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THE OPTIONS FOR DELIVERING BUSINESS APPLICATIONS WITH SHAREPOINT How can organisaons use SharePoint effecvely and appropriately to quickly deliver business applicaons? There is great potenal to leverage SharePoint as a plaorm, but also a need for a carefully considered strategic approach. Get it right and you can quickly deliver value adding applicaons to your organisaon. Get it wrong and you could end up with high costs, extended mescales, and on-going support challenges. Let’s start with an analogy. Imagine you are designing a factory. The machines in your factory need to work producvely and efficiently together, in order to reliably and cost effecvely produce your products. You may be able to buy some of the machines “off the shelf”, ie ready to plug in and go. Some machines will need to be assembled from components, in order to do what you want. The components are motors, switches, gearwheels, solenoids etc. Few if any of these components will need to be designed by you. For example, who in this situaon is going to design their own motor, starng with wire and magnets? So it is with business applicaons – they are the machines of the organisaon. Business applicaons allow an organisaon to operate effecvely, and when appropriately designed and implemented they facilitate a producve organisaon by improving processes, efficiency, agility, and decision making. Conversely, a poor choice of applicaons is a burden to an organisaon, necessitang manual processes, being inflexible, and depriving decision makers of the informaon they need. When choosing how to implement business applicaons, organisaons have choices: make do with what they have already, purchase point soluons, configure purchased components, or write custom code. For many, a combinaon of all four approaches is valid. So how should organisaons choose which approach to use where, and what should the guiding principles be? More specifically, when an organisaon is already using SharePoint, how should the capabilies of that plaorm be leveraged in order to get maximum value from it, whilst preserving investments in exisng applicaons? © 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twier: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com Business Application Requirements In The Real World Many organisaons have a backlog of business applicaons that they need. SharePoint has the potenal to be used as a plaorm for the rapid delivery of many of these applicaons. A retail organisaon recently idenfied a need for over 40 business applicaons. These included: Daily sales figures collaon Health and safety incident tracking Timesheets and reporng New starters Leavers Promoonal acvies tracking Meeng room booking

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Page 1: THE OPTIONS FOR DELIVERING BUSINESS APPLICATIONS · PDF fileTHE OPTIONS FOR DELIVERING BUSINESS APPLICATIONS WITH SHAREPOINT How can organisations use SharePoint effectively and appropriately

THE OPTIONS FOR DELIVERING BUSINESS APPLICATIONS WITH SHAREPOINTHow can organisations use SharePoint effectively and appropriately to quickly deliver business applications? There

is great potential to leverage SharePoint as a platform, but also a need for a carefully considered strategic approach.

Get it right and you can quickly deliver value adding applications to your organisation. Get it wrong and you could

end up with high costs, extended timescales, and on-going support challenges.

Let’s start with an analogy. Imagine you are designing a factory. The machines in your factory need to work

productively and efficiently together, in order to reliably and cost effectively produce your products. You may be able

to buy some of the machines “off the shelf”, ie ready to plug in and go. Some machines will need to be assembled

from components, in order to do what you want. The components are motors, switches, gearwheels, solenoids etc.

Few if any of these components will need to be designed by you. For example, who in this situation is going to design

their own motor, starting with wire and magnets?

So it is with business applications – they are the machines of the organisation. Business applications allow an

organisation to operate effectively, and when appropriately designed and implemented they facilitate a productive

organisation by improving processes, efficiency, agility, and decision making. Conversely, a poor choice of

applications is a burden to an organisation, necessitating manual processes, being inflexible, and depriving decision

makers of the information they need.

When choosing how to implement business applications, organisations have choices: make do with what they have

already, purchase point solutions, configure purchased components, or write custom code. For many, a combination

of all four approaches is valid. So how should organisations choose which approach to use where, and what should

the guiding principles be? More specifically, when an organisation is already using SharePoint, how should the

capabilities of that platform be leveraged in order to get maximum value from it, whilst preserving investments in

existing applications?

