In addition to the department- structures project teams in companies are becoming increasingly important. Especially, tools for project management and project control are necessary to effectively simplify project management and control. Unfortunately, there is no uniform Project management: also the project management processes are as varied as the tools available. There is also not the Central norm for project management, a variety of national DIN- and international ISO standards abound in this area (CF.. z.B. http://www.gpm-InfoCenter.de/).

The central objective remains the same but: How to reach your project goals as a project manager under optimum use of available staff and resources to defined milestones and dates? This article presents a solution approach, It combines the possibilities of more complex project management systems with easy customization options.

A variety of project management tools and specialized software products are competing for the favor of enterprise customers, while at the same time project managers often manage with the probably most widely used project management tool- Microsoft Excel. In addition to established manufacturers such as Oracle, Microsoft and SAP offer many more companies specialized project management software, and also a number of freely available open source software such as, for example, "project open" (http://ww.project-open.com) suitable for many project management-Requirements. However, the market is confusing, the summaries of the Computer week 2011 or Computer week 2013 only a small segment of the more established manufacturers to introduce.

Excel as a purpose weapon already enormously simplifies project management, but it is problematic, If you want to share project information in the team or central update. However, comprehensive project management solutions such as, for example, Microsoft Project Server require accurate planning and usually undergo a more complicated introduction process, because either the products need to be adapted to your request processes or your business processes and thus your project working methods must be adapted to a new product.

Microsoft SharePoint solution as a project management tool?

If you already Microsoft SharePoint use and may be used as strategic platform in your organization, are you easy ways to, to take advantage of the functionality of Microsoft Excel in the team and to add opportunities for collaboration in the project team. In the simplest case, take over an existing Excel-based project management as a central SharePoint list and have immediate benefits through a central synchronization, Team access, an automatic versioning and standard forms to create and edit project information.

Want to implement but a more comprehensive project management for SharePoint, as with PMOffice365 a complete project management solution for Microsoft SharePoint. PMOffice365 is supported for the platforms Microsoft Office 365, SharePoint 2013, SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint Foundation and provides comprehensive project management functionality in the areas of:

• Project management
• Team organization
• Document management
• Project controlling
• Project reporting
• Risk management
• Process management
• Interface management

In the foreground is a uniform structure of projects, Partial projects, Project tasks/requirements, and project teams. For each of the objects of this structure is a variety of project-typical attribute fields available, facilitate a direct commissioning without adjustment. You can add more attributes according to your individual requirements or hide also not desired attributes and adjust to the available masks--simple configuration settings. Also, you can customize the terms used in your language.

User interface in the Web browser

For maps, Dynamic list views available are evaluations and reports, similar to Microsoft Excel sort is, can filter or group.

All direct functions of PMOffice365 are accessible via a Web browser. Edit the different project information in clear masks with tab titles, as for example, when creating a project:

These masks can be extensively configured, many project information management remains open at all times. Depending on the setting, certain riders are available only selected user groups available, so that you can manage, for example, project budgets as project manager, While members of your project team can see only the project basic information.

Detailed project information

After the project with the corresponding projects of part of and a project team is created, can the individual tasks or. Add requirements, Defining dependencies between tasks and teams or. assign individual employees. For the management of the project team itself is its own function module available, and the added project contacts can synchronize directly with Microsoft Outlook.

In the tab Project requirements all currently for the project defined requirements or tasks appear and can be edited directly from the mask or supplemented with new requests/tasks:

Tasks by their very nature are more complex and require a downstream processing with possibly multiple stakeholders, so the tasks for forwarding to a ticket system such as z.B can be. LTRS – http://www.locatech-it.com/losungen-leistungen/ltrs-ticketsystem-servicedesk-microsoft-sharepoint/ enable.

Project document management

A tab Project documents upload any project documents, and assign the current project. This is possible also a classification of the document type for later analysis or automated workflows. Also, an automatic versioning of documents is carried out., If you upload newer versions of a document. Even a direct processing of the documents in the PMOffice365 is possible, so that you can configure a central creation and management of all project documents. In this case, a collaboration on the documents in the team is possible, by a documents- and be checked out or by certain types of document feedback- or approval workflows are enabled.

Project team and project staff

For the management of project teams and project staff is a separate module available.

The addition of project team members to project teams, enter the percentage allocation. Over the employee information you have an overview of the percentage utilization of the person at any time distributed across all project teams:

A possible overload of the employee is immediately recognizable and can be avoided by redistributing the tasks possible.

