Training Ideas to Get End Users Understanding SharePoint
February 2, 2012
EndUserSharePoint.com’s Kat Weixel worked with the SharePoint community to build a certification test for team site administrators. The plan details can be read in, “End User Certification: A Test for the Rest of Us.” The community-generated test is not an official Microsoft certification, but it may give just as good insights because it was built by the end user community. Weixel’s goal:
I’m hopeful this will allow IT professionals or others in SharePoint management positions to feel far more comfortable handing out the coveted “full control” of a site. We can ask people to attend training or watch tutorials or read materials…but we can’t easily measure their absorption of all that learning. I think a certification test can really help fill that hole, and I can’t wait to develop it!
It is no doubt that end user training is heading to another level and taking cues from the social and collaboration trends. A certification test could be a handy tool for site administrators looking to get newbies up to speed. However, to really turn your users into power-users in the SharePoint system, you may need more than a Q and A.
To bypass the need for some expensive or time-consuming training, consider a third party solution like Fabasoft Mindbreeze, which extends the capabilities of your SharePoint system. Their Web Parts based information pairing capabilities give you powerful searches and a complete picture of your business information, allowing you to get the most out of your enterprise search investments. And your end users will benefit from the fast and intuitive search with clearly displayed results and simple navigation.
Mindbreeze’s intuitiveness means less training required. They also have tutorials and wikis that are easy to use and more efficient. Here you can browse Mindbreeze’s support tools for users, including videos, FAQs, wikis, and other training options. Check out the full suite of solutions at Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Philip West, February 2, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Protected: Tips for Improving SharePoint Search
February 1, 2012
SharePoint 2010 – Managing File Types and Sizes
February 1, 2012
SharePoint is a broad infrastructure, popular for its ability to handle a broad range of information storage and retrieval needs. However, SharePoint is a business tool and in order to function properly needs to be maintained according to best practices. One such best practice that should be followed in order to maintain efficiency pertains to file types and file sizes. Michal Pisarek with SharePoint Analyst HQ offers his input in, “Managing File Types and Sizes in SharePoint 2010.”
Good SharePoint governance policies will frequently containing operational directives regarding both the type and size of files that can be stored on SharePoint 2010. Being able to control the types of files is essential to any organization to ensure that only the correct type of content is stored within the platform. Many organizations encourage their users to move content to SharePoint, however they do not want users moving their entire iTunes library or video collection to the platform. Another issue is of maximum file size. The ability to control the maximum size of file that can be uploaded to SharePoint is a must for many organizations.
Pisarek goes on to offer helpful suggestions for setting best practices, templates, and standards when it comes to working with end users to set file types and sizes within a SharePoint installation. However, there are third party solutions that make handling files of any type much easier. One solution worth examining is Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise is able to search all data sources connected to the platform simultaneously. In addition to data from, for example, Microsoft Exchange or the file system, the Fabasoft Folio Connector allows to query information objects and documents from Fabasoft Folio too.
Read more about the Fabasoft Folio Connector and how it may help your organization handle files of all types.
Emily Rae Aldridge, February 1, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
PLM the Best Solution for Eliminating Unnecessary Costs
February 1, 2012
As the popularity of product lifecycle management (PLM) grows in this difficult economy there has been a renewed interested in cost effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) associated with the adoption of PLM practices. The article, How to Evaluate PLM Costs and ROI, on TechMatchPRO, breaks down the benefits and risks to adopting PLM.
The article definitely supports companies’ turning to PLM to streamline processes and cut costs including waste at all levels. Of a recent trend that we’ve been particularly interested in lately, the article reported,
“The integration of PLM with other enterprise applications is a definite trend. Integrating PLM applications across the enterprise allows organizations to:
1) Share and reuse product definitions across virtually all aspects of the enterprise
2) Align their systems and processes internally with those of partners, suppliers, dealers, and service providers
3) Make product information more easily available across systems
4) Automate business procedures prone to human error.”
One should pay close attention to their third benefit of PLM integration: make product information more easily available across systems. Within engineering this has been a particular troublesome issue as CAD/CAM data often get left behind during enterprise search. By following the advice of this article and adopting new data management solutions within a larger PLM application companies do better to stave on unnecessary loss due to duplication and man-hours lost to futile searches.
Catherine Lamsfuss, February 1, 2012
Protected: Windows 8 Is on the Way, so is SharePoint 2012
January 31, 2012
Getting the Most out of a New SharePoint Deployment
January 31, 2012
Christian Buckely of Axceler provides some insights on deploying a SharePoint system in your organization, namely what to avoid, for overall collaboration software success. In “Where Not to Begin with SharePoint,” Buckely advises to bypass automating Human Resources activities if you’re looking for big innovation. While automating expense reports or vacation requests is a good playground to learn the SharePoint technologies, getting the most out of your enterprise search investments requires expansion into new business information ground.
