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
DocumentCloud Uses OpenCalais and Offers Public and Private Functions
October 27, 2013
If you are in need of a relatively painless way to obtain metadata, DocumentCloud might be your solution. Every uploaded document is run through OpenCalais, allowing for user access to widespread information mentioned in them. It simplifies the search for people, places and organizations from your documents and allows you to plot them by dates mentioned in a timeline that can be as specific or general as the user desires.
“Use our document viewer to embed documents on your own website and introduce your audience to the larger paper trail behind your story.
From our catalog, reporters and the public alike can find your documents and follow links back to your reporting. DocumentCloud contains court filings, hearing transcripts, testimony, legislation, reports, memos, meeting minutes, and correspondence. See what’s already in our catalog. Make your documents part of the cloud.”
If you prefer privacy, that is a built-in feature. If you prefer to publish, your documents become a part of the landscape of primary sources in the DocumentCloud catalogue. There is also a highlighting feature that accommodates both public annotations and more private organizational notes. Each note has its own URL, enabling users to show their readers the exact information they need.
Chelsea Kerwin, October 27, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Tableau Collaborates with Google Cloud
October 24, 2013
Considering that Google has a stake in Recorded Future, which has visualization capabilities, this is an interesting development: The Sacramento Bee shares the press release, “Tableau Software Partners with Google to Visualize Big Data at Gartner IT Symposium.” The partnership mixes Tableau’s analytics with the Google Cloud Platform. Recently at Gartner‘s convention in Orlando, attendees were given a demonstration of the project. The write-up tells us:
“Tableau and Google created a series of dashboards to visualize enormous volumes of real-time sensory data gathered at Google I/O 2013, Google’s developers’ conference. Data measuring multiple environmental variables, such as room temperature and volume, was analyzed in Tableau and presented to attendees at the Gartner event. With Tableau’s visual analytics, Gartner attendees could see that from the data created, I/O conference managers could adjust the experience and gain insights in real time, like re-routing air-conditioning to optimize power and cooling when rooms got too warm.”
The project will also be demonstrated at Gartner’s upcoming events around the world; see the article for dates and places (though I’ll go ahead and tell you that Orlando was the only location in North America.) We wonder—is this Gartner/Tableau/Google trio a marketing play, or a significant step forward in data visualization?
Founded in 2003 and located in Seattle, Washington, Tableau Software grew from a project begun at Stanford University. Their priority is to help ordinary people use data to solve problems quickly and easily. The company is fully invested in their own philosophy; not only does Tableau use their own products, but they also rely heavily on data analysis for their business decisions.
Cynthia Murrell, October 24, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
HP Calls out AWS as Outdated
October 17, 2013
In an interesting twist, tech veteran Hewlett Packard calls out competitor Amazon for being too old-fashioned. Gigaom reports, “Beware of Amazon’s ‘Legacy’ Cloud, Says HP’s Cloud Guru.” We’d like to start with a curious observation—the proclamation contains nary a word about the advantages HP Autonomy offers over Amazon’s CloudSearch, still in beta. We’d think they would want to emphasize that advantage.
The focus of this PR push, though, is the rise of OpenStack, the growing open-source alternative to AWS. HP has contributed much to this project, apparently banking on the sale of related support and services. Writer Barb Darrow informs us:
“HP is hoping that the open-source fervor that propelled Linux to the top of the heap in enterprise and mobile operating systems will similarly motivate enterprise customers to take the OpenStack cloud plunge — with full HP services and support attached, of course.
“Given the sheer number of contributors to OpenStack — HP claims the fourth most contributions to the latest Havana release — it’s clear that the technology has piqued interest among developers and their employers. But since it launched four years ago, it’s still new in the game and businesses weighing a move into cloud need to know that moving legacy stuff to any cloud isn’t a day at the beach. HP, he said, will help assess those difficulties up front and, if needed, help with the move.”
Of course they will; that’s rather the point, isn’t it? Darrow notes that the popularity of OpenStack is fed by the shift toward the hybrid cloud. In this model, businesses can keep their most sensitive data on “private clouds” set up within a company’s own firewall. They can then share selected information in the public cloud for collaboration. The shift from one to the other, however, isn’t always as smooth as desired. This is where HP hopes to fill a niche it is helping to build.
Darrow refuses to dismiss the prospects of AWS. The platform has performed well since its launch eight years ago, rolling out new services at an impressive clip. Amazon must know potential clients are eyeing the hybrid cloud model. Should we expect a hybrid option from AWS soon?
Cynthia Murrell, October 17, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Search Engine Patent
October 16, 2013
SearchYourCloud called my attention to the US patent “Search Engine.” The number is US849573. You can snag a copy at the USPTO via its search engine. Be sure to refresh yourself about the USPTO syntax. Simon Bain, the inventor, is now a senior manager at SearchYourCloud. For those who want to keep pace with new methods germane to search, I found the explanation of the query expansion and deduplication processes of interest. You can get more information about SearchYourCloud at this link. Worth a look.
Stephen E Arnold, October 16, 2013
Project Hosts Offers Government Approved Cloud SaaS
October 15, 2013
Security is the primary concern for government agencies when it comes to software. And though Cloud services have really ramped up in recent years, some agencies that work with the government might be leery to use the Cloud for security reasons. However, a new offering by Project Hosts might change that. Read more in the latest article, “Project Hosts Offers SharePoint, CRM on Government-Approved Azure Cloud.”
The article begins:
“Hosting provider Project Hosts is making its software-as-a-service solutions (including Microsoft PPM, SharePoint and Dynamics CRM) available on a Windows Azure cloud infrastructure that meets the necessary security assessments required by US government offices and agencies. Last week, Microsoft announced that Windows Azure had been granted Provisional Authorization to Operate (P-ATO) from the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Joint Authorization Board (JAB).”
