Potential Mobile Collaboration for SharePoint
October 21, 2014
Lots of pieces are coming together to drive the mobilization of Microsoft SharePoint: iOS, Microsoft Office 365, and Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite. But is this a good thing? Will it be of value to organizations? FierceMobileIT tackles some of those questions in their recent article, “Does SharePoint offer mobile collaboration opportunities?”
The article begins by referencing an interview with Yaacov Cohen:
“Tech Republic‘s Will Kelly visited the topic in a recent article, speaking with Yaacov Cohen, CEO of harmon.ie, a collaboration tools vendor, for his reality check on how enterprise mobility, SharePoint and Office 365 are currently working together . . . ‘Cohen sees iPad dominance in the Enterprise 2000 market and the executive world as a tremendous opportunity for SharePoint, which has been suffering from a lack of acceptance at the executive level,’ the article notes.”
Stephen E. Arnold has made a career out of following all things search. He reports his findings via ArnoldIT.com and many end users and managers look to his reporting for the latest news, tips, and tricks. SharePoint gets a good share of his attention and those interested in learning more will benefit from keeping an eye on his SharePoint feed.
Emily Rae Aldridge, October 21, 2014
Microsoft Delve A Useful Spy
October 16, 2014
Microsoft is adding a new big data piece to its Office 365 lineup. And in a bit of a change of direction for the company, Microsoft has sought to make this element aesthetically pleasing as it points out patterns of likes and dislikes. Read more about Microsoft Delve in the InfoWorld article, “Microsoft’s Delve: The Office 365 Spy You Just Might Love.”
The article says:
“Microsoft’s Delve is an intriguing new offering for Office 365 business customers. Previously known as Oslo, Delve brings a concierge, Instragram-like pulse to business environments, as curated by Office Graph, sophisticated machine-learning technology that maps relationships between people, content, and activity across Office 365 accounts. Delve pulls content from within your organization’s OneDrive, SharePoint, and Yammer accounts, serving it up to users in a card-based interface reminiscent of Pinterest.”
The verdict is still out as to how helpful the product will really be in the business environment. It does behave without existing permissions, only showing users that which they are granted permission to see. Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime leader in search and reports on the latest news in his SharePoint feed. Since Delve may have helpful implications for SharePoint, keep an eye on ArnoldIT.com for all the latest tips and tricks.
Emily Rae Aldridge, October 16, 2014
Microsoft Dives into End User Insights with Delve
October 14, 2014
Delve is a new offering from Microsoft which allows for integrated content all in one place, which hopefully facilitates discovery of helpful information. Read more in the Forbes article, “Microsoft Delivers End User Insights With Delve.”
The article begins:
“Big data is an awesome term but, frankly, it’s something that is hard for most people to grasp. This is in part due to the fact that there aren’t many particularly good examples of big data being presented to end users in a way which is simple and which extend an existing offering. Microsoft Delve is one such offering, and one which front and centre shows the value to be gained from big data.”
Overall, Delve is viewed as a useful tool, and one that looks pretty cool at the same time. It will take a bit more time to see what the final verdict is in terms of usefulness, particularly for Microsoft users who have already poured a lot of energy into their SharePoint implementation. This may be a helpful add-on. Stay tuned to the SharePoint feed on ArnoldIT.com. Stephen E. Arnold is a long time expert in search and reports on SharePoint news, tips, and tricks, that may be helpful for your organization.
Emily Rae Aldridge, October 14, 2014
SharePoint Users Remain with Older Versions
October 9, 2014
Although SharePoint 2013 and Office 365 have been all the rage in the blogosphere, it turns out that a relatively large percentage of users remain with older versions of SharePoint. CMS Wire covers the phenomenon in their latest article, “SharePoint Users Stick with Older Versions, Eye Hybrid Cloud #SPTechCon.”
The article begins:
“When we caught up in Boston a year ago with SharePoint Technology Conference Chair David Rubinstein, SharePoint 2013, Office 365 capabilities and mobile were all the rage. Same conference, next year at the Boston Park Plaza hotel? The cloud. SharePoint Online. When’s the big move coming? The truth is, for most organizations — at least those among the 1,000 at the conference this week — they’re still flying in 2010 and even 2007 air space when it comes to SharePoint technology.”