Monitoring, Project controlling, Budget management

Project costs are incurred costs not only through the use of staff in a project, as well as other costs, the z.B. caused by external assignments of project work or costs of infrastructure use. The tab project cost capture and manage all types of project costs and can assign these different types of costs or cost centers.

The accrued costs can be an evaluation - even across multiple projects - as report provides or provided other applications. Manage project costs for example in your ERP system, so it can be passed via a Web service at PMOffice365, so a central charging only at one point must be made. On the tab Project management see immediately, whether the project budget has already been exhausted and how much budget remains.

Risk management

The integrated risk-management module allows the capture and project risk assessment and risk monitoring logging z.B. by project audit. Audit documents can be hung here central to the project. Also the history of the RIS management including the evolving risk assessments is understandable due to the risk history.

Project reporting

PMOffice365 offers comprehensive reporting functions, She both central preconfigured as individual by individual users for their own purposes can be established. Typical evaluations include:

• Cross-project evaluations of project budgets and project workloads
• Evaluation pending resubmissions/project tasks
• Gannt evaluation on the course of the project with the Gantt Web part

 

• Evaluations by project status, Project team or project manager

 

All evaluations can an Excel form- or access query outside of a further analyzed or passed on to third parties.

Full-text searches

With the help of the automatic full text indexing is a search function available, to search not only for specific information from the project administration, but also make transparent information from project documents. So is a Document management already integrated into the standard full-text search feature.

Process management and project workflows

Configurable workflows, you can direct individual structure objects automatically through a defined process of information processing. In the simplest case, this is a feedback- or approval workflow, for example, for a project as a whole, for individual project tasks, for project costs and project documents. You configure comfortably via automated pure Informationsworkflows Email-Notifications.

Interface management

Usually run master data such as for example the employee data to a central directory or cost information in an existing ERP system. Depending on needs to be determined from existing enterprise systems, What information PMOffice365 from another "leading" system provided. Alternatively PMOffice365 can for example planned project costs an ERP system as a source of information to provide. Here possible combinations are generally not directly configurable. However, Microsoft SharePoint offers complete prepared Web services and data interfaces, to process data in other systems to share or even data from third-party systems. Integration with existing systems is possible therefore usually without much effort.

A direct processing of PMOffice365 information in Microsoft Office products (Excel, Access, Outlook, Word) is already possible in the standard without adjustment.

Conclusion

In the combination of Microsoft SharePoint as a universal platform and PMOffice365 as a specialized project management solution to provide all functions, needed for an advanced project management. Not available in the standard functions can be added through configuration, also you can hide unused areas. Also integrate into an existing infrastructure with other internal systems is easily possible.

Therefore PMOffice365 is a very good alternative to a "project management by Excel" and also to very complex project management solutions with complex implementation processes. Basically, also a project portfolio management can be realized in this way.

How to contact with and further steps

Please contact us in connection, the product know to learn and test. We are looking forward to the personal How to contact with and introduce you to the product, with a calculation of costs.

Your contact persons: Rudolf Vehring and Dirk Löhn

Locatech IT solutions GmbH, Bar Opera str. 239 b, 44227 Dortmund

Tel: +49 231 9159650

Email: sales@locatech.com

Web: http://www.locatech.com

Plant: Managed project management fields in the standard PMOffice365 (Configure- and expandable)

Project based data

• Project title
• Project No..
• Description of the project
• Project objectives
• Project risks
• Project activities
• Project Manager
• Project Manager Deputy
• Project Manager Deputy: Phone
• Project Manager Deputy: Email
• Project Manager: Phone
• Project Manager: Email
• Project start
• Project end
• Project days set (planned)
• Project days (booked)
• Project status
• Client
• Client: Contact
• Client: Contact person telephone
• Client: Contact person email
• Contact Deputy
• Partial projects
• Project notes
• Project requests/tasks

Risk management

• Risk monitoring by
• Final audit on
• Audit report

Project controlling

• Project costs
• Project costs total
• Project budget
• Project provisions
• Other project costs
• Project budget (Available)

With Office 365 offers Microsoft its customers a – compared to the previous license jungle – very simple subscription model (per user per month) on, with nearly all Office functions hosted cloud platform by Microsoft on the desktop, as well as a can be used. This aimed Microsoft Office 365 both small and medium-sized companies as well as corporations and large organizations.

