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The current version of SharePoint has been substantially upgraded and now provides a diverse range of enterprise deployments. Site editing has been made easier and more intuitive and this new release also simplifies the process of tagging and aggregating data. Moreover, a new set of community features enables users to share data, similar to Twitter and Facebook. The platform features better integration both with the company's FAST search engine as well as with PerformancePoint, Microsoft's business intelligence software.

SharePoint has consistently increased in complexity over time and now includes new capabilities, such as cloud service and Silverlight development, among a host of other additions. In order to achieve a smooth transition to using SharePoint, there are a number of areas to keep in mind. This article offers a selection of tips that suggest ways to bring together multiple data flows, improve information sharing, and create an effective collaborative framework for your company.

1. Identify exactly how SharePoint can support enterprise-wide communication and where it fits best within your information structure before implementation.
You should realize that collaboration is already occurring every day within your company.

SharePoint offers a means for strengthening and supporting those interactions. However, before integrating the platform into your organization, take the time to assess.

2. Start your implementation by first understanding the strategic and tactical goals you hope to achieve.

Creating a clear roadmap for the incremental roll-out of SharePoint within your organization indicates how your organization can best assimilate the platform’s broad functionality over time. In many companies, keeping a balance between a secure and stable information structure and allowing users the freedom to exert their own control can be complicated. SharePoint offers a range of functions that surpass earlier versions and allows you to achieve that balance.

This means examining the true needs of your company. By understanding how and where SharePoint best fits into your organization from an ROI standpoint, you can effectively evaluate the multitude of functionalities the platform provides and which ones work best within your company.

4. Take the initiative to put a training regimen in place and set aside ample time to train employees effectively.

Organic growth in the use of SharePoint within your organization over time is an impressive achievement to witness. When end-users create their own business solutions, wikis, intranets, forums, and document libraries, to name a few, the benefit to your company can be immense. This is all based on proper guidance and taking the necessary time to put in place the right learning protocols.

5. Implement a top-down management approach to promoting SharePoint across your company.

Without executive backing for SharePoint in your organization, the user community tends not to put as much emphasis on using it. When team members understand that management is fully behind adoption, it provides them with a mandate for using the platform and for learning the features.

6. Create common purpose among employees in using SharePoint to meeting project goals and reaching targets.

The collaborative process generally involves many different perspectives. Emphasize how the goal of company excellence is shared by all team members. This in turn will influence the level and quality of participation among team members. As soon as users are unified in their purpose and in the means for achieving it, greater productivity will result.

7. Create a collegial, supportive atmosphere that promotes the free-flow of ideas.

This type of environment, coupled with a collaborative platform such as SharePoint, results in a vibrant user community that thinks outside received opinions. This, in turn, can lead to original, dynamic solutions that surpass those of the competition.

8. Recognize that site branding encourages participation and engagement among users.

Branding also shows that the company is one-hundred percent behind the solution and it instills a sense of ownership, further increasing employee adoption of SharePoint.
SharePoint has evolved over time and now includes social networking features, Web 2.0 capabilities, and a growing number of add-ons and plug-ins. In the same way that customization around social networking instills a sense of ownership, a branded site does something similar. It helps to increase respect for the platform, prompts employees to use it more often, and to contribute more frequently.

9. SharePoint adoption doesn’t happen overnight. Acknowledge that it takes time to foster collaborative relationships and to incorporate SharePoint processes into day-to-day business operations.

Users are often resistant to change. For some, it could be based on past experiences with a variety of CRM solutions or ERP systems that may have previously been rolled out by IT. You can overcome resistance by providing frequent and specific communication that spells out exactly how the new SharePoint platform will build the collaborative potential of all your team members.

10. Finally, recognize the importance of having effective security measures in place to protect SharePoint processes and to secure data.

One of the most crucial things to consider is the security of your corporate data and to make sure it’s only being seen by internal members. You also need to ensure that business data stored on SharePoint will be seamlessly available in the event of a server crash or natural disaster. It will affect not only your company’s business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) processes, but user adoption as well.

You should always strive to keep information current and delete old content as much as possible. When users encounter outdated data on SharePoint, such as old documents, obsolete budget numbers and expired contact information, suspicions arise regarding the status of all the data on the platform. Secure data and confidence in the system attracts users because they trust the information there, which leads to increases in adoption and usage.