Stephen E. Arnold devotes a lot of attention to SharePoint on his Web service, ArnoldIT.com. He reports that most users find SharePoint to be overwhelming and somewhat hard to navigate. It is no wonder that once an organization makes peace with its current implementation (no doubt costing considerable time and resources) they are less than eager to leave it behind for new features that may cause great headaches. His SharePoint feed provides a lot of tips, tricks, and news regarding SharePoint, and may be helpful for anyone considering making the upgrade leap.
Emily Rae Aldridge, October 09, 2014
Microsoft Expands Software Bug Bounty Program
October 7, 2014
Microsoft has long sponsored a bug bounty program to keep an eye on potential vulnerabilities in its software. This vigilance is especially helpful for the large, hulking SharePoint program and its multitude of potential loopholes. Read more in the V3.CO.UK article, “Microsoft Offers Cash for Outlook, Office365, SharePoint, and Yammer Bugs.”
The article begins:
“Microsoft has expanded the remit of its bug bounty programme to include Outlook, Office365, Sharepoint, Lync, Windows.net, Microsoftonline.com and Yammer. The expansion means bug hunters that spot flaws that could be used for cross-site scripting (XSS), cross-site request forgery (CSRF), cross-tenant data tampering, insecure direct object references, remote code injection, server-side code execution, privilege escalation, and security misconfigurations will receive a minimum payment of $500.”
Stephen E. Arnold has devoted his career to all things search, including a strong focus on SharePoint. At ArnoldIT.com, he gives a lot of attention to the potential shortcomings of SharePoint, knowing that end users and managers alike have a good deal of trouble navigating the overwhelming platform. His SharePoint feed is a good place to find news about bugs and fixes, as well as tips related to getting the most of any organization’s SharePoint implementation.
Emily Rae Aldridge, October 07, 2014
A Detailed Look at SharePoint 2013
September 25, 2014
If you’re looking to pull back the curtain on SharePoint, check out “Deep-Dive of Search in SharePoint 2013, Office 365 and SharePoint Online ‘From the Trenches’” at the EPCGroup’s blog. That company has been implementing SharePoint & Office 365 hybrids for years, and is highly regarded by many SharePoint analysts. The introduction to the detailed article tells us:
“In this blog post, EPC Group’s Sr. Search Architects will cover the key service applications and services that power SharePoint 2013, Office 365 and SharePoint Online’s search to enable your organization’s data to easily be found on-demand as well to enable the accuracy of your search results.”
The first section lists SharePoint’s search applications and related services, and notes some things to keep in mind. For example, both “federated search” and “scopes” are now known as “result sources.” Also, a default crawl account must be established; the post explains:
“In order for search to properly work, the SharePoint 2013 Search service must configure a default crawl account which is also referred to as the default content access account. This account must be an active, Active Directory Domain Services domain account. This account should not be setup as an individual or a specific person in IT as EPC Group has seen SharePoint search issues caused by this account being deactivated and an entire organization’s SharePoint search cease to work until the account issue was resolved.”
The article delves into detail on the platform’s components: Search, Crawl, Content Processing, Analytics Processing, Search Administration, Search Index, Search Query, and Search Diagnostics. The flow charts and bulleted lists make this an easy resource to reference; I’d recommend bookmarking to anyone who has a SharePoint system to maintain.
Cynthia Murrell, September 25, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Automating Data with SharePoint to Boost Efficiency
September 25, 2014
Automating data with SharePoint in order to save cost and time is the subject of an upcoming webinar, “SharePoint Automates EHS Programs: Easy, Flexible, Powerful.” Occurring October 1st, the free webinar focuses on how environmental, health, and safety managers can streamline data collection, processing, and reporting. Read the details in the article, “Automate EHS Data Collection & Reporting with Microsoft SharePoint to Save Time & Cost is Subject of October 1st Webinar.”
The press release says:
“Environmental, health and safety programs require the ongoing routine tasks of data collection, data processing, data analysis, corrective action tracking, and report generation. The essentially manual and time-consuming process places a significant strain on already stretched EHS resources. However, with the use of Microsoft SharePoint — already available in many companies and institutions — EHS managers can automate these tasks to cut both processing time and costs.”
Stephen E. Arnold has a vested interest in SharePoint news and events. His career is focused on following the latest in search, and he makes his findings available via ArnoldIT.com. His SharePoint feed is particularly helpful for users who need to keep up with the latest SharePoint news, tips, and tricks.
