Welcome To What Is SharePoint?

SharePoint allows individuals in an organization to easily create and manage their own collaborative Web sites.

It sounds simple yet let me dissect what it truly means:

Individuals

Does it specify that anybody using SharePoint should be technically savvy? No. In fact, as long as you have familiarity with using Windows, Microsoft Office and surfing the Web, you are in good shape.

Organization

It implies that the intent of using SharePoint is for a limited number of people belonging to the same group. This also means that within the group there will be varying levels of authority and privileges. You don’t have to rely on the IT/IS department to set up permissions in SharePoint. You are empowered to define and manage who gains access to specific information. You will learn more about permissions in Chapter 4.

 

Easily

Instead of contacting IT/IS, any individual can create, customize and manage this collaborative tool. Though IT will not totally out of the picture, it empowers the user to be able to develop a customized automated system that can support their needs appropriately in a timely manner.

 
 

Collaborative

Just like my first point, the intent of SharePoint is to enhance team collaboration. There is nothing stopping you from creating the next Yahoo or Google, however, SharePoint is not intended to be used as a platform for non-collaborative, public web sites.

 

 

 

Meet The Author

SharePoint Author, Consultant and Trainer

The Book

SharePoint           For Project    Management

 

 

WSS

With SharePoint, the main purpose is to empower users with document management and team collaboration tools. What’s required to fulfill this purpose is WSS. It is the core “engine” of SharePoint. Without WSS there is no SharePoint. WSS is available for free as long as your organization has proper licensing for Windows 2003 Server.

MOSS    

What about MOSS? It provides extended capabilities to WSS.  Going back to the car analogy, we can equip our vehicles with accessories such as GPS, a DVD system, Voice Command, etc., however, these extended features are not required to fulfill the purpose of a car (taking us from point A to point B). If these accessories are not installed, the car will still work. It’s just that having a GPS might enable us to reach our destination faster without getting lost. MOSS extended features include Enterprise search, Personalization, Enterprise Content Management, etc. Unlike WSS, MOSS is not available for free. Licensing can vary and become quite costly. (For more information about licensing, visit Microsoft’s SharePoint licensing website at Microsoft's SharePoint Website

SharePoint has been around since 2001. It has evolved from a simple web-based site management tool to an empowering collaboration tool that integrates seamlessly with the web, Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. Since it is a foundational Microsoft technology, various organizations ranging from government institutions, airlines, banks, construction companies to retail industries have benefitted from its tools and feature sets.

 
 

To distinguish WSS and MOSS, an analogy that I use is comparing SharePoint to a car. What’s the main purpose of a car? To take you from point A to point B, agree? What component of a car is required to fulfill this purpose? You’re right, a car engine.

 

SharePoint does not refer to a specific product or technology. Using the phrase “Microsoft SharePoint” is like using the phrase “Microsoft Office”. It refers to several aspects of collaborative solutions. The key components include Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007.