Administrative Options in SharePoint 2013
August 16, 2012
The blog world is buzzing with analysis of the public preview of SharePoint 2013. The Cloudshare Community Blog specifically breaks down the issues of administrative options in their post, “Administration Options in SharePoint 2013 with CloudShare!”
There are many things to show with SharePoint 2013, but I have decided to start with a basic one: how to administer the platform. In this article I will show you the available approaches you have to handle administrative tasks for SharePoint 2013. These approaches are essentially the same as in SharePoint 2010 with one big exception: you are not supposed to use (or even see!) the Stsadm command line tool that is now considered as deprecated.
It seems at this point the SharePoint world would be tired of the concept of customization, but apparently not yet. It seems like for every efficiency issue in SharePoint, the answer is customization. This is of course despite the fact that Microsoft does not want customers customizing SharePoint 2013. But how could a user possibly get around it, as SharePoint is still far from perfect?
The answer lies in smart third party solutions that can be added to an existing SharePoint infrastructure. A product like Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise can streamline processes with its intuitive interface, specifically designed to meet users’ needs where SharePoint lags. Additionally, Fabasoft Mindbreeze releases smart and frequent updates, preventing the drama and hassle of huge and infrequent overhauls.
Emily Rae Aldridge, August 16, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext.
The Long Wait for SharePoint 2013
August 14, 2012
Microsoft has hyped the release of SharePoint 2013, with many enterprise junkies highly anticipating the public availability of the revamped product. ClearBox Consulting takes on the question of whether or not the new SharePoint is worth the hype, and the long wait, in, “Is SharePoint 2013 worth waiting for?”
While the author has many positives to highlight, he does have this to say in reference to the negatives:
By SharePoint 2010 the main challenges for an intranet manager had become governance and user adoption. Governance has definitely been improved, but adoption has been less substantially addressed. For example, the user experience for content owners is still over-fiddly and at the moment the mobile experience is well below what will be needed over the next 2-3 years. Moreover, the new version has done little to reduce the complexity involved in producing and managing a SharePoint-based intranet for business owners of sites and content.
It is no mystery that regardless of the changes that are made to SharePoint, it is a huge product that requires a lot of time, attention, and customization. So for many smaller organizations, a smarter, more efficient third party solution may be a better choice. A product like Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise can work as a standalone enterprise search solution, or as an enhancement to an existing SharePoint infrastructure. Used either way, customers will marvel as the intuitive interface and increased productivity of Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Emily Rae Aldridge, August 14, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext.
SharePoint Server 2013 Preview
August 13, 2012
Microsoft posted two documents which we believe merit any SharePoint licensee’s attention. The principal features of the latest SharePoint appear on the Microsoft SharePoint site.
Search will be particularly important because SharePoint 2013 will make it easier to incorporate social content and support mobile access. The new SharePoint will be available later this year or early in 2013. Getting a head start is important if you plan to upgrade.
The SharePoint Server 2013’s enterprise search model provides information we found quite useful. The diagram’s PDF is 560 Kb and available from the Microsoft download center. The PDF covers:
- Search Components, including the application components and the search databases
- Example topologies. The illustrated use case is a medium-sized search farm with 40 million items or content objects in the system
- Scaling out. The diagram includes a proposal model for a search farm which handles 100 million item or content objects.
Of particular value are the details for the hardware required to support the 100 million item farm. A series of tables covers the scaling considerations, detail about the application servers recommended, and a table layout the hardware requirements necessary to handle upticks in the volume of content to be processed.
In the general guidance section, Microsoft points out that one additional crawl database is needed per additional 20 million items. One link database is recommend per additional 60 million items. The schematic’s detail recommends that the system include redundancy.
Bottom line, there is no mistaking the Fast-like functionality described here. Search Technologies has delivered more than 30,000 consultant-days of search implementation services to Fast and SharePoint users since 2005. We believe that this new search functionality will be widely adopted over the next few years, and we look forward to helping our customers to implement it.
Iain Fletcher, August 13, 2012
Sponsored by Augmentext
To Customize or not to Customize SharePoint
August 13, 2012
Chris Wright discusses the look and feel of SharePoint in his recent CMSWire.com post, “Microsoft Doesn’t Advise You Customize SharePoint 2013.” The author points out that many users get caught up in the “look and feel” of the system when working on SharePoint projects. Wright explains that the vast majority of projects he’s been involved with have had a significant branding and UI element.
He goes on to say this:
In my previously mentioned piece I argued that time spent on such endeavors would be better spent looking at functionality and content. Jeff seems to be advocating a slightly different view, though one that reaches the same conclusions. He is focusing on the importance of providing a stable performant solution, and appears concerned that custom code can be the quickest route to undermining this.
