All that "branding" comes at a Price.

It was interesting this morning as I browsed the blogs and SharePoint news this morning and found an article about some of the slowest SharePoint sites out there on the net. I couldn't help but smile as I saw some of the biggest names such as Dollar General and even the U.S. Marines who have droves of SharePoint talent and developers working on their sites....... and yet there they were on a list showing them as one of the worst performing sites out there!


Well, as one of my old bosses used to say "Less is more" and all that "branding" and development comes at a cost. I can almost see their teams working almost daily on performance issues, tweaking this and that to try and get things to work like they should.


I think these guys need to refocus and get back to basics. Pretty shouldn't be at top of the list, nor should you connect and hack everything on the backend of SharePoint just because you can. If you do, you're going to pay for it down the road in the form of instability, constant support issues, upkeep, maintenance, costs, and more. Before you know it your fun loving, functional, productive SharePoint site becomes a monster you can no longer control. Sure you think you got it under control and it's all those SharePoint people you've hired that are not doing their job right or things would work better.....


just sayin.


For a look at some of the SLOWEST SharePoint sites out there, click here!

SharePoint is crack and Microsoft is the pusher?

Wow, just read this article and I thought I put things bluntly! This is just another article of many that are starting to be seen out there as the result of improper planning and governance of SharePoint installations.

SharePoint is not the end all answer to every problem you have. But it can be! The real problem is not SharePoint but those who are implementing it. It's not another development "platform", although it can be used as such. But in many cases you get what the author of this article states; a SharePoint layer on top of something you already have!

SharePoint can be as simple or as complex as you make it. That's the genuis of it. It can be used for just about any industry in the world..... but like I so often say, just because you "can" doesn't mean you "should".

After spending nearly 15 years working on the front lines with every version of SharePoint out there in both consulting and corporate environments, I'm reminded of two things:

• The novel "Great Expectations" - Or better put, "Unrealistic Expectations". When someone attempts to implement SharePoint based on the hype or wow factor and finds out after the fact that they are not getting what they expected.
• "Less is more" - Refer to #1 above, then look at this again.

For a peek at the article that spawned these thoughts, jump on over to the CMS article by clicking here.

This might be called a list of expectations..... unmet

Rich Blank posted an article over at Digital Landfill that fits a trend of eye opening information for those who have implemented SharePoint or want to implement SharePoint within their organizations. Although he titles the article "5 Myths about SharePoint as an Enterprise Social Platform", it could have also been titled "Unmet Expectations about the SharePoint platform."

Rich's article is evidence of several trends in the world of SharePoint where all the hype isn't quite working in many organizations and all too often after someone sells SharePoint to an organization [this can be internal or external, and doesn't necessarily mean "sold" as much as gaining "buy in"], several expectations are not met as your implementation nears completion or in many cases spins the IT wheels and people start asking questions such as "I thought I was going to get this......" or "this isn't going to be as easy or cheap as we thought it would be." 

In the end, all the hype ends up doing is make an organization question if SharePoint is really for them, or if they fall into the money pit [hardware, software, resources, support] trying to meet expectations they find some things like Rich writes about that are nothing more than "myths" born of the "hype" from individuals who were either selling the product [consultants or someone pushing a SharePoint Enterprise license], or went to a seminar or read an article and were "wowed" about what SharePoint can do.

To avoid the money pit that SharePoint can become it's very important to follow a couple simple guidelines;

• Plan, plan and plan more! - It can't be said enough that SharePoint is not like other software implementations. It is something that needs a lot of proper planning by individuals who have experience with SharePoint and know the roadblocks and pitfalls. Without a good roadmap, your SharePoint implementation will at best fail to meet many expectations and at worst, fail completely.
• Use a SharePoint Professional! - Don't expect to meet your SharePoint implementation goals if you're not working with someone who has several years experience with SharePoint. I don't mean developers who view SharePoint as just another "project". SharePoint has the potential to touch every area of your business and streamline many business processes. The goal is to make everyone's jobs easier, not create another software platform IT has to support. Don't scrimp on SharePoint experience thinking sending someone to get a SharePoint certification will do the trick. Trust me, if you haven't been using SharePoint for several years, you haven't seen the best and the worst of it. There are things you can't be taught in class. Nothing beats EXPERIENCE.
• Governance. This should be part of your planning. Set-up some very good rules for your SharePoint deployment. Map out appearance and content requirements, define user groups [and don't for Pete's sake make everyone an Administrator!!], even write a policy if need be. And don't think you can deploy SharePoint and not have a SharePoint Administrator. You need to set rules for content and permissions AND have someone to guard the gate and support the thing.
• Don't believe all the hype. I don't care if Bill Gates told you SharePoint can do this or that. Don't jump headfirst into a SharePoint project wanting it to be another development platform you connect databases to and end up having half your IT team supporting it because performance sucks. Yes, SharePoint can do many things BUT you need to start simple, get people to use it, and have a plan [I said that word again didn't I?] mapped out for what the expectations are and what it will take to get there. SharePoint was developed to be flexible for use in many business environments.  It can be used in retail business, for intranets and more. But at each step you need to ask the "5 W's"
• Why do we need this?
• What will it take to get it done [please be realistic]?
• When can it be done?
• Where will it reside?
• Who is going to do it and more importantly, "who" will support it? 

