Offshore Web Development – Benefits and Challenges

The practice of outsourcing development or maintenance of various projects has become quite a common trend nowadays. This is mainly done so as to cut the cost of development as well as maintenance, as it is seen that offshore technicians or developers charge much lesser than their local counterparts in web development. However, when we speak of offshore development, the practice has its own advantages as well as disadvantages that need to be addressed at length.

 

Let us at first deal with the advantages of offshore web development.

 

Fast development backed by expertise

In majority of occasions, web development is outsourced to those vendors who are specialized in this field. These vendors are not only pretty experienced, but are properly equipped with specific equipment and are rich with high level technical expertise that at times surpass the one that is available to the outsourcing business. This results in faster as well as hassle free development with a much better output.

 

This helps to concentrate on the core processes instead of the supporting and ancillary processes

Once the supporting or ancillary processes are outsourced, there is no need to deal with them anymore. Thus, it becomes possible to deal with the core processes and strengthen the process to a considerable extent.

 

Sharing of Risk

One of the most vital factors that determine the outcome or the end result of a particular campaign is analysis of risk. Outsourcing certain ancillary components of a projects helps businesses to transfer some of the responsibilities to the offshore vendor(s). As these vendors are generally specialized and have a lot of experience under their belt, they are in a better position so far as risk management is concerned.

 

Reduced Operational as well as Recruitment Cost

Once businesses start outsourcing projects, they are in no need to hire professionals for in-house operations. Naturally, this drastically reduces the operational as well as recruitment cost to a large extent. This is in fact one of the most important advantages of offshore outsourcing.

 

Let us now discuss with some of the challenges or shortcomings that are associated with outsourcing.

 

Lack of appropriate skills

Offshore centers of development are generally mass production centers, which take up projects from various sources from all over the world simultaneously. Thus, the presence of too many projects results in mass production and this may at times turn the production sloppy and lackluster. Also, on certain occasions the developers lack the appropriate skills to develop projects with the required finesse, thus hampering the quality of the end products to a considerable extent.

 

Details of the projects

At times it may so happen that the offshore development companies look forward to just complete the projects by hook or by crook without even looking into the details of the technicalities properly. Thus, they often have the tendency of underestimating the time that is needed to complete the projects, which in the long run not only increases the cost of production by overshooting deadlines, but also hampers the quality to a great extent.

 

Lack of legal power

As on most of the occasions the offshore vendors are located in different countries, the outsourcing companies do not have any control on what is being sold, against what were purposed or proposed. Besides, if there is any instance of breach of contract or if the vendor companies fiddle with sensitive and confidential information, there is hardly anything that the outsourcing companies can do from the legal point of view. Also, due to distance and other issues, it does not make any sense of carrying any legal battle with the vendors.

 

Cultural and language issues

This is one of the most significant challenges in outsourcing web development projects. The vendor companies to which the projects are outsourced are generally located in non English speaking countries. As such, the projects are often plagued by misinterpretation of briefing due to language problem resulting in altered results along with not-up-to-the-mark quality. Moreover, the cultural differences at times lead to misinterpretation of certain terms and terminology that affects the end product to a considerable extent. You can hire web developers from custom software development India companies, who can help you develop web apps that are stable, scalable and secure.

 

We provide web development services. If you would like to hire offshore developers from web application development India service provider, please contact Mindfire Soltutions.

SharePoint 2013 and the Mobile SharePoint Explosion

When SharePoint was first launched, it did not have strong functionality backing up mobile access for its content and features. However, as this software platform gradually gained ground, organizations began to feel the need for tapping this product to operate efficiently on cellular devices. As a result, companies began to look for alternatives for enhancing as well as expanding mobile access to this platform. The outcome of these efforts is that SP 2013 comes with a range of new, enhanced mobile features to make SharePoint 2013 mobile development easier and quicker.

• The mobile browsing experience has become much better owing to the newly incorporated contemporary view which enables site rendering in HTML5 and operates with the latest mobile Safari, IE as well as Android browsers. Designed to ensure touch-screen interaction, it is optimized for activities such as accessing wikis, lists, web parts and document libraries. The classic view belonging to the older mobile browsers is still intact, delivering HTML based sites along with the option for displaying a complete desktop view of the website.

