Considering Mobile Access Options for SharePoint
July 9, 2012
At the MSDN.com Blog, Kiril Matev looks at mobile SharePoint in his article, “Extending SharePoint to the Mobile Arena.” Matev has this to say on mobile usage,
Many companies already rely on SharePoint to encourage users to share information and enhance collaboration. It also helps to integrate structured and unstructured data stores that often build up across an organisation. Due to the central role that SharePoint plays in enterprise IT infrastructure, mobile productivity can only be enhanced in companies that use SharePoint if users are able to access SharePoint resources reliably and intuitively on their mobile devices.
He goes on to discuss:
. . . company data available on all mobile devices. Regardless of whether you have a BlackBerry®, iPhone®, Windows Phone or Android™ Smartphone or a tablet such as the Apple iPad, Samsung Chromebook/GalaxyTab or Blackberry Playbook. You can act independently SharePlus as one option, but points out that not all companies may find it as the best way to extend SharePoint to mobile. Mobile usage continues to grow.
It seems that the experts at Fabasoft Mindbreeze understand the importance of mobile access:
Smartphones and tablets are constant companions, indispensable in the business world. Information needs to be able to be exchanged at all times and wherever you are. Easily. Quickly. Securely.
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Mobile makes and freely – yet always securely. Irrespective of what format the data is in.
Read more about the full suite of solutions at http://www.mindbreeze.com/.
Phillip West, July 9, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
The Ups and Downs of Cloud Technology
July 9, 2012
One of the greatest inventions of the last decade was the cloud. It has enabled countless numbers of companies access to software and services that traditionally have been unattainable due to cost. But even the cloud has a downside as the article, “Cloud Computing: Companies Worry about Unexpected Costs and Fees”, on the Formtek Blog examines. According to the article unexpected fees due to misuse and misunderstanding of cloud based software can be a real detriment to companies.
The article goes on to mention another possible problem facing companies adopting cloud software:
“The ease of getting started with cloud computing is also prompting many departments and groups to by-pass IT. But one problem with departments making an endrun is that, without central coordination of all computing activities, these organizations often will face higher overall costs because of duplication of services across different departments and the loss of volume discounting that may have been negotiated if all activities had been centrally coordinated.”
When it comes to product lifecycle management (PLM) software the cloud has been a true blessing. Suddenly small and midsized businesses are able to utilize time and money saving solutions that were reserved for only the most lucrative of businesses. We couldn’t agree more with the article’s assessment of the disconnect between departments when cloud software is mismanaged. For that reason we recommend Inforbix to companies seeking a cloud based PLM solution. As their Website explains,
“Inforbix helps you find, reuse, and share CAD files in your company no matter where they are located. Because Inforbix uses cloud technology, it takes no special skills or training to deploy and use.”
With their dedication to customer training and ongoing support Inforbix can help companies maximize the cloud without costly complications like the ones discussed in the article.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 9, 2012
Maxxcat: A Replacement for Google Mini?
July 9, 2012
In a giant spring-cleaning move, Google announced that five services will be permanently shutting down, including the search giant’s product Google Mini.
Google Mini was a small in-site search appliance provided by the company. As it was a popular service, previous users may wonder where to turn to get a search box for their site. We suggest MaxxCAT, an enterprise search engine that is easy-to-use and offers two types of hardware that are geared for small or large businesses. The company’s website asserts:
“If you are in need of a solution for you company’s data storage needs that is nimble, responsive, and easy to use, MaxxCAT can help by collecting all of your files, documents, and data into one highly sophisticated enterprise search engine system. MaxxCAT Corporation specializes in creating supremely optimized hardware devices that offer plug-and-play capability and user-friendly interfaces to boost your enterprise search needs. Currently, MaxxCAT offers two types of enterprise search hardware that outperform the competition in terms of performance, storage and even price.”
MaxxCAT’s website also provides a speed test between its product and Google Mini, as well as a comparison chart involving costs and performance among other factors. These demonstrations are sure to have anyone convinced after a little browsing.
Andrea Hayden, July 9, 2012
Sponsored by Ikanow
Capturing an IBM OmniFind Factoid
July 7, 2012
We just finished an analysis of IBM’s search technology. We wanted to capture this product withdrawal factoid. In case you missed this announcement from IBM, you may find it interesting to note that OmniFind has been withdrawn from the company’s marketing, as well as IBM Content Analytics.
The IBM United States Withdrawal Announcement, “Software Withdrawal: IBM Content Analytics and IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition Standalone Part Numbers—Some Replacements Available,” was posted on the company’s website in April. IBM OmniFind is no longer available directly from IBM, and Content Analytics will not be available after July 19.
The announcement offers a list of replacement products:
“*IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition v9.1 and IBM Content Analytics v2.2 are now packaged into a single bundled offering, called IBM Content Analytics with Enterprise Search.
*The product standalone part numbers will be withdrawn, with replacements available.