The article may be worth the read to help you stay on track with SharePoint goals and priorities. You may also consider investing in a third party solution that provides a rich SharePoint experience with a user-friendly interface out-of-the-box. 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 year through focused finding of data (IDC Studies). An invaluable competitive advantage in business as well as providing employee satisfaction.”
Philip West, August 13, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Open Source Options for Collaboration in SharePoint
August 10, 2012
In “Open Source Tools Level SharePoint 2010 Collaboration Playing Field,” Shawn Shell discusses collaboration options in the SharePoint community.
Shell has this to say:
But while there are many available tools that can expand SharePoint’s collaboration capabilities and fill the gaps in its out-of-the-box functionality, some organizations simply can’t afford them because of budget constraints. As a result, many often find themselves at a competitive disadvantage. The good news is that one of the strongest dimensions of the SharePoint universe is a surprisingly robust open source community. It comprises individuals, user organizations and even ISVs that provide tools and utilities that are reasonable alternatives to commercially licensed add-on products.
The author also comments on collaboration alternatives for employees, such as the Community Kit for SharePoint (CKS) and the Learning Management System (LMS). However, Shell also states that it is important to read the documentation of these two projects very carefully because they are handled by separate teams. The read may be worth it if you’ve been looking for possible fixes to SharePoint’s capability gaps.
Collaboration capabilities are imperative as businesses get social. To tap into the new possibilities, consider a third party solution to complete your enterprise search system. We like Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Managing director Michael Hadrian explains the Mindbreeze solution:
Fabasoft Folio Cloud enables quick, secure and mobile collaboration both internally and between international companies. Business processes with customers and partners cannot be realized any quicker or more cost effectively…This enables worldwide connected collaboration and secure data exchange in protected team rooms.
For a complete search solution with the power of information pairing, check out the full suite of solutions at Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Philip West, August 10, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Track the Output of SharePoint Fast Search Crawl Logs
August 7, 2012
Do you need to pull SharePoint Fast Search crawl logs? We do. We read with interest an item on Microsoft’s TechNet Web site. “Get SharePoint Search Crawl Logs” provides an almost ready-to-run script which will accept a search service name and display the associated crawl logs. If there is a crawl log with an error, the script flags that instance. To script can be edited so that it returns different information from the crawly logs. In order to make this tweak, the $crawlLogFilters can be edited.
SharePoint Fast usually does an excellent job of processing content. However, some documents can be malformed or an unexpected network issue can arise. As a result, certain content can be skipped or ignored. A visual inspection of crawl logs is not practical when SharePoint is processing large volumes of content.
If you want to view the crawl logs, TechNet provides a wealth of information. A good place to begin your investigation is in the TechNet Library. If you want to expOrt the SharePoint 2010 search crawl logs, you will find a useful Powershell script in Dave Mc’s Blog in the article “Export the SharePoint 2010 Search Crawl Log.” MSDN also provides information about exporting SharePoint 2010 search crawl logs. To access this information, navigate to the SharePoint Escalation Team’s blog.
Search Technologies’ team of experienced engineers can provide automation tools which eliminate the need to search for solutions to common problems. To learn more about our SharePoint and FFast Search implementation services, navigate to http://www.searchtechnologies.com/microsoft-search.html or contact us at info@searchtechnologies.com.
Iain Fletcher, August 7, 2012
Sponsored by Augmentext
Discussion on Plans for SharePoint 2013 Migrations
August 7, 2012
In “Migrating to SharePoint 2013,” Chris Wright speculates on the new SharePoint release, potential adoption rates, Cloud versus on-premises deployments, and third party options. The author points out that those users of SharePoint Online have a relatively clear upgrade path without much to worry about. However, he adds this about on-premises users:
On-premises users of SharePoint have a much bigger decision to make, and more traditional upgrade options. Early commentators suggest that the full locally installed version of SharePoint has seen slightly less focus than the cloud version. The biggest areas of improvement are web content management, enterprise content management and search.
Wright also suggests that if all else fails, look into a third party migration tool for an easier solution. Third party tools should not be overlooked when adding value to your SharePoint system. We like the feedback we’ve seen about Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Here you can read about the mobility solutions from Mindbreeze:
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Mobile makes company knowledge available on all mobile devices. You can act freely, independently and yet always securely. Irrespective of what format the data is in. Full functionality: Search results are displayed homogenously to the web client with regards to clear design and intuitive navigation.