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

Business Application Requirements In The Real WorldMany organisations have a backlog of business applications that they need. SharePoint has the potential to be used as a platform for the rapid delivery of many of these applications. A retail organisation recently identified a need for over 40 business applications. These included:

Daily sales figures collation �Health and safety incident tracking �Timesheets and reporting �New starters �Leavers �Promotional activities tracking �Meeting room booking �

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Situation AppraisalTo start with, let’s look at the situation faced by organisations. Recent research (PointBeyond Limited, 2011) shows

that most have a backlog of business applications that they need to deliver, with 68% of organisations reporting

moderate or serious backlogs. Additionally the research revealed that two-thirds of organisations felt that technology

was constraining their growth and profitability.

IT departments are typically seen as cost centres where expenditure should be minimised, not as departments that

add value to the organisation. In the current financial climate particularly, budgets are tight, and IT is being asked to

deliver more, with the same or fewer resources. The need to deliver tangible ROI is greater than ever and – despite

all the hype around social computing – you are more likely to achieve this by improving your business applications

and processes than you are by allowing your employees to write on each other’s walls!

Additionally there is typically an estate of legacy applications, implemented using a variety of systems. These often

have little or no integration with each other, and are the so called “siloes of information”. Some of them may be

performing well and meeting business needs, but others may not be so well aligned to the current business, and may

be expensive to support and maintain, especially where on-going annual charges are levied by vendors, or where

changes need to be made by software developers with specialist skills.

Now add SharePoint to the mix. Many business users already have experience of SharePoint, and have simple

applications that use it’s out of the box capabilities – such as those that utilise lists, forms, and maybe even

SharePoint Designer workflows. These simple applications are typically built very quickly. This familiarity with

SharePoint can actually present another challenge for IT, as pointed out by Bamboo Solutions (Bamboo Solutions

Corporation, 2011). The challenge is this: business users become used to the quick turnaround of applications that

SharePoint facilitates, so when it comes to delivering a more sophisticated application their expectations as to what

SharePoint can deliver may be unrealistically high.

So our typical organisation has a backlog of undelivered applications that is holding the business back, an IT

department that is being squeezed, an assortment of legacy applications, and a user base with possibly unrealistic

expectations as to what out-of-the-box SharePoint can do. From this challenging starting place, how can IT become

the enabler it should be?

SharePoint as a Platform for Business-Critical ApplicationsThe market penetration of SharePoint is huge. 78% of the Fortune 500 companies use SharePoint, according to

Microsoft research. Today, many organisations are already using SharePoint for content and collaboration. Forrester

(Forrester, 2011) has predicted that this type of usage is just the start for SharePoint, and a recent survey (OpenText,

2011) highlights that 67% of organisations are now considering SharePoint as a platform for workflow. Microsoft

themselves are also clearly positioning SharePoint as a platform for business-critical applications as highlighted by

their recent white paper “Delivering Business-Critical Solutions with SharePoint 2010” (Microsoft, 2011).

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

Page 3: THE OPTIONS FOR DELIVERING BUSINESS APPLICATIONS · PDF fileTHE OPTIONS FOR DELIVERING BUSINESS APPLICATIONS WITH SHAREPOINT How can organisations use SharePoint effectively and appropriately

So what makes SharePoint good as an application platform? Fundamentally, it provides a set of tools that can

be used to build applications, and to connect to line of business systems. It is also highly extensible, and many

organisations have exploited this to enhance SharePoint with their own custom code. This extensibility has also been

leveraged by Independent Software Vendors, who provide products that extend and enhance SharePoint out-of-the-

box capability.

The application building and integration capabilities of the SharePoint platform give it the potential to be the

business-critical application hub at the heart of an organisation. SharePoint can be used to:

Store data and documents �Render forms with built in business logic �Surface and allow interaction with data stored in different line of business applications �Leverage workflows to control and track business processes �Present business intelligence information in interactive dashboards �Secure data in a centrally managed repository �Allow searching of information �

The combination of being able to build applications on SharePoint, and to integrate with other business applications

is a powerful one. A deployment of SharePoint is not about throwing away your existing applications, but rather

about improving the integration between disparate systems, and making your systems easier for your end users to

work with. Similarly when it comes to delivering new applications SharePoint isn’t always the answer. For example

few people would choose to build a finance or HR package on SharePoint, as these are sophisticated applications and

there are mature, capable packages available off-the-shelf.