Office 365 has essentially

• the access to Email, Documents, Central contacts and calendar functions almost independently of the device (PC, Mobile, Tablet...
• the simple, protected information sharing for the cooperation with other employees, Customers and partners
• Microsoft Office for the desktop in combination with Web applications
• According to the plan (see below) a simple community support or a comprehensive IT support around the clock
• Data center operations with 99.9% Availability, geographically distributed redundancy of data centers and other safety features
• Functions for enterprise portals, Extranets, Websites, Instant Messaging, Video- and Web conferencing

The costs flat only depend on the number of users and will be charged monthly. In Office 365 are the following products included

• Microsoft Office Professional plus + Office Web apps integrated
• Exchange online
• SharePoint online
• Lync online

Usage scenario 1: Office 365 for small organizations (up to a maximum 50 User)

Organisations/companies with maximum 50 Paying users and very limited own IT infrastructure $5.25 per user per month.

For this you will receive:

• Office Web apps
• Exchange online e-mail, Mobile Access, Calendar, Contacts , Anti virus, Anti-spam
• SharePoint online for team sites, Access database services and simple public Web sites
• Lync online for instant messaging and online meetings
• Support only via moderated Internet forums

Usage scenario 2: Office 365 for larger companies and organizations

Here, there are a number of 'Plans' for different usage scenarios. All a high uptime guarantee is shared by 99,9 % for the IT infrastructure and IT support via phone/Web/E-Mail, reasonably large mail boxes (25 GB), Active Directory use, the latest version of Office Professional plus in combination with the Office Web apps, Anti virus- and anti spam protection, Instant Messaging, Online meetings, Video conferences, SharePoint team sites.

Organisations or companies, that previously used the online services from Microsoft and the Office Professional plus as desktop software with all available features of Exchange, Combine SharePoint and Lync online, pay €22.75 per user per month.

Free test: Can be quickly and easily for a free trial of Office365 unlock.

• Here is your invitation link.

More information to Office365 can be found here.

Conclusion

This will be exciting. Raises but real pounds behind Microsoft, to at the Cloud computing his claims to unplug and take the wind out of the sails in particular the Google Apps. The combination of Office software for the desktop and the new cloud services Microsoft is trying, Cash cows “Office” as a hosted solution to make the money ass. And for those companies, that is still not their entire IT infrastructure in the cloud would shift (and most of these are currently) is the perfect cloud gateway drug available with the combination of Office desktop and Office/Web.

According to current information, the new cloud platform is Microsoft Office365 in the 2. Quarter 2011 be available for customers, probably starting in June 2011. Lync, the successor of the Office Communications Server, should but only at the end 2011 above the cloud platform available. An official date for the deployment does not exist yet, but at least for Microsoft, it is the most important product of the year. With the cloud platform all the functions customers, to edit and share documents across distributed teams or to depict their business information processes virtually no investment in their own IT infrastructure. Even a larger learning curve is eliminated, the users but still use their familiar Office environment or you browser-enabled Office Web apps.

Office365 is already the current online services BPOS (Business productivity online suite) all products available, for a distributed collaboration in the network (Intranet or the Internet) are necessary, However, in the current version (SharePoint 2010, Exchange 2010, Lync – the current Office Communications Server).

With improved communication capabilities such as blogs, Wikis, Office365 introduces elements chat functions or self-managed profiles, the already an integral part of social networks like XING, Are Facebook or Twitter and as Enterprise 2.0 more and more inroads into the companies hold. Added the Office Web apps such as Word or Excel, and the ability, also the Office environment installed normally on the PC in the package on a monthly basis to subscribe to.

Once it is clear, When is the platform for customers to available, will we report immediately, have indicated already some customers interest. More information about the entry into the Cloud computing You will find here with Office365: http://www.locatech-it.com/technologien-plattformen/sharepoint/office-365-fakten-preise-cloud-computing

Finally, just a note in their own right. As a Microsoft partner for the online services we can help you if you are interested, Please contact us.