• Another new feature is the back-end cellular channels which render a SharePoint site for diverse cell phone devices automatically, enhancing the single default view for mobile devices as present in the 2010 edition which was difficult to customize.

• With the 2013 version, SharePoint sites come with the capability of pushing notifications towards mobile devices, making users alert regarding the changes, such as modification or addition of content.

• With SharePoint 2013, we have a couple of new native mobile applications. One is the SharePoint Newsfeed application which enables users to get access to the documents and people they are following. This feature is available for Windows Phone and iOS as well as Windows 8. The second is the SkyDrive Pro app which empowers users to access the file sharing along with cloud storage service on iOS as well as Windows 8.

Some of the other mobile features new to 2013 edition of this software platform include the ability of incorporating geolocation tags within a list, the capability of viewing specific categories of business intelligence content as well as enhanced viewing of PowerPoint, Excel and Word documents with Office Web Apps.

Using Cellular Devices for SharePoint Online Sites

Your site can be accessed with a Windows phone once the web browser of the phone is opened and the URL or Uniform Resource Locator of the SharePoint site is typed. In case you are making use of a non-Windows phone, the URL can be entered within the browser or to get an optimized mobile view, /?Mobile=1 can be just appended to the URL.

Using Windows Phone 7 for accessing SharePoint Online site

A site can be opened on a Windows Phone 7 in almost the similar manner as it is opened from a PC, simply by entering the URL in the browser. Whatever is seen on the phone is not the cellular version but the site’s actual view. The site can be operated in the same manner as it is done from the PC. Most of the tasks such as creation and editing of items within a list, changing the site theme, uploading documents, creation and edition of site pages, along with addition of images, hyperlinks or web parts can be conveniently carried out.

Utilizing non-Windows phone for SharePoint Online site

When the mobile version of a site is opened, only some of the elements seen in a desktop version are visible, such as search feature, libraries, lists and so on. While you are making use of the cellular version of SharePoint, you can easily perform the tasks of viewing items in libraries and lists or operating Open Office documents from the website.

We provide SharePoint application development services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified sharepoint programmers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Top 5 SharePoint Collaboration Apps for Android

A number of SharePoint tools are available for Android devices which are capable of rendering functionality similar to that available for Iphones and iPads. As is true for many Sharepoint apps that are meant for mobile devices, some functionality is not present or has particular limitations, in comparison to the notebook or desktop experience. This is all the more obvious when the task is of document editing, and is not only restricted by the SharePoint app in use, but also by the tools that are present within your device.

One concern to be considered is that versions of Android which are 2.3 or below do not render support to NTLM authentication. This might prevent users from entering the SharePoint site in case they are accessing the earlier versions through tablets or Smartphones. However, newer Android apps, offer extra capability to Android users accessing SP data. These applications render basic access to SP documents, calenders, lists in addition to other features such as app level content sorting, passcode lock, offline access, and so on. Let us have a look at 5 of the top SP collaboration apps for Android.

SPtoGO

With the help of this, you can have convenient access to SP images, documents, events or tasks from your tablet or phone. This tool is very easy to use, so there is no need for you to be a SharePoint expert in order to use it. The content-centric design is done keeping in mind the everyday user. With the help of the SPtoGO passcode prompt available in the Settings tab, access to the enterprise SP content can be restricted from your phone. Moreover, you can seamlessly perform a number of activities such as add, view or update tasks, download documents to the phone to ensure offline access, upload photos from phone to SharePoint image library.

SPConnect SharePoint

This tool enables you to have access to a Microsoft SP site through the Android phone. You can conveniently collaborate with your team members while you are on the go. It is also possible to update as well as review documents within document libraries whenever you want. With SharePoint within your fingertips, meetings can be scheduled within a team calendar or a team announcement can simply be posted. The Android system requirements for this collaboration app include external storage system for caching of files along with a document viewer for modification and viewing of documents.

SharePlus

Through this collaboration app, you will be able to automatically synchronize your choicest SharePoint libraries as well as lists and incorporate them within your Android Smartphone or tablet. Wherever you are, you will be able to coordinate with your team through sharing of documents and task lists. The most noteworthy thing about SP is that it is capable of working with the existing SharePoint credentials, hence there is no need to seek special permissions. The main features include document management, content management and offline support, amongst others.