Although the out-of-the-box functionality is substantial, there are shortcomings, and when it comes to addressing

these an organisation is faced with the choices discussed earlier: make do with what they have already (ie out-of-the-

box SharePoint), purchase point solutions, configure purchased components, or write custom code.

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

The Business Benefits Associated With Using SharePoint 2010 To Deliver Business Applications:

Business applications that improve processes can be built quickly and cheaply using platform � services provided by SharePoint 2010. These business applications can be managed both by IT and by advanced users.

IT resources can be freed up to work on strategic initiatives – positioning IT as a business � partner rather than a cost centre.

When users can access and analyse real-time data from line of business applications, they � make better decisions more quickly. This can help to reduce an organisation’s overall risk.

Surfacing data from line of business applications can increase the ROI on those systems �Productivity is improved when users can easily find business data that they need through a �

consistently delivered set of applications.Administration and training costs are reduced. �

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The Options AvailableSo we’ve got a backlog of applications awaiting delivery, and we’re committed to using SharePoint. Let’s explore the

options for getting the applications delivered.

Out-of-the-box SharePointIf your application requirements are relatively straightforward, out-of-the-box SharePoint may well be adequate for

your needs.

The tools for delivering applications are limited in SharePoint 2010 Foundation and SharePoint 2010 Standard

editions, but do include the ability to create lists, views, libraries, alerts, reports and SharePoint designer workflows.

Integration with external systems is also provided by Business Connectivity Services.

However most of the powerful tools are provided with SharePoint 2010 or 2013 Enterprise Edition. This includes

rendering of custom forms in the browser, interaction with Excel spreadsheets, rendering of Visio diagrams in

the browser, and a plethora of business intelligence capabilities, such as key performance indicators, dashboards,

interactive charts, and decomposition trees.

The out-of-the-box capability can be fast and effective when it comes to building, but there are limitations as to what

is possible.

Point ApplicationsThere are an ever growing number of domain and/or industry specific applications available as add-ons to

SharePoint. Some examples include project management (such as Microsoft’s own Project Server 2010), contract

management, time tracking, and help desk type applications.

The best of these are true SharePoint applications, architected from the ground up to leverage and integrate with the

capabilities of SharePoint. At the other end of the scale, some are little more than standalone applications that have

been shoehorned into presenting their information within SharePoint site pages.

Point applications can provide a very quick solution when there is one that addresses your precise requirements.

Many allow you to try before you buy – something that we see as essential. However once purchased, you are at the

mercy of the supplier. Are they financially stable and committed to the product? How is the product updated? What

if you find a bug? What documentation is provided? What training is provided? What if you need some additional

functionality in future?

A fear of “lock in” to niche point application vendors leads many to consider alternative options.

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

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Custom CodeSharePoint includes an extensive application programming interface (API) and experienced software developers can

leverage this to provide the functionality needed.

Often this is seen as the quick way forwards – custom code allows you to do what you want and there isn’t an up-

front capital cost, such as you would get when buying products.

However this approach is fraught with danger, as we shall see later.

Configuration of Purchased ComponentsPretty much any business application can be considered to comprise various building blocks. The main building

blocks are:

Data storage and manipulation �Forms �Workflow �Data visualisation and reporting �Navigation �Integration �Notifications �Security �

SharePoint provides capabilities in all of these areas, to a greater or lesser degree, and all are extended by

components from numerous independent software vendors. Many of these products are extremely mature and

comprehensive.

So application delivery can become a task of assembling from components and configuration. The best of these

commercial components are extensible as well, so that if some special functionality has to be custom coded it can

be.

With the right choice of components, sophisticated applications that meet precise business needs can be delivered in

days rather than weeks or months.

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

Real World Example: Del Monte spent 1 ½ years building their ‘formula-life-cycle-management process’ solution, they were not satisfied with the solution. With K2 they implemented the solution they wanted in 2 weeks.

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Pick your PathSo how does an organisation with a backlog of applications awaiting delivery choose which option (or options) to

take?