*The part number for the new bundle, IBM Content Analytics with Enterprise Search, will be available under the IBM Content Analytics v2.2 Program Number: 5724-Z21.
*For more information on IBM Content Analytics with Enterprise Search, refer to Software Announcement 211-133, dated April 19, 2011.”
However, the announcement is lacking in insight as to why the cancellations. We cannot help but wonder what spurred the changes within the company. Technical difficulties? Not popular enough? Or just enterprise search fatigue from IBM? Maybe a shift from search to analytics?
Sponsored by Ikanow
Considerations for an Existing Farm with SharePoint 2013 on the Horizon
July 6, 2012
In “SharePoint 2013 Upgrade or Not: 5 Strategies to Help You Decide,” Bjorn Furuknap gives some tips on preparing for the next version of SharePoint. The author first suggests fixing any of your existing problems now because they will remain largely the same from version to version.
But if you don’t have any major problems, Furuknap offers this:
SharePoint will be here next year, and the year after. And yes, there will be a SharePoint 2016, which will be so much better, and you should probably wait for that to arrive because it’s going to truly outshine SharePoint 2013. If, right now, you don’t have a problem that SharePoint can help you solve, then most likely, you won’t get those problems in November either. In other words, Microsoft releasing a new version will not give you new problems.
The author also suggests that if you have the extra money, consider upgrading now, but if you have many custom apps, consider waiting as they may not jive with SharePoint 2013. Furuknap brings some good points to the discussion by pointing out the decision should be unique to your situation. Asking the right questions will help ensure that your project resources are spent on the key aspects rather than unnecessary functionalities that will only complicate the system.
A third party solution, like Fabasoft Mindbreeze, can also help you connect the dots in your SharePoint system. The Fabasoft Folio Connector integrates all your business information from the intranet, Cloud, internet, and knowledge portals in the corporate-wide search, while maintaining your strict access rights. With Mindbreeze, users can easily search and reuse information from documents, contacts, projects, Wiki articles, conference agendas, and more.
Phillip West, July 6, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
CIMdata Releases White Paper Identifying Industry Weakness
July 6, 2012
Within the manufacturing industry one constant need is a company’s ability to adapt and allow model changes. A recent article titled, “CIMdata Publishes New White Paper ‘CAD Selection Considerations: Design Changes’”, on Melodika.net, explains the premise for one of the world’s leading PLM providers’, CIMdata, latest white paper.
The article explains the fundamental problem facing many enterprises:
“Innovation in product development relies heavily on the fundamental engineering cycle of modify and improve, so most new products are built from changes made to existing products. The modeling tools most beneficial to product designers must align to that cycle and should contain a wealth of rapid and flexible editing methods. When selecting a modeling suite, prospective users must assess their past New Product Introduction experiences and compile a list of their most important and impactful needs.”
At the core of their argument is a desperate need for new data management solutions tying together the various departments, often spread out around the globe, enabling such changes as mentioned to be made smoothly and quickly. For that reason we recommend that those companies finding themselves shopping for new PLM solutions contact Inforbix, a company dedicated to enabling their clients to ‘find, reuse and share product data’. CIMdata’s white paper is probably right on the money as far as highlighting this deficit in many PLM solutions which is why we recommend those struggling with data management go straight to the best for new solutions.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 6, 2012
Guide to Conditional Content on Mobile Devices in SharePoint
July 5, 2012
Waldek Mastykarz is a software developer and SharePoint Server MVP. In his post, “Conditional Content on Mobile Devices the Easy Way in SharePoint 2010,” Mastykarz looks at some issues with displaying content in SharePoint on mobile devices. The author explains the issue,
Although mobile devices lower the bar for accessing information on the Internet they have their restrictions, such as screen size or bandwidth. In order to deliver optimal experience to your visitors you not only have to consider laying out all the different elements on the page, given the limited screen size, but also have to think about the amount of information you want to serve to your users to ensure that your website will load fast.
Mastykarz adds that responsive Web design allows you to ensure that your Web site is easy to use and content displays well in the limited screen space. He also provides guides and code snippets for enacting conditional content on mobile.
It seems that the experts at Fabasoft Mindbreeze understand the value of powerful search and mobile access to add more efficiency for SharePoint.
. . . makes company knowledge available on all mobile devices. You can act freely, independently and yet always securely. Irrespective of what format the data is in. Full functionality: Search results are displayed homogenously to the web client with regards to clear design and intuitive navigation.
With the full functionality of Fabasoft Mindbreeze for Enterprise and united on-premise and Cloud data, users will be able to act quickly in business matters with smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. Read more about the full suite of solutions at http://www.mindbreeze.com/.
Phillip West, July 5, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
How to Know If Customized PLM Solutions Are the Best Fit
July 5, 2012
When companies make the decision to implement product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions they are faced with an overwhelming number of vendors vying for their business. While some vendors claim out-of-the-box solutions are the best, others claim customization is the way to go. The MCAD Café article, “Understanding PLM System Customization”, tackles this issue. The article gives examples of when out-of-the-box would work as well as customized solutions. The recommendation, though, is a blend – configuration.