Your strategy should be to focus on those areas that will drive value to the business first. Quickly routing expense reports, while wonderful to your accounting team, is not adding tremendous value to your business. Email will work fine for a few more weeks while you focus elsewhere. SharePoint deployments should (like everything else) follow the 80/20 rule: focus your efforts and deliver functionality to the 20% of your organization who will be doing 80% of the workload in SharePoint. Find those teams that **need** productivity solutions, and build to their requirements first.
Identifying the areas in your business that will benefit the most from SharePoint features is a sure way to get the bang for your buck right off the bat. After working on organization needs, you can then focus on providing some ‘want’ features, like automated birthday reminders or vacation request forms.
SharePoint is a powerful platform that continues to grow, but we also know some out-of-the-box features can be lacking. To add rich value to your system while also providing an easier experience for your users, consider an intuitive solution like Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Their out-of-the-box solution gives you information pairing, mobility, and a more powerful search in a user-centered environment:
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise understands you, or more precisely understands exactly what the most important information is for you at any given moment. It’s a center of excellence and simultaneously your personal assistant for all questions. The information pairing technology brings enterprise and Cloud together.
Consider their full suite of products and solutions at Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Philip West, January 31, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Selecting the Right Enterprise Search System for Your Business
January 31, 2012
Companies looking into enterprise solutions will likely be overwhelmed by the variety of options available and may not know the first place to start when considering which product is the right fit for their needs. Susanne Koch’s recent presentation “The Landscape of Enterprise Search” on Pandia.com highlights some of the recent trends in enterprise search and offers advice on how to navigate through the difficult process that is understanding and choosing the appropriate enterprise system for your business. According to Koch:
Recently, many enterprise search vendors have improved the usability, performance, and functionality of their systems.
The presentation discusses several trends that are surfacing in enterprise system development and which vendors are developing these trends. For instance, Koch points out that Endeca is combining structured and unstructured data into their enterprise system to simplify search capabilities, and Microsoft is including integrated social functions to increase searchability.
With so many options available, it’s extremely important for companies to do their due diligence before deciding on an enterprise solution. And take a look that the full presentation for additional information and a suggested list of questions to ask.
As Koch suggests in her presentation:
Allow time and resources to go beyond what you, the buyer, think you want and find out what you really need.
For more information about the study to which Ms. Kock refers, click this link.
Stacey Duwe, January 31, 2012
Freebie
European Conference for PLM Innovation
January 31, 2012
We read about the PLM Innovation 2012 Conference and got a bit excited about the news.
The article lists confirmed speakers from a variety of industries from healthcare to automotives. The topics are bound to provide some very innovative discussions.
The program has mix of keynotes and workshops and other educational events that should broaden the knowledge base. Oleg Shilovitsky will be participating on a panel that discusses the future of business models.
Topics include:
- Open source vs. Proprietary vs. Cloud
- Pros and cons
- Evaluating TCO
- Legal ramifications
So mark your calendars for this February European event. If you prefer to explore some innovative approaches to PLM right now, head over to Inforbix and check out how they are using the iPad for some interesting delivery mechanisms.
Constance Ard, January 31, 2012
Infor Software Introduction Signals PLM Demand Rising
January 30, 2012
There has been a lot of talk recently about the increased need for PLM among all industries but specifically for the consumer packaged good (CPG) industries due to increased and unpredictable materials costs and stricter regulatory compliance standards. A recent article, Infor Accelerates Product Development for Process Manufacturers, on Industry Today, explores how one provider of PLM solutions is making it easier than ever for companies to adopt PLM.
Infor, a leader in the PLM industry, has introduced Infor10 with the hope that the more user-friendly software application will be easier to use and more effective. As the article highlights,
“Infor10 PLM Process offers users the unifying capabilities of Infor10 ION and the consumer-grade user experience of Infor10 Workspace to connect applications in a single, easy-to-use system that simplifies and streamlines business processes providing users direct access to all relevant, real-time data for faster, more intelligent decision making.”
The increased demand and interest for PLM is not surprising as more and more companies are realizing how much money and time will be saved by moving to the cloud. There is, however, more to PLM than just moving data to a cloud and streamlining business processes. At the heart of any great PLM is a great search engine. Data management is worthless if that data cannot be retrieved easily by any employee needing it. New data management solutions not only streamline business processes but make data easier to manage, search, and access.
With the demand for mobile technology PLM software designers are now making strides, and in some cases accomplishing, mobile applications allowing users to access company data from their Smartphones. As PLM continues to explore new ways to connect employees with information and proving to be cost effective, it will be no surprise to see more industries adopting PLM solutions in the near future.
Catherine Lamsfuss, January 30, 2012
Protected: SharePoint Professionals Will Have a Developing Time in San Francisco
January 30, 2012
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