We continue to discuss Microsoft’s SharePoint in this 4 part series, and whether SharePoint 2007 is a friend or foe of the independent dealer.

With the growing market for SharePoint, businesses will be forced to make a decision about whether to play with or against Microsoft SharePoint. Given over $1 Billion in licensing was sold within the last year, Microsoft has a potential slumbering giant quickly coming to its senses. What is perhaps most interesting to the independent dealer channel is the visibility SharePoint brings to the Document Management space.

Wait, just what is SharePoint?

If you haven’t been exposed to it, it’s a little tough to wrap your mind around. One of my friends described it as “network Play-Doh“. That’s interesting, but what does it do for me?

Microsoft SharePoint 2007 comes in 2 flavors: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) and Windows SharePoint Services (WSS). SMB’s will traditionally be able to rapidly deploy WSS, and not hassle with expensive licensing in MOSS. However, at certain levels, MOSS offers some higher level functionality that you just can’t beat.

SharePoint Technology is presented as a website. What is unique about SharePoint is that it allows for customization of the content on that web page by enabling drag-and-drop and point-and-click editing of the content.

The way this is accomplished is by use webparts. Think of webparts like bricks used in building a wall. Each brick has its purpose in the scheme, but imagine, if you will, you decide you would like some of your bricks to be purple, or green, or yellow. With modular webparts, you can define various content types within the SharePoint site.

Let’s say you want a picture gallery, or a small document library, or even a sales forecast tool. All of these are either built-in options, or quickly available through point-and-click interfaces. You don’t have to be a web programmer to manage your SharePoint site.

The real power of SharePoint comes with its tight integration with the Microsoft Office Suite and Microsoft Exchange Server (Microsoft’s own e-mail platform). Rather than e-mailing a copy of an Excel file around and getting lost in which version you are looking at, you can simply use a web browser, navigate to the document, and check it out - much like a library book. Now you know who has the document and can even view the document while it is in its “checked-out” state without deleting the other person’s changes.

With all of that power and flexibility under the hood, it sounds very complex to implement. Is it?

There is some truth in this statement, because it’s not yet just a point-and-click install. There are, indeed, several other components that will need to be operational first. However, most companies already have these things in place, and to get started there is no charge for the software. Compared to most software suites, WSS can be installed and lightly configured in hours and not days.

Microsoft SharePoint is truly network Play-Doh. It is a web-based platform that I can shape and mold into just about anything I want. For instance, here are a few things I’m using it for:

1. Corporate Intranet
2. Sales Forecast Dashboard
3. Document Library (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
4. Company News
5. Company Associate Forms
6. Customer Project Management
7. Document Collaboration
8. Departmental Workflow

SharePoint Technology can be bent to many different uses, and it is generally very easy for people to adopt basic use because they are already navigating the web.

less training needed = higher adoption curve

Now that you see how beneficial SharePoint Technology can be, the real question is, “where to start?”

Make no mistake, While SharePoint is fairly easy to install, it is like any other solution you propose. You, as your clients’ consultant, must draw upon the appropriate resources to determine if this solution is a good fit for your clients’ needs.

Does that sound hard? Doesn’t asking the correct questions equal uncovering the real problem to solve?

The point here is that SharePoint is flexible enough that it can solve many business problems and help you seed in growth opportunities within the account and secure your position as your clients’ valued partner.

Coming Up: In our next article we will look at how Microsoft SharePoint interacts with your Document Management strategies and offerings, as well as some thoughts on potential business plans.

Read this series here.

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.

Tags: Dealer, MOSS 2007, SharePoint, WebPart, WSS 3.0