Steps for SharePoint and PHP Integration

With the help of document libraries and custom lists, it is possible to read list data directly from SharePoint into the existing PHP application. In this way, a number of possibilities can be explored. Certain PHP tools are available through which it is possible to leverage the potential of the .NET Connector within the world of PHP. It ensures convenient access to SharePoint data such as documents and items. If developers are capable of working with recognized ADO.NET frameworks as well as SQL, it enhances the production quality, thus making the development process faster.

Connection of PHP applications

Developers now can avail the facility of connecting their respective PHP applications to SharePoint with the help of SQL, with the same convenience as is applicable in case of an ordinary database. Existing PHP tools are able to handle predefined lists such as the ‘Task list’ or the ‘Calendar’. Custom document libraries as well as lists can also be handled.

Seamless Integration with SharePoint

PHP tools available in the market assist in saving a lot of time when it comes to integrating with the document management system. With the help of these tools, you will be able to make use of the following aspects:

• Convenient installation is possible by simply including the library files, then setting up the connection settings to the SharePoint installation service.

• Through the use of the tools, it is possible to completely handle custom list items, develop any list that is required and that too, instantly. Moreover, predefined list items can also be managed. Again, you can also manage document libraries, folders as well as documents. You can even go for storage of data in database or dynamically read through the SharePoint integration service.

• Developers can effectively leverage these tools to work faster, developing better as well as increasingly flexible solutions. Every input-output from SharePoint gets transformed into the recognized database computer language Structured Query Language. Therefore it is easy to normalize the development process. As a result of this, developers with no prior expertise in SharePoint integration or development are able to conveniently work with document libraries along with list data.

Benefits of SharePoint and PHP Integration

Through the integration of SharePoint with PHP, there are a number of benefits that are achieved:

• The threshold of requisite knowledge is considerably brought down while working with data and integration pertaining to the document management system.

• The productivity of developers can be enhanced

• The maintenance costs can be lessened.

• The need for specific training for developers can be brought down to a great extent.

• The integration ensures easier support to data connectivity.

Features and Steps

Through the SharePoint integration service provided by a number of companies, the document management system can be queried like a regular database, irrespective of whether you are making the selection from amongst a default list, an edited version of a default list, a document library or a custom list. The data will be retrieved and made available to meet the specific requirements. You can go for the following:

• Choose explicit columns (SELECT Title, Id, FROM customList)

• Choose everything (SELECT * FROM customList, include the .all in the list name to obtain each element that is available from the list)

• Make the choice by view (SELECT * FROM viewName, customList.)

There are PHP tools offering support for creation, reading, updations and deletion with the help of SQL syntax in addition to stored procedures. Comprehensive handling of list items is made convenient along with management of document libraries as well as the respective items (documents and folders).

Whether it is SharePoint 2010 development, or any other version, by leveraging a diverse collection of PHP classes, developers are capable of easily integrating SharePoint and PHP.

We provide sharepoint development services. If you would like to know what makes us expert sharepoint programmers, 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.

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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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5 Safety Concerns of Using SharePoint on Mobile Devices

The growing popularity of smartphones and tablets has encouraged many companies to upgrade their existing software by including specialized features and functionality to target the new users. Microsoft has upgraded SharePoint with loads of features to target some of the most popular mobile operating systems including Windows, iOS and Android. The mobile capabilities have made it easier for many application developers and resellers to optimize their users’ mobile experience without putting any extra time.

At the same time, these features have enabled users to access a variety of content on their mobile devices anytime and anywhere. Most companies, nowadays, allow their staff to access corporate resources through their mobile devices to reduce project cost. With more and more users accessing SharePoint 2013 on their handheld devices, it has become essential for companies to keep the mobile experience of their employees and customers safe and secure.

So the IT department often finds it a daunting challenge to completely control the way the corporate resources are being accessed by various stakeholders. Many companies even look for the best techniques to prepare a comprehensive SharePoint mobile security plan. However, you can always concentrate on some common mobile security measures to ensure that your employees and clients will access SharePoint content without compromising the security of sensitive corporate content. This can help you unleash the powers of custom sharepoint development while keeping security strengthened.