The “No Strategy” StrategyWithout a well thought out strategy, an organisation will tend to follow a route comprising numerous tactical

decisions that ultimately will result in a non-optimal set of applications, potentially at higher cost than if a proper

strategy had been followed.

Several factors make the “no strategy” strategy a common approach:

It requires no upfront work or planning. The focus at each stage is simply on the problem � at hand and finding a solution that is as quick and cheap as possible, without regard to the bigger picture across the organisation.

It doesn’t require anyone to call for a change in direction – “We can stick to what we know � (we’re comfortable with Access/custom development/manual processes etc)” and “if we call for a change then perhaps we will be seen to have done things wrong in the past.”

The cost of one tactical application may well be lower than the implementation of a strategic � platform that could be used to deliver numerous applications.

Busy managers may simply not know what tools are available and feel that they have � insufficient time to find out – “I’ve no time to research/get hassled by salespeople.”

An application is needed by a department, and departments are budget holders. There is no � “shared” budget available for strategic investments in enabling platforms.

In house developers often wish to protect their interests and the applications that they � have delivered in the past, and will be vociferous in promoting decisions that justify their existence.

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

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A common occurrence is for business users to make do with what they have got – typically this is Excel, Access

and/or SharePoint lists, potentially combined with email, printed forms, and manual processes. In 2011 the most

popular tool for building business applications was Excel (PointBeyond Limited, 2011). Applications built in this way

typically are not particularly efficient or easy to support, and they provide poor control of processes, poor business

intelligence, and poor security of data. Business users may like them because they can be created without involving

IT, but they can hardly be considered enterprise class.

Another route is the tactical purchase of a point application – in other words buying an application that solves

the immediate business need. The application in question may extend SharePoint, or it may be standalone. The

decision to buy an application is often made by business users without regard to integration, whether it works

for the organisation, how supportable it is, or whether it is consistent with the bigger picture. IT is subsequently

encumbered with the application.

The ready availability of cloud based applications adds another dimension to the second approach. Cloud based

applications allow business users to bypass IT and what they perceive as “red tape” altogether, by simply signing

up for web based services. The uncontrolled and rampant use of Dropbox in many organisations, and the resultant

information leakage and loss, is testament to the challenges that cloud based applications can present to an IT

manager seeking to implement an effective IT strategy.

The final route we see being taken is custom code. This is particularly common in organisations with a history

of developing custom applications, and perhaps having an in house development team. Applications are often

coded “as needed”, again without regard to the bigger picture. According to a recent survey, 62% of SharePoint

deployments end up using custom code (Global360, 2011), albeit that some of this is for look and feel customisation

rather than the development of business applications.

Use Out-of-the-box SharePoint to Deliver the BasicsOut-of-the-box SharePoint can often be used to quickly deliver simple applications.

It’s important to consider at the outset whether or not an upgrade is worthwhile. This is true both in terms of

migration to the latest version (for example from SharePoint 2003 or SharePoint 2007) to SharePoint 2010, and also

in terms of which edition (Foundation, Standard or Enterprise) is most appropriate.

The tooling available to deliver applications is considerably more advanced in SharePoint 2010 than it was in earlier

versions. Also, as discussed earlier, the Enterprise Edition brings a considerably larger toolset to the table. We often

see that it is more effective to upgrade and make use of the new tools available, than it is to battle with inferior

versions/editions. This is especially true if there are multiple applications across the organisation that would benefit

from the upgrade.

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

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So out of the box SharePoint is fine as far as it goes, but when you want to do something more sophisticated you

may find yourself up against a brick wall. In the worst case scenario you will have to throw away everything you have

done and start again. So it pays to know up front what level of sophistication your applications will ultimately need,

and whether or not native SharePoint can deliver it.

Assess and Use Point Applications with CareIf you’ve a requirement for a specific application, and there is a vendor selling a solution that runs within SharePoint

at a price that you are happy with, then potentially you have a quick win.

However, as mentioned earlier, be sure that it is a proper SharePoint application, not a standalone application with a

SharePoint “veneer”. For example, is data from the application stored within SharePoint or elsewhere? If elsewhere,

you could be creating another “silo of information”, even though on the surface you appear to have a SharePoint

application.

