A Discussion on Private versus Public Cloud in SharePoint
April 20, 2012
In “Private SharePoint Cloud Beats Other Cloud Hosting Options for Enterprises on Price, Practicability,” Jay Atkinson, CEO of AIS Network, discusses public versus private in the Cloud hosting environment. Atkinson suggests that Private SharePoint Cloud “is in.”
He explains,
A private SharePoint cloud is simply more economical and easier to manage for a large organization with security and compliance concerns, Atkinson said. An enterprise SharePoint Server 2010 platform implemented wholly in a private cloud, including the online storage components, exceeds core compliance requirements and surpasses the benefits of a public cloud or hybrid cloud.
With SharePoint 2010 deployed entirely in a private cloud, Atkinson said the customer gets:
- a hosted environment that is exclusively internal to the organization,
- complete control of its servers, security, permissions, policies and customization,
- seamless federation between line-of-business systems and various data sources,
- quick scalability for system resources, and
- the ability to move other core applications and platforms to the same private cloud.
Atkinson is quick to point out, though, that public cloud services are okay and often economical for small to mid-size businesses. Atkinson’s comments may be worth a look to keep in the loop on Cloud trends. But the article is just an introduction and you may want to do a little more research before choosing a Cloud service.
While SharePoint is a powerful and complex system, we know there are limitations when the Cloud is introduced, especially when it comes to search and security. For a Cloud solution in your SharePoint environment, check out Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Here you can read about the power of information pairing:
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise and the Cloud fit perfectly together. The Cloud makes you and your business mobile – Mindbreeze makes itself at home in the Cloud. The intelligent search is available as a Cloud service. This means that you, if you so desire, Mindbreeze can run without any installation whatsoever – we operate the search machine for you. All the data that you manage in the Cloud are made searchable by Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise is therefore also your center of excellence for your knowledge in the Cloud.
Add in certified security with regular audits for security standards compliance, and Mindbreeze connects users to their needed information without compromising information security. Check out the full suite of solutions at Mindbreeze to see what works for you.
More on AIS Network: AIS Network takes businesses to the cloud. Hosting pioneer AISN is a leader in cloud-based hosting for Microsoft SharePoint, SharePoint FIS, SaaS and other mission-critical applications for organizations with demanding security and compliance requirements.
Philip West, April 20, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
A Book Review of Managing Records in SharePoint 2010
April 19, 2012
Mimi Dionne, a records and information management project manager and Consultant/Owner of Mimi Dionne Consulting, reviews a recent Bruce Miller publication in, “Managing Records in SharePoint 2010: An ARMA Report Review.” Bruce Miller’s 93 page book, “Managing Records in SharePoint 2010,” examines the capabilities and limitations of recordkeeping with out-of-the-box SharePoint 2010.
Miller’s report is divided into sections, starting with the use case, assessing record keeping requirements, and key underlying record keeping principles for SharePoint. Then the report shifts to implementing a file plan, folder structure and management, declaration and classification, classification accuracy, disposition, and concludes with recommended best practices and project implementation. Dionne’s review takes a look at all of these sections.
Dionne shares her overall summary:
This is a deeply-considered report that has useful, practical gems of advice scattered throughout. For example, if you’ve never fully considered metadata (beyond Dublin Core), you will find some listed in Appendix B quite valuable. However, blink and you miss them. I wish he had highlighted them better. Investing in Mr. Miller’s report is a wise move by ARMA International. The reader does get very useful advice — his hints on records management in MySites are worth the price of the publication alone — but if you seek a cookbook to teach you how to assemble a SharePoint 2010 Records Center, this is not it.
If you’ve been considering purchasing Bruce Miller’s book, Dionne’s comprehensive review may be worth a look. If you’re looking to save time and resources spent on training materials, consider a third party solution, like Fabasoft Mindbreeze, to round out your SharePoint system.
Mindbreeze can also help you connect the dots in your SharePoint adoption. The Fabasoft Folio Connector integrates all your business information from the intranet, Cloud, internet, and knowledge portals in the corporate-wide search, while maintaining your strict access rights by integrating all information objects, including metadata. The Microsoft SharePoint Connector connects the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server to Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise and enables the search for documents stored in that application. With Mindbreeze, users can easily search and reuse information from documents, contacts, projects, Wiki articles, conference agendas, and more.
Philip West, April 19, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Thinking of End Users when Implementing Enterprise Search Solutions
April 18, 2012
We recently wrote about selling search internally to your boss. Karen Lynn looks at the flip-side of that discussion in, “Selling Search Internally – Part 2 – How to Get Buy In from the Staff.” Lynn points out that enterprise search investments can be an expensive endeavor, so be sure to include all stakeholders, especially end users, in the planning process to be sure you’re spending the resources on a solution that will be adopted. If your end users do not like the solution, don’t expect it to be used.