Harmon.ie Lite

This is a free app which allows non-technical business users to have comprehensive access to Office 365 as well as SharePoint sites straightaway with the help of Android devices. It is possible to share and edit documents, gain access to real-time updates or enhance the social network. There are a number of benefits, including access to SP and Office 365 on the go, native Office user experience with respect to document editing, enhanced project management, noteworthy productivity and adoption of social networking features.

SharePoint DocExplore

Document navigation has become very easy with the help of this collaboration app. This app provides a great method for easy document retrieval. SharePoint DocExplore allows you to browse and search document libraries from Microsoft SP, rendering a collapsible and visual tree view. The app comes with an intuitive interface wherein you can select the theme as well as animation according to your choice. The sub-sites and document libraries can be made to slide vertically or horizontally depending on the type of animation.

You can hire developers from top SharePoint development services companies in India who can help you build products within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide SharePoint site migration services. If you would like to talk to one of our SharePoint programmers or would like to take a look at the work they have done, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

SharePoint 2013 Performance Best Practices

SharePoint 2013, the newest version of the web application development platform is already giving a tough time to developers working on it with little knowledge. Indeed, the challenges that are faced by developers working on the platform are quite extensive and heavy much like the platform itself. Well, if you are new to the particular development platforms, you must always remember to integrate some tips ensuring highest performance level of the same. Likewise, experience developers must take a cue of the ideas while, taking up any development work as it would help you strengthen knowledge as well as promote discussion, which would ultimately lead to the development of a great application.

Here is a look at the best practices following which is sure to help you build something greater and better with SharePoint:

Always take note of the best time to cross the divide

A pertinent issue that often emerges with the development project while working on the platform is the best way of interacting with other systems in the network. Since, the web application relates to a composite application platform, this particular question needs to be answered quite often. Well, the solution rests with the idea of viewing the architecture of SharePoint from the web application. This particular approach stands as the easiest for now. While writing or coding Web parts, it is always advisable to make use of the object model of the platform.

Additionally, you can also make use of Web controls that function pertaining to a particular web application or ASP.NET form codebehind. The object model offers a rich and well known set of classes that allows you to interact with the web application development platform. Viewed from the perspective of the object model of SharePoint, the web application stands as an essential security boundary. Generally, the use of the object model for initiating interactions between the web applications must be avoided in all causes.

Gain advantage from the capabilities of the Native SharePoint

Development team often face issues that take away the opportunity of gaining complete benefit of the capabilities of native SharePoint. Well, the first issue implies at the platform being wide and extensive, which often makes it easier to develop custom solutions rather than offering time in understanding the offerings of the web application without any sort of custom coding. Secondly, the business owners often creates a list of detailed requirement, application behaviors, and wireframes that leaves little room for flexibility during the time of using OOB capabilities.

However, incorporating the offerings of the SharePoint often provides dividends, even if the deliverable at the end takes a slight move than the original requirement. The trick of gaining the advantage lies in complete understanding of the technology by the development team. Additionally, they also need to communicate the value and other advantages relating to a specific implementation of the application to the business organizations.

Gain knowledge regarding essential SPDev task and information

This particular purpose allows the developer to explain the common tasks that he might need to take up during software development in detail. When it comes to packaging the solutions pertaining to the SharePoint, the ways tend to be multiple. While on the one hand, you can completely rely on manual creation of diamond directive files (DDFs) and manifest.xml, the implementation of the Visual Studio projects cannot be ruled out completely, on the other hand. The use of VseWSS projects tend to be easier than the conventional process of manual creation of DDFs.

However, it is also important for you to note that some alternatives at times emerge to be useful for the enterprise and commercial deployments that also include the WSPBuilder, SPDeploy, STSDev, and DDFGenerator. It is advisable that you evaluate each tool carefully to find out what suits your needs the best. The trick lies in creating Solution packages for incorporating deployment rather than taking up manual deployment of code components.

Find out Solutions Off – Server

Every time, you get to work with SharePoint, you must make it a point to work on solutions that are free of any sort of dependencies that are often imposed by the development process. By making use of the Visual Studio development server, SharePoint Web services, ASP.NET Web Part framework support, along with third-party tools, you can easily finish the development task on a standard and general work station as against on a computer functioning on SharePoint.

