So SharePoint, Its Just Another File Server Right?

During lots of my many adventures on advising my clients and potential clients of solutions that can help them and their organization become more productive and work together more efficiently, I often hear "So what's what the big deal with this SharePoint thing? I mean, its just a glorified file server, right?" Ok, I am paraphasing a bit but that is the gist of what I hear and my answer is a resounding no. SharePoint is much, much more but, regrettably, in a lot of arenas, it is downplayed as a document management system (i.e. file server) or it is despised to the point that if you even whisper its name, people come out the woodwork with flaming torches, pitch forks, and declarations of "Burn the Witch!!!". Think I am joking? Well, I'm not.

In this blog, I am not going to get into why it has become such a dirty word in some spaces and why that is very unfortunate (that is for another blog) but I will get into why SharePoint is not JUST for document storage.

First of all, sharing is the point with SharePoint. I can't remember if I heard that somewhere or made it up (sorry if I stole that from you. Point it out and I will happily give credit) but that is the real point. When you share with people in your organization, you do more than share documents. Think about it. You share ideas, data, and other information as well. All of this collaboration makes your organization more efficient and productive. Ok, ok, you say: So what is your REAL point, Nikki. Break it down for me. To that I say: Sure, here goes the breakdown. Think of SharePoint as your organization's portal or intranet. As such, it can provide a place for:

• The entire organization to see upcoming events and get pertinent information that is important right now as well as in the past

• Project Managers to track and manage people, resources, and workflow around the project

• Automating, thereby speeding up, paper and "sneaker-net" driven processes that can break down or slow down if, for example, one person drops the ball or is out for a week

• The entire organization to be able to fill out forms online (for example HR forms) which notify the appropriate person(s) of completion

• Each department to have their own site dedicated to their needs

• Leadership to see milestones and accomplishments happening in the organization as well as monitor for trouble areas

• Sharing of ideas, solving of problems, and spreading knowledge

• And, oh yeah, document storage and management where documents are easier to find, tagged with keywords, search and filtered by keywords and other indicators, versions are kept in check, approval processes can be implemented, etc.

And there's more. This is, by no means, an exhaustive list but I believe it is just enough to get your juices flowing. See what I mean by more than just documents? Are you starting to get the picture? Great! Tell your friends!

 Need help or need to talk this through more? We understand. Reach out to us and we will happily answer your questions. We can also work with you to bring Microsoft Office 365 as well as this and other solutions to your organization.