Lynn explains,
If they have input to its overall features and design, they will be more invested in using it. Involving users manufactures all kinds of good-will collateral that can help develop better morale and a positive workplace. Doing this early in the process also introduces change more slowly to users–and people rarely react well to lots of radical change. Making them a part of the process and doing it early with lots of prepping for change can affect overall satisfaction rates with the search implementation after it’s complete.
The author also stresses the importance of a training program. Implementation is by no means the last step in the deployment process. Lynn makes some valuable points and we agree that end users hold a valuable seat at the enterprise search round table. Training end users is a good opportunity to share how the search solution can help in day to day tasks, which is helpful for encouraging the adoption of new technologies.
One way to make the process easier is by deploying an easy to install solution that is end user friendly and offers comprehensive training and support. We like the feedback we’ve seen from customers of Fabasoft Mindbreeze. The Salzburg City Council of Austria had this to say about implementing Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise for their 900 users to better manage the 10,500 new documents that come in daily:
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise makes our everyday work easier. Obtaining relevant information fast is something we now take for granted and it has become a key feature of our work and our approach to it. Above all our citizens benefit from it. They receive their information much faster.
Read more about Fabasoft Mindbreeze benefits for end users, including mobility and Cloud searching, at http://www.mindbreeze.com/.
Philip West, April 18, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Suggestions for Talking Search Solutions with your Boss
April 17, 2012
Karen Lynn presents a frustrating and all-too-familiar information overload story that staff and management often experience – tirelessly searching for emails, invoices, reports, product numbers, and more with little or no avail. You can read Lynn’s comments in, “Selling Search Internally – Part 1 – How to Get Buy-In from Your Boss.”
Lynn says that a powerful search overcomes this roadblock in the work process. Faster services to customers, less staff frustration, and higher productivity can all be results of an efficient search system. But maybe you know the needed solution as a staff member; however, your boss is not yet on board.
Lynn has this to say:
But how do you convince the boss that your company would benefit in an investment in search technology? This is the tricky part for many managers inside organizations. Search is hard, and often expensive. Here are the main points you should make with your boss.
- Search isn’t a box, it’s an engine
- Search makes money / saves money = bottom line results
- Sharing information promotes better decision making, faster response time
- Search will give your organization a competitive edge in a cutthroat marketplace
We know the value of a powerful search engine in the enterprise. But Lynn takes a refreshing and pragmatic approach to implementing the first part of the solution – getting your co-workers and bosses interested in enterprise search investments.
Lynn also suggests that if you bring the search problem to your boss, also bring a solution. One we like is Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise. Mindbreeze Enterprise Search lets you . . .
. . . be well informed – quickly and accurately. The data often lies distributed across numerous sources. Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise gains each employee two weeks per through focused finding of data (IDC Studie). An invaluable competitive advantage in business as well as providing employee satisfaction.
When discussing the problem and solution with your boss, Lynn advises giving real examples to back up your suggestions for improvement. To go with your real work examples of the problem, add boundless data search and clearly structured search results as just two of the solution’s benefits worth mentioning to coworkers and management. Read more at http://www.mindbreeze.com/.
Philip West, April 17, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Branding a SharePoint 2010 Infrastructure
April 16, 2012
Frequent SharePoint author, Yaroslav Pentsarskyy has authored a new book, SharePoint 2010 Branding in Practice: A Guide for Web Developers. Pentsarskyy contends there are few guides or best practices for how to implement branding in SharePoint 2010, and yet branding is an important marketing priority for any organization. PR News gives more details in the story, “New Guide Helps Developers Implement Branding Concepts.”
“‘My book explores how to brand collaboration sites as well as publishing sites,’ says Pentsarskyy. ‘It also demonstrates how you can brand sites that are hosted not only on a dedicated server but on a shared infrastructure in a cloud.’ Written for web developers or user interface developers who already know CSS, JavaScript and HTML, the book discusses publishing masterpage structure, applying common design artifacts and settings on existing specialized sites, publishing page layout structure, applying branding to SharePoint list views and much more.”
Pentsarskyy is right, branding and presentation is important for both your internal structure and your external appearance. However, there may be an easier solution than struggling through a SharePoint customization process. Fabasoft Mindbreeze is a smart third-party solution with a number of integrating components to improve an enterprise infrastructure.
Consider Fabasoft Mindbreeze InSite. Requiring no installation, configuration, or maintenance, an organization can improve the efficiency and appearance of their external websites.