Since SharePoint works on top of ASP.NET and IIS, the web development server that comes integrated with Visual Studio often makes a wonderful start point to begin with the process of SharePoint development. For instance, you can go onto developing HTTP handlers, Web controls as well as Web Parts in the particular light ambiance.

These a few of the best practices that can easily pave the road to successful SharePoint application development integrated with high performance and scalability.

We provide SharePoint 2013 mobile development services. If you would like to talk to one of our SharePoint developers or would like to take a look at the work they have done, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Why Should You Migrate from SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint 2013?

The much awaited and highly anticipated SharePoint 2013, the popular web application platform finally arrives. Now, it is obvious for most organizations to question as to whether it would be a wise idea to upgrade to SharePoint 2013. Some are yet to understand if the upgrade will be beneficial for them in the long run. In order to take the right decision regarding migrating to the new version of this prominent web development platform, one needs to carry out a little research and grasp the nuances involved in the same.

The latest application platform comes with a good number of significant upgrades. The major difference between the two versions of the platform lies in the user experience offered by the two, which is quite a significant point for the businesses. Eventually, a migration from the 2010 version to the latter version is quite desirable. Here is a list of reasons on why it is so:

Better User Experience

The brand new version of SharePoint puts much emphasis on the social experience that users would like to have. The concerned discussion board has paved the way for an interesting activity stream, similar to that of Facebook. Though there is a similar feature in the 2010 version of this web development platform, the one in the latest version is certainly more user friendly, allowing users to be there in the loop with easily accessible continuous updates.

Increased Socialization

Additional socializing is facilitated by what is better known as the ‘Gamification’ of the community site template. As such, users can now participate by means of assigning points, badges as well as a leadership board, incorporating the ‘top contributors”. With these increased opportunities to take part in social activities, presented by the latest version, users will also be able to be a part of workplace discussions.

Easier Customization

The newly introduced features in the publishing site reduce the necessity of gathering good amount of SharePoint knowledge. Extreme expertise is no longer required in order to be able to design a site on this platform and carry out its branding successfully. Customization is easily available, which implies that the web application development platform can be used for specific purpose and requirements.

Integration with Other Products

Perhaps the best and the most beneficial feature incorporated in the SharePoint 2013 is its ability to integrate with the other Microsoft products. It works well with several programs and in particular, with Office 365, that has been recently released. Thus, the end users can be rest assured that the documents, images and files will be stored safely enough for others to access them. At the same time, all of these data will be compatible with any program used by any other party.

Advancements in Social Capabilities

The advancements made in the area of the SharePoint social capabilities are impressive apart from being quite beneficial. The enhancements revolving around mobile experience add to the overall significance of the platform.

Device- friendliness

The latest version is made much more device- friendly than the previous version. Since the program is accessible via a wide range of device, users can enjoy staying connected on tablets, Smartphones and so on, all the time. Users with an inclination for apps can also download these from external sites. With this, companies can also design apps and thereby, restrict the use completely to the private SharePoint 2013 files. Additionally, businesses have the chance of keeping track of certain things better such as that of employee travel, spending and work hours.

The above- mentioned features of SharePoint 2013, especially the ones relating to the user- interface and usability of the platform implies that a migration can be of real help. SharePoint 2013 is perfectly suited when it comes to offering the best- possible experience to the users. Hence custom SharePoint development becomes essential.

We provide SharePoint application development services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified SharePoint developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Impact of SharePoint 2013 on Healthcare IT

Healthcare organizations which were early adopters of Microsoft SharePoint platform gained quite comprehensively from the capabilities of the framework. The new SharePoint 2013 version promises much more in terms of enhanced functionalities to benefit them. The primary ones include App Marketplace, Business Intelligence, Mobile, Communities, Video Searches and Micro Blogging. Apart than the intended benefits one common purpose achieved by the functionalities is reduction in the cost of operations for healthcare setups using them. With optimized workflow engines replacing manual tasks, improved compliance with regulatory mandates and availability of customized solutions, Healthcare setups are likely to notice significant reduction in their operational expenditure.

SharePoint’s predominant use in the healthcare industry has been in content management and in document and activity based collaboration. The new version interestingly has shifted the focus on its adoption more towards social solutions – which in the current day context has a lot of relevance. For e.g. it has a major contribution to make in knowledge management. In the healthcare industry this is of critical relevance as it can lead to not only better care solutions but saving of millions of lives. Knowledge gathered through experience and shared through the social platforms enhances its utility and relevance in making better decisions and reducing chances of committing errors.

