Exchange and SharePoint Server Releases Set for 2015
March 11, 2014
Under Microsoft’s new accelerated release cycle, many were speculating that the next Exchange and SharePoint Server release might occur during 2014. However, Microsoft announced that the newest version of those products would not be made available until sometime next year, 2015. Redmond Magazine gives the details in their story, “Next Exchange and SharePoint Server Products Arriving in 2015.”
The article begins:
“Microsoft won’t ship new releases of Exchange Server or SharePoint Server until sometime next year, the company indicated today. The news comes from Jeff Teper, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of the Office Service and Servers group, in an announcement. Microsoft’s current server releases are Exchange Server 2013 and SharePoint Server 2013. Both of those servers received Service Pack 1 updates last week, so IT pros may be relieved to hear that Microsoft won’t release new products till next year.”
Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime leader in search, and the mastermind behind ArnoldIT.com. He gives SharePoint a good bit of attention, so stay tuned to learn more about how SharePoint managers are adjusting to Service Pack 1. It may provide some foreshadowing for what users can expect in the 2015 release.
Emily Rae Aldridge, March 11, 2014
Social SharePoint Tips from SharePoint Conference 2014
March 10, 2014
The Internet is full of the latest news, announcements, and tips from SharePoint Conference 2014, #SPC14. It seems that Microsoft has decided to lead with all things social, focusing on their integration with Yammer and other social features to improve collaboration. Read more in the CMS Wire article, “Socializing SharePoint #SPC14.”
The article says:
“Since Microsoft acquired Yammer in 2012, it has marched forward with the message of ‘Yammer First.’ The company has encouraged businesses to lead with Yammer whenever possible and promised new integrations that will transform the ways users work together. In two keynotes at the SharePoint Conference yesterday, Microsoft revealed some of the new ways it is integrating Yammer into existing Microsoft tools.”
And the article goes on to describe their takeaways from the sessions. Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime leader in search, and he follows SharePoint, in and out of the conference season. His Web site, ArnoldIT.com, highlights the pros and cons of various search systems. He recognizes that SharePoint is the biggest and broadest, but when it comes to enterprise infrastructure, it is necessary to customize SharePoint in order to reap benefits in user experience.
Emily Rae Aldridge, March 10, 2014
Document Workspace Work Around in SharePoint 2013
March 7, 2014
As with every new version of any software, certain new features are gained while other favorites are potentially lost. However, most clever software aficionados can find a clever work around. That is just the case in the recent Redmond Magazine article, “How To Create a Document Workspace in SharePoint 2013.”
The article begins:
“There is no Workspaces Tab or obvious way to create a sub site based on the Document Workspace in the browser. Or is there…? Let’s take a look. In this article I start with a site collection with the top-level site based on the team site template in my development environment . . . It bears to mention that officially the Document Workspace is listed as one of the features that has been discontinued or modified and the reason listed is that all the functionality is available with the team site template.”
Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime leader in all things search and a frequent contributor to the SharePoint discussion on his Web site, ArnoldIT.com. He has also found that the most satisfied SharePoint users are those who customize and make the most of their implementation. If that means holding on to some favorite features with a little bit of creativity, then that is an added bonus.
Emily Rae Aldridge, March 7, 2014
Planning a SharePoint Deployment
March 6, 2014
While in the back of their minds most people know that SharePoint is a complicated installation process, few are willing or able to prepare for its installation appropriately. But Search Windows Server offers some good reasons for proper planning in their article, “How Simple Planning Can Prevent Common SharePoint Deployment Snags.”
The article elaborates on the problem of a lack of planning for installation:
“It’s possible to install most applications and immediately begin using them, but this isn’t really the case with SharePoint. Even though SharePoint is technically an application, it’s better described as an application framework. SharePoint isn’t something you should simply install and then allow users to immediately begin using — you’ll most likely have problems if you do.”
Stephen E. Arnold has heard this same advice many times and has conveyed it himself through his Web site ArnoldIT.com. His coverage of SharePoint stems from a longtime interest in all things search. His reporting also supports the benefits of planning and proper implementation, as user experience improves when the proper planning is done.
Emily Rae Aldridge, March 6, 2014
Cleaning up SharePoint with Records Management
March 5, 2014
Few people would claim that clean up of any variety is their favorite task, but it seems all the worse when dealing with old SharePoint material. CMS Wire meets the challenge head-on in their recent article, “Clean Up SharePoint Legacy Content.”
The article begins:
“The idea of cleaning up legacy SharePoint content is daunting. Organizations often place cleanup under the ‘Nice to Do’ column as opposed to the ‘Must Do’ column. Why not leverage in-house resources? Legacy SharePoint cleanup is a perfect task for the Records Management (RM) department. Reviewing data and applying retention to it are two of our key responsibilities.”
While devoting resources to cleanup can seem impossible, the fact remains that old or badly organized material that lingers on a SharePoint infrastructure is damaging to workflow and efficiency. Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime leader in search and often covers the intricacies of SharePoint on his Web site, ArnoldIT.com. He finds that a clean, lean infrastructure improves user experience, so a spring-cleaning may be just the right thing for your organization.
