The Heat in SharePoint Semantics May 11 to May 17
May 22, 2012
As always SharePoint Semantics points readers, search enthusiasts, and SharePoint end users to create a strategy to deploy SharePoint in a way that benefits everyone in your workplace.
In the post, “Prepare a Robust Adoption Strategy for Your SharePoint Deployment with 7 Tips,” writer Ken Toth stresses that people should be the primary focus of your SharePoint adoption strategy because no matter how great your technology it is the people that make your company succeed.
When describing the list of tips, Toth states:
“Executives need to be visible in their use of SharePoint. Next is getting buy-in from business users because they will drive your business requirements and you need to make sure the end results will meet their needs. Third, influence the organization by forming a core community of successful thought leaders and subject matter experts. Fourth, engage your users by selling the concept and establishing a meaningful connection to its value and benefits. Fifth, offer instructor-based and e-learning training. Sixth, market your SharePoint launch like you would a new product. Finally, promote participation by giving rewards and recognition.”
Looking towards the future, App development is a becoming a very integral part of ensuring a company’s ability to prosper in the 21st century. In order to stay current, SharePoint created the planned SharePoint App Marketplace. The post, “Furuknap Shares Insight on the Expected App Marketplace for SharePoint 2013”
In the referenced article, Furuknap explains:
“In short, the job ad is for a software developer who can help the Visual Studio team build the next generation of tools for SharePoint. The ad, however, reveals more information than I suspect Microsoft intended, and confirms the existence of the new App model, the App Marketplace, simplified HTML and JavaScript, and leveraging Windows Azure and SQL Azure for data, logic, and workflows.”
In the realm of SharePoint troubleshooting, the post “Understand the Difference Between SharePoint Publishing and Collaboration” does an excellent job of fleshing out the details of publishing and collaboration in a way that is easy to digest.
Toth concludes:
“One simple way to get encourage collaboration is by integrating a powerful search feature into your SharePoint system so users can efficiently find and reuse information. The experts at Smartlogic really understand the benefits of metadata. Here you can read about the comprehensive solution, “Tagging information with metadata significantly enhances its findability. Metadata also improves the consistency and quality of the output so content can be repurposed and reused slashing time it takes to create new content.”
Toth is absolutely right. Without third party solutions like Smartlogic, it would be much more difficult to really understand all of the intricacies that come with using SharePoint.
Jasmine Ashton, May 22, 2012
The Case for Reasonable Hours: Fact or Fiction?
May 10, 2012
Inspired by Sheryl Sandberg, Inc.’s Geoffrey James calls for us to “Stop Working More Than 40 Hours a Week.” Though Facebook COO Sandberg has been leaving on time to get home to her kids for seven years, the powerful executive only recently felt she could admit the fact in a culture where long hours are now required for workers to be considered dedicated and, by extension, worthy of raises and advancement. James points out that the excruciating trend has gained the upper hand despite longstanding evidence that working over 40 hours per week actually decreases performance. He writes:
“In the early 1900s, Ford Motor ran dozens of tests to discover the optimum work hours for worker productivity. They discovered that the ‘sweet spot’ is 40 hours a week–and that, while adding another 20 hours provides a minor increase in productivity, that increase only lasts for three to four weeks, and then turns negative.
“Anyone who’s spent time in a corporate environment knows that what was true of factory workers a hundred years ago is true of office workers today. People who put in a solid 40 hours a week get more done than those who regularly work 60 or more hours.”
This logic has shades of Henri Poincaré to be sure, but the advocates of balance have a point. People who just keep on keeping on past their 40 hours are at risk for burnout, which makes them far less productive. Just because you’re at your desk typing or clicking away does not mean you are doing a good job. Anyone who has had to redo work they (or worse, their colleague) did the night before, when intellectually numb and aching to get home to loved ones, can attest to that.
We think that opinions about how long to work are okay. The reality is that hard work often contributes to success. In fact, for some, work is play so it continues around the clock. We prefer the work mode. It validates self concept, generates revenue, and seems more productive than watching random YouTube videos.
Cynthia Murrell, May 10, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
The Heat in SharePoint Semantics April 27 to May 3
May 8, 2012
This week SharePoint Semantics published several pieces that showed readers some interesting tips on how to incorporate social media strategies and web design techniques into SharePoint
The post, “Discussion on SharePoint and Social In Light of Harris Interactive Enterprise Social Networking Survey,” discussed the fact that social networking in enterprises is a growing field that is filled with potential.
