The document provides an overview of moving to SharePoint 2010, including deciding to make the move, preparing by assessing business and technical considerations, planning the implementation through developing requirements, strategy, design, and more. It emphasizes the importance of a well-planned transition to realize the full benefits of SharePoint.
Workday Integration Cloud Connect consists of a growing number of pre-built, packaged integrations and connectors to complementary solutions that are 100% built, maintained, and supported by Workday. http://www.workday.com/solutions/technology/integration_cloud/integration_cloud_connect.php
Enterprise Architecture for Business Model Innovation in a Connected EconomySergio Compean
This paper describes an approach to perform a mapping from a business model design to an enterprise architecture which is manifested in a platform ecosystem that supports agile innovation. The paper will be of interest to executives and IT leadership seeking strategic insights for unlocking the creative potential of business model innovation. The paper also provides those interested in enterprise architecture, business model design and systems integration with a concrete roadmap and actionable guidance to execute on the vision.
Workday provides the next generation of enterprise business services— Human Capital Management, Financial Management, and Payroll—and delivers the solutions on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. Founded by Higher Education veteran Dave Duffield and technology visionary Aneel Bhusri, Workday helps transform the administrative systems and service delivery models across Higher Education with modern, agile, and cost-effective cloud solutions.
Make the most of your SharePoint implementation by aligning the system architecture with your business goals.
Maximise the value you gain from your SharePoint solution
Workday Integration Cloud Connect consists of a growing number of pre-built, packaged integrations and connectors to complementary solutions that are 100% built, maintained, and supported by Workday. http://www.workday.com/solutions/technology/integration_cloud/integration_cloud_connect.php
Enterprise Architecture for Business Model Innovation in a Connected EconomySergio Compean
This paper describes an approach to perform a mapping from a business model design to an enterprise architecture which is manifested in a platform ecosystem that supports agile innovation. The paper will be of interest to executives and IT leadership seeking strategic insights for unlocking the creative potential of business model innovation. The paper also provides those interested in enterprise architecture, business model design and systems integration with a concrete roadmap and actionable guidance to execute on the vision.
Workday provides the next generation of enterprise business services— Human Capital Management, Financial Management, and Payroll—and delivers the solutions on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. Founded by Higher Education veteran Dave Duffield and technology visionary Aneel Bhusri, Workday helps transform the administrative systems and service delivery models across Higher Education with modern, agile, and cost-effective cloud solutions.
Make the most of your SharePoint implementation by aligning the system architecture with your business goals.
Maximise the value you gain from your SharePoint solution
Architecture Standardization Using the IBM Information FrameworkCognizant
Case study describes how a Middle Eastern banking major achieved digital transformation with a standardized information model based on the IBM Information Framework (IFW).
Understanding Corporate Portals Key Knowledge Management Enabling ApplicationsJose Claudio Terra
Discute como Portais Corporativos e suas funcionalidades podem ser utilizadas para desenvolver e implementar Gestão do Conhecimento, através da mudança de como a informação e as responsabilidades de colaboração são divididas na organização.
www.terraforum.com.br
Last November, Ergo hosted an event for IT professionals who were anxious to hear about the future of business technology. The event entitled Year Zero offered insights into “new ways of working”.
We call it Year Zero because we believe it’s the start of a new era in business technology. The availability of new technologies, the consumerisation of IT, and the economic downturn, have all fundamentally changed the way we go about IT. Cost and complexity are no longer acceptable. Organisations must now undertake a journey to turn IT into a platform for business innovation.
Features best practices and resources for implementing SharePoint now with minimal investment. If you like this deck and want to see a live event, go to www.quilogy.com/events.
One question I've been asked recently - "What's the ROI of adapting Microsoft 365 to enable Digital Transformation?"
Here's a report done by Forrester Research may answer this question. This report consolidated 4 customer interviews, a survey to 200 customers, and data aggregation, they concluded that Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 enables digital business transformation and has the following three-year financial impact.