Evaluation copies of software should be used whenever possible. A few days spent evaluating a trial will quickly

reveal the suitability of the application being considered. Make sure though that the evaluation includes the business

users who would be using the application for real, not just IT or senior management.

Finally, be clear about what you are getting into with regards to future upgrades and ongoing support – both with

the product itself and for its impact on your ability to upgrade SharePoint. It’s not uncommon to be “stuck” with a

particular version of SharePoint, unable to upgrade to a new version because a product vendor hasn’t yet released a

version their software that is compatible with the new SharePoint version.

Custom Code: The Solution of Last ResortThe urge to custom code can seem overwhelming. On the face of it, it seems a way to get SharePoint to do what you

want.

However, any software development project is a significant undertaking, especially so for an organisation whose

core business is not software. A recent white paper from Quest (McNulty & Kelly, 2012) highlights their top three

challenges of custom coded applications:

Custom development is slow. If there is a significant applications backlog, it isn’t possible to � deliver quickly enough to meet business needs.

High cost of ownership. Both in terms of initial development and the challenges of ongoing � support and maintenance.

Torturous upgrade process. When the time comes to upgrade your SharePoint platform, you � are responsible for upgrading all of your customisations to the new platform.

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

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Additional challenges are also noted below:

Software development is intrinsically risky, and overruns and failures are commonplace. �

Custom code is hard to maintain. Different developers may achieve similar things in different �

ways, or may code using the techniques that they know best, rather than leverage capabilities of

SharePoint that they are unaware of. Developers may leave organisations.

There is a shortage of SharePoint developer skills that is pushing up prices and making �

recruitment challenging.

Custom software tends to increase in complexity over time, so that more effort delivers �

diminishing benefits.

A reliance on particular individuals who “know the code” is created. �

When the business changes, custom code can be hard to change as needed. �

IT remains a bottleneck to the delivery of applications. �

Custom development estimation is prone to error and uncertainty. �

We’ve already considered that business applications comprise numerous building blocks, and that SharePoint,

augmented by third party products, can provide the means to deliver these. Any development work that is

effectively recreating building block type functionality is adding little business value. The Bamboo Solutions white

paper (Bamboo Solutions Corporation, 2011) goes further, citing Moore’s (Moore, 2005) argument that anything

that does not create differentiation will fail to create added value in the long term. In other words, unless software

development is seen as a strategic way to provide differentiation, custom code should be minimised so that more

time and effort can be spent on the core activities of the organisation, as this will ultimately create most long term

value.

A final thought is that less code does not necessarily mean no code. Extensibility is important and the ability to plug

in small amounts of custom code to achieve specific activities can be invaluable.

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

“Coding at the base level for workflow applications is similar to the early days of relational databases where initially traditional programming models and indexed flat files defiantly ignored the reality of a new emerging capability around data persistence.” (K2, 2011)

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Act Strategically: The Case for Purchased ComponentsPurchased components provide the best mechanism to accelerate the delivery of SharePoint based business

applications for the following reasons:

They allow applications to be created far more quickly than with custom code. �

The vendor is responsible for ensuring upgradability to new versions of SharePoint. �

They allow business users and analysts to build and change applications themselves, reducing �

the need, cost and bottleneck of specialist SharePoint developers.

Ongoing support costs are typically lower than those associated with custom code. �

They result in higher quality applications as extensive structured testing has been performed by �

the vendor.

When a change is needed due to a business change, it can be quickly implemented through a �

configuration change, rather than custom code.

They allow you to build the application that precisely meets your needs. �

They are widely used and supported by a variety of third party partners. As a result, vendor �

“lock in”, while still a consideration is much less of an issue.

Many can be extended with custom code, where needed, to perform activities specific to your �

organisation.

In a recent CIO.com article (Bogue, 2011), Robert Bogue points out that an effective approach �

to application delivery leads to more engaged users creating their own solutions, reduced

need for development teams to get involved, and a strengthening of the relationship between IT

and business.

