Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 includes features that are especially useful for designing, deploying, and managing enterprise intranet portals and divisional portal sites.
One place for all
Our grand vision is that everything is delivered via the intranet through a browser: information, applications, collaboration, communication. At tis point the user no longer needs access to their desktop on a day to day basis.
Although we are not quite there today, the advent of most line of business application having a web interface and the launch of Microsoft Office Web Applications and the equivalents takes us close to this ideal. A good intranet provides the single place staff should go for their day to day information needs, for their core applications and to communicate and collaborate with colleagues across the organisation. It provides access to policies and procedures, news and announcements, business data etc. It should also act as an application portal, providing a springboard to all manner of applications, from the staff directory and phone book to clinical and line of business applications. These applications will be both entirely separate solutions with some level of integration to the intranet as well as smaller solutions built within Sharepoint itself.
The most frequent use of intranets are:
- Information collection intranets are used to organise all the information that resides in an organisation. It acts as a central repository of knowledge, ie document libraries, individual’s computer files, statistical information, databases, etc. Access to a large repository should reduce duplication, increase productivity and improve decision making. Individuals can contribute and have access to all this information but restricting the purpose to just this will not allow staff to interact with other contributors.
- Collaboration and communication intranets allow departments and staff to connect within an organisation and to initiate and take part in information flows. This type of intranet should promote dialogue, debate, learning and help to facilitate face to face communication.
- Activity Based Intranets facilitate the completion of tasks and actions. The intranet can be used to book meeting rooms, raise procurement orders, submit HR information and do online training. This type of system reduces the time spent on often repeated administrative tasks and should save time.
Search, Findability and Alerts
The search functionality offered by SharePoint enables users to quickly find information which is not easily accessible by navigation.
Users can also sign-up to be notified about changes to specific documents, folders or even a competitor’s website via SharePoint ‘Subscriptions’.
Administrators can easily limit access to information to ensure sensitive information does not appear in the search for employees who have not been granted access.
People
The portal components also make it easy to connect to people within the organisation that have the right skills, knowledge, and project experience.
Individual staff profiles can be synchronised with Active Directory (and thus with ESR) and staff and / or the organisation can maintain their profiles, allowing others to see their areas of skill, interst and organisational activity.
People can find people, using the extensive networking and social media tools.
Cloud2 build highly customised Intranets and Portals that simplify the way in which people work together.