The pressure is on, to drive growth and improve profitability by transforming how you do business. It means speeding great ideas from concept to reality so you can bring innovative products to market, faster. It means building high performance teams that
communicate and collaborate in profound new ways. And it means streamlining and enhancing your IT infrastructure to support new devices, technologies, processes and behaviors that drive value for your business. Done right, your organization can more successfully compete for customers, partners and employees and strengthen your leadership position in your market. Read More at: http://www.csc.com/workplace_services
Ar Accelerating Converged Infrastructure With FlexpodMichael Hudak
IDC investigates the transformation of IT delivery in the datacenter and the emerging role of pretested solutions that focus on unified, shared infrastructure. The paper focuses on the advent of converged infrastructure solutions that simplify the deployment and management of virtualized environments spanning server, storage, and networking components. The paper then takes a closer look at the FlexPod datacenter solution offered by NetApp and Cisco, with a focus on the VMware vSphere design configuration. IDC examines the importance of professional services to delivering the solution and the key role of a collaborative support model aimed at streamlining the support process for customers and channel partners.
Office 365 Adoption Guide (63 pages) (2016 version) Daniel Chang
This guide has been created for organizations looking at the
most effective ways to leverage their investment in Office 365.
It is meant to be used as a step-by-step guide, whereby you
can ensure that your organization can first identify, and then
execute specific tasks that will have the greatest positive effect
on your organization.
And remember, you are not in this alone. There are thousands
of organizations just like yours who are currently launching
Office 365 and you can connect with them in this community.
Change the way you work, because the way you work impacts
the work you do.
ARMnet Integrated Financial Product Management solution is a CRM based software toolset that allows us to create and manage any type of loan, mortgage origination or servicing or wealth management product and service it through it\'s life cycle. The unique Service Oriented Architecture of the application is defined in the article.
Netmagic solutions, leading IT Managed service provider with Data centers & Cloud Computing in India fulfills your entire IT infrastructure requirements: from collocation services to dedicated hosting, diaster recovery & data Storage solutions.
Enterprise Applications Support for High-Tech Customer Reduces Overall IT Spe...Jade Global
Jade Global’s support team was brought in to Business Wire to maintain its legacy technology. Business Wire received AMS support from Jade Global for its EBS modules including Financials/SCM, Hyperion, SFDC, and CRM. Jade provided 24X7 DBA support, 16X5 operation support, and 24X7 P1 support outside of business hours.
iStart - Sharepoint: Getting to the pointHayden McCall
Information overload. It defines the age we live in. Distraction,
clutter, and search angst are daily productivity killers causing
headaches and wasting hours.
Believe the disciples, and Microsoft’s SharePoint is on the
cusp of greatness, bringing order to clutter, collaboration to
fragmentation and timeliness to information and decision
making. But listen to the unconverted and it’s badly designed,
slow and another marketing snow job holding together the
Microsoft stack.
Your IT department probably already has the product, so iStart
canvassed a couple of experts on implementing SharePoint to
help you decide if it is a fit for wider use within your business…
Architecture Standardization Using the IBM Information FrameworkCognizant
Case study describes how a Middle Eastern banking major achieved digital transformation with a standardized information model based on the IBM Information Framework (IFW).
Understanding Corporate Portals Key Knowledge Management Enabling ApplicationsJose Claudio Terra
Discute como Portais Corporativos e suas funcionalidades podem ser utilizadas para desenvolver e implementar Gestão do Conhecimento, através da mudança de como a informação e as responsabilidades de colaboração são divididas na organização.
www.terraforum.com.br
Last November, Ergo hosted an event for IT professionals who were anxious to hear about the future of business technology. The event entitled Year Zero offered insights into “new ways of working”.
We call it Year Zero because we believe it’s the start of a new era in business technology. The availability of new technologies, the consumerisation of IT, and the economic downturn, have all fundamentally changed the way we go about IT. Cost and complexity are no longer acceptable. Organisations must now undertake a journey to turn IT into a platform for business innovation.
Features best practices and resources for implementing SharePoint now with minimal investment. If you like this deck and want to see a live event, go to www.quilogy.com/events.
One question I've been asked recently - "What's the ROI of adapting Microsoft 365 to enable Digital Transformation?"
Here's a report done by Forrester Research may answer this question. This report consolidated 4 customer interviews, a survey to 200 customers, and data aggregation, they concluded that Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 enables digital business transformation and has the following three-year financial impact.