The use of SharePoint is business intelligence is expected to gather pace as we progress. Since there are information systems now taking care of activities which were earlier handled manually, it has resulted in an explosion of data – most of which is highly critical and can be harnessed in various ways to draw greater benefits. From using dashboards and reports to analyze collated data from diverse sources to using them for predictions activities; all this and many more complex activities can be made possible using the features offered SharePoint 2013. EHR adoption which is fast happening is only going to expedite the whole process.

Mobility has brought about a huge change in the healthcare industry. The entire healthcare delivery mechanism is likely to undergo a complete metamorphosis in the next few years. SharePoint, when it was developed in 2001, was not expected to be built for such times. As the world progressed towards the use of mobile devices, subsequent versions i.e. SharePoint 2007 & SharePoint 2010 were released to keep pace with the changing demands. However, the response from the industry was not that very encouraging and the versions were considered inadequate. SharePoint 2013 is expected to dispel such notions because this version is about creating access to meaningful information.However, the healthcare organizations currently using SharePoint applications have to be willing to upgrade in order to derive the benefits. The major differentiating features include the following:

• A contemporary view to render sites in HTML5 which can work with all the updated versions of browsers

• Provision to render the SharePoint sites across different mobile devices by the use of channels

• Capability to push notifications to mobile devices

• Availability of two new native apps: The SharePoint Newsfeed App and The SkyDrive Pro App. Thus users now will have the ability to not only follow people and feeds but also documents thus enabling them to be accessed more easily without having to go through the SharePoint interface. Plus, they will also now be able to store documents to be able to use them offline.

• Better view of MS Office tools like Word, Excel and PowerPoint

SharePoint, throughout its lifecycle has drawn flak for its user experience. The upgradations, although have brought in changes, have been found wanting. The 2013 version seems to have put forth solutions for the prevalent issues in usability. Besides, there are now modern applications available which are suited to be used for mobile, social and cloud capabilities. In healthcare industry, one of the main areas concern and focus is data security. So the CIO’s of the Healthcare enterprises have to look beyond the benefits of these additional features and figure out their impact on the security aspect of things. They also have to look at how third-party apps can integrate with these features. Migration will also be another area which will require their attention. You can hire developers from top SharePoint development companies in India who can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide SharePoint 2013 developmentservices. If you would like to know what makes us certified SharePoint developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Things to keep in mind while migrating from ColdFusion to Microsoft SharePoint

Being a ColdFusion developer, chances of not knowing much about SharePoint certainly stands high. Therefore, before you take the plunge to migrate from ColdFusion to Microsoft SharePoint, you must consider developing some basic knowledge of working amid the particular environment.

What is SharePoint?
Well, in simple terms, it is referred to an application of content management system that allows an access of data stored in MSSQL database. The incorporated search services of SharePoint keep it apart from just file storage in common folders and add the context of team collaboration and data file management that are usually generated by the Microsoft Office Suite.

So, what are the aspects that you must primarily keep in mind to ensure a successful migration of ColdFusion to SharePoint? Well, here is a look at the aspects that prominently focuses on the task of understanding the content management system application:

Exploring the site hierarchy of SharePoint and roles that are permission based
The application usually exists in the form of a structured site grouping referred to as site collection. In this respect, it is to be made clear that site permissions are usually linked to the Active Directory login of a user. All permissions to site collection typically begin at the top level and spread downwards to the created sites thereby, acceding to the permission of the parent level.

Here is a quick look at some of the principle permission levels related to sharepoint application development :

• Read – users can only have a view of the data along with the sites

• Contribute – Users can view, add, delete, and update the data along with the sites

• Design – Users can views, update, delete, add, approve, and customize the data as well as the sites

• Complete control – Users can exert complete control over the data alongside the sites.

Knowing Lists of SharePoint: Views and Items
The SharePoint List is often recognized as the foundation of a site related to the application. In simple terms, a List is nothing, but similar to a database table. The content management system application comes with a several template concerning a List i.e. task list, contacts, calendar, etc. Each of these features their own default columns; however, the application can be customized catering to the exact needs as well as interests. For instance, you can always go ahead and add a column to the particular list like customer ID, document library, etc. You can also consider the idea of creating custom lists featuring no pre-incorporated or defined columns and save them as templates, if you wish.