Tonight it was announced big news of Facebook, that should revolutionize the way of communicating between people. Now already use 350 Millions of users the news features from Facebook, and more than 4 Billion messages are exchanged daily between "Friends" on Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg was Facebook's vision of a “modern” Messaging system before, with the following features:

• An integrated system – includes not only Email, but also SMS or chat. Email is a way of communicating, but it is just one among all other types of communication. (Telephony/Voice over IP should not be integrated in the foreseeable)
• Informal – more a conversation as an official correspondence.
• Immediately – immediate notification and direct communication
• Personal/personal – the person is in the foreground, not the single message
• Easy to use
• Compact – Less features than email today
• Short messages

Relationship of memory

A highlight is certainly the complete history of entertainment, the entire Exchange of messages was maintained, as a kind of “Relationship history” or the modern form of the shoe boxes, old letters stored in the. The focus is on communication between 2 Persons or within a particular group.

Who sees his classic email inbox, sees a flood of messages, important times, unimportant times, times with annex, times without. The unit of exchange of information is Message. This unit varies with the Facebook messaging system in Person. It's always about the entire communication, No matter which way, between People.Here acts in the so-called “social Inbox” (Social Inbox) the personal social network of the user as more meaningful automatic filter. In the “social Inbox” – the man, perhaps with “universal personal communications Exchange storage” could rewrite, land as a preset messages only from friends and their friends. Whether this will also “social spam messages” lead to, It remains to be seen. All other messages are in a folder “Messages” filed and can be viewed there from time to time.

Anyone can in the future – Optional – also an E-Mail address on Facebook to receive under name@Facebook.com. Facebook employees give their previous E-mail addresses and receive Mitarbeiter@FB.com.The rollout stages via invitations in the next few months.

Microsoft Office Web apps

Texpress the new messaging platform is the Microsoft Office Web apps be, Another advantage for Microsoft in its cloud strategy, in particular also with regard to Office 365, of Microsoft's new cloud offerings.

An initial analysis

Tempting thought, to handle his personal communications via Facebook. And the integration of “Classic” Other contacts must be also not immediately a Facebook member email recipients, a crucial hurdle of the previously closed messaging system, Overcome them should contribute to the success of Facebook.

The communication knows no “Forget”. It may be advantageous, to be able to understand a complete history of Exchange with a person, but there is no mechanism, once said/written to automatically destroy. In a normal chat, also the content of entertainment is completed with the end of the conversation, what contributes to an open Exchange. Although it is possible also in email, the Exchange trace many years, If you deliberately picks up emails, but on Facebook, it will be much easier, Statements a person to rummage out. Just think of insults exchanged in the heat of battle or allegations, They then formed. even later still legally could be recycled.

Facebook-messaging a bit reminiscent of Google wave – that previously prevailed in any way. On Facebook, it could work but – After all there is reached the critical mass necessary electronically networked people even before the start.

Facebook is suitable also for internal corporate communication?

Facebook also suitable for internal corporate communication? Groups protected by setting now possible in principle already. Before but confidential business communications in the “Facebook-cloud” shifting is, must certainly have a lot of homework with regard to privacy be made on Facebook. Who wants to read advertising by the competitors already on the right side of his Facebook inbox, When he discussed just about a product.

The development is exciting. But the success is related to the protection of privacy and the data exchanged and fall, a domain, in the Facebook so far not too positive about talk has made.

As most 19.10.2010 announced, offers Microsoft a combination of its main products Microsoft Office Professional plus, Exchange online, SharePoint online and Lync online (formerly Office Communications Server) in the form of cloud services online at (See also http://www.locatech-it.com/technologien-plattformen/sharepoint/office-365-fakten-preise-cloud-computing/and http://www.locatech-it.com/technologien-plattformen/sharepoint/office-365-%e2%80%93-microsoft-setzt-alles-auf-die-wolke/)

For companies There are (still in a beta version) corresponding Planungsleitfäden in German see

• http://office.microsoft.com/redir/HA101988914.aspx (for small businesses) and http://office.microsoft.com/redir/HA101988931.aspx (for larger businesses).

Also the help pages newly released under http://office.microsoft.com/redir/CL101870908.aspx (small businesses) and http://office.microsoft.com/redir/HA101988931.aspx (larger companies) offer a first introduction to the issues, arising with the use of the online services.

Microsoft has a new product: Office 365! Or is it rather a service? Or a cloud offering? The first impression: It is composed of all, a goose for “We work together, always and everywhere”. Office 365 replaces the previous Microsoft cloud services (BPOS – business productivity online standard suite) and connects the Office standard software for the desktop with the Office Web apps, Microsoft SharePoint, Exchange and Lync, the successor of the Office Communication Server.