5 Common Security Guidelines for Using SharePoint on Mobile Devices

Securing Content when the Mobile Device is Lost or Stolen: In comparison to computers, the chances of a mobile device being lost or stolen are much higher. So you must make a policy to protect the sensitive documents and data of your company, in case a user’s mobile device is lost or stolen. If a person is allowed of access corporate resources on his smartphone or tablet, he must be asked to protect his mobile devices through a lock or pin. Also, you must explore options to remotely wipe out the documents and data stored on the mobile device. As the security features vary from one mobile device to another, you must implement policies by targeting the major mobile operating systems.

Protecting Users’ Login Credentials: Most mobile devices allow users to store their username, password, and similar credentials. Some devices even use cookies to store the login credential of users. So you must train your staff about the most effective way to protect their credentials. After completing a task, the user must sign out of the corporate website. Similarly, they must disable all options that allow them to remember their passwords or keep them signed in. It is also important to delete cookies on their mobile browser on a daily basis. These measures will make it difficult for unauthorized users to access the corporate resources in case the mobile device is lost or stolen.

Protecting Communication between Server and Mobile Device: Most users access the data and documents of their organization through their mobile web browsers. So you must implement a strategy to secure the communication between your SharePoint Server 2013 and mobile web browsers. You can always keep the communication secure by enabling SSL. You can even consider using Forefront Unified Access Gateway (UAG) or any other reverse proxy server to keep the communication secure. By securing the communication, you can further minimize the chances of your corporate resources being hacked.

Activate Exchange ActiveSync Protocol: As a communication protocol, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync is effective in optimizing the device-side security. The protocol is presently available for Windows phones and other third-party mobile devices. You can further administer the device security by administering a comprehensive policy. Normally, the mobile devices of users access the SharePoint Server 2013 through a public-facing URL. So the SharePoint data and documents will remain inaccessible in case a mobile device is lost or stolen. Also, you can use the protocol to remotely wipe a variety of data from the mobile device. The protocol also enables you to prevent unauthorized access by displaying a lock screen that will force the users to enter a complex password.

Impose Multiple Authentications: Microsoft has further updated SharePoint 2013 with multiple authentication modes and methods. However, all authentication methods and modes may not be supported by each mobile device. So you have to make a comprehensive list of mobile devices that your employees use for accessing the corporate resources. Based on the supported mobile devices, you have to understand and implement the relevant authentication modes. Also, you have to decide the files, documents and resources that you will allow your staff to access on mobile devices. If you have made SharePoint sites, it will be easier to decide the mobile devices that can be used to access the resources externally. The external access restrictions will also have a impact on the authentication methods selected by you.

It is also important to review the guidelines for using SharePoint on mobile devices to make the security arrangements stronger and more effective. At the same time, you should also explore the latest security measures recommended by Microsoft to keep your corporate resources secure and inaccessible.

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

Best Practices for Successful Migration to SharePoint 2013

Each organization selects the best file sharing software to make its communication system more efficient and powerful. Based on its needs and budget, a company has options to choose from a variety of proprietary and open source content management systems. But many companies prefer using the comprehensive solutions provided by Microsoft SharePoint to transform its operations and operations. SharePoint further enables businesses to preserve and enjoy the benefits offered by their existing IT infrastructure, compliance and structured process.

The latest version of SharePoint offers a set of innovative features like easy to design and brand a website; improved business connectivity services; option to perform eDiscovery queries; and customized identity management. SharePoint 2013 further makes it easier for businesses to optimizing the viewing experience of users regardless of their choice of mobile device and operating system. Similar to other smart users, you must be thinking of migrating to the new version to avail a number of advantages. This makes the search for “Top companies in Sharepoint” who can help in migration torise to gigantic global numbers.