Usually, the List consists of four default pages that are generated following the creation: a look

• NewForm.aspx – allows the users to add items maintaining a pre-generated approach to the list

• DispForm.aspx – allows the users to review an item in read-only form

• Edit Form.aspx – allows the users to undertake editing of a integrated item with proper permissions

• AllItems.aspx – allows a display of all list items maintaining a view that is non-filtered

Adding to all these is the final feature of the List that is Stored Views. This actually refers to filtered displays of Items present in the list catering to the chosen criteria of a user.

SharePoint Pages and Web Parts
When it comes to displaying a web page in SharePoint, it is to be noted that a usual page is likely to consist of pre-defined aspects and Web Part Zones that allows an addition of a Web Part. What is a Web Part? Well, a code snippet that exhibits the contained data of SharePoint in a specific layout. For instance, you can have a calendar Web Part that specifically exhibits Items from a Calendar List of the content management system application, offering you the options of exhibiting contents as a list of events or in the form of calendars offering monthly, weekly, and daily views. Building a page featuring multiple Web Parts allow you to put forward a design enabling a view in the form of dashboard quite quickly.

Once, you get all the necessary permissions within the environment of SharePoint, you can easily go ahead and experiment with the migration. Being a ColdFusion developer, you now have the choice of creating ColdFusion applications within SharePoint in a way like never before.

We provide sharepoint bespoke development services. If you would like to know what makes us expert sharepoint developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Huddle vs. SharePoint: A Comparative Analysis in Three Collaboration Scenarios

Most enterprises, nowadays, complete projects through distributed teams. So businesses often look for customized content management and enterprise collaboration to enable the members of a distributed team to communicate and stay connected without any interruption. As innovative collaboration software, Microsoft SharePoint is used by many companies to organize data, people and projects. Microsoft has further released SharePoint 2013 with a set of advanced features that enable a business to stay connected with employees regardless of their physical location.

However, each enterprise also has options to choose from several SharePoint alternatives. In comparison to other content management and collaboration systems, Huddle is more widely used by enterprises across the world. In addition to allowing organizations to share files with their team members and partners across the firewall, Huddle also facilitates content collaboration through posting comments, assigning tasks, and getting approvals. Also, an organization can create individual user profiles to connect with each team member or partner according to his role in the project.

Comparing Huddle and SharePoint in Three Common Usage Scenarios

1. Easy to Use and Deploy Collaboration Tools: Unlike SharePoint, Huddle offers as set of administrative and collaboration tools that are easy to learn and deploy. The tools further make it easier for users to distribute site administration tasks among team members without increasing the collaborative platform management overheads. On the other hand, the use of SharePoint requires enterprises to increase the collaborative platform management overheads. Further, SharePoint must be implemented in an exact and planned way to avail its advantages.

But Huddle comes with a well designed user interface that performs seamlessly across multiple workspaces. The SharePoint security features vary based on the way the platform is deployed by an organization. But Huddle allows users to implement security at multiple levels including application, data center, physical and network. So an organization can share files and data among its employees in a more secure environment.

2. Options to Integrate Third-Party and Custom Applications: Most enterprises, nowadays, use custom applications developed by third-party vendors to optimize their business process. So an enterprise will definitely expect the collaboration software to support these applications. In comparison to Huddle, SharePoint is more effective in integrating the third-party and custom-developed applications. In addition to the administrative tools required for these third-party application integration, Huddle further lacks the collaboration feature.

So the enterprises using third-party applications have to opt for SharePoint. Also, SharePoint offers some advantages as a web application development platform. Each enterprise has option to choose from several partners dealing in SharePoint web parts and applications. Also, a company can hire developers to build custom SharePoint applications according to its business process. However, the integration of third-party application may have an adverse impact on SharePoint security.

3. Availing the Advantages of Enterprise’s Existing Cloud Infrastructure: Many reports have already highlighted the constant increase in the popularity of Cloud computing. Many enterprises are also investing in Cloud infrastructure to meet the latest trends in technology and user demand. Huddle supports a multi-tenant cloud architecture that helps enterprises in reducing the initial investment. Microsoft has further made SharePoint 2013 ready for Cloud environments. But the SharePoint Cloud administration can be complex depending on the configuration and security of the site.