The pressure is on, to drive growth and improve profitability by transforming how you do business. It means speeding great ideas from concept to reality so you can bring innovative products to market, faster. It means building high performance teams that
communicate and collaborate in profound new ways. And it means streamlining and enhancing your IT infrastructure to support new devices, technologies, processes and behaviors that drive value for your business. Done right, your organization can more successfully compete for customers, partners and employees and strengthen your leadership position in your market. Read More at: http://www.csc.com/workplace_services
Ar Accelerating Converged Infrastructure With FlexpodMichael Hudak
IDC investigates the transformation of IT delivery in the datacenter and the emerging role of pretested solutions that focus on unified, shared infrastructure. The paper focuses on the advent of converged infrastructure solutions that simplify the deployment and management of virtualized environments spanning server, storage, and networking components. The paper then takes a closer look at the FlexPod datacenter solution offered by NetApp and Cisco, with a focus on the VMware vSphere design configuration. IDC examines the importance of professional services to delivering the solution and the key role of a collaborative support model aimed at streamlining the support process for customers and channel partners.
Office 365 Adoption Guide (63 pages) (2016 version) Daniel Chang
This guide has been created for organizations looking at the
most effective ways to leverage their investment in Office 365.
It is meant to be used as a step-by-step guide, whereby you
can ensure that your organization can first identify, and then
execute specific tasks that will have the greatest positive effect
on your organization.
And remember, you are not in this alone. There are thousands
of organizations just like yours who are currently launching
Office 365 and you can connect with them in this community.
Change the way you work, because the way you work impacts
the work you do.
ARMnet Integrated Financial Product Management solution is a CRM based software toolset that allows us to create and manage any type of loan, mortgage origination or servicing or wealth management product and service it through it\'s life cycle. The unique Service Oriented Architecture of the application is defined in the article.
Netmagic solutions, leading IT Managed service provider with Data centers & Cloud Computing in India fulfills your entire IT infrastructure requirements: from collocation services to dedicated hosting, diaster recovery & data Storage solutions.
Enterprise Applications Support for High-Tech Customer Reduces Overall IT Spe...Jade Global
Jade Global’s support team was brought in to Business Wire to maintain its legacy technology. Business Wire received AMS support from Jade Global for its EBS modules including Financials/SCM, Hyperion, SFDC, and CRM. Jade provided 24X7 DBA support, 16X5 operation support, and 24X7 P1 support outside of business hours.
iStart - Sharepoint: Getting to the pointHayden McCall
Information overload. It defines the age we live in. Distraction,
clutter, and search angst are daily productivity killers causing
headaches and wasting hours.
Believe the disciples, and Microsoft’s SharePoint is on the
cusp of greatness, bringing order to clutter, collaboration to
fragmentation and timeliness to information and decision
making. But listen to the unconverted and it’s badly designed,
slow and another marketing snow job holding together the
Microsoft stack.
Your IT department probably already has the product, so iStart
canvassed a couple of experts on implementing SharePoint to
help you decide if it is a fit for wider use within your business…
Presentation about whether Microsoft SharePoint is suitable for use as a CMS by Frank MacDonald from Heriot-Watt University at the April meeting of the Scottish Web Folk in Glasgow. (Uploaded with permission.)
5 Proven Strategies to Attain Intranet ExcellenceBizPortals365
Modern businesses invest heavily in company intranets to boost workplace productivity, collaboration, and operational efficiency. Certainly, it helps gain a competitive edge over industry peers. However, evaluating the existing intranet settings against the standard best practices becomes crucial to maximizing the investment.
SharePoint: What You Need to Know Before UpgradingPerficient, Inc.
Perficient's Senior Architect Suzanne George outlines the key things you need to know before you upgrade your company's SharePoint implementation, including:
SharePoint terminology, features and versions
Roadmap planning
Licensing, upgrade and development tools
Undefined or forgotten costs
Requirements examples
Migration project plan
Governance
Content Migration Methodology
Upgrades
Microsoft Convergence DayOne: Leveraging SharePoint within Your Dynamics GP W...Marie-Michelle Strah, PhD
Presentation April 9, 2011 at DayOne of Microsoft Convergence in Atlanta by Marie-Michelle Strah, PhD, BroadPoint Technologies, John Dooley, Microsoft, and John Herbstritt, BroadPoint Technologies.
