Meeting the Challenge of SharePoint Customization
January 29, 2015
SharePoint customization has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs. To customize or not to customize, that is the question. With its initial rise, customization was key, but in recent years, experts and Microsoft itself have shunned the practice. CMS Wire covers the issue in their recent article, “Don’t Be Afraid of SharePoint Customization.”
The article highlights the transition from the customization craze to the recommendation to cease customization:
“With the release of SharePoint 2013, we suddenly had Redmond telling everyone to stop customizing SharePoint. A lot of companies are now embarrassed and ashamed to admit that they have customized their SharePoint sites. In less than three years it went from de rigeur to risky and questionable . . . Then SharePoint 2013 came out. And Microsoft made the following statement in its blog post about the launch: ‘Use SharePoint as an out-of-box application whenever possible.’’
And through the ups and downs, it still comes down to doing what is best for you individual organization. Although Office 365 has taken the most ardent stand on not customizing, CMS Wire says not to be afraid of tweaking areas that need to be tweaked. Stephen E. Arnold follows similar news on his Web service, ArnoldIT.com. His career is devoted to search and his SharePoint feed highlights the latest tips, tricks, and news when it comes to the volatility of the platform.
Emily Rae Aldridge, January 29, 2015
SharePoint Customization for NonDevelopers
September 3, 2012
Customization in SharePoint is always a hot topic, as it can be difficult, costly, and non-intuitive. However, Ricardo Wilkins at the Microsoft SharePoint Blog believes it can be possible even for the non-developer. Read all of his ideas at his post, “Fake It ‘til You Make It – Alternatives to Custom Application Pages for Non-Developers.”
Wilkins begins:
SharePoint is a versatile tool meant to empower end-users. So, for me it seems such a shame when end-users feel powerless when it comes to their ability to ‘create’ in SharePoint. Sometimes for a non-developer, it can seem like the only way to make something interesting in SharePoint (besides a fancy list or some Wiki pages) is to get help from a Developer or Web Designer. But I submit that, with a little creativity (and maybe some smoke-n-mirrors), non-developers can make an ‘application’ that looks and feels like a Developer’s custom application page.
Wilkins goes on to provide a good list of not only techniques for customization, but also software add-ons and apps to make that possible. An alternative is to invest in a smart third-party solution that streamlines the customization process simply by being inherently more intuitive. One such solution is Fabasoft Mindbreeze, which boasts an entire suite of effective solutions for the enterprise. However, in regard to SharePoint, Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise can serve as a standalone alternative, or a compliment to an existing SharePoint infrastructure.
See for yourself if your SharePoint customization woes might be eased by the simple addition of Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise.
Emily Rae Aldridge, September 3, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext.
Customization Increases SharePoint Adoption
November 29, 2013
SharePoint is known as a large unwieldy platform and research has now proven that customization options increase SharePoint satisfaction. CMS Wire reports the latest in their story, “Enabling Customization Increases SharePoint User Adoption.”
The article begins:
“Enabling business users to customize SharePoint is good for companies. If that seems unlikely, a Dimensional Research report commissioned by Dell supports this claim. According to the report, almost all of those surveyed (98 percent) said customization by business users is desirable. The report, The Impact of DIY SharePoint – How User Empowerment Drives Adoption, outlines the results of a survey of 203 people responsible for the administration, development, technical oversight or business ownership of Microsoft SharePoint in companies with more than 100 employees.”
But how to customize remains the question. SharePoint 2013 does support more customization options, but many organizations are choosing third party add-ons for more out-of-the-box functionality. Stephen E. Arnold, a longtime leader in search, follows SharePoint news with his information service, ArnoldIT.com. Stay tuned for the latest customization options, including in-house and third party.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 29, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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
Customization Best Practices for SharePoint Users
January 19, 2012
SharePoint customization has become a whole world, a whole community unto itself. The reason is simple, almost every feature of SharePoint is customizable. Furthermore, many specialists defend that SharePoint is only useful when it is fully customized. Out-of-the-box, SharePoint is simply a blank slate, an infrastructure.
Gale Pomper offers her insights on the topic in “SharePoint Customization Best Practices.” The piece is a white paper offered through Global Knowledge. While written before the SharePoint 2010 release, many of the principles still stand.
Pomper gives an overview of what can and cannot be customized in SharePoint:
It might be easier to define what cannot be customized because almost every aspect of the SharePoint implementation can be customized, including applications, look and feel, and web parts. Some of the more commonly implemented customizations are identified in the table below. But first, let’s discuss one element of SharePoint that cannot be customized – the SQL Server database.
Pomper goes on to offer her top ten suggestions for customization, as the case has already been made for the need for customization. However, the overarching question is why so much customization is needed in the first place. With SharePoint being such a highly used enterprise solution, shouldn’t developers have a good grasp on what is desired and strive to implement those changes?
This brings us to the discussion of third-party solutions. One we particularly like is Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Mindbreeze implements smart features out-of-the-box, saving administrators and end-users time and energy. One smart feature that we will highlight is the Fabasoft Mindbreeze query language.
The Fabasoft Mindbreeze Query Language is a powerful query language by itself. Users can intersect document hits using an AND expression, join hits with an OR expression, restrict queries to metadata, and much more. Despite our powerful query language, sometimes you need to customize the query language to your own domain specific requirements. Because of this Fabasoft Mindbreeze provides an API extension point, which makes it possible to transform a given query. The possibilities are manifold: transformations can replace, extend or even remove parts of query expressions.
This is an example of a smart customization option. What SharePoint offers as customizable features are often features that should be included out-of-the-box. However, with a smart third party solution like Fabasoft Mindbreeze, customization is optimized for an enhanced user experience.