“An attractive website serves as an effective digital business card. Surprise your website visitors with an intuitive search.”
To satisfy employees and internal users, Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise is service-oriented and cost-effective. End users are pleased with the intuitive interface.
“Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise finds every scrap of information within a very short time, whether document, contract, note, e-mail or calendar entry, in intranet or internet, person- or text-related. The software solution finds all required information, regardless of source, for its users. Get a comprehensive overview of corporate knowledge in seconds without redundancy or loss of data.”
Pentsarskyy’s book is no doubt informative, and readers will learn a great deal about how SharePoint branding can be achieved through customization. However, for users who need less investment and more return, Fabasoft Mindbreeze might be just the solution to consider.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 16, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Enterprise Search Finds a Place in Higher Education
April 13, 2012
Enterprise search is no longer a fad, but a business and organizational necessity. Other information technology programs in higher education are not specific enough to address the intricacies of enterprise, so enterprise is being added to the curriculum. The San Francisco Chronicle reports in, “Microsoft SharePoint 2010 and OneNote 2010 Added as Electives for MOS Master Certification.”
“Microsoft SharePoint and OneNote are both integral parts of the MOS 2010 certification suite – the world’s most recognized, standards-based credential chosen by individuals seeking to validate their skills on Microsoft Office. MOS 2010 is the next generation of Microsoft’s industry-leading business certification program that accounts for the delivery of over one million certification exams annually.”
While the certification is offered through Microsoft, outside the confines of traditional higher education, it is a validation of the importance the industry places on enterprise and SharePoint knowledge.
While everyone is made better by increased knowledge and understanding, we wonder if the training is necessary for everyone or if it most users could instead consider the addition of a third-party solution to make enterprise simpler. Fabasoft Mindbreeze is one such third-party offering. Their suite of solutions is optimized for user experience, efficiency, and simplicity.
Hermann Löberbauer of Ferngas AG (Austria) offers the following endorsement of Fabasoft Mindbreeze products:
“We have been using Mindbreeze for fast information search since 2005, starting with the desktop version for individual workstations. Now we use the Enterprise Search solution throughout the company. Our knowledge base currently comprises more than 10 million documents from various data sources, plus the captured metadata. Finding the relevant information in file systems or Microsoft Exchange without Mindbreeze would be very time consuming.”
Training is good, but sometimes costly. Consider taking an easier way out and explore smart third-party offerings from Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 13, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Complexities of Enterprise Search
April 12, 2012
As more enterprise options flood the market, one would expect the task of tackling enterprise search to be simplified, but it has not been the case. Alan Pelz-Sharpe dives into the complexities of enterprise search infrastructure in the aptly named, “Enterprise Search Is Not Easy.” Three major players dominate the search market: Google, Microsoft, and Apache Lucene. However, a big ship can be hard to turn:
“The enterprise search market can well be described as ‘slow moving.’ Though the names change over the years, the underlying technology remains much as it was a decade ago. On the one hand, this is a positive thing because it has delivered mature, scalable, well-tested offerings that generally work well. On the other hand, we have search engines that continue to fall short of end users’ expectations (no matter how unrealistic those expectations may be). As has become the norm, expectations are set largely by Internet search experiences via the likes of Google and Bing – a very different search paradigm with few of the necessary restrictions or challenges of enterprise search.”
So if employees are truly end-users, and demand a good user experience for their enterprise appliance, how does an organization choose the right fit? Pelz-Sharpe weighs in again:
“For IT managers faced with updating or replacing existing search technology, I advise you to look at the different options available; it’s not just a two or three-horse race. There are many interesting options to explore from vendors including Endeca, Vivisimo, dtSearch and Exalead, each with differing strengths and weaknesses. Whichever option you finally decide upon, if your ultimate goal is to provide a single point for search within your organization, do not underestimate the complexity and potential cost of your project.”
We would add another up-and-coming industry success story to the list of third-party vendors above, Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Many customers offer their recommendation for Mindbreeze, especially regarding its flawless Cloud capabilities. Wolf Hengstberger of ADV Austria says:
“As head of IT and organization at ADV, I found the solution particularly impressive. After registering for the service on the Mindbreeze website, we immediately received the necessary embed code for the integration in our website. The search was available straight away. Exactly what I expect a contemporary modern Cloud service to be: Quick. Flexible. Easy.”
Check out the suite of enterprise and search solutions offered by Fabasoft Mindbreeze and see if they can simplify the complexities of enterprise for your organization.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 12, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
New Book Helps Organizations Increase the Value of SharePoint
April 11, 2012
Frequent SharePoint blogger and author Christian Buckley has co-authored a book devoted to SharePoint 2010. Market Watch provides full details in, “Axceler Product Evangelist Christian Buckley Co-Authors New Book on Microsoft SharePoint 2010.”
