Manually Configure SharePoint 2010 Search Service Application Topology

What a long title for a post, right?  And with the current trend to scripting installs, why would anyone in their right mind manually configure anything in SharePoint.  The truth of the matter is that I didn’t plan on configuring the Search Topology.  In fact, this manual configuration was done as part of my poorly… Continue reading Manually Configure SharePoint 2010 Search Service Application Topology

How Should I Learn SharePoint?

“I’m new to SharePoint.  I have a background in ColdFusion, HTML, Java, Ruby, C++, Photoshop, (insert previous life here), etc., and now I want to learn SharePoint.  Where should I start?” If you are trying to learn SharePoint, even getting started can be a little intimidating.  SharePoint information is available in many forms: books, blogs,… Continue reading How Should I Learn SharePoint?

Service Pack 1 announced for SharePoint 2010, Office 2010, Project 2010, and Project Server 2010

While I’m not at TechEd Atlanta today, it’s good to see that The Microsoft Office Sustained Engineering Team announced that SharePoint 2010 Service Pack 1 is “on track for release at the end of June” 2011.  While I’m sure there are plenty of bug fixes included, I’m specifically interested in the following updates that are… Continue reading Service Pack 1 announced for SharePoint 2010, Office 2010, Project 2010, and Project Server 2010

What is your take on Office 365?

I’m preparing a new series of blog posts specifically around moving to Office 365 Beta. What questions do you have?  What specific topics would you like to read about?  Questions or comments?  Are you using 365 yet?  Are you thrilled or miserable?

AUDC 2011 is over – SharePointConference.org is next week!

Getting ready to head home from sunny Orlando after having been at Avectra’s AUDC 2011 Conference. Overall, this was a really good experience. It seems that Avectra is maturing as a software company more every year. This year there was a lot of focus on the partner environment, the product(s) roadmap, and community involvement (the… Continue reading AUDC 2011 is over – SharePointConference.org is next week!

Uncle Sam using SharePoint 2010 in the Amazon Cloud

While some may think that the United States Government is pretty slow to react to technology trends, there is a recent site launch that indicates otherwise.  The U.S. Department of the Treasury site is Microsoft SharePoint 2010 hosted in the cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS).  Check out http://Treasury.gov

Why would a nonprofit use SharePoint?

Is SharePoint a good fit for an association?  What about a charity?  Should a non profit be using SharePoint?  The typical consultant answer is “it depends.” First, let’s oversimplify SharePoint.  SharePoint is software used to build websites.  That’s it. However, SharePoint is more than just a single-purpose web site tool.  It’s a platform that you… Continue reading Why would a nonprofit use SharePoint?

Our book is out! SharePoint for Nonprofits

Sean and I finally finished our book: SharePoint for Nonprofits: The Definitive Guide to SharePoint for your Nonprofit, Association, Charity, and .ORG.   We actually finished it during the week of Thanksgiving 2010, but I’m finally getting around to chatting about it. There are hundreds of really great SharePoint books already out there that cover the… Continue reading Our book is out! SharePoint for Nonprofits

Five Best Improvements in SharePoint 2010

SharePoint 2010 is great, but what are the Top 5 enhancements or new features that are available in SharePoint 2010?  Everyone who works with SharePoint will have their own Top 5 lists. Social Network.  The world is now social.  I know, in reality the world has always been social.  The entire Internet is based upon… Continue reading Five Best Improvements in SharePoint 2010

Use the FREE version of SharePoint 2010 for your CMS

That’s right.  You can use the free version of SharePoint 2010 to run your public facing website.  SharePoint Foundation 2010 is free.  SharePoint Foundation 2010 may be a good fit to run your public facing website.  In order to look at this in a completely scientific manner, realize that there are literally hundreds of web… Continue reading Use the FREE version of SharePoint 2010 for your CMS