What is SharePoint?

Hi Everyone, Welcome to my blog. I am working with SharePoint for last 3 years and have worked on mostly all the flavors (Except SharePoint 2001). From installation, planning to deployment and operation, I have been lucky enough to experience all the possibilities in which SharePoint can be used. Not only used, but also solve major business requirements and problems.

What is SharePoint?
SharePoint for me can not be termed as just a document management system or a web based collaboration tool. It is much more than that and can be used in many business areas. With proper planning and implementation, SharePoint can become a cultural change in your organization and improve the way people work.

SharePoint Portal 2003 can be termed as a product (which when properly implemented) can help people organize their files/items along with the metadata. With .NET 2.0 SharePoint had a major change in it’s architecture and functionality. Features like Search, Integration with Office, Authorization, Business App Integration, etc greatly improved. And this seems to be just the start, with the product in its early stages (although it has been more than 10 years that this product is in market with it’s different flavors). Microsoft is a visionary company and it knows the future of Web 2.0. With this in mind, many companies, apart from Microsoft are also developing applications that are web based and server collab and information sharing needs for individuals and organizations. Take for example Google Online Apps. The fact that SharePoint extensively uses the functionality of .NET framework, I have to admit that there is lot more to come in this product and bring changes…. positive changes.

SharePoint 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 is a very improved product. It can serve an organization’s need for collaboration, organizing information, improve productivity, find relevant information in the organization’s (and external) data stores, and much much more. But this needs proper planning.

e.g. if we say that we need to take a dump of ‘unorganized’ files and put them into SharePoint (so that the files become organized), that is not going to help us. If we put the files without planning, it is just going to be an ‘unorganized’ pile of files in SharePoint. We need proper planning and implementation. Once done, as I said, it will bring a cultural change in the organization and we will now be having a very efficient way of storing data and finding it.

As the name suggest “Share” “Point”… we can also think of it as a single point where we can integrate other products and features and use it. With products like “SQL Reporting Services”, “Excel Services”, “InfoPath”, “Analysis Services”, “Dynamics CRM”, etc getting integrated with SharePoint, SharePoint alone can be used to get advantages of the other products.

As I am writing the article, I am also thinking about SharePoint 2010 and the new architectural changes it has gone through. I recently has a chance to get a look and use SharePoint 2010 and will try to incorporate all the things with the previous products (mostly 2007, WSS 3.0) along with SharePoint 2010 Server and SharePoint 2010 Foundation.

With that said, I would congratulate all the SharePoint lovers and users for making it such a success and improved product. Personally, I have been very thankful to SharePoint (and .NET framework) for what it has taught me.

If SharePoint was a person, I would like to meet and kiss him/her… :)