On the other hand, Huddle comes with agile administration tools that are effective in managing users and adopting Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC). The users also have option to use the Huddle Activity Stream to view the files or information on each accessible workspace. The feature further makes it easier for the members of a distributed team to access business data regardless of their current location. However, an organization needs to deploy SharePoint in a planned and exact way to avail the advantages of its existing Cloud infrastructure.

While comparing SharePoint and Huddle, one must keep certain key points in mind. SharePoint is a complete platform, whereas Huddle is only an application. So as a platform, SharePoint allows users to perform a variety of activities. But Huddle can be used only by focusing on specific scenarios. At the same time, it is also important to evaluate the two according to the technological infrastructure of the organization. Despite offering improved collaboration, Huddle still requires users to create additional overheads, and thus carry more risk. Custom sharepoint development teams can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide sharepoint webparts development services. If you would like to know what makes us expert sharepoint developers india, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

SharePoint – Most secure platform for Collaboration & Information Sharing

SharePoint was launched by Microsoft in 2001 as a web application platform that can be used to manage intranet content and documents. But the latest version of SharePoint comes will a set of advanced features that complement the information sharing need of all enterprises. Regardless of the size and business model of the business, it can migrate to SharePoint 2013 to avail several advantages. Along with manipulating websites, pages, lists and libraries, a business can also use the platform to view history of different versions of a page or document, and manage user permissions. Also, a user can easily create, copy, delete or rename the pages, sites, libraries and list to meet his specific requirements.

Most companies, nowadays, develop projects through distributed teams. As the members of a distributed team can work from various regions, it becomes essential for each business to empower and connect its employees. With Microsoft SharePoint 2013, an organization can easily edit, access and publish a variety of content and document to optimize the user experience. Further, businesses can leverage custom sharepoint application development to meet the frequent changes without changing its existing policies and work process. The updated version also comes with a set of enterprise-class management tools that allow organizations to seamlessly share information over the internet along with their intranet and extranet.

Why Use SharePoint 2013 for Enterprise-Level Information Sharing?

Enhanced Business Connectivity Services: The improved business connectivity services make it easier for you to enable SharePoint 2013 and Office 2013 clients to access the information stored on other platforms. Along with supporting a variety of apps and OData Business Data Connectivity (BDC) connections, the latest version also comes with improved external lists that can work seamlessly with other SharePoint lists. Also, you can use the event listener and subscriber to get notifications, whenever any changes occur to the external data.

Build Customized Websites: Each business wants to design an internal-facing intranet site or public-facing website that is flawless. Along with choosing the best features for the site, developers also have to customize the website to meet the client’s information sharing needs. The latest version of the platform further makes it easier for programmers to design, publish and brand a SharePoint site without investing any extra time and effort. A web designer with knowledge in HTML, JavaScript and CSS can easily develop a customized SharePoint site. The easy-to-use feature further allows businesses to develop customized sites to suit their work process and data access system.

Protect Your Business Information: In addition to making data available over external and internal firewalls, a business frequently explores options to protect the information, data and content. SharePoint 2013 comes with the eDiscovery functionality that is designed to protect business. You can use the functionality to run eDiscovery queries across different Exchange servers and SharePoint farms. Further, the discovered data can be preserved and exported easily from the Exchange mailboxes and SharePoint sites. So the users can keep accessing and searching for the documents without compromising the security of your site and information sharing system.

Claims-Based Authentication: While choosing an information sharing technique, it becomes essential for an organization to concentrate on authentication and identity management. The updated version of SharePoint development services comes with enhanced authentication that makes it easier for businesses to use claims-based authentication. Also, the latest version uses the Open Authorization 2.0 (OAuth 2.0) web authorization protocol to support authentication for a variety of apps, and server-to-server communication. The authentication features are also available for Lync Server 2013, Exchange Server 2013, and the apps listed in the App Catalog or SharePoint Store.

Provide More Relevant Information: While initiating a search, each user wants to obtain the latest and most updated information. So an enterprise level information sharing system must be effective in providing the most relevant information to the users in a much easier and quicker way. The SharePoint Server 2013 comes with enterprise search feature that includes the capabilities of SharePoint Server 2010 including query processing and targeting search results. The feature will make it easier for data administrators to provide users with the most relevant information without causing any delay.

