Hating SharePoint Less by Achieving More
November 28, 2013
While SharePoint is arguably one of the most widely adopted pieces of software to ever exist, it is also arguably responsible for the most pain and suffering. It is a dramatic irony. Information Week acknowledges and tackles the issue in their article, “Microsoft SharePoint: 7 Ways To Achieve More.”
The article begins:
“Among major enterprise technology products, Microsoft’s SharePoint is something of a Catch 22. On one hand, surveys routinely conclude that around 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies use the platform. But despite widespread adoption, surveys also find a lot of dissatisfaction; according to two Forrester reports released last month, between 50 percent and 60 percent of SharePoint users dislike it. This dissonance is striking.”
The article goes on to list several ways to make SharePoint more usable and less frustrating. However, there are organizations that are giving up on SharePoint and looking elsewhere. Stephen E. Arnold of ArnoldIT.com has covered the world of enterprise search for decades. Lately his attention has turned to SharePoint add-ons and alternatives. Keep an eye on his SharePoint information stream to keep up with the latest.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 28, 2013
SharePoint Over the Years
November 26, 2013
SharePoint has come a long way since its inception in 2001 with SharePoint Portal Server. And while many criticize SharePoint for not being able to keep up with the times, it has made progress over the years. Chris McNulty of CMS Wire covers the history of SharePoint in his article, “SharePoint 2013, This Old House Style – Moving In and Living Together.”
McNulty says:
“SharePoint 2013 is not what it was 10 years ago. Its expanded capacity and security capabilities mean that your layout of sites and libraries — information architecture — can match actual usage patterns more closely, bringing content and stakeholders more closely together than before. Advances in sharing and publishing helps assure that your documents start out life in the right place, and minimize the degree of redundant or obsolete copies of the same document being randomly distributed around the farm. The introduction of user-friendly document lifecycle management helps assure the documents are automatically curated, retaining what’s essential and purging or archiving old information.”
And while the author outlines many improvements that SharePoint has made over the years, most users are reporting that in order to have full enterprise functionality, they are supplementing with add-ons. Stephen E. Arnold of ArnoldIT.com is a longtime leader in enterprise search. His recent research points to the fact that while SharePoint is widely adopted, it is also widely supplemented with add-ons to complete functionality.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 26, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Microsoft Improving Touch Functionality for SharePoint
November 25, 2013
With an enterprise stalwart like SharePoint, Microsoft needs to constantly tweak in order to keep the up with current trends. Redmond Magazine relays the latest update in their article, “UPDATE: SharePoint Online Getting Touch Improvements.”
The article sums up the improvements:
“New touch improvements for SkyDrive Pro and SharePoint Sites will be seen over ‘the next few weeks.’ The improvements are just for Office 365 business, education and government users of Microsoft’s SharePoint Online service, according to Mark Kashman, a senior product manager for SharePoint, in a blog post on Tuesday. Organizations that have deployed SharePoint Server 2013 on premises aren’t getting the rollout.”
The focus will be on what Microsoft is calling “touch design mobile pages.” Shooting for an app-like experience, Microsoft hopes to update the user experience to bring it in line with current expectations. But many wonder if the entire paradigm is shifting – perhaps small user experience tweaks aren’t enough. Stephen E. Arnold, a longtime leader in enterprise search, often covers SharePoint on ArnoldIT.com. He recently reported that SharePoint no longer works as a standalone solution, with most users relying on add-ons for functionality.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 25, 2013
Support From End Users Important to SharePoint Adoption
November 22, 2013
SharePoint is becoming a bigger deployment with each upgrade, making training and professional development increasingly important. PD opportunities abound, including an upcoming one in DC, “Asif Rehmani to Speak on the Importance of SharePoint Adoption in Washington DC.”
The release begins:
“SharePoint for Corporate Communicators takes place from November 13-15 at the Microsoft Technology Center in Washington D.C. The conference features numerous speakers, workshops and break-out sessions to help SharePoint users learn how to create an intranet that boosts knowledge sharing, employee engagement and productivity within SharePoint. On November 13, from 3-5 pm EST, Rehmani will lead a pre-conference workshop on the important topic of SharePoint adoption. He will discuss the importance of having SharePoint work efficiently within an organization as well as gaining support from end users.”