Combines desktop and cloud

With the new product/service/cloud offering, Microsoft wants to “the rules of the game change”, such as companies and working together. It shows on every case Microsoft's commitment to the cloud, and the combined offer from Office/desktop plus Web service to the breakthrough finally at the Cloud computing bring. Once again, Microsoft uses as its competitor Office, to position itself against the competition. Chris Capossela, Senior Vice President of Microsoft's Office Division, put it this way:

When it comes to the cloud, We are all in, and we are bringing our very best with US – the very best applications and the very best partners

Cloud computing, we put everything on one card, and that includes also the best, What we have - the best applications and the best partner.

Office is available to all 365 only in the coming year, a beta program launches among other places in Germany already at 19. October.

We hope, that with the new product/service the licensing / rental options easier, more transparent and just be also convenient for medium-sized companies, and are looking forward to the next steps.

More info here:

• Prices and facts: http://office365.microsoft.com/uploadedFiles/Office365FactSheet.docx 
• Official Web page: http://office365.com/
• Twitter channel: http://twitter.com/#!/office365

And a preview, looks like the whole (in English) here: http://office365.microsoft.com/en-US/online-services.aspx

All over the world talking about Cloud computing, medium-sized companies but are, with regard to outsource their IT in the cloud, rather reticent. And there is an alternative to issuing of all corporate data, Setting up your own “Cloud” the company with its own (or leased) Hardware. Although you cannot get the benefit from an outsourced solution for high availability with backup and archiving, remains but independent and has the data and documents in the own House. With Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 or the free version of Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 put on an internal server as an Enterprise Portal, He is good not only as a replacement for the traditional file server, but also the Document management, Approval processes, Communication and collaboration in teams in various ways supported.

 
What is cloud computing?

The video by a Salesforce.com shows very nice principle, What is at stake. Of course, it is about Salesforce.com, To outsource IT activities on own platform. This is associated with risks but, in particular, the risk of dependence. You want to later switch to another cloud provider or retrieve the data on their own systems, can it be difficult. An alternative is the Cloud computing in your own company Dar, especially if first to centralized document management and information processes.

Microsoft Windows Server environment with a SharePoint Server or SharePoint Foundation (so far SharePoint Services) are capable of, to centralize many information processes of the company on a platform in the own House. Your Windows/SharePoint, they use almost as corporate cloud. The following example illustrates the benefits of a first traditional transaction processing:

• Clerk Mr. Meier from the quality Department created a first version of a documentation of process, begins on the first page with an entry for the version history and adds a status “Design”
  
• He sent the document via email to his team with a request for feedback
  
• Several team members to respond and answer the email with comments or a modified document file as an attachment
  
• Meier works the changes and sends the document with the request to release to his superior Mrs Müller
  
• Mrs Müller approved the document
  
• Mr. Meier places the document in a central location in the network and informed staff as with the note, This document is the valid now.
  

Document storage in the SharePoint Enterprise cloud

This transaction processing remain important information in the on-premises mailbox of each user, and managing the current version is expensive. With Microsoft SharePoint is the storage of the documents from the point of view of the user as simple as before on the file server, but the documents are located in the Enterprise cloud.

Figure 1: Saving documents in the “Enterprise cloud”

As usual, the team members create their documents in Word or Excel, save them but directly to a SharePoint document library. Also a separate drive letter can be associated to this library, so with the file server trusted employees can continue to work as before. SharePoint offers a number of advantages over storing documents in the file system but. Additional information about the documents and the complete version history are stored centrally, d.h. You can find out at any time, who has made what changes when, and restore older versions of documents.

Check it out!

SharePoint supports the complete automation of the creation, Feedback- and approval process, eliminates manual managing versions and sending file attachments. User, want to edit the documents, check them out before. This will be noted and other users cannot edit a document, as long as it is checked out. Again, the user checks a document after editing, GGF. with the addition of a comment. And if feedback is desired for the document or a supervisor must approve a document, can a corresponding workflow be activated in SharePoint. Throughout the process, users while to work with their local Office installation, the edited document and any additional exchanged information as comments and approval status are to observe any server but centrally stored on the SharePoint. later evaluable. And through the process of a- and check-out is ensured, that at all times for all reviewers the latest Central is available, and that only one person can edit a document.

Figure 2: Document management with SharePoint

Also the integration with Microsoft Outlook works fine. Whether contacts, Calendar entries or tasks for a team of employees must be managed: all of these activities can be carried out on one central server via the SharePoint, on the other hand using the own Outlook installation. Locally for appointments registered in a group calendar automatically synchronize server and all other Outlook users with SharePoint, the same applies to centrally managed contacts or team tasks.