For a look at Rich's excellent article on the "5 Myths about SharePoint as an Enterprise Social Platform", here's a direct link:

http://www.digitallandfill.org/2011/11/5-myths-about-sharepoint-as-an-enterprise-social-platform.html

Finally, someone gets it.

Over at InformationWeek this morning I found a rare article touting the "5 SharePoint Pitfalls to Avoid". And after reading it, I couldn't help but think finally, someone gets it!

When SharePoint is deployed as an after thought or by teams that barely understand SharePoint, that's when mistakes happen. While the article touches on a few of the mistakes made by organizations deploying SharePoint, the thing that was most interesting is that it calls to attention the fact that organizations are starting to encounter a considerable number of issues that could have been avoided.

Here's a list of some of the issues I've seen over the years for better or worse [hey, if the truth hurts];

1. Misunderstanding diskspace requirements.
2. Misunderstanding RAM requirements.
3. Lack of planning, or improper planning.
4. No governance plans.
5. Thinking SharePoint is just another development platform, and using it as one.
6. Believing SharePoint can take care of itself after it's off the ground.
7. Thinking you don't need a SharePoint Administrator.
8. Making SharePoint just another one of IT's responsibilities.
9. Lack of understanding about what can and does impact performance.
10. Not realizing that SQL is the heart of SharePoint.

How Remote SharePoint Administration Works - Part One

Why would you want to hire a SharePoint Administrator to work remote?

Perhaps the first question to ask before answering how remote administration works, is why? The concept of someone working in an office, sitting at a desk, and being "seen" is an old, outdated one. Without going into all the reasons why companies save space and money having workers who telecommute, we'll focus on why you would want a remote SharePoint Admin.

The answer is simple. There is a real need for SharePoint workers these days. All you have to do is go to one of the top job search sites and type in SharePoint and you'll see that it's one of the hottest jobs right now. If you're a SharePoint professional and you post a resume, you'll also see a huge increase in phone calls from recruiters. [I sometimes get 15 or more calls a day] So, to the point [no pun intended] hiring a SharePoint professional remote is smart. You tap into all those people like me that are locked into their geographic location, yet can provide you with the talent and skills you need.

Here's the other thing. Many companies are installing, or planning to install or migrate to SharePoint 2010. They calculate it would take three to six months to get the job done and they "sic" recruiters on everyone asking for "contract work" at their location on a temporary basis. Okay, let's be honest. Yes, there are SharePoint gypsies out there for hire who don't have families or live out of a suitcase contract to contract. Chances are, while there are exceptions, you won't get the best talent hiring a SharePoint gypsy. Yet, you know the old saying, you get what you pay for. And if you want temporary workers, you get the temporary attitude as most people whether they admit it or not don't like living six months in one city, then three months in another, and so on and so on. Final truth..... many companies that hire temporary contract SharePoint workers [or any others for that matter], end up disappointed and go through several contractors before the project is done. Not a good scenario.

Where do we work anyway?

That's the real question here. Where do we work? In most cases, the SharePoint Administrator spends all his or her time in front of a monitor working "remote" tied into the server where SharePoint is installed. So realistically, the "job" of SharePoint Administration is at the computer......accessing a server. It's not the desk or the office. Inherently, all SharePoint jobs are remote. Whether they are working from an office at your location, or their office at home. And the only reason more are not working remote is the "stigma" that remote workers don't work! But is that really true? Or is the proof that the job gets done? And isn't that what you really want anyway?

You don't want to go through three or four contractors in a six month period to get a project done. So don't. Consider looking at the ENTIRE SharePoint talent pool and consider hiring a professional that works remote, and is happy to do so without all the expense of travel.

But how does remote SharePoint Administration work? Ahhhh, that my friends is a question for part two of this series. Stay tuned!

SharePoint Administrator For Hire

I currently have time on my calendar to do some remote training, SharePoint administration, create some custom SharePoint lists, libraries, list forms or consulting tasks focused on existing SharePoint deployments or perhaps a migration or pre-planning deployment of SharePoint 2010.

Please contact me [you can find contact information in my profile] for more information and rates.

Please don't expect the average IT or developer guy. I'm a SharePoint professional from a different perspective. Actually, I come from the other side of the desk having more in common with end users and their problems, than IT departments and developers who have more on their minds than just SharePoint. But more on that later as I get more information out here.

Welcome to Simply SharePoint!

Simply SharePoint consists of ramblings, resources, and help getting back to basics when it comes to deploying one of the hottest tools out there peddled by Microsoft. All too often organizations jump in with both feet not knowing anything [or very little] about what SharePoint is, what it can do, what end user needs are, and what "should" be done. The end result is just another expensive development platform that isn't anything like what everyone expected.

I've been working with SharePoint on the front lines since before it was known as "SharePoint" and have seen and experienced when it works........ and when it gets totally out of control. Stay tuned and I'll be developing [I hate that word, really I do] more information on what Simply SharePoint is all about.

Trust me, complex doesn't mean better. Stop buying licenses for third party tools and start leveraging what SharePoint and SharePoint Designer can do out of the box. If you want to talk about what your organization is planning to do with SharePoint, or wants to do...... stop and don't listen to what everyone else is doing. Keep it simple, keep it productive!