SoftCom Corporate Blog

With all the recent fanfare from Microsoft about Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange 2007 the release of the latest version of Windows SharePoint Services flew in under the radar of most people.

In previous versions SharePoint has failed to gain wide adoption I think mostly due to a disconnect of the product and the market. The needs of customers were not entirely met by the features of Version 2.0 and more importantly few people were aware of what SharePoint was or how it could be leveraged. With the launch of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 there is a huge opportunity to change all that.

 What is SharePoint?

Even to those who have used it that is a question that is not easily answered. There is of course a technical answer that covers things like secure storage in SQL database and availability and reliability based on a Windows 2003 platform.

The real questions are what can it do for me? And how do I use it?

These are the questions that if the platform is going to become widely used need to be answered. If someone asks me what is Exchange Email? The simple answer is the engine that makes Outlook more than just desktop software to check email. Similarly SharePoint take Microsoft Office beyond the desktop application.

There has been a lot of talk about SaaS (software as a service) or web based applications that offer function of the desktop with the accessibility and cost savings of the web. I am excited by the potential of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 to deliver the platform to make SaaS both accessible and affordable for our SMB customers.

What our small and medium businesses customers tell us they need are solutions that are easy to use, protect their data and fit into the budget!

With the new On Demand Business Solution built on the SharePoint platform I belive those needs are met.

• Solutions that are ready to use as deployed and can be customized to the needs of your business.
• Functional integration with the Microsoft Office suite that you use and are familiar with.
• Information that is secure, password protected, highly available via the internet on your PC or mobile device.
• No setup or hardware cost just a predictable monthly fee for storage and access.
• Unlimited users and document level security permissions so you can share information both internally and with supplier and customers.

The complete solution will be ready for the market in early 2007 but you can check out our online demo or signup for a beta site now!

Thanks,

Stephen Nichols
Marketing Manager
SoftCom Technology Consulting Inc.