Emily Rae Aldridge, September 25, 2014
Boost Productivity by Boosting SharePoint Performance
September 23, 2014
Users are always looking for ways to get increased functionality out of their SharePoint deployments. A recent Virtual Strategy article relays some good advice from enterprise executives. Read all the details in the article, “Increasing Employee Productivity by Boosting Microsoft SharePoint Performance.”
The article begins:
“SharePoint 2013 has the IT community abuzz with new features like co-authoring of SharePoint documents and OneDrive for business in addition to more than 100 new features and capabilities driving strong interest as customers continue to expand the role of this collaboration tool in their organizations.”
The author goes on to relay conversations with he had with enterprise executives regarding the connection they see between SharePoint performance and worker productivity. Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime leader in search and he also reports on SharePoint on his Web site, ArnoldIT.com. His SharePoint feed is full of helpful news, tips, and tricks to help all levels of users navigate the intricacies of SharePoint.
Emily Rae Aldridge, September 23, 2014
SharePoint Video Training Course Offered
September 18, 2014
For most SharePoint administrators and users, a good deal of training is needed to navigate the massive and sometimes tricky platform. One-off webinars are plentiful, but sometimes a more in-depth training option is needed. Virtual Strategy Magazine highlights a new video training course in their article, “CBT Nuggets Announces Microsoft SharePoint Training Course.”
The article begins:
“CBT Nuggets announces the release of a new video training course, ‘Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Collaboration Expert.’ In this 13-video course, CBT Nuggets trainer Brian Alderman covers key operations that can be performed by users with editing permissions in SharePoint. Topics covered include list configuration settings, working with workflows, SharePoint social options, and more.”
Stephen E. Arnold has made a career out of following and reporting on all things search on his Web site ArnoldIT.com. His SharePoint work is highlighted on his SharePoint feed. For all levels of users, his tips and tricks can provide helpful assistance in navigating the difficulties of SharePoint.
Emily Rae Aldridge, September 18, 2014
BA Insight New Hire Likes His Job
September 17, 2014
Navigate to “My BA Insight Enterprise Search Adventure Begins.” The enthusiasm, confidence, and Super Bowl winning attitude rips off my screen. With new executive and venture funding, BA Insight seems to be a go to solution. But is the company too closely allied with Microsoft and the aging SharePoint product? Will the forthcoming Delve (a variation on the vision for Fast Search & Transfer revealed during a talk at CERN in 2007) put pressure on the SharePoint centric outfits? I just don’t know.
Here’s the passage I find interesting. I did not have one of the goslings “fix up” the capitalization errors or add links.
As I’ve been ramping up I’ve been learning a lot about their products and solutions. BA Insight use to be known as the connector company. The BA Insight Longitude Connectors can connect Microsoft SharePoint to more than 30 enterprise systems for information access and cross-platform search. They have so many connectors that allow SharePoint 2013, 2010, FAST and previous versions of SharePoint connect to a huge variety of backend systems. Here are a few examples: Documentum, eRooms, Websphere, Hummingbird, LiveLink, SAP, Siebel, Notes, Autonomy, FileNet, Connections, Opentext, SalesForce, Netdocs, SQL, Docushare, and a bunch of different legal systems… I heard they recently setup a connector for Jive and are open to building a connector for companies that need one to other systems not listed. Even with all of that, I find they don’t want to be known as simply a connector company since they really have a platform for enterprise search. The autoclassify stuff is brilliant. It helps set properties on your content based on your managed metadata and with a set of rules for both content already in SharePoint and for the content that will stay in these other systems. You really need to have good metadata so you can drill down and filter your search results quickly and easily and that’s where their rich search UI comes in providing search parts that give you the ability to drill in without needing to know boolean search. At that point it’s the smart previews that save you time. On top of the Office Web Apps in SharePoint 2013, you get previews for PDF, ZIP, and a huge variety of other formats including the old office formats that you’d otherwise miss including to all of those systems I mentioned. There’s even more, but I think this is a good start for understanding a few of the top products. As an example they’ve been doing some really innovative work on hybrid search and real federation where the results are in one stream.
My question is, “Why would anyone use SharePoint when BA Insight can fill the bill as “enterprise search experts”? I think Fast Search had a good sense of what it had to do to address the limitations of its technology. The question is, “Will Microsoft want partners to siphon off revenue from the mother ship?”
Stephen E Arnold, September 17, 2014
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