Dynamic Web Content Management: Along with making the enterprise data accessible to authorized employees, a business also needs to explore options to make his website more engaging and interactive. SharePoint 2013 comes with a set of enhanced features that make web content management easier for an organization. The features further make it easier and simpler for developer to design publishing sites. Also, the features can be used to optimizing the process of developing and processing web content. The enterprise search option makes it further easier for a business to share dynamic web content to the users accessing these publishing sites.

Microsoft has further designed SharePoint 2013 by keeping in mind the growing popularity of mobile devices. This updated version offers optimized viewing experience to users, regardless of their choice of mobile platforms. Some of these features further enhance usability of the mobile device along with the productivity of the user.

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3 Major deployment challenges in SharePoint

In the recent times, there has been a tremendous rise in the Enterprise adoption of SharePoint. A survey conducted by Global 360, an organization dealing in document management, has found out that among the 886 respondents, 90% make use of SharePoint, wherein, SharePoint 2010 is being used by 8%. Strikingly, 67% of the SharePoint users extend it across the enterprise, implying that SharePoint is not limited to the IT department but can render support to the other departments too. Study also reveals that SharePoint webparts development is on the rise.

The survey also brings to light the manner in which SharePoint is used by organizations. It mainly gets started in the form of a content repository and then transforms into a more dynamic component. It is seen that 67% of SharePoint users have extended it for document workflow management while 66% have used SharePoint for web content and portal management. Again, 56% of the respondents have leveraged SharePoint for rendering support to business processes. 27% of the organizations which were surveyed are of the opinion that more than fifty percent of the documents that are stored within SharePoint are utilized for supporting vital aspects of business.

In spite of the widespread adoption of SharePoint coupled with enhancements in workflow, search and social networking within the platform, there are certain deployment challenges, as the survey highlights. Let us discuss three of the major challenges here.

User-experience is not so out-of-the-box

Out of the survey respondents only 17.6% are of the opinion that SharePoint renders an exceptional out-of-the-box user experience while at the same time sufficiently catering to their requirements. On the other hand, 78% respondents have described SharePoint as more or less adequate to inadequate, stating that the platform calls for additional in-house development and design.

The biggest challenge in case of implementing SharePoint, as opined by 21% of the respondents, is the absence of conveniently usable, intuitive interface suitable for business users. Undoubtedly, an insufficient user interface generally points at trouble. As stated by the Global 360 report, general user experiences frequently give rise to slow user acceptance, lesser productivity by users looking for workarounds to applications which fail to cater to their needs and soaring costs to customize and rollback applications.

Creating business applications takes effort and time

So far as SharePoint is concerned, there have been advances in the domains of offline access, social media, ERP integration and better CRM. However, going by the Global 360 report, there is still a huge difference between the delivered output and what is possible to be achieved.

Out of the 60% of survey respondents who have found SharePoint user experience insufficient, 47% are into creation of custom applications across the SharePoint environment. This involves lots of time. 30% of the respondents stated that the foremost challenge in SharePoint implementation is the time and effort involved in development of the business applications.

As per the report, a number of organizations who intend to reduce time, expertise and resources required for integration of custom apps within SharePoint are going for third-party applications in order to add content management, business intelligent and process management features to SharePoint.

Getting IT as well as business users over the same page

Outside of work, employees are exposed to increasingly interactive Web apps like the different apps of Google and Facebook. This has led to increased expectation with respect to the enterprise applications. Owing to this, IT is required to involve users within SharePoint deployment planning, as the Global 360 report states.

This may not be always convenient, as there is every possibility of disconnect between the business and IT users of an enterprise. However, user feedback obtained early will in due course speed adoption as well as cut the costs of deploying SharePoint, as stated by the Global 360 report. It notes that while customizing, purchasing or planning SharePoint business applications, there should be a concerted effort by the IT organizations to connect with the business users who have been targeted with respect to the application.

The survey majorly based in North America and Europe brings out the manner in which SharePoint users have adopted the platform as well as the deployment challenges that they regularly face. If these challenges are overcome, SharePoint will become a more efficient platform for businesses.

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