Bump the version and everyone is required to confirm again.
A built-in dashboard shows compliance rate, current-version acknowledgements, and the exact people still outstanding, resolved live from Microsoft Entra. One click exports a clean CSV for auditors, HR, or your ISO evidence pack.
Full-screen blocking, full-screen dismissable, inline card, sidebar panel, banner strip, and slide-in toast. Each policy picks the mode that matches its priority, with hard-block or soft-block behaviour on the full-screen modes.
Aim a policy at specific people or at Entra security and Microsoft 365 groups, searched live, or leave the audience blank to reach everyone. Set a start date to auto-publish and an end date to auto-expire.
Upload an existing policy PDF and Policy Pulse splits it into one readable step per page. Run a single-policy acknowledgement, or a multi-step onboarding wizard that walks new starters through a sequence.
The two SharePoint lists it needs are created and self-healed automatically on first use. It follows your global Athena palette, or pins its own look.
| Capability | Athena Policy Pulse | PowerDMS / ConvergePoint / MetaCompliance |
|---|---|---|
| Policy distribution to staff | Built in: six display modes | Native |
| Audience targeting per policy | Entra groups, resolved live via Graph | Native, typically role-based |
| Proof of reading | Scroll depth 0 to 100% captured per confirm | Attestation checkbox |
| Acknowledgement record | Append-only, immutable: who, version, timestamp, device | Native with richer reporting |
| Version re-acknowledgement | Auto version bump forces re-confirm | Audit-grade version control |
| Compliance reporting | Live dashboard + one-click CSV evidence | Regulator-grade certifications available |
| Multi-stage approval workflow for policy creation | Not included | Native |
| Training assignment + quiz | Not included (link to external) | Native |
| Lives inside Microsoft 365 | Yes, SharePoint tenant | Separate platform; SSO available |
| Pricing | Bundled in £290/mo per tenant | £5-15/user/month typical |
Policy management software helps organisations distribute, track acknowledgement of, and audit policy documents. Dedicated platforms include PowerDMS, ConvergePoint, MetaCompliance, and Mitratech, typically priced £5-15/user/month.
A practical, honest walkthrough of building policy and document acknowledgement in SharePoint using Power Automate and Microsoft Forms, where the DIY approach stops scaling, and the one thing it can never capture: proof that someone actually read to the end.
Read guideA practical checklist of what a defensible policy audit trail needs in SharePoint, written from what auditors genuinely ask for, plus where native SharePoint covers you and where it leaves a gap.
Read guideSharePoint is a great place to store policies, but it was never built to prove people read them. Here is exactly where the native tracking breaks down, and the model that fixes it without leaving Microsoft 365.
Read guideEmailing a policy PDF proves nothing. Here is how policy acknowledgement actually works in SharePoint and Microsoft 365, what native tools can and cannot do, and how to get a clean audit trail of who accepted what.
Read guideSharePoint can show you who viewed a file, so it is tempting to use it as proof people read a policy. Here is exactly why the Viewers data falls short, and what a defensible acknowledgement actually needs.
Read guideAn honest, experience-backed look at running policies and procedures in SharePoint. What it genuinely does well, where it quietly falls short, and how to close those gaps without leaving Microsoft 365.
Read guideStop emailing policies and chasing replies. Policy Pulse is included in Athena Essentials at £290/month per tenant, alongside org chart, knowledge base, noticeboard, events, and 16 other webparts.
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