SharePoint 2013 seems
to be getting a lot of attention these days. The reviews have been mostly
positive, but there have been a few articles and discussions that appear to
fundamentally misunderstand the new features and functionalities of the next
release of SharePoint, even those written by seasoned IT professionals.
Last week I purchased
a SharePoint 2013 Hosting Plan at ASPHostPortal.com and asked them to install
SharePoint 2013 for me. After using SharePoint 2013 for couple of times, I've found
some new features of SharePoint 2013 that I'm excited about:
- Collaboration.
SharePoint 2013
is now deeply integrated into the Office ecosystem, making it easier than ever
to collaborate on projects. What this means for end users is the ability
to set up site mailboxes for collaboration sites (making it easier for team
members to communicate as the project progresses), follow key documents and
receive updates when the document changes, and save and share documents to
SkyDrive Pro. While the scenarios outlined here require SharePoint 2013,
Exchange 2013, and Office 2013, they do not require Windows 8. That's
right – even users on Windows 7 can take advantage of the tight integration of
SharePoint with the rest of the Office suite.
- Social Networking.
One of the key
problems for anyone working in a large organization is tracking down that one
person who is the subject matter expert on a topic that you need to
understand. SharePoint 2013 takes the My sites concept from 2010 and
supercharges it, integrating discussion boards, and newsfeeds into SharePoint
Communities. Fully integrated FAST search means that end users can also
search for documents, preview documents in the search results without opening
the item, and share specific documents with others in their peer group.
Yammer can not only integrate into SharePoint, but it also provides a way for
your users to collaborate securely with partners and customers outside your
corporate firewall by leveraging the External Networks feature. All
Yammer connections are secured via SSL/TLS, and web application servers are
physically and logistically stored separately from servers that store customer
data.
- Mobile Devices.
SharePoint isn't
just a desktop application anymore – now you can access your SharePoint site on
your phone or tablet, on the go or in the office. This integration is
made even more apparent when deployed on Office 365. No need to access
the corporate network – a single sign-on gets you access to the data you need,
when you need it. While Microsoft products will always work first and
best on devices running a Windows OS, the company has made a commitment to
develop for both the Android and the iOS systems.
- Compliance.
Microsoft's legal
group is extremely focused on issues of compliance, and we're always looking
for ways to make the eDiscovery process faster and more complete. The
eDiscovery feature, new to SharePoint 2013, allows us to search for relevant
documents not only in SharePoint, but also in Exchange, on file shares,
etc. We can also place holds on individual Exchange mailboxes as needed.
- Search.
Now that
FAST is fully integrated into SharePoint 2013, search has become the preferred
way to find and view information. You can find not only sites and
documents, but also individuals (through the user profile), suggestions from
other users, and system recommendations. The refinement panel has also
been updated to make it easier than ever to drill down to the content that
you're looking for.
- SharePoint Apps.
The introduction
of the app model to SharePoint 2013 is a fundamental paradigm shift in how
administrators manage SharePoint properties, and how end users consume
content. Azure integration means that apps can store large amounts of
data in the cloud, reducing space requirements on SharePoint and ensuring
system responsiveness. Building your SharePoint implementation on Office
365 results in a lightweight SharePoint solution that is available anywhere,
from any device.
- Security.
When accessing an
Office 365 SharePoint site from inside the corporate firewall, Active Directory
Federation Services (ADFS) allows you to pass that user to the site outside
your corporate firewall in a seamless and integrated fashion.
Claims-based authentication means that you can create highly targeted content
and be assured that only audiences with the specified profile are able to
access it. It also means that single sign-on is much easier to achieve,
since your SharePoint application is no longer required to authenticate users,
storing user accounts and passwords, calling to enterprise directories to look
up user details, and integrating with identity systems from other platforms or
companies.
My customers will
benefit hugely from our migration to SharePoint 2013. Content owners, who
generally have responsibilities that go far beyond content management, will
love the ease with which they can update content—even copying and pasting from
Word without having to remember to strip out the HTML that comes along.
End users will benefit from enhanced search, tightly integrated metadata, and
the ability to follow key content and be notified when it changes.
And me? I'm
loving the idea of cross-site publishing and catalog-enabled lists. The
‘friendly URL' feature that integrates with managed navigation will make it
easier for our content owners to share key guidance. And the app model
opens up a whole world of possibilities.
SharePoint
administrators definitely have a lot of decisions to make, and site migrations
are always time-intensive. And, of course, users will always want things
done quickly so that they can get on with their work. SharePoint 2013 is
a product that will make life easier for everyone – administrators, content
owners, end users.