Microsoft SharePoint

We believe Microsoft SharePoint, and specifically MOSS 2007, is the most exciting software technology to be released since the web browser. SharePoint is a new product category and it has tremendous potential.

Why do we feel this way about SharePoint?

There is a long list of reasons. Here are just a couple of items from that list.

1. Integrated Access Control - All of the capabilities of sharepoint (which are summarized to the right) are integrated with user access controls. Here are a few examples. When a regional sales manager looks at a business intelligence dashboard she sees only her region's data. When a manager looks up his open PO's in the ERP SharePoint portal he only sees PO's for his department. When a project sponsor reviews and approves information in a workflow application, the rules about who can approve what are based on user access controls. When a marketing consultant searches document libraries, he can only see information he is authorized to see.
2. Excel Services - We all know how powerful spreadsheets are. Some companies seem to run on them. Imagine the power of a spreadsheet in a multi-user environment where multiple users can access a spreadsheet at the same time. Sharepoint access controls allow administrators to restrict users to editing only certain ranges of cells or only certain users can run macros or maybe the whole spreadsheet is read only for some users.

What can you do with it?

This is the toughest question. The short answer is this:

• Run your corporate web site
• Run your corporate intranet
• Run a departmental or project site

SharePoint is not an application like an accounting package. It is a toolbox and a run time environment. Before a company can realize the benefits they have to grasp what the capabilities are and then business and IT innovators can begin to solve business problems. The benefits will be things like this:

• Better team collaboration
• Job specific portals that reduce job training costs
• Increased employee productivity
• User empowerment to solve their own problems at a project or department level
• Consolidation and elimination of multiple existing software tools that are used today
• Dramatically lower costs for intranet and extranet applications enabling companies to deliver capabilities they cannot cost justify today.

What is Sharepoint?

It is server based software running on your network that is accessed with a web browser.

It provides user level authentication and access control over the sharepoint environment. (who are you? what are you allowed or not allowed to do?)

It provides all of these capabilities:
- Team collaboration tools
- Document libraries
- Business Intelligence
- Inquiry/access to data in your ERP and other legacy systems
- Excel Services platform
- Content management
- Forms and workflow
- Enterprise Search

It is not an application like an accounting package or a sales force automation solution.

It is a tool box and a run time environment that allows users and administrators to create powerful business solutions without software development.