And even if any installed a Microsoft Word or Excel, the editing works. With the help of the Office Web apps can a user, who has installed a Microsoft Office, the SharePoint Server edit stored Office documents directly in the browser. In this case, the possibility of the cooperation goes so far, that multiple users can work simultaneously on a document.!

Employees on trips, are not always online, allows you to SharePoint workspace, Work packages (Documents, but also entire pages of SharePoint Portal) to charge the laptop to edit offline. Synchronization takes place automatically, Once again there is a connection to the SharePoint Server.

Conclusion

For companies, that deal with cloud computing and are looking for an entry, without to move directly to the dependency of a cloud provider, offers an interesting approach to SharePoint. Setting up a SharePoint system is indeed cost associated with, This is however limited and pays for itself by the almost immediate benefits in the use. With SharePoint 2010 is also a current version available, It was the functionality of a document management system offers and - Ric. in the license-free variant SharePoint Foundation - provides a very affordable entry into the cloud computing.

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 has positioned itself as a “The business collaboration platform for the enterprise & the Web” in the market for enterprise solutions. Steve Ballmer goes even further and positioning SharePoint as “the headquarters for the Cloud computing” (“SharePoint is at the center of the cloud.“). In this post we will try to give a first overview, What information specifically for IT managers are interesting, the deal already with SharePoint and want to know, What to expect in the new version and how to SharePoint 2010 in your companies should strategically position.

Overview - what's new

The most important thing for users of SharePoint 2007: When migrating to SharePoint 2010 be migrated and adapted to the SharePoint 2010 user interface to existing sites and pages complete with their design.

Operation and administration - the Office Ribbon

• He left office 2010 known Ribbon (the Ribbon) consistently finds its way into SharePoint 2010. Although this control is something getting: who already with the Ribbon from Office 2007 is familiar, is the operation of SharePoint 2010 find significantly more intuitive (on the client side as well as the Central Administration). Many settings were difficult to find in the current Central Administration, the entry in the SharePoint Administration 2010 is much easier. U.a. is it no longer necessary, right-click to display the actions/options for documents, they are accessible via the Ribbon always ad hoc.

   

Social computing or Web 2.0 for companies

Steve Ballmer says: “There is no company in the world, which aims to implement not social aspects of computing. But the companies do not know, such as. If we can show managers and IT managers, consider how employees can communicate your ideas with each other and this privacy and security issues, then, staff will use social computing in the enterprise.”

Thus, he is certainly right. The implementation of already known Web 2.0-Been the subject of criticism was repeatedly technologies such as WIKIs or blogs in SharePoint, are more specialized platforms like z.B. WordPress here already much further. With SharePoint 2010 but introduces a number of improvements:

• Improvements in blogs, WIKIs and calendars
• At the same time working on articles by several persons
• Keywords (Tags) for content
• Keyword cloud (Tag clouds)
• Reviews
• Bookmarks/favorites
• “Smart profiles” and feeds for the personal Web page
• Browser to search for colleagues and experts
• Publish one's own side with “Share this site”

It is an introduction of Web - at least from a technical perspective- 2.0 in their company nothing more in the way. The holistic view of organizational aspects they find here more information (also as PDF-download)

Presentation and content editing

• With the new “In context editing” editable content now finally directly on the spot in the browser. The change between edit mode and display mode eliminates. Completely WYSIWYG is not there yet, but it will be.
• SharePoint workspace provides a “Rich client” with drag & Drop capabilities from Office hereaus and synchronization properties, to z.B. Content to work offline and then synchronize.
• Finally is also FireFox adequately supported. So far, SharePoint was optimized for Internet Explorer.
• At last! Pictures no longer must be stored in a SharePoint library, but can directly from the PC be uploaded
• New Web parts You can now visually create (no/less individual programming required)
• Through the AJAX integration the SharePoint pages appear much more elegant in the operation, When content downloaded to, not the whole site is rebuilt from scratch - chic!
• Silverlight-Integration (For moderns & appealing layout)
• Development for Vista- und Windows 7-Design
• Digital asset management is introduced

Workflows

The Workflow-Designer (previously only available for a fee and then free install) is now an integral part of SharePoint 2010. IT departments can now more easily and completely without programming workflows to create and customize than before. Even if the workflow designer not the intuitive usability of the Nintexx workflows offers, He however very well suited for most workflow tasks. Also, workflows once created can now be reused. Interesting: It is now possible with the Visio services, Visio to visualize processes directly from SharePoint out to use. And it goes further: Workflows created with Visio can be exported and imported in SharePoint. More about this in the post by Fabian Moritz.

