SharePoint in Business
I am amazed to be asked the question "I have bought Sharepoint for my company but what is the best way to use this software" SharePoint is seen as some messiah which will turn an inefficient running office into a highly productive slick operation.
Sadly the old adage will prevail, "rubbish in equals rubbish out".
A process needs to be in place which is efficient first before you try to lay SharePoint over it.
However, Sharepoint, can be used to bring about change within an organisation.
Systems and businesses functions are an integral part to business administration.
Sharepoint has this lovely web front end which enables companies not to worry about software specific issues.
It has SQL in the backend which gives the developer a vast array of tools to play with for configuration and data gathering.
The front end also has the added benefit of using.
net technology and again this gives the product wide versatility appeal in the market place.
So what are the issues with SharePoint? Companies should realise it empowers the user to input and control their environment.
Many believe particularly ex mainframe gurus that the desktop should be the domain on the it department and the user should have no say in the font sizes or how a users desktop should look this causes IT issues and results in a loss of productivity whereas others believe Microsoft have in particular given the desktop environment to the user and they want the user to create a work area which is most productive to them.
SharePoint continues with this same conundrum.
A user can input data and process information into the system or SharePoint can be designed to set targets for users and to drive there daily work environment.
Lastly, another issue with SharePoint is where the user has finished their "work" for the day but then spends time inputting the same work into SharePoint.
So the user is doubling up on the amount of work they are completing.
This is found often in work environment which belie the paper environment and filling cabinets should run parallel to the computer system.
So in the event of a problem with the computer system there is always the paper system to fall back on.
In my view the only reason for such a process would be if there was a legal one otherwise the computer system should be robust enough to give a very high level of availability.
I would like to revert back to the original issue of what do we want SharePoint to achieve question.
Once you have answered that question then how it has to be set up in the desktop environment will follow.
Workflows, inputting data, access to data, data warehousing, archiving of data, are all within the realm of SharePoint but the design of how this is achieved is crucial.
Sadly the old adage will prevail, "rubbish in equals rubbish out".
A process needs to be in place which is efficient first before you try to lay SharePoint over it.
However, Sharepoint, can be used to bring about change within an organisation.
Systems and businesses functions are an integral part to business administration.
Sharepoint has this lovely web front end which enables companies not to worry about software specific issues.
It has SQL in the backend which gives the developer a vast array of tools to play with for configuration and data gathering.
The front end also has the added benefit of using.
net technology and again this gives the product wide versatility appeal in the market place.
So what are the issues with SharePoint? Companies should realise it empowers the user to input and control their environment.
Many believe particularly ex mainframe gurus that the desktop should be the domain on the it department and the user should have no say in the font sizes or how a users desktop should look this causes IT issues and results in a loss of productivity whereas others believe Microsoft have in particular given the desktop environment to the user and they want the user to create a work area which is most productive to them.
SharePoint continues with this same conundrum.
A user can input data and process information into the system or SharePoint can be designed to set targets for users and to drive there daily work environment.
Lastly, another issue with SharePoint is where the user has finished their "work" for the day but then spends time inputting the same work into SharePoint.
So the user is doubling up on the amount of work they are completing.
This is found often in work environment which belie the paper environment and filling cabinets should run parallel to the computer system.
So in the event of a problem with the computer system there is always the paper system to fall back on.
In my view the only reason for such a process would be if there was a legal one otherwise the computer system should be robust enough to give a very high level of availability.
I would like to revert back to the original issue of what do we want SharePoint to achieve question.
Once you have answered that question then how it has to be set up in the desktop environment will follow.
Workflows, inputting data, access to data, data warehousing, archiving of data, are all within the realm of SharePoint but the design of how this is achieved is crucial.