Builder.ai Founder Sachin Dev Duggal's Strategic Approach to Create an Innova...Ramesh Iyer
In today's fast-changing business world, Companies that adapt and embrace new ideas often need help to keep up with the competition. However, fostering a culture of innovation takes much work. It takes vision, leadership and willingness to take risks in the right proportion. Sachin Dev Duggal, co-founder of Builder.ai, has perfected the art of this balance, creating a company culture where creativity and growth are nurtured at each stage.
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and GrafanaRTTS
Watch this recorded webinar about real-time monitoring of application performance. See how to integrate Apache JMeter, the open-source leader in performance testing, with InfluxDB, the open-source time-series database, and Grafana, the open-source analytics and visualization application.
In this webinar, we will review the benefits of leveraging InfluxDB and Grafana when executing load tests and demonstrate how these tools are used to visualize performance metrics.
Length: 30 minutes
Session Overview
-------------------------------------------
During this webinar, we will cover the following topics while demonstrating the integrations of JMeter, InfluxDB and Grafana:
- What out-of-the-box solutions are available for real-time monitoring JMeter tests?
- What are the benefits of integrating InfluxDB and Grafana into the load testing stack?
- Which features are provided by Grafana?
- Demonstration of InfluxDB and Grafana using a practice web application
To view the webinar recording, go to:
https://www.rttsweb.com/jmeter-integration-webinar
Securing your Kubernetes cluster_ a step-by-step guide to success !KatiaHIMEUR1
Today, after several years of existence, an extremely active community and an ultra-dynamic ecosystem, Kubernetes has established itself as the de facto standard in container orchestration. Thanks to a wide range of managed services, it has never been so easy to set up a ready-to-use Kubernetes cluster.
However, this ease of use means that the subject of security in Kubernetes is often left for later, or even neglected. This exposes companies to significant risks.
In this talk, I'll show you step-by-step how to secure your Kubernetes cluster for greater peace of mind and reliability.
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
Kubernetes & AI - Beauty and the Beast !?! @KCD Istanbul 2024Tobias Schneck
As AI technology is pushing into IT I was wondering myself, as an “infrastructure container kubernetes guy”, how get this fancy AI technology get managed from an infrastructure operational view? Is it possible to apply our lovely cloud native principals as well? What benefit’s both technologies could bring to each other?
Let me take this questions and provide you a short journey through existing deployment models and use cases for AI software. On practical examples, we discuss what cloud/on-premise strategy we may need for applying it to our own infrastructure to get it to work from an enterprise perspective. I want to give an overview about infrastructure requirements and technologies, what could be beneficial or limiting your AI use cases in an enterprise environment. An interactive Demo will give you some insides, what approaches I got already working for real.
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
In this insightful webinar, Inflectra explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming software development and testing. Discover how AI-powered tools are revolutionizing every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from design and prototyping to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Elevating Tactical DDD Patterns Through Object CalisthenicsDorra BARTAGUIZ
After immersing yourself in the blue book and its red counterpart, attending DDD-focused conferences, and applying tactical patterns, you're left with a crucial question: How do I ensure my design is effective? Tactical patterns within Domain-Driven Design (DDD) serve as guiding principles for creating clear and manageable domain models. However, achieving success with these patterns requires additional guidance. Interestingly, we've observed that a set of constraints initially designed for training purposes remarkably aligns with effective pattern implementation, offering a more ‘mechanical’ approach. Let's explore together how Object Calisthenics can elevate the design of your tactical DDD patterns, offering concrete help for those venturing into DDD for the first time!
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
Assuring Contact Center Experiences for Your Customers With ThousandEyes
A Business Approach to SharePoint 2010 Whitepaper
1. A Business Approach to SharePoint®:
Making the Move
A Whitepaper
Andrew Nick, Vice President
Todd Neff, Vice President
Russell Elliott, Technical Architect
2. SharePoint: A Business Approach
Contents
®
Why SharePoint 2010 ............................................................................................ 3
Decide ...................................................................................................................... 5
Prepare .................................................................................................................... 6
Plan ........................................................................................................................ 11
Reach the Goal ....................................................................................................... 17
2 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
3. SharePoint: A Business Approach
Why SharePoint® 2010
Considering moving to SharePoint® 2010? You’re in good company.
Organizations worldwide are using the platform to move to the new
mobile, flexible, highly collaborative business environment. Its flexible
architecture allows enterprises to reduce dependencies on legacy
platforms and consolidate software—realizing significant savings through
reduced licensing and maintenance costs.