As the article wraps up,
“…organizations should steer clear of a dash to customize. It is to be expected that any new PLM system will have inadequacies, both factual and alleged. All workarounds and alternatives should be investigated first before making a commitment to changing the system. It is important to take into consideration that though customization might bring in a competitive gain, there are risks and costs associated with different types of customization. The heavier the customization is the riskier and costlier it becomes.”
We agree with the author in his analysis of companies who often go with a customized PLM solution:
“Over-reliance on heavy customization suggests a deeper problem – It can mean that due to poor PLM selection and evaluation process, the software is ill-fitting with the business requirements.”
To avoid this situation we recommend companies leaning toward customized PLM solutions contact the professionals at Inforbix, a PLM solutions provider who strives to help each customer meet their PLM needs. In most situations companies will realize a well-chosen PLM solution will do the job as well as a customized one.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 5, 2012
Exalead Two Years after the Sale
July 4, 2012
I was looking at my Overflight page for Exalead, the search system acquired by the French “systems” company Dassault in mid 2010. I have not run across Exalead in my work, but I have moved “beyond search.” A number of companies once dominant in enterprise search have been nudged out from under the microscope by outfits which are triggering more attention here in Harrod’s Creek. To put this comment in context, let me mention several firms: Attivio, Artirix, Digital Reasoning, Elasticsearch, Ikanow, Lucid Imagination, Polyspot, Quid, and Sphinx to pluck a few from the “hot company queue” on one of my infamous 4×6 hot pink note cards.
We maintain some public Web pages which make it easy to see at a glance how much coverage a particular vendor gets. You can find the splash page for Overflight on ArnoldIT.com and the Exalead page here.
A snippet of the Exalead information on my Overflight service at http://arnoldit.com/overflight/search/report.php?name=exalead
The news focuses quite understandably on Dassault Systèmes, the parent company. The content push is in the area of managing manufacturing information. What is interesting is that Dassault now faces some new competition in this space. Check out Inforbix for one example.
The blog posts are even more fascinating. Exalead is following other search vendors with webinars. I have expressed my personal webinar fatigue and my annoyance at the stream of “invitations” to join a forward thinking executive. I will learn new things and the time will be well spent. I don’t buy it. I can read more quickly than I can absorb serial conversation. But that’s just me.
The second thing I noticed was information about the company’s winning an award. I have seen a number of similar announcements. Recognition is important, but my question was, “How many people were in the competition?” and “How were winners selected?” I have not heard of LT Innovative or its award, but that may be my limitation.
Third, I saw a link to a blog post which further links to information which explains how to build an “SBA in 10 minutes.” An “SBA” is a search based application. The idea is that most organizations have had it with proprietary search systems. In order to get out of a fouled nest, vendors have worked up language that suggests “finding” without using the scarlet phrase “enterprise search.” My question, “Is it really possible to build a real application in a real 10 minutes?” Heck, I can’t get MailChimp to output text without weird fonts in less than 15 minutes. I even struggled to get a Microsoft PowerPoint on my iPad 3. Fortunately one of the goslings had set up a Dropbox account and that worked. Total time: 20 minutes from start to finish.
What is missing from the flow of information about Exalead is information about major account wins. We try to highlight some of the important deals which we learn about; for example, “Microsoft Snags a Big Search Project.”
Engaging SharePoint Administrators with Business Knowledge and Experience
July 4, 2012
At the SharePoint Solutions Team Blog, Ricky Spears suggests some skills that server administrators can benefit from in his post, “The Missing Pieces in Most SharePoint Server Administrators’ Skill Sets.” Spears says that in his experience, Server Administrators should have a combination of three skill sets: business knowledge and experience, SharePoint knowledge and experience from a business perspective, and how to configure and administer SharePoint. The author expands on the first skill:
SharePoint integrates with every area of a business: sharing information, creating information, collaboration, information discovery, business intelligence, business process automation, and social interaction. The more a SharePoint Admin knows about your business (both generally, the specific day-to-day operations, and short-term and long-term goals) the better prepared she will be to configure SharePoint to support the needs of your business.
Spears’s emphasis on business knowledge may be because many organizations overlook these important skills. Spears suggests that Server Administrators should shadow employees and spend more time with managers to get a complete picture of the company goals.
The light read provides some basic ways to beef up your existing structure. To also strengthen your SharePoint system, consider Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Part of the full suite of solutions is the information pairing feature. Here is a highlight:
Our information pairing technology makes you unbeatable. Information pairing unites enterprise information and Cloud information. This results in a complete overview of a company’s knowledge – the basis for your competitive advantage – allowing you to act quickly, reliably, dynamically and profitably in all business matters.
Give your employees and Server Administrators quick and efficient access to business information so users can find, share, and reuse valuable knowledge. Read more at Mindbreeze, where they seem to have the benefits of a proper installation down pat.
Philip West, July 4, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