Stephen E. Arnold of Arnold IT has been following SharePoint since its inception. His recent concerns center around the fact that SharePoint is incapable of completing its main mission, search. However, with Office 365, the bells and whistles are taking center stage, and deployments are requiring increasing customization. Keep an eye on Arnold IT for the latest regarding SharePoint and ways to make it work for your enterprise.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 22, 2013
SharePoint Online Capitalizes on Consumer File Sharing
November 21, 2013
Security concerns plague the enterprise when employees turn to unsanctioned cloud-based file sharing. But for years, the convenience of services like Dropbox could not be matched by sanctioned enterprise services. SharePoint Online hopes to change that by offering convenient and safe cloud storage options for employees. CMS Wire covers the story in their article, “What Consumerization of IT Means for SharePoint Online, SkyDrive Pro.”
The article begins:
“BYOD has taken over the enterprise, whether the enterprise likes it or not. But it’s not just BYOD. Employees are turning to consumer versions of file sharing cloud solutions like DropBox, Google Drive, SkyDrive (not to be confused with SkyDrive Pro) and others to access their documents no matter where they are. IT needs to resolve this problem, and it won’t be done by banning the use of these devices and apps. There’s a smarter way.”
ArnoldIT.com, a service run by longtime search expert Steven E. Arnold, is skeptical of SharePoint’s continued relevance in the changing enterprise environment. Arnold often argues that SharePoint is not capable of its main function, search, and has diluted its mission by focusing on add-ons. Regardless, SharePoint is still a large portion of the market and is worth following.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 21, 2013
SharePoint Online Adoption is Slow
November 20, 2013
Although Office 365 SharePoint Online makes the enterprise fully accessible on the cloud, the latest research shows that users are slow to move away from the traditional server model. Redmond Magazine covers the story in their article, “Enterprises Slow To Move to SharePoint Online.”
The article states:
“Office 365 SharePoint Online use was at 15 percent among respondents, according to August 2013 survey results produced by Forrester. That result is up just 3 percentile points from last year’s survey. The survey found that 79 percent were using SharePoint Server 2010. The lag in online adoption has its roots in SharePoint being considered as an on-premises solution historically, but there are other concerns.”
Security may be on reason why organizations are keeping deployments on on-site servers, but the functionality of Office 365 is likely another. Enterprises are slow ships, hard to turn. According to Arnold IT, a leading search news service of Steven E. Arnold, another reason may be that for most organizations, SharePoint is not enough in and of itself. Add-ons keep most SharePoint deployments afloat, and most organizations probably aren’t ready to move so much content, with its patchwork approach to ECM.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 20, 2013
The Social Side of SharePoint
November 19, 2013
While SharePoint is the original enterprise solution for most organizations, many also know that SharePoint is struggling to identify itself in the fast changing world. Its newest iteration as a part of Office 365 has many people talking. Business Management Daily has more in “3 Cool Things about SharePoint in Office 365 Enterprise Editions.”
One particular area of interest is SharePoint’s attempt at social functionality:
“With SharePoint 2010, you could follow sites and tag colleagues. In the 2013 flavor, you can have a newsfeed where you can use social features like hashtags (#) and at tags (@) to track ideas and topics and mention people in your posts. In a news feed for a particular team, you might put hashtags on customer names, industry publication names, or create a tag for a particular issue. Then someone can just click the active tag to see all posts relative to that topic. Use the @tag to give shout-outs to co-workers or to alert someone in a discussion, who might be the best person to contact on a particular subject.”
Arnold IT has followed SharePoint for years, noting SharePoint’s many attempts at social functionality and customers response. (Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime search expert, chronicling his efforts at ArnoldIT.com.) His recent findings point to disappointing social results, despite Microsoft’s best efforts. And still others argue that Microsoft should keep the main mission central, leaving social functions to others, as SharePoint is struggling to even stay relevant as an enterprise search platform.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 19, 2013
SharePoint Online Limits Customization
November 18, 2013
SharePoint in the cloud is attempting to keep up with the overall trend of movement to the cloud. However, some organizations are looking for alternatives, complaining that Office 365 inhibits portability and customization. Redmond Magazine covers the news in their article, “SharePoint Shops Eying Windows Azure as Office 365 Alternative.”
