LeadFerret Publishes SharePoint Directory
December 5, 2013
With the growing complexity of enterprise search, SharePoint is of course growing more and more complicated. Enterprises struggle to find the best implementation and the best means of customization. In order to meet that need, many are turning to enterprise experts. LeadFerret is hoping to connect organizations with appropriate experts. Their efforts are discussed in the NewsDay article, “LeadFerret Publishes Directory of SharePoint Professionals.”
The article begins:
“LeadFerret users already enjoy free access to over 15+ million business contacts with complete information, including email addresses, social media links, and a robust set of search tools. Today LeadFerret announced the release of a specialized directory of SharePoint Professionals which allows users to search and see full contact information for them.”
SharePoint experts are in demand because of the growing complexities of SharePoint, but also because of the growing options for SharePoint customization and add-on solutions. Stephen E. Arnold is a long-time leader in search. He offers world-class advice and expertise on ArnoldIT.com as well as a subscription service, Honk, for effortless industry news at your fingertips.
Emily Rae Aldridge, December 5, 2013
Add On Support Continued for SharePoint 2010
December 4, 2013
While many enterprises were eager to make the update to SharePoint 2013, others were reluctant. For that reason, many supplemental vendors who offer SharePoint add-ons decided to continue support for SharePoint 2010. Extedo added their name to that list. Market Wired covers their news in the latest release, “EXTEDO Releases Extended SharePoint 2010 Support.”
The release begins:
“EXTEDO, a key Regulatory Information Management solutions provider for life sciences firms, today announced the release of a new SharePoint 2010 connector for its regulatory submission management solution eCTDmanager. EXTEDO’s eCTDmanager is an off-the-shelf electronic submission management solution that satisfies requirements for eCTD, NeeS, eCopy, DMF, ASMF, and many other submission structures. Users can build and review submissions, add, edit and delete elements or even set hyperlinks and comments at any time during the submission compilation.”
There are a lot of decisions that go into running an enterprise, especially when it comes to document management and enterprise search. Knowing the supplemental vendors that offer support is a great benefit, but having a one-stop shop for the latest in all things enterprise search is even better. Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime expert in search, and his Web presence, ArnoldIT gives a lot of attention to SharePoint and other enterprise options. Keeping an eye on ArnoldIT is a good way to stay informed without all of the hard work.
Emily Rae Aldridge, December 4, 2013
SharePoint Planning with Office 365
December 3, 2013
SharePoint is perhaps the most expansive software that an organization will implement. At the same time, SharePoint touches almost every member of an organization. So when changes happen with SharePoint, anxiety is a given. CMS Wire covers the latest cause of concern, and gives a few reasons to relax, in their article, “‘Have it Your Way’ SharePoint: Two Paths, Many Options.”
The article begins:
“Many of the conversations I’ve had over the last year were filled with questions and concerns about the future of SharePoint and what the addition of Office 365 would bring to the mix. Microsoft answered some of these questions late last week and provided some insight into its plans going forward. With this information, organizations can breathe a little easier and plan a little better for the future.”
And planning is central to an enterprise search implementation, regardless of the software chosen. Stephen E. Arnold has made a longtime career out of critiquing the landscape of enterprise search. Follow him at ArnoldIT to keep up with the latest in the field and make your plans for the future of your enterprise.
Emily Rae Aldridge, December 3, 2013
Vizit Announces SharePoint 2013 Enhancements
December 2, 2013
There is a growing landscape of SharePoint add-ons that provide increased functionality as well as ease of use. Vizit throws its name into the ring with their new release of Vizit Essential. PR Web offers the latest in their article, “Vizit Announces Essential SharePoint 2013 Enhancements.”
The article begins:
“Vizit a leading provider of solutions that enhance SharePoint usability, search, and document reviews announces improved PDF, Email, and SharePoint 2013 Document Library support for its leading SharePoint add-on solution, Vizit Essential™. Vizit continues to build on its legacy of making SharePoint more usable through efficient file previewing and viewing by adding PDF bookmarking support to Vizit Essential.”
There is a definite market for add-ons such as the one offered by Vizit. As SharePoint increases its scope and breadth, customers have to look elsewhere for customization and depth. It is an old rule that you cannot be all things to all people. But SharePoint serves as a good base and customers are increasingly comfortable looking elsewhere for special needs. Steven E. Arnold is a longtime leader in search and a SharePoint watcher. His Web service, Beyond Search, is a good way to track the latest in all things enterprise search, including new add-ons.
Emily Rae Aldridge, December 2, 2013
Customization Increases SharePoint Adoption
November 29, 2013
SharePoint is known as a large unwieldy platform and research has now proven that customization options increase SharePoint satisfaction. CMS Wire reports the latest in their story, “Enabling Customization Increases SharePoint User Adoption.”
The article begins:
“Enabling business users to customize SharePoint is good for companies. If that seems unlikely, a Dimensional Research report commissioned by Dell supports this claim. According to the report, almost all of those surveyed (98 percent) said customization by business users is desirable. The report, The Impact of DIY SharePoint – How User Empowerment Drives Adoption, outlines the results of a survey of 203 people responsible for the administration, development, technical oversight or business ownership of Microsoft SharePoint in companies with more than 100 employees.”
But how to customize remains the question. SharePoint 2013 does support more customization options, but many organizations are choosing third party add-ons for more out-of-the-box functionality. Stephen E. Arnold, a longtime leader in search, follows SharePoint news with his information service, ArnoldIT.com. Stay tuned for the latest customization options, including in-house and third party.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 29, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Hating SharePoint Less by Achieving More
November 28, 2013
While SharePoint is arguably one of the most widely adopted pieces of software to ever exist, it is also arguably responsible for the most pain and suffering. It is a dramatic irony. Information Week acknowledges and tackles the issue in their article, “Microsoft SharePoint: 7 Ways To Achieve More.”