Jared Spataro of SharePoint offers the company’s point of view on the research:
“it’s not necessarily about all the bells and whistles and new “Facebook-like” features. As it’s pointed out in the Harris Study organizations are looking for functionality like instant messaging, email, video conferencing. Likes, activity streams and microblogging are not top on the list. These are the tools, Spataro says, that people are familiar with, so bring those capabilities into the social software solution and focus on productivity.”
In the realm of SharePoint and social media, “List of Useful Microsoft SharePoint Blogs to Track on RSS,” provides a list of 25 blogs that offer helpful tips, opinions, and news on SharePoint.
When discussing the blogs that he personally refers to from the list, Ken Toth states:
“Many of the blogs on this list are ones we read regularly. SharePoint Joel – SharePoint Land, Laura Rogers @ Wonderlaura, Marc D. Anderson’s Blog – A Management Zealot Speaks Out, and Waldek Mastykarz’s Innovation Matters are four we refer to often. Some that are new to us are SharePoint Dragons, The SharePoint Guys from the UK, and harbar.net. We look forward to checking them out.”
“Make Your Public Facing SharePoint Site Look More Polished With Easy Tips,” advises on ways to make your SharePoint site look more polished and professional by changing the colors/theme and upper left image from the standard template.
Toth states:
“There are many online resources that provide copyright-free images for your use, and the article provides links to a few of them as well as directions for how to change those and the theme. Also, Neal advises that your images should have a transparent background so that it blends seamlessly into your ribbon. The article includes step-by-step directions for this as well.”
For those who are new to social media and web design and would like a more out of the box solution for your SharePoint needs, consider using Smartlogic’s semantic technology solution called the Semaphore Content Intelligence Platform.
Jasmine Ashton, May 8, 2012
IBM Embraces Social
May 2, 2012
I wonder what happened to Watson. Surely that next-generation search technology has not been marginalized by Vivisimo’s “big data” antics or the “New IBM Business Integration Software [that] Helps Enterprises Accelerate Adoption of Social, Business, Cloud, and Mobile Technologies.” Wow, that’s like a digital Popeil pocket fisherman.
Now the secret sauce for this digital cornucopia is the new version of IBM’s WebSphere Application Server. According to the write up, WebSphere Application Server includes a business process manager, operational decision management, and the Cast Iron Live service.
What’s Cast Iron? It is an Application Programming Interface (API) which:
allows companies to extend their services to support the emerging community of developers who are building new social, mobile and cloud applications. This new purpose-built offering provides a comprehensive solution to deliver, socialize and manage business API assets.
Search, I presume, is baked in and based on Lucene, not the newly acquired Vivisimo “big data” system. How does this new server help me? Easy. The story reveals a use case:
One client – The Ottawa Hospital has already begun testing how these new software and services from IBM can dramatically change their business model. Working with IBM, they are building a new system that improves the quality of patient care and helps them to better manage the flow of patients throughout the hospital…the attending physician can send an electronic request to the patient’s physician for clarification on past diagnosis. The patient’s doctor receives the consultation request immediately on their most accessible device – a tablet, smart phone or a computer. They respond directly to the specific consult questions electronically, so the attending physician can correctly diagnose the patient.
Just the ticket for auditing data required for RAC, MIC, and ZPIC matters. I like the social touch too. Just what’s needed when walking the patient confidentiality tightrope.
Stephen E Arnold, May 2, 2012
Sponsored by Ikanow
The Heat in SharePoint Semantics April 20 to April 26
May 1, 2012
This week SharePoint Semantics shared a plethora of information that can be useful for Microsoft SharePoint novices and experts alike.
In the post, “SharePoint Governance Plan Perceptions Survey Phase One Released by Axceler” we learn that while many companies believe that SharePoint governance is important, almost 40 percent do not have clearly defined governance plans and 9 percent have no plans at all.
Ken Toth excerpts a portion of the article:
“Not only that, 64.9 percent viewed SharePoint as a strategic enterprise platform. It seems more than contradictory that these organizations lack a coherent governance plan, yet view governance as important and SharePoint as a strategic platform. It doesn’t bode well for these companies if they don’t see planning for governance as part of their mission.”