And with information pairing of your cloud and on-premise data, users can easily access important business information on the go from their smartphones and tablets. The well-established and cost-effective solution is worth a second look at http://www.mindbreeze.com/.
Philip West, August 7, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
SharePoint 2013 System Requirements
August 1, 2012
Bjorn Furuknap is again hot on the trail of recent SharePoint activity. With the release of SharePoint 2013, much discussion has taken place surrounding system requirements. While Microsoft initially made a report that requirements would not change from 2010, it seems that is not entirely truthful when referring to SharePoint Server 2013.
Furuknap gives the rundown:
Short story: If you plan on doing development work on SharePoint Server 2013, you need a minimum of 24 GB of RAM. That’s assuming you are NOT going to need Visual Studio, which will only add to that number.
Wow, we were overwhelmed by this number. Most small organizations are not going to want to invest in a separate and beefed-up machine just for SharePoint Server work. In addition, customization is discouraged with SharePoint 2013, so developer work will come at more of a premium as well.
For organizations that need to overcome these challenges, we recommend a smart third party solution like Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise. Serving as a compliment to an existing infrastructure, or as a standalone solution, Mindbreeze can run on the Cloud, is highly scalable, and receives an efficiency update every quarter. See what users are saying about Fabasoft Mindbreeze, and why they were not willing to settle for SharePoint.
Emily Rae Aldridge, August 1, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Microsoft and Yammer: Extending SharePoint Functionality
July 31, 2012
Yammer is what an enterprise social network tool; organizations implement it to spur collaboration between users. On the Yammer homepage we found a new application which permits Microsoft SharePoint Integration. After reading the specs, we found on the Microsoft blog about “Yammer-The Next Step for Social Networking In Schools?”
According to the post, Microsoft recently purchased Yammer. The post explains Yammer’s basic functions, the dashboard mirrors Facebook’s design with hints of Twitter. The post digs into how Yammer would be used in schools, basically the same way it would for any company: staff would use to communicate between departments, share content, etc. It can also be a boon for students too:
“We know that group work is a great way to encourage students to engage with their peers, but this isn’t easy when they all use different social networks, clouds and systems. By joining Yammer, students can create secure groups via which they can communicate their ideas, ask questions and share files, as well as allowing for their competitive side to come out through ‘Leaderboards’, which show data about who has received the most likes, replies and much.”
Students can perform group work, receive studying help, share content, and even praise each other within Yammer. While it can be a tool of food for students, it can also make cheating and plagiarism easier if not monitored. Yammer should install an app that will be able to detect plagiarism.
The surge of interest in social content is growing in government agencies, commercial organizations, and educational institutions. However, indexing and making this content
findable can be a challenging task. The tools an organization uses require tight integration with
a search system. Mindbreeze provides capabilities to make social content easily findable within a SharePoint environment. A Yammer style can enhance productivity. Mindbreeze offers a range of social and collaborative features and has the engineering expertise to resolve almost any search and retrieval issue. Check out the Mindbreeze social collaboration Web page for more information.
Whitney Grace, July 31, 2012
Sponsored by Mindbreeze
Too Many Cooks in the SharePoint Kitchen
July 27, 2012
Bjorn Furuknap brings us another irreverent look at the world of SharePoint, this time focusing on the quantity of SharePoint developers. In Furuknap’s SharePoint Corner, he brings us this entry, “How Many SharePoint Developers Are There Really?”
In its publicity for its purchase of Yammer, Microsoft boasts of how many developers they have building on SharePoint.
Furuknap states:
What’s very odd, though, is that Microsoft claims there are 700,000 ‘developers building on the platform’. With these numbers, that means that for every SharePoint customer, there are over 10 developers. Read that again: For every SharePoint customer, there are more than 10 developers . . . It can mean one of two things: 1) There are far too many developers out there and a lot of them are unemployed. Good for businesses, if true. 2) SharePoint is a platform so complex that you need to pay, on average, ten people to do nothing but develop on SharePoint. Bad for SharePoint, if true.
Let’s go with the idea that SharePoint may be too complex for its own good. What is to be done? Most organizations cannot afford a herd of developers to customize SharePoint into a usable infrastructure. For organizations in that situation we recommend exploring a smart third party solution like Fabasoft Mindbreee Enterprise. Working as a standalone solution, or in conjunction with an existing SharePoint infrastructure, Fabasoft Mindbreeze not only streamlines your enterprise needs, but also integrates the rest of your electronic data repositories via Connectors.
Do not let the complexities of SharePoint bankrupt your IT department. See a high return on your investment by choosing Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Emily Rae Aldridge, July 27, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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