However, this approach does require a clear organisation level application strategy at the outset, and there will likely

be an initial capital expenditure on the toolsets. This can be a challenge when departments or business areas are

budget holders, looking merely to solve their own problem as cheaply as possible. However if that challenge can be

overcome and you can implement an enabling platform for the rapid delivery of business applications, the payback

can be tangible and rapid.

The following chart shows a typical investment/benefit profile for custom code and configuration of components.

Custom code requires a period of initial design, development and testing, before an application is released. Then

subsequent applications can be developed and released giving a certain rate of benefit as shown by the slope on the

red line. The component based approach shows an initial investment in the tools, but then a more rapid delivery of

benefits. The two lines will always cross at some point, the question an organisation has to ask is “are we prepared to

make the up-front investment to make longer term savings and yield the other benefits noted above?”

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

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Both K2 (K2, 2011) and Bamboo Solutions (Bamboo Solutions Corporation, 2011) have attempted to quantify the

savings associated with a component based approach.

For K2 the figures are a measure of the total amount of time taken to deliver and support various projects over a

three year period. The K2 estimates show that

For a small (~30 day custom code) project, using their tool uses 3.6 times less time than a �

custom coding approach

For a medium (~70 day custom code) project, using their tool uses 4.5 times less time than a �

custom coding approach

For a large (~140 day custom code) project, using their tool uses 4.8 times less time than a �

custom coding approach

The Bamboo estimates look at delivery of a range of projects over the course of year. Their figures show:

A reduction in cost by a factor of 1.9, when using their products instead of custom code. �

A reduction in time by a factor of 1.7, when using their products instead of custom code. �

Armed with these kinds of figures it is possible to estimate a return on investment on purchased components. The

cost of delivering a number of projects can be estimated both with and without the components.

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

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With such a strategic investment it is essential that the right tools are chosen for the job at hand. Considerations

include:

Demonstrable ability to deliver ROI �

The breadth and depth of functionality available �

Cost �

Extendibility across the whole organisation �

Alignment of functionality to requirements �

Responsiveness to new/changing requirements �

Long term viability of the chosen components and the vendor �

The availability and quality of training material �

Ability to integrate with your existing line of business systems �

Get it right and you will have a strategic platform that enables and empowers the business, delivers cost savings, and

a whole host of other benefits.

A final thought for any organisation embarking on this route, is to remember that it’s not all about the technology.

The cultural change associated with significant new toolsets can be considerable, and this also needs to be managed

carefully to ensure success.

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

Conclusion – Making the Right Decisions:

An application strategy is needed �

Be clear about what you need across your organisation as a whole �

Choose the right strategic tools �

Choose tools that are extensible and flexible �

Some investment and planning up front can leverage significant benefits – financial and other. �

Avoid coding. You wouldn’t write your own email server or relational database, so why code �

standard functionality such as forms and workflow?

When implementing non-SharePoint applications chose those that integrate easily �

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http://www.cio.com/article/687122/How_To_Reduce_Your_Application_Backlog_with_SharePoint?page=1&taxono

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http://www.pointbeyond.com/whoweare/publications.aspx

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com

Page 14: THE OPTIONS FOR DELIVERING BUSINESS APPLICATIONS · PDF fileTHE OPTIONS FOR DELIVERING BUSINESS APPLICATIONS WITH SHAREPOINT How can organisations use SharePoint effectively and appropriately

PointBeyond Ltd is a successful and growing Microsoft SharePoint

consultancy based in the UK. The PointBeyond team specialises in

delivering business applications based on the SharePoint platform

whilst assisting organisations with their IT strategy. PointBeyond

works across diverse industries including finance, manufacturing,

petrochemical, professional services, retail and engineering.

Dr Ian Woodgate, Managing Director of PointBeyond, has a

background in financial services and IT, and has worked with

SharePoint since its first release in 2001, both as a developer and

subsequently as a solution architect. Ian regularly speaks about

business application strategy and implementation at events and

conferences around the country.

PointBeyond Ltd

78 York Street

London

W1H 1DP

Tel: 0800 566 8106

Web: www.pointbeyond.com

Email: [email protected]

About PointBeyond

For More Information

© 2012 PointBeyond Ltd. All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointbeyond Web: www.pointbeyond.com