To access the full advantages of SharePoint® 2010, you need to make two
decisions. The first is choosing the platform; the second is committing to
a strategic and well-planned transition. This whitepaper tells how
SharePoint® 2010 can transform your enterprise. It also shares lessons
MicroLink has learned from over 200 SharePoint® implementations; you’ll
get a road-tested overview of how you can work with IT to chart the right
course.
Advantages
SharePoint® 2010 offers companies higher flexibility and mobility at lower
cost. It also puts business needs front and center, empowering users and
enhancing collaboration so business and IT realize shared goals with
greater efficiency.
Higher Capabilities
The platform brings new flexibility to capabilities previously available only
from legacy platforms that are costly to license, outdated or technically
challenging to implement such as WebSphere, BEA, Vignette or Drupal.
Companies gain new benefits while being relieved of the financial
3 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
4. SharePoint: A Business Approach
imperative to maintain staff skilled in complex maintenance. Here’s an
overview of key features:
Greatly enhanced document collaboration
Agile workflow modules
Enterprise-level metadata management controls
Combined data integration for business analysis, visualization and
reporting
Efficient web content management capabilities
Strong, flexible security management framework that integrates easily
with leading identity management solutions
Shared Responsibility
SharePoint® 2010 distributes the responsibility for developing solutions
and maintaining the platform, delivering cost savings for IT and greater
efficiencies for business users. Business owners can create horizontally
4 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
5. SharePoint: A Business Approach
integrated solutions through data sharing and content collaboration,
empowering team-building across units as users access and use
distributed shared services—all without IT help.
Multi-Tenant Occupancy
The more you
invest in SharePoint® 2010 gives your enterprise architecture new flexibility. Most
shared services now have their own databases, sometimes multiple, and
research, design
are therefore more ‘scalable’, as well as shareable, across
and testing
implementations. This gives businesses more flexibility and the ability to
Now, the better expand services as needed. Enhanced metadata management, data
the solution will integration and server access strengthen operational efficiencies and
simplify governance. Most striking, the platform enables multi-tenant
serve the
occupancy: Site administrators can write once and publish to multiple
organization over
places, creating efficiencies and lowering production costs—all the while
time. collaborating securely with stakeholders both inside and outside the
organization.
All these benefits provide exciting opportunities for business—but they
depend on a well-executed implementation. Over our years of experience
in enterprise architecture, information migration and systems
modernization, we have seen the headaches that await companies not
thoroughly prepared to adopt a new enterprise platform. Here’s our
prescription for a smooth transition.
Decide
Your first decision will be the most important: to allocate the attention
and resources to ensure a comprehensive, orderly approach. This requires
a joint commitment from business and IT. If this foundation is not laid,
you will miss out on the increased ownership and control SharePoint
5 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
6. SharePoint: A Business Approach
offers business stakeholders; IT will miss out on executing a proper
implementation that will fulfill requirements and prevent the stress and
costs of rework; and ultimately both parties will miss out on the
opportunity for a strong business/IT partnership that will move all
objectives ahead.
The key is to plan properly and to secure the right resources up-
front. This paves the way for a successful modernization effort, and is true
for every platform. You’ll need a diverse, well-balanced team capable of
establishing a joint strategy with the business units and operating entities,
equipped with the technical expertise the solution requires. A successful
team shares ownership of the strategy and design:
components of the portal architecture
prototyping—taking advantage of SharePoint’s ability to set up
functioning “sandboxes” to assess capabilities before full-scale
implementation
specifications of the functional and technical requirements
execution of the upgrade and deployment through the test phase
of the program
Prepare
Whether you’re moving from a portal environment such as WebSphere,
BEA, Open Source or an old-line content management system, here are
the points your organization should review.
Business Considerations
6 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
7. SharePoint: A Business Approach
Ask your team to explore the following questions:
How can SharePoint improve our operations? Do proposals and reports
take too long to produce? Is finding and updating information complex?
Are your databases in silos, slowing decision-making? Listing your
challenges will help you identify your objectives. SharePoint can provide
benefits from automating common tasks to accelerating your budgeting
process to improving management of multinational business units.
What roles can SharePoint assume from old-line server products? Create
an informal inventory of frustrations with current software that could play
a smaller role or be eliminated entirely with the new SharePoint platform.
