Microsoft SharePoint 2010 is a Platform not a Tool

This is one of the biggest strengths of SharePoint.  It is a platform.  I’ve been a SharePoint evangelist for a few years now, and one of the most important facts about SharePoint is the full feature set of the platform.  I read the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Web Content Management, August 2010, last night.  I’m… Continue reading Microsoft SharePoint 2010 is a Platform not a Tool

SharePoint 2010 Small Farm Server Recommendations

Microsoft has some pretty good information posted about the hardware and software requirements necessary for SharePoint 2010.  I still get asked for real world, or ‘best practices’, recommendations all the time.  Like everyone else, I want to get the best performance for the best price.  It’s difficult to strike the balance between ‘good enough’ and… Continue reading SharePoint 2010 Small Farm Server Recommendations

Is Virtualization supported for SharePoint?

Yes, virtualization is fully supported by Microsoft.  Virtualization is not at all new but is one of the biggest IT advancements, maybe ever.  I’m pretty sure that IBM was one of the earliest pioneers of this ‘pseudo machine’ concept in the mid 1960’s.  How’s that for a ‘new technology’ that is nearly 50 years old? … Continue reading Is Virtualization supported for SharePoint?

Ten Reasons You Should Use SharePoint

Should you use SharePoint?  Should you use SharePoint for your public facing website?  Is SharePoint a good CMS?  Does SharePoint have shortcomings as a web content management platform?  Is SharePoint overkill?  Is SharePoint design friendly? The SharePoint debate is definitely a heated one.  Some people love SharePoint.  Some folks hate SharePoint.  Some people that have… Continue reading Ten Reasons You Should Use SharePoint

SharePoint Audience Targeting is not Security

One of the SharePoint features that many end users and site administrators have a hard time understanding is the concept of Audience Targeting.  In fact, I received a question recently asking me to describe how “Audience Targeting” differs from the authentication needed for features like “Collaborative Workspaces”. The short answer is that Audience Targeting is… Continue reading SharePoint Audience Targeting is not Security

SharePoint 2010 Recommendations for installing on a Single Server

I get asked for SharePoint server recommendations nearly every day.  Like nearly all ‘best practices’, there is no single answer for perfect server recommendations.  The answer always seems to be, “It depends.”  What is your budget?  How many users?  What type of users?  What type of activity are the users doing?  What type(s) of SharePoint… Continue reading SharePoint 2010 Recommendations for installing on a Single Server

What is SharePoint?

If you are a techie, you probably already know what SharePoint is.  If not, SharePoint is website building software.  Sounds simple, doesn’t it?  It is.  SharePoint is software created and maintained by Microsoft to create and manage websites.  What kind of websites?  All kinds.  Big sites and small sites.  English sites and multilingual sites.  Simple… Continue reading What is SharePoint?

Microsoft Search Server 2010 Express Part 2: External Content Source

One of the key potential uses of Search Server 2010 Express is to provide a great search engine for your existing public facing website.  I work with a lot of different associations that run a lot of different CMS platforms.  While I’m a huge fan of utilizing the CMS capabilities of SharePoint 2010 for a… Continue reading Microsoft Search Server 2010 Express Part 2: External Content Source

Microsoft Search Server 2010 Express Part 1: Installation 101

I am a huge fan of free software.  I think that there are tons of great free software packages available: WordPress, Ubuntu, Microsoft SharePoint Foundation, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express,  Picasa, TeraCopy and many more.  When most people hear FREE software, they hear Open Source.  However, not all free software is open source.  One… Continue reading Microsoft Search Server 2010 Express Part 1: Installation 101