The article begins:
“Among major enterprise technology products, Microsoft’s SharePoint is something of a Catch 22. On one hand, surveys routinely conclude that around 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies use the platform. But despite widespread adoption, surveys also find a lot of dissatisfaction; according to two Forrester reports released last month, between 50 percent and 60 percent of SharePoint users dislike it. This dissonance is striking.”
The article goes on to list several ways to make SharePoint more usable and less frustrating. However, there are organizations that are giving up on SharePoint and looking elsewhere. Stephen E. Arnold of ArnoldIT.com has covered the world of enterprise search for decades. Lately his attention has turned to SharePoint add-ons and alternatives. Keep an eye on his SharePoint information stream to keep up with the latest.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 28, 2013
DIY SharePoint Site Usability
November 27, 2013
There is always enough SharePoint chatter to keep enterprise experts at every level occupied. And a current popular topic of conversation is SharePoint usability. CMS Wire continues the conversation in their article, “The Missing Link in SharePoint Site Usability.”
The author writes:
“The topic of SharePoint site usability never grows old. With every new version of SharePoint that comes out, Microsoft has touted that it is extremely intuitive and easy to use, and judging from the number of licenses sold, many organizations seem to have bought into this myth. What they are not told is what it actually takes to make SharePoint sites user-friendly.”
Customization, customization, customization. That’s what it takes to make SharePoints sites user-friendly. And customization is costly. Most people just can’t make do anymore with a bare bones SharePoint implementation. Organizations are looking to third party add-ons to round out their installation. Stephen E. Arnold, a longtime enterprise expert and man behind ArnoldIT.com, relays this message frequently. Stay tuned to ArnoldIT for ways to enhance or replace a SharePoint implementation, depending on your organization’s needs.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 27, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
SharePoint Over the Years
November 26, 2013
SharePoint has come a long way since its inception in 2001 with SharePoint Portal Server. And while many criticize SharePoint for not being able to keep up with the times, it has made progress over the years. Chris McNulty of CMS Wire covers the history of SharePoint in his article, “SharePoint 2013, This Old House Style – Moving In and Living Together.”
McNulty says:
“SharePoint 2013 is not what it was 10 years ago. Its expanded capacity and security capabilities mean that your layout of sites and libraries — information architecture — can match actual usage patterns more closely, bringing content and stakeholders more closely together than before. Advances in sharing and publishing helps assure that your documents start out life in the right place, and minimize the degree of redundant or obsolete copies of the same document being randomly distributed around the farm. The introduction of user-friendly document lifecycle management helps assure the documents are automatically curated, retaining what’s essential and purging or archiving old information.”
And while the author outlines many improvements that SharePoint has made over the years, most users are reporting that in order to have full enterprise functionality, they are supplementing with add-ons. Stephen E. Arnold of ArnoldIT.com is a longtime leader in enterprise search. His recent research points to the fact that while SharePoint is widely adopted, it is also widely supplemented with add-ons to complete functionality.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 26, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Microsoft Improving Touch Functionality for SharePoint
November 25, 2013
With an enterprise stalwart like SharePoint, Microsoft needs to constantly tweak in order to keep the up with current trends. Redmond Magazine relays the latest update in their article, “UPDATE: SharePoint Online Getting Touch Improvements.”
The article sums up the improvements:
“New touch improvements for SkyDrive Pro and SharePoint Sites will be seen over ‘the next few weeks.’ The improvements are just for Office 365 business, education and government users of Microsoft’s SharePoint Online service, according to Mark Kashman, a senior product manager for SharePoint, in a blog post on Tuesday. Organizations that have deployed SharePoint Server 2013 on premises aren’t getting the rollout.”
The focus will be on what Microsoft is calling “touch design mobile pages.” Shooting for an app-like experience, Microsoft hopes to update the user experience to bring it in line with current expectations. But many wonder if the entire paradigm is shifting – perhaps small user experience tweaks aren’t enough. Stephen E. Arnold, a longtime leader in enterprise search, often covers SharePoint on ArnoldIT.com. He recently reported that SharePoint no longer works as a standalone solution, with most users relying on add-ons for functionality.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 25, 2013
Support From End Users Important to SharePoint Adoption
November 22, 2013
SharePoint is becoming a bigger deployment with each upgrade, making training and professional development increasingly important. PD opportunities abound, including an upcoming one in DC, “Asif Rehmani to Speak on the Importance of SharePoint Adoption in Washington DC.”
The release begins:
“SharePoint for Corporate Communicators takes place from November 13-15 at the Microsoft Technology Center in Washington D.C. The conference features numerous speakers, workshops and break-out sessions to help SharePoint users learn how to create an intranet that boosts knowledge sharing, employee engagement and productivity within SharePoint. On November 13, from 3-5 pm EST, Rehmani will lead a pre-conference workshop on the important topic of SharePoint adoption. He will discuss the importance of having SharePoint work efficiently within an organization as well as gaining support from end users.”
Stephen E. Arnold of Arnold IT has been following SharePoint since its inception. His recent concerns center around the fact that SharePoint is incapable of completing its main mission, search. However, with Office 365, the bells and whistles are taking center stage, and deployments are requiring increasing customization. Keep an eye on Arnold IT for the latest regarding SharePoint and ways to make it work for your enterprise.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 22, 2013
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