The article says:
“Even the majority of those planning to move to SharePoint in the cloud are leaning toward Office 365 . . . While 66 percent of current SharePoint online users have Office 365 subscriptions (compared with 14 percent using Windows Azure and 15 percent using other cloud providers), of those planning to run SharePoint in the cloud in the future, 55 percent will opt for Office 365 and nearly 29 percent will use Windows Azure. That points to a segment of SharePoint shops that are turned off by the lack of code portability from older versions of SharePoint. By standing up their own SharePoint servers in Windows Azure, they get the benefit of running their custom or shrink-wrapped apps in the cloud.”
Stephen E. Arnold is a long time leader in the world of search – following the trend with his service Arnold IT. He has long argued that SharePoint is on shaky ground, and a plethora of noteworthy alternatives are not only emerging, they are being rapidly adopted. So it is no wonder that Windows Azure is a popular alternative, and may be one angle that Microsoft uses to maintain its relevance.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 18, 2013
A Look at Bing vs Google
November 13, 2013
Over at Search Engine Watch, Mark Jackson reminds us that Google was not always top dog in the search field. His article, “Could Bing Ever Overtake Google in Search?” emphasizes that competition is a good thing. While this is true, could the SEO CEO have any other reasons to hope for the search giant’s wane? Vicious pandas and penguins, perhaps? After all, Jackson opens with an admission that he is angry at Google for ceasing to push keyword data into the public realm (where search engine gamers, er, optimizers can get to it) while continuing to supply that data to paid advertisers. The nerve!
Jackson does make some interesting points. He cites a recent Pubcon keynote address given by Google’s own Matt Cutts, which discusses some major developments for the leading search engine. Knowledge Graph, of course, will continue to play a role, as will voice search and “conversational” search. Jackson picks up on Cutt’s last item, “deep learning.”
He writes:
“Google is focused on deep learning and understanding what users want so searchers don’t have to use simple keyword phrases to search Google. Bing, on the other hand, has partnerships with every major social site and receives data directly from those sources. So, rather than trying to understand what users mean and predicting it, Bing actually knows what user want based on actual data from social sites.”
The piece goes on to emphasize the importance of mobile devices to the future of search, an area where he suspects Bing may really take over. Apparently, Bing’s more “personalized,” social-media-informed approach will especially make the difference in mobile, somehow. He also speculates that users may not take kindly to Google’s changes, particularly Knowledge Graph. He ventures:
“In my opinion, this is a make it or break it type of move by Google. Google users will either continue to like their search or they will end up using search less and less to find what they’re looking for. Bing users may be more likely to actually like their search results because the results are biased towards their own social media activities and friends’ activities online.”
I’d like to think more people are looking for objective information than for material that confirms their existing biases, but I suppose that is naïve. See the article for more on Jackson’s reasoning and hopes for a Bingy future. Is he right, or will Google maintain its search dominance for years to come?
Cynthia Murrell, November 13, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
SharePoint Does Not Function as Stand Alone ECM
October 23, 2013
SharePoint was one of the first enterprise content management systems, and is definitely the most well known. But many people still think of it as an all-encompassing solution. CMS Wire Joe Shepley says that SharePoint may be a lot of things, but in his most recent story he contends that, “SharePoint Will (Almost) Never Be Your Sole ECM System.”
He boils it does to the main point:
“The short answer for why SharePoint will almost never be your sole enterprise content management (ECM) system is that, simply put, the vast majority of organizations have ECM needs that go beyond what SharePoint on its own can deliver. Full stop.”
Shepley goes on to back up his argument and list shortcomings for certain industries as well as shortcomings in general. He then goes on to explain that SharePoint with add-ons is not SharePoint on its own. In fact, add-ons have become so essential and so popular with SharePoint, that some may take this statement for granted. But add-ons are necessary, and keep SharePoint from being a standalone solution. In fact, Stephen E. Arnold of ArnoldIT, has long reviewed and discussed SharePoint add-ons, realizing that most enterprises have to have an add-on to meet their enterprise needs. In a recent article, Arnold explains that SharePoint is even weak in its key functions, collaboration and search. Add-ons are necessary and SharePoint alternatives may be even better.
Emily Rae Aldridge, October 23, 2013
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