This will give IT a starting point for their technical assessment.
7 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
8. SharePoint: A Business Approach
What are the costs by capability? Look for the hidden costs of your
centrally managed solutions, including the escalating expense of adding
new capabilities on an ad hoc basis. Also consider the savings of
distributed ownership: calculate the operational savings of business staff
providing 50% of their own solutions instead of initiating requests for IT
support.
What processes should the new portal design deliver? Knowing your
business requirements will inform IT’s portal design. You might find that
SharePoint 2010 will allow you to eliminate some current processes. You
might also see opportunities for new, more powerful processes in the new
environment. Ask the technical team for an overview of the possibilities.
What business content or data will be liberated by the solution? Make a
list of opportunities for improving data or access to content so that
employees are empowered to self-serve.
How will we use the enhanced metadata and business intelligence
capabilities of SharePoint 2010? The platform’s new Managed Metadata
Service allows business owners to design and manage the way content is
accessed, displayed and used. The software allows business teams to
mashup data sources in spreadsheets for multivariate analysis of business
operations. Ask IT to detail the options open to you.
What are our priorities? Consult every stakeholder so you can develop an
accurate picture. You’ll also find tips for identifying requirements later in
this paper. Knowing your priorities will give IT guiding principles for
planning the roadmap and timing the release.
Shared Logistics
8 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
9. SharePoint: A Business Approach
What content repositories will our business needs impact? Will you be
using databases like Oracle® and content management systems like
Documentum® in the new environment? If you’re not sure, get an
overview of your current usage from IT so you can contribute to this
discussion.
Are there any parallel projects going on? For example, are you already
using separate technologies related to search or information
classification? They will either need to be retired or migrated to the new
system.
Do we currently use metadata to "tag" information for retrieval
purposes? If so, you will need to create a list of these so they can be
implemented in SharePoint 2010’s searches. Otherwise you could lose all
of your metadata.
What is the volume of data the business requires? The business and
technical teams will need to collaborate on a content assessment and a
plan to remove old files and software. Once this is complete, they can
determine the data volume required for the new platform now, and how
much to add for future growth.
How will the cutover be accomplished? Do you have years of legacy data
you need to access 24X7? Telling IT your needs will help determine
whether the upgrade is conducted all at once or in phases.
Have you developed any criteria, system requirements or strategies for
process improvement? Do you have all current business processes
documented? If not, you should get this done as soon as possible—if not
by your team, by a skilled partner.
9 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
10. SharePoint: A Business Approach
What is your current governance plan? Work with IT to make sure all
systems are covered, processes well-defined, and the governance model
is aligned with the business objectives.
There’s a lot to consider—but much to be gained from doing it right. See
“Secure the Right Resources” for an overview on how this assessment can
be conducted without impeding your current operations.
Technical Considerations
Here are the questions the IT team will need your input to answer.
Do we have an inventory of all custom content, dashboards, reports and
forms that will have to be transitioned to the new platform’s capabilities
or technology? There are many methods for migrating custom content; IT
will need to know each content type to match it with the correct tool.
Do you have an inventory of all security settings? IT will need you to tell
them who should have access to all databases, lists, libraries, web services
and applications in the new environment. This will not only help them
plan the integration and migration process, but also will show them where
access levels need adjusting.
Are you considering modernizing your Active Directory structure and
Access Control List (ACL) attributes? Let IT know you plan to use
SharePoint’s full capabilities in empowering employees to work across
boundaries. Upgrading the Active Directory structure and attributes will
keep SharePoint out of the Groups Management business, a huge plus for
any enterprise.
10 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
11. SharePoint: A Business Approach
Plan
Taking the time to plan will not only pave the way for a successful
modernization effort, but it will also leverage the opportunity to perform
some housekeeping tasks such as modernizing Active Directory to
removing old or duplicate documents. As organizations explore
SharePoint’s capabilities, many are evaluating the prospects of collapsing
the older generation of dedicated applications such as the Remedy®
helpdesk solution or Jive® into a SharePoint solution, reducing their
licensing costs.
Migrating to SharePoint 2010 takes preparation. You will
know that you are ready when you can successfully develop the following.
If this is beyond your organization’s capabilities, an experienced outside
team can provide the professionals and the process you need.
