Overview of what SharePoint is and what it can do for you without using all the marketing hype

1. NOW I GET IT… WHAT
SHAREPOINT IS AND WHY I
NEED IT
SPTechCon San Francisco 2013
Mark Rackley
mark.rackley@summit7systems.com

2. Summit 7 systems is a premier provider of consulting and implementation services specializing on the
Microsoft SharePoint Platform and FAST Enterprise Search.
» Summit 7 Systems was chosen by KMWorld Magazine as one of the top 100 Companies that Matter in Knowledge Management along with
companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and IBM.
» Summit 7 Systems was named to the 2011 and 2012 CRN Next-Gen 250 List as a company bringing innovative processes, methodologies and
models to the solution provider industry.
» Top 1% of Microsoft Partners Worldwide
» Summit 7 Systems was named #6 on the 2012 CRN Fast Growth 100 based on our 2009 – 2011 growth of over 930% per year.
» ~ 50% of Technical Staff hold US Government SECRET Clearances.
» Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB).

3. SOFTWARE PLATFORMS SERVICES
FAST Enterprise Search SharePoint QuickStart
SharePoint 2007 Information Architecture and Governance Development
SharePoint 2010 Upgrade and Migration
SharePoint 2013 Branding and Design (User Experience)
Office Platform
Web Content Management Design and Deployment
Sitecore
SharePoint Search
Custom Workflow or Web Part Development
SOLUTION AREAS InfoPath Forms and Workflows
SharePoint Platform Solutions Performance Baselines and Best Practices Optimization
Enterprise Search Mapping Business Process to Software Platforms
Enterprise Content Management
Cloud Services Design and Provisioning
Internet / Web Content Management
Remote Support Contracts
Extranet Solutions
Compliance Quickstart
Intranet Solutions
Business Process Management
Enterprise Project Management
Exchange Server

4. MARK RACKLEY / SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT
• 18+ years software architecture and
development experience
• SharePoint Junkie since 2007
• Event Organizer
• Blogger, Writer, Speaker
• Bacon aficionado
@mrackley http://www.sharepointhillbilly.com

5. AGENDA
Why is understanding SharePoint so hard?
What is SharePoint?
Why SharePoint?
Tips for avoiding SharePoint Pain
The importance of the SharePoint Community

6. WHY IS UNDERSTANDING SHAREPOINT SO HARD?

7. WHY IS UNDERSTANDING SO HARD?
• It’s hard to know where to begin
• There so much information!
• Conflicting information!
• SO MUCH NOISE!!

8. WHY IS UNDERSTANDING SO HARD?
• It’s hard to know where to begin
• There so much information!
• Conflicting information!
• SO MUCH NOISE!!
• What’s my role??

9. WHY IS UNDERSTANDING SO HARD?
• It’s hard to know where to begin
• There so much information!
• Conflicting information!
• SO MUCH NOISE!!
• What’s my role??
• Easy to fall into analysis paralysis

10. WHY IS UNDERSTANDING SO HARD?
• Lots of concepts to grasp
• Governance
• Information Architecture
• Composites
• BI
• Collaboration

11. WHY IS UNDERSTANDING SO HARD?
No man/woman is an island in SharePoint
• You can’t “do it all”
• It’s easy to get it to work… incorrectly
• There’s no “one size fits all”

12. WHY IS UNDERSTANDING SO HARD?
You have to change the way you work
• Change your email habits
• Play well with others
• “Do it yourself”

13. WHY IS UNDERSTANDING SO HARD?
Fear of the unknown
• “But that’s not the way we used to
do it”
• Developers perceived loss of job
security

14. WHAT IS SHAREPOINT???

15. WHAT IS SHAREPOINT?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjyrSUnyaHc

16. SHAREPOINT IS…
Collaboration
Organization
Visualization

17. WHAT IS SHAREPOINT?
SharePoint is a platform
SharePoint can be many things
• It creates sites on the fly
• It stores your data
• It allows you to easily manage permissions
• It gives you alerts and workflows

18. WHAT IS SHAREPOINT?
SharePoint is many things
• It Integrates with other systems
• It helps you find stuff
• It helps you to “do it yourself” “out of the box”
• 80/20 rule

19. WHAT IS SHAREPOINT?
What do you want it to be?

20. WHAT IS SHAREPOINT?
Read the directions

21. WHY SHAREPOINT?
SHAREPOINT?

22. TOP 10 THINGS SHAREPOINT CAN DO FOR YOU
10. Unclutter your inbox
9. Connect to the right people
8. Find what you need
7. Replace other expensive products

23. TOP 10 THINGS SHAREPOINT CAN DO FOR YOU
6. Give you insight
5. Remind you
4. Centralize your data
3. Make you more productive

24. TOP 10 THINGS SHAREPOINT CAN DO FOR YOU
2. Keep you organized
1. Make you look like a rock star

25. SharePoint may not be THE
best tool for any one job, but it
does MANY jobs well.

26. TIPS FOR AVOIDING
SHAREPOINT PAIN

27. SharePoint is a woman…
Treat her that way.

28. DON’T EXPECT THE ERROR MESSAGES TO MAKE SENSE

29. EVEN WHEN YOU’RE RIGHT, YOU MIGHT BE WRONG

30. DON’T TRY AND CONTROL HER, DO IT HER WAY

31. ACCEPT HER FOR WHO SHE IS

32. “SharePoint is a man! You
have to beat him into
submission!” – Lori Gowin

33. DON’T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF!
There is no easy button
• It IS different
• It takes time
SharePoint is MASSIVE
• No one understands it all
• Befriend the gurus
Accept that “It Depends”

34. LEARN THE CORRECT TERMINOLOGY
Farm
Elevated Privileges Safe Control
CAML Feature
Site Column STSADM Declarative Workflow
Site Collection Persisted Object Application Page
Content Type Site Definition List Definition
Solution Package
Scope
Content Database Event Receiver List Instance
Central Administration
Publishing Page ONET
Web Application
List View Feature Receiver Theme
Field Control Client Object Model
Team Site
Timer Job

35. BEWARE THE SHAREPOINT “EXPERT”
Be skeptical
Ask for references
Learn some basic
interview questions
You get what you pay
for

36. THE SHAREPOINT COMMUNITY

37. A WORD (OR TWO) ABOUT COMMUNITY

38. TO AVOID SHAREPOINT FAIL…

39. YOU GOTTA DRINK THE KOOL-AID
Join the community
Read Blogs
Read Books
Play around in your site
Attend events
Build relationships
DON’T BE AFRAID TO DO SOMETHING!

40. FOR MORE FROM SUMMIT 7 SYSTEMS…
facebook.com/summit7systems
@summit7systems
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