…SharePoint just doesn’t cut it for internal collaboration. Sorry, guys.
A customer recently told me that the last round of enhancements to SharePoint are simply the proverbial “lipstick on a pig”. We all know and reiterate that the application does a fine job of being a storehouse for documents. Document Workflow, Versioning and storage of structured information are definitely the core of the application’s functional strengths.
So, what happened? Why did Microsoft decide to take a highly structured CMS and try make it social? Good question. I am sure there are many smart people at Microsoft who work on SharePoint, however there’s also a very reactionary element who can’t stand to be provoked. Certain people (you know who you are!) couldn’t resist taunting Microsoft regarding their lack of social capabilities in SharePoint.
Instead of focusing on their traditional competition (Documentum, etc) Microsoft decided to jump on the social bandwagon and attempt to change SharePoint to the next big thing in internal collaboration.
The reason for the title of this blog is that IT have embraced the notion that “nobody gets fired for buying Microsoft”. They are going down fighting against business teams who are begging for an intuitive UI, functional social elements and the ability to smoothly leverage content across business silos.
What’s the answer, when you are trying to spend wisely in this troubled economy? One approach I’ve seen be highly effective (sorry, Microsoft) is to use the free version of SharePoint for document storage and versioning for the structured content that belongs there.
When your business teams need something that has blogging, open document authoring, rich profiles, microblogging, commentary, ratings – in short, a social media application – leverage one of the best of breed players out there. They aren’t as expensive as you’d think, and your infrastructure/IT resource costs can be very minimal depending on the application of choice.
A combined approach will allow you to preserve the Microsoft environment and utilize their technology for what it does very well, but also better connect your people and leverage their mindshare to solve problems more quickly, find experts and build a sense of organizational connectedness. Get people collaborating in open access content areas, asking questions and helping build a vibrant storehouse of knowledge and the people who make your organization successful… not just a file system with a bunch of lightweight bells and whistles.
Oh, I’ve had this argument so many times in the last years. And please, don’t equate IT with MS. I’ll recommend an MS solution when appropriate, but that is only in very specific cases.
Collaboration and social strategies are much deeper than slapping a wiki onto a piece of software. While wiki is deeply collaborative, to be social there needs to be a layer of metadata sitting beneath, covering relationships, search, profiles, and a plethora of other information.
Social is more than just bringing a profile in from PeopleSoft (or whatever) and letting people be friends. It is helping them build relationships and communities, allowing them to share ideas, documents, and opinions with each other conveniently and efficiently.
Thanks, Rick!
To be fair, IT doesn’t always equate to MS, particularly in blended shops however many organizations are struggling with getting a “one stop shop” from SharePoint rather than leveraging best of breed applications to capitalize on the human investment and knowledge.
Ok – maybe I am being a bit harsh regarding the MS slant
Oh, I know the syndrome. If I had a nickel for every “nobody ever got fired for choosing microsoft” I’ve heard I wouldn’t be as concerned with my 401k. Of course at least half of those occasions came from MS reps.
Other than that one point, I agree with your post a lot. In my experience, even Unix-oriented shops can drive sharepoint as a one stop shop from the desktop support division.