Microsoft SharePoint 2010
Sinet Consulting utilise Microsoft SharePoint products as part of our solutions for information and knowledge management systems. These can be in the form of a simple Intranet, Document Management systems, or Collaboration sites based on SharePoint Foundation 2010 (free to license) or larger systems based on Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Server including document management, document stores and repositories, business processes and electronic forms, knowledge stores, team collaboration, staff directories, business intelligence or sites displaying the latest KPIs. Please see our Consultancy and Knowledge sections for more details on those aspects.
SharePoint is the name Microsoft uses for a integrated suite of products that deliver Document Management, Document Storage, Records Management, Team Collaboration, Enterprise Search, Forms-driven Business Processes, Information Management, Business Intelligence and Communication functionality to various sizes of organisations. SharePoint Foundation 2010 is the core component of the series of SharePoint technologies and can benefit all types of companies, for small to larger organisations. It is free to license in many situations, and still scalable enough to deliver key benefits to organisations with thousands of staff. SharePoint Server 2010 builds on the core functions delivered through SharePoint Foundation 2010 to add additional benefits to medium to larger organisations that need more features, greater customisation, greater scalability and integration with Enterprise level business systems such as the Microsoft Dynamics range of applications, SAP or indeed most other ERP or financial products.
There are a number of different editions of the SharePoint suite with each one building on the functionality of the core product. For example, Document Management and Versioning Control comes as standard in SharePoint Foundation 2010, the Records Repository is available in SharePoint Server 2010 Standard Edition, and the business intelligence and KPI functionality comes with SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise Edition. A SharePoint editions comparison chart is available from the Microsoft SharePoint website.
Document Management through SharePoint
SharePoint can manage document workflow, it can control document versioning, drafting, review, approval, and publication. Notification emails can be sent to the next user in the approval workflow when a document is ready and the document can be reviewed in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, or through a HTML browser before signing the task off. There are other document management systems on the market with greater functionality but they often have a lot more functionality than a company needs and cost many times more than a SharePoint product. The Document Management functionality described here is available through the 'free' version of SharePoint, SharePoint Foundation 2010..
Document Storage through SharePoint
As part of the Document Management functionality of SharePoint documents are stored in Document Libraries. These can be any type of document from the standard Microsoft Office documents such as Microsoft Word and Excel files, to Adobe Acrobat files, drawing files, graphic files, and media files. Document Libraries have many of the functions of a traditional file storage system but with additional functions such as allowing the 'check out' and 'check in' of documents to named individuals and the collection of metadata regarding the documents to aid filtering and searching. SharePoint is not a replacement for a traditional file storage system but is best used where specific controls or processes are required with a selected subset of documents.
Team Collaboration through SharePoint
Whether the team are a project team in the same office or a group of people in different locations around the world SharePoint can deliver a framework for easy collaboration for team members. It can provide a central area for collaborating on document development, information sharing, task lists, calendars and project plans and all the basics are available in the free SharePoint Foundation 2010 version of the product.
Business Process Workflow through SharePoint
SharePoint has a built-in workflow engine that allows a business to automate a worker process through a logic process of steps while collecting data or approvals on the way. Approval for the next step in the process can be given by responding to an email, a task, or logging onto the SharePoint site through a web browser, in the office or remotely. SharePoint comes with a number of standard workflow processes out of the box or they can be quickly constructed in Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2010 or for more details workflows, Microsoft Visual Studio. The ability of a business to track and manage the creation, approval, and publishing of information flexibly by the right people at the right time is much improved by the workflow capabilities of the SharePoint products and technologies.
SharePoint can be used to publish, control and submit electronic XML forms used in business processes. These can be from quite simple forms for things like booking an annual holiday to quite complex business processes that collect data at various parts of a process and record that data in various separate systems. The forms can be used with SharePoint Foundation 2010 if the user has Microsoft Office InfoPath 2010 on their PC or they can be published into the web browser for users with a Microsoft SharePoint 20010 Enterprise edition license. Forms are created in Microsoft Office InfoPath 2010 and published to SharePoint 2010 Enterprise Edition for Users to interact with them.
Records Repositories through SharePoint
Part of the regulatory compliance requirements in a number of industries now require that companies maintain a repository of 'original' documents, where the content of the original document can not be disputed. SharePoint introduces a Records Repository function that allows the submittal of documents to a organised store that records the date of submittal and keeps an accurate representation of the original document. Documents can also be submitted as part of the automated workflow associated with the authorisation and publication of new documents.
Portal Solutions through SharePoint
A portal is a way of consolidating various types of information system onto a single screen, normally displayed in a number of small windows or web parts. They are often personalised to the specific user such that someone working in the Sales Department would have a different set of portal elements (windows displaying information) in their portal view to someone in the Finance Department. The Sales person might have a graph of Sales this month; a list of their current Sales Leads; a summary of the latest news from the company Intranet; and a summary of their Inbox. The finance team member may have a window showing overdue invoices and collections statistics but also have the same intranet and inbox windows as the Sales person. Portals are one of the key types of solution that can be implemented with SharePoint 2010.
Information Management and Communication through SharePoint
Intranet, Extranet, Internet, Staff Personal Web Spaces
There are currently a number of different SharePoint products that Microsoft licenses and it can be a bit confusing however each has a similar range of functions and is just tailored and licensed differently to fit in with how a company operates. A company shouldn't really be looking at the SharePoint products and saying "which one should we buy?"; it should be looking at the benefits it needs from an information system and which groups of people need to access which benefits, and looking at which solutions meet those needs. Sinet Consulting can of course assist in this analysis and are happy to do so if contacted at the above address.