SharePoint in Action: An Overview

This is the first in a series on how I am leveraging an investment in SharePoint to reduce operational costs, gain internal efficiencies, and drive new revenue streams. I’m hoping that this information can help you better understand SharePoint as well as get you thinking about how to become more efficient in these tough economic times.
Over the course of this series I will explore:

• How we integrate our CRM system with SharePoint.  This integration enables us to be more efficient in our sales and support efforts.
• How we utilize SharePoint for project management.
• How we utilize SharePoint for managing product enhancement requests.
• Our plans to further utilize SharePoint for IT help desk functionality as well as for a more robust Test Management System than we currently have in place.

A reasonable question, of course, is why did I choose SharePoint for these activities?  Easy:

• We are a Microsoft Partner and were already making use of SharePoint internally.  I wanted to maximize our investment with the technology.  I want to ensure it’s only used where appropriate, but if there is a fit, it is my default technology for collaboration and communication.
• Internal training benefits.  SharePoint is a great solution that I firmly believe can provide internal benefits as well as benefits for our customers.  To ensure that our sales and support teams can speak to those benefits we must use it internally and understand it well.
• SharePoint is extremely flexible.  The ability to create robust workflows and customized forms is critical.
• SharePoint provides a rich set of APIs.  It is easy to extend SharePoint by developing WebParts and other extensions.
• SharePoint’s security model.  While the security model is limited, it provides a rich enough model to support most company’s needs.
• The number of prebuilt templates enables users to get up and running with SharePoint quickly.

Remember the words of W. Arthur Porter:

“The innovation point is the pivotal moment when talented and motivated people seek the opportunity to act on their ideas and dreams.”

Keep innovating.

John