A variety of deployments for SharePoint is really essential for increased adoption throughout the enterprise. And while SharePoint continues to be the default solution for enterprise search, there are criticisms. Stephen E. Arnold, of ArnoldIT, is a longtime industry expert in search and a frequent critic of SharePoint. Arnold states that where SharePoint truly misses the mark most often, is in its most basic function, search. In a recent article, Arnold argues that SharePoint 2013 was found unsatisfactory in its basic functions when deployed by many organizations. Stay tuned for the latest SharePoint news and the best advice on how to use it successfully.
Emily Rae Aldridge, October 15, 2013
AddOns Secure SharePoint Cloud Data
October 10, 2013
As more and more information moves to the Cloud, questions arise about how to secure that data. CipherPoint has announced a new Cloud data security solution that hopes to help solve the problem. Read more in the EON article, “CipherPoint Announces Cloud Data Security Solution for SharePoint Online and Office365.”
The article begins:
“With CipherPoint Eclipse™ for SharePoint Online and Office365, organizations can now identify, secure and audit access to sensitive and regulated data stored in cloud collaboration platforms. This new solution provides customers with robust encryption, using industry standard encryption algorithms, access control, audit reporting and customer-controlled encryption keys to address real concerns that large enterprises have about cloud security.”
Stephen E. Arnold, a longtime expert in search and founder of Arnold IT, has frequently noted that while SharePoint is the most widely used enterprise solution, it is not necessarily the highest functioning. Key features are still lacking and it might not be much longer before even the biggest enterprises go looking for other solutions, including open source. Enterprises still using SharePoint often have to supplement with additional add-ons, such as the security solution that CipherPoint now offers.
Emily Rae Aldridge, October 10, 2013
Automation May Be Coming for Predictive Analytics
October 8, 2013
After reading Arxis Cloud’s article, “Prospective Cloud Converts Await Predictive Analytics Advancements” I learned that many businesses are on the edge of cloud deployment, but still have not hightailed it upwards. Some still claim security, service integrity, and scalability as the main reason for holding back, but most of those issues have been fixed. The big problem right now is predictive analytics.
Predictive analytics will be the key player in the future, because it gives companies an insightful, competitive edge needed in today’s market.
“The value of predictive analytics isn’t restricted to any one market segment either. Organizations with complex, globally distributed supply chains (i.e. electronics manufacturers) seem to have the most to gain from staying ahead of the curve, according to EBOnline, but those same core capabilities can also help a startup intelligently ride out its first few quarters. Whether it’s estimating the efficacy of a campaign run through CRM software solutions or conducting what-if analyses through ERP platforms, companies with an advanced view of the future are the ones poised to thrive in it.”
But the algorithms for cloud predictive analytics are complex and involve whole new design requirements. The cloud is seen as the best tool for future, but predictive analytics are even more useful. The analytics component needs to be automated for success, otherwise it will not be a cloudy day for companies.
Whitney Grace, October 08, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Microsoft Gives Users Better Features in Update
October 2, 2013
Microsoft decided it was time to give its SharePoint Cloud users more features, says ZDNet in “Microsoft Raises SharePoint Online Upload Limits To 2 GB, Allows .Exe Uploads.” What is exciting users the most is the upload size has been changed from the miniscule 250 MB to 2 GB. In a world where users are producing more video and image driven content the measly 250 MB could not handle user content. Other updates include an extended period for files in the recycling bin, more file types are supported, and raised limits on site collection and list lookup thresholds.
The update is a big jump for SharePoint Cloud users, who have been working with the equivalent of a basic package for years. While users are happy about the update, there are security concerns will the new file additions:
“Addressing security concerns that could arise from allowing users to upload .exe and .dll files, Microsoft notes that SharePoint will “not execute any arbitrary EXEs or DLLs” uploaded by users from a team site or SkyDrive Pro account. It points out that SharePoint only accepts uploads from authenticated users and has Microsoft’s inbuilt AV engine amongst other layers of defense.”
It is all taken care of nice and neat. Microsoft is looking to improve SharePoint user experience and they are on the right track. Stephen Arnold of Arnold IT, a renowned search expert, wonders how search will be handled with the upgrade. They may need to beef it up just like the other features.
Whitney Grace, October 02, 2013
Microsoft Decides It Is Time To Improve SharePoint Cloud
September 30, 2013
After a long while, Microsoft will update SharePoint Cloud. CRN tells us in the article, “Microsoft Beefs Up Cloud SharePoint With More Storage, Better Management,” that SharePoint Cloud’s upgrade comes as an investment on Microsoft’s part, because it is an important name on its sixteen-billon dollar business list. Microsoft is increasing the file upload size on the Cloud-based storage from 250 MB to 2 GB per file. Also users can now store .exe and .dll files on the Cloud just like they can on a server-based SharePoint installation. The goal is to eliminate sync problems SharePoint users have. Deleted items will stay in the recycle bin for a total of ninety days, instead of thirty.
“With all these changes, Microsoft is closing a gap between SharePoint Online and the on-premise version and opening up SharePoint Online to more users, Matt Scherocman, president of Interlink Cloud Advisors, a Cincinnati-based Microsoft, told CRN.”
Microsoft is giving its users more liberty and flexibility to work across multiple devices. To remain competitive this is the advantage it needs to remain a big league player. Stephen E Arnold of Arnold IT is curious how Microsoft will handle the search aspect of the Cloud. Will it be deployed across the server and the Cloud-based installation? What about security issues if that is the case? The updates are necessary, but it is important to not forget findability.
Whitney Grace, September 30, 2013
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