“Christian Buckley, Director of Product Evangelism and a Microsoft SharePoint Server MVP, has co-authored a new book titled, ‘Microsoft SharePoint 2010: Creating and Implementing Real-World Projects.’ Buckley and co-authors Jennifer Mason, Brian T. Jackett, and Wes Preston help readers build effective business solutions with Microsoft SharePoint 2010 by following repeatable business analysis and design principles from real-world projects. This hands-on book, published by Microsoft Press, focuses on a different business scenario in each chapter, using a standard template to guide the reader through the solution-building process from start to finish. Readers can also learn how to utilize SharePoint out of the box to develop a corporate intranet, a media hub, a system to support distributed teams, and solutions to many other scenarios.”
Buckley often focuses his efforts on getting the most out of a SharePoint deployment, knowing that most organizations will not be satisfied with its out-of-the-box functionality. This book will no doubt improve the quality of life for many a SharePoint developer.
However, we wonder if there is not a simpler solution. Third-party solutions like those offered by Fabasoft Mindbreeze provide a seamless and intuitive add-on to an existing SharePoint installation. Bringing together semantic pairing, mobile capabilities, and a scalable solution for the Cloud or an on-site installation, Fabasoft Mindbreeze can save organizations from the cost of customization suggested by Buckley.
“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.”
The more information, the better, and Buckley’s book is worth a read. However, do not neglect smart third-party options like Fabasoft Mindbreeze when analyzing the customization needs of your organization.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 11, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Microsoft Watched and Learned as Markets Matured Over the Years
April 10, 2012
There are currently over 125 million SharePoint users and the goal is to reach 500 million with next release of Office. It is clear SharePoint is a ubiquitous system that continues to grow. And with consumers driving social and mobile demands, it is clear that SharePoint, and all of enterprise search, needs to keep up with the growing demand. Jeff Shuey continues the SharePoint mobile and social discussion in his post, “Social SharePoint – An Oxymoron?”
Shuey had this to say,
I wrote a post in 2009 asking — Is Microsoft late to the game? The answer then was yes. However, over the last few years the market has matured and Microsoft has watched and learned. They have taken the long standing Microsoft mantra of Any Place, Any Device and Any Time and have applied some SharePoint salve to it. As the Forbes article states … Microsoft is in a prime position to make it happen.
This is by no means the first discussion on social demands in the enterprise search world, but Shuey does add another interesting level to the discussion by bringing in other sources, like Forbes, and quotes and expert opinions.
Collaboration and social technology development is inevitable as business gets social. To tap into the new possibilities now without having to wait for a new release, consider a third party solution to complete your enterprise search system. We like Fabasoft Mindbreeze. The Mindbreeze solution:
. . . smoothly integrates itself into your website so that the user doesn’t even realize that Cloud services are working in the background. Furthermore, InSite always knows what a user is interested in. Navigation behavior on the website serves as the basis for recognizing their interests. If the user finds themselves on one of your sub-pages on the topic mobility for example, even at this level Fabasoft Mindbreeze InSite still displays further information such as blogs, news, Wikipedia etc. on the relevant topic.
Check out the full suite of solutions at Mindbreeze to see what works for you.
Philip West, April 10, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Building Community and Improving Search
April 9, 2012
Christian Buckley at AIIM maintains that improving search is not just about improving the methods and the systems, but about improving the community. He lays out his argument in, “Stop Complaining and Improve Your Search.”
As with any successful online or offline community, the SharePoint community continues to grow and evolve as the collective unconscious of its members grows and evolves. As new ideas and community members join, they add to the dialog and to the content of the community. In some cases, old ideas are purged, but in most cases they simply add to the perspectives and content already out there. This makes finding content and identifying expertise more difficult. The wrong thing is to say ‘we need to reduce the amount of content’ or ‘there are too many opinions here.’ Limit the sample size of your query, and you limit the quality of the results you will find.
A strong community does strengthen enterprise search solutions and options. In fact, we would argue that the third-party solutions surrounding SharePoint have done more to improve SharePoint itself than perhaps any other factor. Many of these add-ons can also stand alone, and all seek to increase the efficiency of the search and improve the user experience.
One that we particularly like is Fabasoft Mindbreeze, with its suite of complimentary and smart search solutions. Mindbreeze has built quite a community around its products as well, with numerous customers trading ideas and success stories. Additionally, Fabasoft Mindbreeze offers support through tutorials, wikis, phone assistance, and one-on-one training sessions. You can use these tools to create your own local Mindbreeze community, increasing the effectiveness of this intuitive solution.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 9, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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