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SharePoint takes document handling and storage to a new level, allowing businesses of all sizes to collaborate and share information across the organisation. Instead of just dumping files into directories, SharePoint provides document storage and retrieval with check in and check out functionality, version history, custom metadata and customisable views. Users can therefore extract and reuse relevant information from systems and reports, and quickly locate and access documents and projects from across the company, as part of an existing workflow process. Some of the benefits of using SharePoint are:
- Easy integration with other Microsoft Office 2003 applications;
- Enhancement your organisations intranet;
- Improved communication with external partners via an extranet;
- Extra functionality and customisation through web parts built on a .NET framework.
There are currently two forms of SharePoint available, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (WSS), a standard application in Windows 2003, and the SharePoint Portal Server 2003. Share Point Portal Server not only includes the full-features of WSS document libraries, but also offers rich lists for calendar items, announcements, links, and the creation of WSS Meeting and document workspaces directly from Office 2003 applications
 Windows SharePoint Services
“As part of a new operating system rollout, the British Council decided to pilot a WSS as low cost, easily implemented, knowledge management solution. We chose i-teba to help us develop this solution because of their expertise in web-enabled database solutions and our positive experience working with the company on previous occasions”. - Martin Peacock, ICT Exploitation Manager
The Educational Enterprises Department wanted to integrate SharePoint with a Teaching Materials Database, so that teaching information and resources could be shared across the 110 countries in which it now operates.
After a detailed investigation it was decided that WSS provided all of the functional requirements set out by the British Council, except for an advanced search page, which was available in SharePoint Portal Server. However it was decided that the cost benefits of i-teba writing a customised search screen, in the form of a .NET web part, far outweighed those of the SharePoint Portal Server licensing costs.
 SharePoint Portal Server
“NICE selected i-teba following a competitive tendering process. i-teba was able to provide a good demonstration of how the application would look and function; this combined with both a competitive cost and detailed work plan successfully culminated in an initial consultancy contract followed by implementation”. - Chris Harvey, New Media Manager
i-teba was asked to produce a detailed consultancy study report for a content management system at the National Institute For Clinical Excellence (NICE). The core requirements of NICE at the time of the study were to make the tracking of documents easier, allow more users to upload information onto the website and to simplify the conversion of documents into HTML.
It was decided from the consultation study that a SharePoint Portal Server installation with some extra web parts (‘plug-ins’ of functionality that can be added to SharePoint pages), would best suit the needs of the organisation. |