The essential problem with managing collaborative data
All levels of businesses that require a document management portal for their projects, documents and collaboration data have often found themselves becoming reliant on unwieldy email chains and sporadic notes that have become difficult to manage and track. These problems are compounded by complex user interfaces and difficult monitoring of usage, as well as a distinct deviation from an individual’s normal working tools and practices. The onus of centralising important documents and tracking their changes (as well as allocating individual user permissions to them) has historically been on a Windows or Linux server platform, again dependent on complex permission mapping and messy document control procedures.
Many systems are designed to be used in one specific context, and those that are not tend to supply a raw, uncompromising server infrastructure that requires a small army of developers and administrators to become a usable document management infrastructure. These systems often require extensive initial configuration and constant upkeep, offsetting the apparent benefit of such tools.
Windows SharePoint Services 3 from Cobweb Solutions allows businesses to get up and running quickly with a fully-branded and easily manageable collaboration toolset; offering a single portal that can be accessed by multiple users simultaneously to track documents, enhance project collaboration, set up to-do lists and seamlessly integrate with other Microsoft Office software. The SaaS (Software as a Service) methodology advocated by Cobweb removes the painstaking initial configuration and ongoing support attributed to a dedicated onsite platform; we take care of that.
WHAT CAN MY BUSINESS ACHIEVE WITH WINDOWS SHAREPOINT SERVICES?
Document Management
SharePoint makes document upload, access and control swift and easy from a single portal; documents can be organized in ‘Libraries’ (perhaps by department, project or purpose) and edited/uploaded directly from the Microsoft Office suite. It relies on a ‘check-in/check-out’ facility which ensures collaboration documents cannot be edited by more than one user at a time, prohibiting the loss of valuable data and a clear trail of document changes can be seen through enforced versioning – circumventing the need to educate internal users about the importance of document titling. Everything is stored and managed online, however each user’s machine can have a cached shortcut of any document, making it just as easy as having those essential project notes on your desktop.
Knowledge Base
Windows SharePoint Services is packaged with the Microsoft ‘Top 40’ templates, a set of preconfigured sites that suit specific purposes. One of these is the Knowledge Base, a webpage that is designed to allow easy management of public-facing or internal documents that are easily searchable. Some perfect contexts for this would be a ‘FAQ’ (Frequently Asked Questions) for any technically-oriented service provider, a recipe database for a restaurant chain, a mechanics database for a car repair firm… the applications are varied. Despite its flexibility, the branding and layout can be configured to adhere to your company guidelines and individual requirements.
Surveys
A company’s marketing department may be exploring better ways of gathering essential customer feedback and/or product trend information; perhaps using a third party website that requires an annual licence subscription. Out of the box, SharePoint allows the easy creation of internal and external surveys, with step-by-step wizards to guide you through the process. Responses are collated and presented either in an easily readable graphical format or can be exported to Excel files for use with your own marketing analysis toolset. A large amount of dynamic questions can be ‘branched’ using the wizard, allowing an endless degree of control.
Calendar Sharing
Most businesses require the facility to share appointments, meetings and project catch-ups and historically use shared mailbox resources; these assets can be easily shared between individual user mailboxes however this requires manual configuration and access to Outlook. Directly combating missed meetings, conflicting appointments and confused clients SharePoint allows access to a shared calendar or contact database from any internet enabled device. A consultant in Dubai can book an appointment using an internet café PC, which is then filtered down to both the business and the client; each user within the company can see his or her company or department calendar to allow easier time and workload management.
Workflows
A large amount of cost and resource economizing can be achieved by automating common business tasks; a company’s Human Resources department often finds themselves battling through countless request forms through untraceable email chains.
WSS allows the HR department to set up a ‘HR Site’, where employees can access a range of documents and forms for common requests such as pension overviews, sickness forms and holiday requests. SharePoint Administrators can set up workflows to automatically inform HR and Department Managers that a request as been made. The form is then processed, denied or accepted digitally and added to a form library. This keeps the entire process in the online domain and is easily traceable for audit purposes. Workflows (and their logic) can be configured directly on the portal or with the addition of SharePoint Designer (free licence from Cobweb Solutions); the program augments interface editing capability and workflow creation significantly.
Field Working
Many businesses are taking advantage of the powerful and compact technology of mobile phones and netbooks; these devices permit a large proportion of your work to be easily achieved outside of the office working environment. Remote consultants or engineers can be kept up to date of their pending bookings with clients, including dynamic location mapping and automated email notification to clients and field managers alike. Once a job is completed, signed order forms can be deposited into SharePoint as a secure accounts filing system.
SCALABILITY
As detailed above, SharePoint can be used in a number of different and essential business contexts and with the addition of SharePoint Designer, users can crack open the interface and start to delve into the code. The WSS service is by no means restrictive and with a degree of freedom one can use it as both a dedicated website and a document management platform in one package.
Pete Baughan
Level 3 Service Desk Administrator
February 2010