Emily Rae Aldridge, January 19, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
How the Cloud Might Limit SharePoint Functionality
June 25, 2015
In the highly anticipated SharePoint Server 2016, on-premises, cloud, and hybrid functionality are all emphasized. However, some are beginning to wonder if functionality can suffer based on the variety of deployment chosen. Read all the details in the Search Content Management article, “How Does the Cloud Limit SharePoint Search and Integration?”
The article begins:
“All searches are not created equal, and tradeoffs remain for companies mulling deployment of the cloud, on-premises and hybrid versions of Microsoft’s collaboration platform, SharePoint. SharePoint on-premises has evolved over the years with a focus on customization and integration with other internal systems. That is not yet the case in the cloud with SharePoint Online, and there are still unique challenges for those who look to combine the two products with a hybrid approach.”
The article goes on to say that there are certain restrictions, especially with search customization, for the SharePoint Online deployment. Furthermore, a good amount of configuration is required to maximize search for the hybrid version. To keep up to date on how this might affect your organization, and the required workarounds, stay tuned to ArnoldIT.com. Stephen E. Arnold is longtime search professional, and his work on SharePoint is conveniently collocated in a dedicated feed to maximize efficiency.
Emily Rae Aldridge, June 25, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Stalled SharePoint Deployments Do Not Deter Adoption
April 23, 2015
Despite SharePoint’s broad adoption, it suffers from a perceived lack of user commitment. So it becomes a paradox that it is one of the fastest growing software options ever, and shows no signs of slowing down. CMS Wire tells us more in their article, “Businesses Committed to SharePoint, Despite Stalled Deployments.”
The article begins:
“It is little surprise then, that in a recent AIIM survey of 422 organizations respondents described their SharePoint projects as stalled (26 percent) or just not meeting expectations (37 percent). Inadequate user training and a general lack of planning, investment and expertise were the main reason given for this malaise. And the recent talk about how Office365 and cloud fit in with SharePoint has further muddied the waters. And yet support for SharePoint remains strong.”
In recent news, Microsoft has pushed the general availability of SharePoint Server 2016 back. Combine these release delays with the local delays organizations face regarding customization, investment, and expertise, and most deployments face an uphill battle. For most users and managers, staying in touch with the latest news is essential. Stephen E. Arnold of ArnoldIT.com offers an efficient newsfeed regarding all things search. His SharePoint feed is an efficient way to keep an eye on news, tips, tricks, and workarounds that impact all aspects of SharePoint use.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 23, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
SharePoint User Resistance Rises
March 17, 2015
Only one in ten organizations feel that their use of SharePoint has been a true success. This and other hard truths come out in the latest research by AIIM. The Globe Newswire covers all the latest news in their article, “SharePoint Projects are ‘Stalling’ as User Resistance Rises Says New AIIM Report.”
The report begins:
“Nearly two-thirds of enterprises say that their SharePoint project has either stalled (26 percent) or isn’t meeting their original expectations (37 percent), according to new research by independent information management analysts, AIIM. Adoption of business social tool Yammer is slow too, with 18 percent of respondents saying it has been adopted in their organization, but only one in ten of those reporting widespread and regular use.”
It is no surprise that such a large and complicated infrastructure as SharePoint has a high failure rate. Yet, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the platform is without merit. Most satisfied companies find that customization and third-party add-ons allow for significant improvement in satisfaction numbers. Stephen E. Arnold has made a career out of all things search and often covers SharePoint on his Web site, ArnoldIT.com. His SharePoint feed is a great resource for organizations that are looking to make the most of out of their current implementation, or plan a new installation.
Emily Rae Aldridge, March 17, 2015
The Current Relevance of SharePoint
November 6, 2014
SharePoint is still very much alive in terms of number of deployments. However, the proverbial jury has pretty much decided that it is out-of-date software that needs a lot of customization to remain functional. CMS Wire covers it in their latest article, “SharePoint is Already Legacy.”
The article reflects on SharePoint’s history and legacy:
“It was built in a world that needed a better enterprise solution for basic document management capabilities than the big enterprise content management ECM vendors were offering. And it spread like wildfire because it was easier to deploy and was more end-user focused than the large ECM tools . . . the lack of functionality was exactly what made SharePoint so dangerous. It provided document management functionality that was good enough for end-users and IT with a much lower cost of deployment.”
So the low cost solution grew legs and took over the enterprise. Now managers are struggling with how to keep it functional. One way to stay up-to-date is to keep an eye on ArnoldIT.com, particularly his SharePoint feed. Stephen E. Arnold is the expert behind the site. He is an expert in all things search and has made a career out of providing thorough coverage to end users and managers alike.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 6, 2014
Using SharePoint as a Video Platform
August 28, 2014
Video and other forms of dynamic media are an increasingly large share of the information market. This type of media has historically been a bit harder to index and make sense of in the business realm, but that is beginning to change. Read more in the TechRadar article, “Why You Should Use SharePoint as a Video Platform.”
The article begins:
“In the modern age, video is emerging as a content medium of choice, especially for the next generation worker who has grown up with video content playing a key role in their daily lives. The SharePoint platform, while not built with video in mind, can be enhanced to become a powerful and effective video content platform, catering for both live video events and on-demand video content.”
The article then goes on to explain how you can work with video content by enhancing your existing SharePoint setup. These non-traditional functions of SharePoint can really help an organization get the most bang for their buck when it comes to SharePoint. However, it can take a good bit of time and customization, and to help ease that burden, Web sites like ArnoldIT.com can be helpful. Stephen E. Arnold has made a career out of all things search and devotes a good bit of time to the best tips and tricks regarding SharePoint. Keep an eye on his SharePoint feed for more ways to help your organizations squeeze all the good out of SharePoint.
Emily Rae Aldridge, August 28, 2014
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
