A High Level Overview of SharePoint 2007

SharePoint 2007As a Web 2.0 Tool

Collaboration

SharePoint 2007 supports the easy creation of Document Libraries

SharePoint 2007 can collect feedback via discussion groups.

Key Concept: Citizen Developer

Gartner defines a citizen developer as a user operating outside of the scope of enterprise IT and its governance who creates new business applications for consumption by others either from scratch or by composition. http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1212813+

Gartner sees up to 25% of IT solutions by 2015 produced in this way.

As the “native digital” generation who grew up with the Internet become a bigger part of the work force they will seek to develop their own solutions and not make requests to IT.

A Enterprise SharePoint deployment can provide the framework for devolving IT development from a central IT department more and more to the users who understand the business requirements.

SharePoint can move you form a work force of Excel Spread sheets and Access database holding business logic on desktops, to a SharePoint knowledge store, by giving more tools to your citizen developers.

Collaboration can Drive Profits

Collaboration, over strategy orientation, can have a major impact on your organisations efforts to reduce cost and increase profits. http://www.cmswire.com/cms/enterprise-20/does-collaboration-really-impact-business-performance-009545.php

Creating a new site is easy

Power users can create new sites easily for collaboration

From the UI you can create a web site

With a little time learning a “citizen user” can create a rich Web Site or Portal without having to involve IT. A site like this can be created without any coding necessary

Created a Document Library

SharePoint makes it easy to create document libraries to share Documents

Document libraries give you intuitive document control

Example of a Document Library being used be the University of Tennessee Master Horse Owner Programhttp://masterhorseowner.utk.edu/AgentDownloads.html

Document Management Users are be able to create a

document in a workspace, enter content and save it.

Users are be able to open a document in a workspace, enter content and save it.

Documents will have governance of retention and disposition.

Users will be able to produce documents in Office 2003, 2007 or 2010.

Document Collaboration at workd

SharePoint also provides discussion forums

Participating in online discussions in very easy

Content Management

SharePoint 2007 also provides a Content Management System.

This means that your citizen developers and power users can now publish you web pages without excessive intervention from IT.

CMS can give you the elements of control you want with publishing, without depending on IT for governance.

CMS with version control and WYSIWYG

WikiWiki

For lighter more agile collaborative content management many organisations are turning to wiki.

MOSS2007 provides an easy to use Wiki

SharePoint 2007 offers a easy to use Wiki tool

Search SharePoint proves an Out of the Box Enterprise search that can

search both SharePoint content and other data store.

Security

Users are able to apply directly from a workspace for access to a workspace if they do not have it.

Workspace owners are able to grant or deny requests for access

Users will be able to see for each workspace the members of that workspace and their rights

One bad piece of news on MOSS 2007

Everything gets better with SharePoint 2010!