Below is a checklist of items required for a successful first release. IT will
need your input and collaboration on each:
Develop a framework for assessment, design, delivery and
evaluation of the platform; examine and reexamine how
SharePoint fits into your enterprise architecture.
Target a reasonable scope within the roadmap for the first
release.
Develop a first draft of the governance and management plan.
You will revise and update this document until it reflects all goals,
stakeholders, responsibilities and checkpoints.
Identify proven processes for transitioning the platform to
SharePoint 2010.
11 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
12. SharePoint: A Business Approach
Identify the required skill sets, determine if there are any gaps,
and hire the right team.
Develop a plan and stick to it.
Strategy and Design
After determining SharePoint’s role in your enterprise, develop a
roadmap. Working together, business and IT can reach a solution design
that will scale to meet business needs. The Strategy and Design phase
should include the following:
Architectural Specification that details the conceptual model—
technical and functional—that outlines the solution
recommendations, along with a detailed description of
SharePoint’s value to the business units: the delta between today
and tomorrow.
Functional Design that includes business requirements
documentation of how the system will meet the needs of the
business, aligned to functional business scenarios with detailed
use cases, decision models, reporting criteria, and the specified
capability of the planned release cycles.
Communication and Governance Plan that includes training
requirements and support for the organizational transition to the
SharePoint 2010 platform. Experienced consultants will be able to
identify challenges and plateaus commonly associated with
SharePoint adoption after the initial Discovery period.
12 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
13. SharePoint: A Business Approach
Technical Assessment and Delivery Requirements
Technical assessment and delivery requirements documents should
include:
Hardware Infrastructure Plan that includes a technical
description with illustrations on the physical requirements for the
system, including the role of virtualization of the server software.
SharePoint Server Configuration Plan with scripts that includes a
technical description of how the functional design is implemented
to fulfill the business requirements. Where possible, scripts are
provided to implement the configuration according to Microsoft-
preferred technical approaches for managing SharePoint
deployments. A detailed build guide of the solution should be
provided as a common courtesy.
Data Migration Plan that includes options for migrating legacy
content from old-line applications or from previous versions of
SharePoint. You may not have to migrate everything. Experienced
engineers should be able to save you money.
Test Implementation Plan that details the test environment and
includes a process for validating that the solution meets business
use cases, technical requirements, the build plan, and a rollback
plan.
Documenting System Requirements and Business Processes
Most IT teams will ask if you have documented the system requirements
and business processes. Doing so ahead of time jumpstarts the process. If
13 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
14. SharePoint: A Business Approach
you haven’t documented them, an experienced outside firm can help this
process go smoothly.
If you’re documenting your needs in-house, here’s how to lay the
groundwork:
You do not need to know how to relay technical concepts to the IT
team—but you do need to be able to describe symptoms of
what’s not working, identify any web services you’ve found
useful, and give details such as who needs to access the service,
where and how often. This will help IT to translate your needs
into requirements that will fulfill today’s needs and scale for
future growth.
Portal platforms such as SharePoint are toolkits, not products to
be used “out-of-the-box.” They need to be tailored to your
organization’s needs to successfully leverage their capabilities.
Investing in the platform can pay dividends right away; haphazard
upgrades almost guarantee the need for costly resets a few
months into the adoption cycle.
Secure the Right Resources
Moving to SharePoint 2010 will require diverse functional and technical
skills to successfully design, deploy, and extend the platform to deliver the
highest business value. Choosing the right team is essential for a
successful modernization.
Most companies don’t have the resources to fill this need. They also want
to gain the efficiencies of experienced specialists and avoid the risks of
costly mistakes. If you fall in this category, outsourcing your
modernization effort will be a strategic option.
14 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
15. SharePoint: A Business Approach
Look for consultants who have a proven record in successful SharePoint
integration. They should provide a clear process and value-added
resources— from training materials and sample forms to a governance
overview and model showing how to establish shared oversight. They
should also supply clear direction and organization for every step of the
migration, giving you ongoing support, advice and peace of mind.
The following diagram illustrates a typical platform modernization effort,
along with a recommended team structure.