Emily Rae Aldridge, March 5, 2014
Microsoft Releases Service Pack 1
March 4, 2014
As with all software, updates and patches are inevitable and necessary. Microsoft subtly rolled out its first for the 2013 suite just this week. Read more in the Redmond Magazine article, “Microsoft Quietly Releases SP1 for Office 2013, Exchange 2013 and SharePoint 2013.”
The article says:
“Later, in a blog post today, Microsoft indicated that SP1 was released for Office 2013, Exchange 2013 and SharePoint 2013. SP1 for Office 2013 can be obtained from the Microsoft Download Center or the Windows Server Update Services catalog or it will get pushed down through Windows Update in ‘the next 30 days.’ Exchange 2013 SP1 and SharePoint 2013 SP1 can be accessed through the Microsoft Download Center.”
Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime leader in search a frequent contributor to SharePoint discussions. Through his information service, ArnoldIT.com, he gives a good perspective on all things search, including the good and bad of SharePoint. Perhaps Service Pack 1 will undo some of the “bad” that has gotten his attention.
Emily Rae Aldridge, March 4, 2014
Windows 8 Integration with SharePoint
March 3, 2014
The switchover to Windows 8 has left many organizations wondering what to do about SharePoint integration. At first glance, native SharePoint support within the new operating system seems negligible. However, a few features reveal themselves upon further inspection. Search Windows Server covers the news in their report, “What’s New for Windows 8 Integration with SharePoint?”
The article says:
“You may have heard that Microsoft made some changes to the File Explorer in Windows 8.1. Libraries are hidden by default and a link to SkyDrive appears in its place. If you choose to unhide the Libraries, you’ll notice that the Libraries folder contains two Documents folders. One of these folders corresponds to the local PC while the other points to SkyDrive. The point behind all of this is that Microsoft is trying to encourage end users to save documents on SkyDrive rather than on their local computer.”
Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime leader in search and often covers SharePoint on his information service, ArnoldIT.com. Arnold has found that whenever new SharePoint versions are released, or a new Windows OS is released, customers have to adjust to the changes, and user experience often suffers. Focusing on the improvements can often help organizations market the new changes.
Emily Rae Aldridge, March 3, 2014
Figuring out SharePoint Licensing Models
February 28, 2014
SharePoint used to be an on-site installation, but as the cloud emerges in all areas of software, it is also becoming a big factor in SharePoint installations. However, it is not always easy for an organization to determine the best installation for their particular situation. Search Content Management addresses the issue in their article, “Making Sense of SharePoint Licensing Models.”
The article begins:
“Just as the seasons change, the Microsoft licensing landscape has undergone shifts. This is especially true as the company transitions to offer ‘services and devices.’ After years of working primarily as a vendor of software that is installed and run on-premises, Microsoft is moving away from, though not yet abandoning, its traditional model. The new model increasingly emphasizes annuity payments for Software as a Service and services.”
Customers can choose from traditional on-site SharePoint, SharePoint in the cloud and Office 365, and Hosted SharePoint. Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime leader in search and follower of the latest SharePoint news. On ArnoldIT.com, he has found that while users are eager to utilize the cloud, security and user experience issues are still holding some organizations back.
Emily Rae Aldridge, February 28, 2014
Top ECM Tips of 2013
February 27, 2014
Although we are a couple of months into 2014, another “year in review” article is still not a bad idea. These provide a good overview of the best tips and tricks to emerge within a time frame. This particular article focuses on SharePoint and Search Content Management offers it up. Read more in, “The Top Enterprise Content Management System Tips of 2013.”
The article begins:
“With the release of the SharePoint 2013 platform . . . companies are considering migration to the new version for their enterprise content management system, but are also exploring SharePoint Online, the cloud-based version of SharePoint in Office 365. Many want the features available in the on-premises version but also the flexibility of SharePoint in the cloud . . . So it’s no surprise that some of the top ECM tips this year concern how to script in SharePoint 2013, new features in SharePoint 2013 and whether to migrate to on-premises SharePoint or whether to consider SharePoint Online.”
The piece then goes on to list the specific pieces of top learning content that can be found on Search Content Management. SharePoint users and managers might also be interested in the content on ArnoldIT.com. Stephen E. Arnold, the site’s mastermind, is a longtime leader in search. His frequent commentary on SharePoint highlights not only the shortcoming and flaws within the program, but more importantly how users are overcoming them.
Emily Rae Aldridge, February 27, 2014
Hashtag Help for SharePoint 2013
February 26, 2014
The latest integration of Yammer and other social aspects into SharePoint 2013 has gotten a lot of attention. However, users are still murky on how to integrate the features in a way that improves productivity. Read some good tips in Network World article, “Hashtag Helper: 7 Tips to get More Value from Hashtags in SharePoint 2013.”
The article says:
“The organizations I’m currently working with are seeing some tremendous value leveraging the social capabilities of SharePoint and Yammer . . . However, explaining and getting value from the use of hashtags has been a little more complicated because they don’t work as expected in some scenarios and the concept of a hashtag is just not universally understood by all of our users. With that in mind, here are a few tips for a recipe I’m calling ‘Hashtag Helper’ based on the practical lessons we’ve learned.”
Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime leader in search and keeps a close eye on SharePoint on his Web site, ArnoldIT.com. His research finds that while users are interested in social integration, many are lost when it comes to how to integrate these features. For that reason, many will find this article timely.
Emily Rae Aldridge, February 26, 2014
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