Business intelligence

With the help of lists and links you could already in SharePoint 2007 simple data models represent, for example, in a list to display contacts from a central contact list. Once but more complex data relationships should be implemented, a separate database schema had to set up and z.B. be made through the business data catalog in SharePoint. SharePoint 2010 now supports:

• The selection and display multiple columns from a linked target list. This could be for example next to the How to contact with at the same time displays the phone number in a range entry. This was in SharePoint 2007 just hard to realize
• The concepts known from the development of the database of the “Restrict delete” and “Cascade Delete” (to subordinate records from a linked list when deleting a main list record equal to delete)
• The direct Output of the ID field
• New possibilities of the Excel Services (Slicer filtering pivot tables, new charts, Scorecards
• Publish access databases about SharePoint (Access services)
• Business connectivity services

Taxonomies and metadata

In SharePoint 2010 Approaches are of the Semantic Web implemented. Even if in practical business use for this purpose is still no use, It shows but, where the journey goes. SharePoint is becoming a kind of “Operating system for the Internet/web/intranet”. Who flirts with the introduction of Web 2.0 technologies within the company, has an alexsanders and future-proof platform with SharePoint.

• Feature: Taxonomy (allows a kind of knowledge map on a specific subject with specific terms and relations between them). More information at http://www.twason.com/glossary.html
• New column type: Managed metadata
• Term sets, Term set Manager

Improvements in the search

SharePoint 2010 offers a number of improvements

• FAST Search technology
• Improved search algorithms
• Phonetic search
• Multilingual search

New interesting templates

• Visio process repository: Represent processes and workflows in Visio out in SharePoint
• Bugs / Bug tracker: Suitable for the management of internal IT support
• Projects: A simple project management
• Cost analyses
• Application- and recruitment
• Citizens management and citizen portals
• Sales evaluations
• Conference planning  

Conclusion

A round thing! Microsoft much of the specialized suppliers copied from itself and successfully integrated into the new platform. The learning curve for SharePoint users both on user- as well as to administrative level is much easier to master. SharePoint and shows clearly the strategic future direction: To the Web, zur “Cloud”, to the “Operating system for the Internet” respectively “Operating system 2.0 for the entire company“. If you are looking for a holistic path, to all knowledge- and information processes in the company to reproduce better and future-proof, hardly come to SharePoint.

More information

Our focus is more on an economic and organizational analysis of SharePoint and other IT technologies. A more technical summary of SharePoint 2010 You will find under http://sharepoint.namics.com/2009/10/gesamteindruck.html, otherwise, the best German-language source for technical information is the SharePoint community under http://sharepointcommunity.de/

Even if you store your company data in the ERP system and your business documents on your own servers: You should begin, dealing with the Cloud computing to deal. By relocating business to a supplier on the Internet you are already right in the data- and information cloud. If you send your newsletter via an online marketing platform, Travel expenses with an Internet service provider account or use instead of an in-house CRM system a Web CRM platform, the possibilities for mapping business processes in the Internet cloud to grow rapidly.

What is cloud computing, explained this beautifully and on German Video by Salesforce.com.

 

A rogue, who assumed self-interest for Salesforce.com video:-) It shows very well, What is at stake. Not only are simplified procedures, but dividing the entire IT administration, Hardware, Server maintenance, Update management etc. with all other clients of the cloud provider.

Cloud computer as a global Terminal Server

Cloud computing, Web application, Hosting solution – the terms are related. And basically it is old wine in new bottles. Before 20 Years, before PC applications and client/server models, it was called “Terminal application”. But with a difference. Earlier, the Terminal Server serving an organization, Today he serves as “Cloud computer” the whole world!

Privacy partly cloudy cloudy

Of course you should consider carefully, which they provide data and information which cloud computing providers and are protected like this on the Internet. The discussions on the subject of data protection on the net are absolutely entitled. The potential of cloud computing is enormous but.

Try out
Our tip, If you want to learn about the cloud computing and all free of charge to facilitate a simple and sometimes tedious business process, without to relocate very sensitive corporate data in the network:

• Travel expense reports in the network to create and manage withOutdoor public

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