Resources
Listed below is the complete list of recommended resource roles and
responsibilities. In an optimal scenario every role would be filled by an
expert in that particular area:
Product Manager. Manages the production of the solution,
communicates client’s needs to team and status to stakeholders,
15 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
16. SharePoint: A Business Approach
reports progress, manages risks, escalates issues as needed and
ensures delivery is in budget, on schedule and within scope.
Solution Architect. Leads the solution design from the
development of the strategy to the design of the functional and
technical solution; is a member of the program team. Identifies
current/future business requirements and processes; documents
business requirements and functional specifications for the
technical architects.
User Experience Designer (information, content architect, and
visual designer). Transitions the functional specifications into a
meaningful easy and efficient front-end solution for information
management through intuitive access points to documents,
content and data; providing clarity to the engineering team on the
execution of the solution.
SharePoint Architect. Identifies system requirements based on
business requirements, provides system integration, defines and
performs system-level testing and leads the technical
implementation.
Technical Architect. Upgrades of legacy content/data,
coordinates the detailed upgrade timeline and performs
content/data inventory to see what needs to be included in the
implementation.
.Net Developer. Focuses on implementation, configuration and
the customization of SharePoint. The Developer builds new web
parts, builds interfaces with other applications, configures server
features, etc.
16 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
17. SharePoint: A Business Approach
SharePoint / Systems Engineer. Identifies, designs and
implements the SharePoint hardware and software to bring the
SharePoint solution online. Coordinates with the Windows Server
Engineer as needed to provide design requirements for the rest of
the components contained within the infrastructure which will
integrate with the SharePoint portion of the total solution.
Windows Server / Active Directory / Exchange Engineer. Identifies,
designs and implements the Infrastructure hardware and software
requirements to bring the total solution online, assists with the
design of the Active Directory structure and any initial rules that
may need to be set via Group Policy Objects (GPOs).
Infrastructure/SQL, Security Engineer. When firewalls are used
for software or hardware, makes sure that the proper rules are in
place to limit/allow access based on the client’s needs and makes
sure that access to equipment is kept as secure as possible.
Technical Writer or Trainer. Follows a process in parallel with
the project to build clear, accurate and concise documentation for
the organization (e.g. user guide, tutorials, training material,
FAQs, administration guide, support material); assists in user
testing; assists in editing; often assumes/facilitates other
documentation or training roles/tasks for the project.
Reach the Goal
SharePoint will accelerate your capabilities to a new level if you make the
right decisions up-front. Keep in mind that regardless of your platform
choice, modernization is a necessity to stay ahead in the new mobile
environment that is increasingly dominated by a distributed workforce.
17 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
18. SharePoint: A Business Approach
Many of these principles are essential for every upgrade; choosing
SharePoint allows you to increase flexibility and decrease costs.
Combining a proven platform with a strategic, disciplined implementation
will provide increased ROI and speed your time-to-market, while reducing
the risk of costly delays and business interruptions. The choices are
yours—and so will be the rewards.
About the Authors
Andrew Nick
Andrew Nick has over 12 years of business intelligence development
experience and nine years managing technical projects with a focus on
implementing large data management solutions and enterprise reporting
software suites. Mr. Nick possesses strong technical and subject matter
domain knowledge in the public sector.
Russell Elliott
Russ Elliott is a Technical Architect with MicroLink, LLC and is the
company’s Master SME for infrastructure. Russ has been providing
infrastructure solutions for various Microsoft and non-Microsoft platforms
and applications for 20+ years, with a focus on SharePoint® since 2005.
Todd Neff
Todd Neff has over 15years of experience as a software program
manager, project manager and technical analyst. In addition to his
information technology experience, Mr. Neff served as a Surface Warfare
Officer for over nine years in the United States Navy.
18 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com
19. SharePoint: A Business Approach
Contributors
Rita Seaton, Content Strategist and Editor
About MicroLink
MicroLink is a Microsoft Gold Certified Information Technology Partner.
We are a leading provider of Microsoft Solutions Design &
implementation Services for the U.S. Department of Defense, agencies of
the federal and state governments, and commercial enterprises
worldwide. Our consultants support a range of infrastructure clients from
in-theater military units overseas and enterprise e-Government portals, to
large-scale corporate intranet and extranet solutions. Further, we have
successfully implemented almost 200 SharePoint® deployments in
commercial and federal government marketplaces.
19 www.MicroLinkLLC.com | 703-556-4400 | info@microlinkllc.com