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	Blog Topic SharePoint: Creating a Collaborative Environment	Search Blog --------------------- Topics
	The current version of SharePoint has been substantially upgraded and now provides a diverse range of enterprise deployments. Site editing has been made easier and more intuitive and this new release also simplifies the process of tagging and aggregating data. Moreover, a new set of community features enables users to share data, similar to Twitter and Facebook. The platform features better integration both with the company's FAST search engine as well as with PerformancePoint, Microsoft's business intelligence software. SharePoint has consistently increased in complexity over time and now includes new capabilities, such as cloud service and Silverlight development, among a host of other additions. In order to achieve a smooth transition to using SharePoint, there are a number of areas to keep in mind. This article offers a selection of tips that suggest ways to bring together multiple data flows, improve information sharing, and create an effective collaborative framework for your company. 1. Identify exactly how SharePoint can support enterprise-wide communication and where it fits best within your information structure before implementation. You should realize that collaboration is already occurring every day within your company. SharePoint offers a means for strengthening and supporting those interactions. However, before integrating the platform into your organization, take the time to assess. 2. Start your implementation by first understanding the strategic and tactical goals you hope to achieve. Creating a clear roadmap for the incremental roll-out of SharePoint within your organization indicates how your organization can best assimilate the platform’s broad functionality over time. In many companies, keeping a balance between a secure and stable information structure and allowing users the freedom to exert their own control can be complicated. SharePoint offers a range of functions that surpass earlier versions and allows you to achieve that balance. 3. Take a business-focused approach when implementing SharePoint. This means examining the true needs of your company. By understanding how and where SharePoint best fits into your organization from an ROI standpoint, you can effectively evaluate the multitude of functionalities the platform provides and which ones work best within your company. 4. Take the initiative to put a training regimen in place and set aside ample time to train employees effectively. Organic growth in the use of SharePoint within your organization over time is an impressive achievement to witness. When end-users create their own business solutions, wikis, intranets, forums, and document libraries, to name a few, the benefit to your company can be immense. This is all based on proper guidance and taking the necessary time to put in place the right learning protocols. 5. Implement a top-down management approach to promoting SharePoint across your company. Without executive backing for SharePoint in your organization, the user community tends not to put as much emphasis on using it. When team members understand that management is fully behind adoption, it provides them with a mandate for using the platform and for learning the features. 6. Create common purpose among employees in using SharePoint to meeting project goals and reaching targets. The collaborative process generally involves many different perspectives. Emphasize how the goal of company excellence is shared by all team members. This in turn will influence the level and quality of participation among team members. As soon as users are unified in their purpose and in the means for achieving it, greater productivity will result. 7. Create a collegial, supportive atmosphere that promotes the free-flow of ideas. This type of environment, coupled with a collaborative platform such as SharePoint, results in a vibrant user community that thinks outside received opinions. This, in turn, can lead to original, dynamic solutions that surpass those of the competition. 8. Recognize that site branding encourages participation and engagement among users. Branding also shows that the company is one-hundred percent behind the solution and it instills a sense of ownership, further increasing employee adoption of SharePoint. SharePoint has evolved over time and now includes social networking features, Web 2.0 capabilities, and a growing number of add-ons and plug-ins. In the same way that customization around social networking instills a sense of ownership, a branded site does something similar. It helps to increase respect for the platform, prompts employees to use it more often, and to contribute more frequently. 9. SharePoint adoption doesn’t happen overnight. Acknowledge that it takes time to foster collaborative relationships and to incorporate SharePoint processes into day-to-day business operations. Users are often resistant to change. For some, it could be based on past experiences with a variety of CRM solutions or ERP systems that may have previously been rolled out by IT. You can overcome resistance by providing frequent and specific communication that spells out exactly how the new SharePoint platform will build the collaborative potential of all your team members. 10. Finally, recognize the importance of having effective security measures in place to protect SharePoint processes and to secure data. One of the most crucial things to consider is the security of your corporate data and to make sure it’s only being seen by internal members. You also need to ensure that business data stored on SharePoint will be seamlessly available in the event of a server crash or natural disaster. It will affect not only your company’s business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) processes, but user adoption as well. You should always strive to keep information current and delete old content as much as possible. When users encounter outdated data on SharePoint, such as old documents, obsolete budget numbers and expired contact information, suspicions arise regarding the status of all the data on the platform. Secure data and confidence in the system attracts users because they trust the information there, which leads to increases in adoption and usage.	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	Kerry Doyle 2011 All Rights Reserved

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