Another noteworthy post that would be beneficial for those using SharePoint in the field is “Improve the SharePoint Experience for Field Personnel Through Best Practices.” According to the summary of the article, there are six best practices for site-based tasks to be completed in the field.
Those best practices are:
“Keep essential information on the same page, display multiple List View Web Parts in a single page view, create a flat site structure and implement enterprise cache management to support offline work, display recent changes to the site, develop search scopes for frequently requested items, and create separate SharePoint sites for different groups of users or products.”
When we are discussing best practices, it is important to also remember that many Sharepoint end users also make the same mistakes. “Top Technical Mistakes to Avoid in Microsoft SharePoint” covers a variety of angles to worth a close look during your deployment process.
When describing the number one blunder the writer highlights the Big Bang Roll Out:
“Someone sends out an email that the new intranet site, My Sites, and collaboration platform are available. Suddenly everyone in the organization comes flooding in, and in the process, they put the entire farm underwater. The servers encounter more load in an hour than they’ll typically encounter in weeks of operation, and a great environment is tarnished by one big email. Rather than doing one big-bang email to everyone, stage your communication over the course of a day or two to even out the load a bit.”
While reading best practice and top mistake articles can help many end users address a multitude of issues that can arise when dealing with Microsoft SharePoint, at times when that just isn’t enough, we recommend that you look into a third party solution like Smartlogic’s out-of-the-box enterprise semantic technology.
Jasmine Ashton, May 1, 2012
Buried Alive by Data
May 1, 2012
This recent blog post on the Search Technologies’ Web site makes some amusing and thought provoking comparisons between the reality TV show “Hoarding, Buried Alive!”, and the state of unstructured data within some organizations.
This phrase—I am absolutely overwhelmed by this, I just don’t know where to start” – is attributed to both a hoarder on a TV show. The speaker is contemplating how to tackle a sink piled with dirty dishes. The phrase also applies to an enterprise search program manager contemplating how to begin a project.
The article, Buried Alive by Data is worth a read for the amusement value alone. However, it also makes some important points. Discipline and due process are key part of the success recipe. For enterprise search, the award-winning search assessment methodology is cited as a proven approach to project discipline. The comparison made between the lawlessness of a hoarder’s kitchen and the average corporate file share may seem somehow familiar to many readers.
Iain Fletcher, May 1, 2012
Sponsored by Search Technologies
More Googley Legal Action
April 17, 2012
We find more legal hassles for Google in “TQP Sues Another Round of Companies on Cryptography Patent.” TQP claims Google uses a patented method (patent ’730, filed in 1992) for transmitting data as a sequence of blocks in encrypted form over a communication link. According to the allegations, this patent is broken every time someone connects to one of Google’s Web sites. See the article for the technical details.
TQP is no stranger to patent lawsuits. In fact, the write up tells us:
“TQP has been very active since late 2008, suing hundreds major corporations in multiple lawsuits. TQP, a Texas company, has filed each case in the Eastern District of Texas, a popular venue for patent plaintiffs. While some of the defendants have settled with TQP, others are continuing to litigate the patent.”
Patent wizards are experts that we feed and nurture. Will common sense prevail, or will the patent wizards continue to grow more important? I suppose it is good for Acapulco condo brokers and Mercedes dealers. For innovation, well, maybe not so useful.
Cynthia Murrell, April 17, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Love Lost between Stochastic and Google AppEngine
March 30, 2012
Stochastic Technologies’ Stavros Korokithakis has some very harsh words for Google’s AppEngine in “Going from Loving AppEngine to Hating it in 9 Days.” Is the Google shifting its enterprise focus?
Stochastic’s service Dead Man’s Switch got a huge publicity boost from its recent Yahoo article, which drove thousands of new visitors to the site. Preparing for just such a surge, the company turned months ago to Google’s AppEngine to manage potential customers. At first, AppEngine worked just fine. The hassle-free deployments while rewriting and the free tier were just what the company needed at that stage.
Soon after the Yahoo piece, Stochastic knew they had to move from the free quota to a billable status. There was a huge penalty, though, for one small mistake: Korokithakis entered the wrong credit card number. No problem, just disable the billing and re-enable it with the correct information, right? Wrong. Billing could not be re-enabled for another week.
Things only got worse from there. Korokithakis attempted to change settings from Google Wallet, but all he could do was cancel the payment. He then found that, while he was trying to correct his credit card information, the AppEngine Mail API had reached its daily 100-recipient email limit. The limit would not be removed until the first charge cleared, which would take a week. The write up laments:
At this point, we had five thousand users waiting for their activation emails, and a lot of them were emailing us, asking what’s wrong and how they could log in. You can imagine our frustration when we couldn’t really help them, because there was no way to send email from the app! After trying for several days to contact Google, the AppEngine team, and the AppEngine support desk, we were at our wits’ end. Of all the tens of thousands of visitors that had come in with the Yahoo! article, only 100 managed to actually register and try out the site. The rest of the visitors were locked out, and there was nothing we could do.
Between sluggish payment processing and a bug in the Mail API, it actually took nine days before the Stochastic team could send emails and register users. The company undoubtedly lost many potential customers to the delay. In the meantime, to add charges to injury, the AppEngine task queue kept retrying to send the emails and ran up high instance fees.
It is no wonder that Stochastic is advising us all to stay away from Google’s AppEngine. Our experiences with Google have been positive. Perhaps this is an outlier’s experience?
Cynthia Murrell, March 30, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
The Heat in SharePoint Semantics: Feb 17 – Feb 23
February 28, 2012
SharePoint Semantics continually delivers engaging and informative posts that share recent articles, upcoming events, and best practices. This past week was no different.
In the vein of SharePoint trouble shooting, Ken Toth shared a recent article in the post “Troubleshoot Your Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Farm Before Trouble Happens.”
Toth states:
“Jason Himmelstein begins with the premise that you must begin troubleshooting SharePoint performance issues with the sound baseline of what it means to have a solid and well-performing SharePoint 2010 farm.”
When we think of SharPoint, sometimes we get hyper focused on specific features and forget about other ones that could be more valuable to our business. The post, “Microsoft SharePoint is Valuable on Many Business Fronts” examines these underused features.
The article states:
“With SharePoint you can co-author a document before deadline. Up to six people can edit a single document at one time. That’s time saved and money saved in the long run. Businesses like SharePoint because its profile capabilities lets employees learn about potential co-workers in advance of that first meeting. It is the difference between coming into a meeting blind to who you’ll be meeting, or, greeting them by name and exchanging meaningful simplicities.”
Here at Beyond Search we weren’t surprised to hear that Cleverworkarounds.com recently published a four part series that featured SharePoint user challenges when searching for information. The post “User Challenges When Searching the Intranet: An Analysis” points readers to both a detailed discussion on linked in as well as an executive summary of the series.
After sharing the article, Toth concludes:
“To overcome the search and find challenge, complete your SharePoint system with a third party solution like Smartlogic. The Semaphore Content Intelligence Platform takes metadata to a new level, where “tagging” is just the first step. With text mining and automatic classification, the out-of-the-box solutions at Smartlogic effectively and efficiently connect your users to the right information at the right time.”
As SharePoint Semantics continues to illustrate, there are many different options to help you jump over the hurdles of SharePoint, the easiest being investing in a solution like Smartlogic’s Semaphore Content Intelligence Platform.
Jasmine Ashton, February 28, 2012
The Perils of Googley Beta Testing
February 28, 2012
A recent, scary security flaw in Google Wallet has prompted Extreme Tech to explore “Google and the Death of Beta Testing.” Writer Ryan Whitwam laments Google’s rejection of real beta-testing in products from the embarrassingly buggy Google Wave, to the privacy faux pas that was the Google Buzz release, to this latest mishap that left users’ financial information vulnerable. He summarizes:
“There is just no such thing as a real beta at Google. A product is either tested internally by Googlers, or it’s blasted out to large numbers of users. This is great when you want to get immediate access to an awesome new service, but when that service leaks your email contacts, or allows crooks to get at your pre-paid credit cards, it’s a disaster.”
Agreed. Whitman suggests Google return to the best practice of beta testing products before they go out. Seems like common sense, but we wonder: since Google users are not the same thing as Google customers, does the company believe we don’t deserve such common courtesy?
Cynthia Murrell, February 28, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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