However, many experts have highlighted the risks associated with SharePoint 2013 migration without proper planning. The lack of proper planning will further make your IT professionals to spend a huge amount of time and effort. Therefore, it is becomes essential for a user to explore options to make the project successful without increasing stress. It is also important to understand and implement some best practices to migrate to SharePoint 2013 easily.

5 Best Practices to Make a Successful SharePoint 2013 Migration Plan

1. Address Your Business Needs: When you are migrating to SharePoint 2013, you must use the transitional phase as an opportunity to thoroughly assess your business needs and governance. You can even make a comprehensive plan, and decide how to use the upgraded version, and what type of content you want to store in the new system. At the same time, you must review you existing content management system, and decide the files that must be retained or can be discarded. Reviewing your business needs and information infrastructure from the scratch will surely need some amount of time and efforts. But the investment will make your content management system more efficient and relevant.

2. Organize and Externalize Business Data: Often a huge amount of unused data may affect the performance of your content management adversely. So you must make a cleanup strategy by using the data externalization feature provided by SharePoint 2013. The feature enables you to move a huge amount of unused and old data from your main server to secondary and inexpensive data repositories. For instance, you can use a special tool like Storage Maximizer to easily transfer these data from your SQL server databases to other open source databases. The data externalization will increase your server space, while reducing the time required to access relevant information.

3. Make and Implement an Effective Communication Plan: When you are migrating to an advanced content management system, it is important to communicate the changes to all stakeholders. Often the files are accessed by your employees, clients, vendors and website administrators. So these people must be communicated about how to access the data in a faster and convenient way. It is also a good idea to call all stakeholders, and ensure that they clearly understand how to use SharePoint 2013. At the same time, you can also consider sharing a change management system to make the migration easier without disrupting day to day communication. However, you must set a deadline so that the users can understand how to access files through the hefty GUI provided by SharePoint 2013.

4. Evaluate Your Business Environment Thoroughly: Each business has to store and share a wide range of documents, solutions and data. The files will be stored in SharePoint 2013, but these will be accessed by different users, stakeholders and website administrator. So you must gather their suggestion and feedback to optimize your governance plan. Similar to other organization, you may be storing all your data on network file servers and other collaborative systems. When you are making the migration plan, some or most of these documents can be moved into SharePoint. At the same time, you can also consider using SharePoint 2013 as a comprehensive record management system to manage your existing as wells a future data in a more efficient and organized way.

5. Choose the Best Migration Approach: When a business decides to migrate to SharePoint 2013, it can choose from several data migration approaches. However, you must evaluate each approach based on specific criterions like your business needs and potential trouble spots. As the latest SharePoint version does not allow users to directly upgrade their existing data farm, you have to upgrade by attaching a database, or by using third-party tools. However, you have options to run two data farms at a time by using any one of, or combining the two approaches. It is also important to evaluate the pros and cons of each migration approach to decide the best option to suit your business requirements.

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

SharePoint Development and File Sharing – Understanding the Alternatives

Most professionals, nowadays, have to work in a hugely distributed professional environment. With companies outsourcing the projects partially, each project manager have to constantly communicate and coordinate with vendors, clients, partners and distributed team members. The files sharing software has made it easier for professionals to easily collaborate, communicate and exchange information with people associated with the project regardless of their current location. In comparison to other online file sharing tools, Microsoft SharePoint is hugely popular due to its efficiency in facilitating enterprise collaboration. This makes the search for “Top companies in Sharepoint” rise to gigantic global numbers.

However, the small and medium businesses often consider SharePoint to be expensive. Along with paying high license fees, a company also has to invest in hardware, maintenance and data security. Further, a business has to deploy a team of trained and experienced professionals to implement, manage and support the SharePoint. Many companies have launched SharePoint alternatives to make it easier for SMEs to share their files without spending a lot of money. You can even consider using a number of open source enterprise content management systems to avail the features and functionality offered by Microsoft SharePoint.

6 Open Source Alternatives to Microsoft SharePoint

1. Alfresco: Alfresco is hugely popular as an open source enterprise content management system that allows users to easily maintain and organize their files. The file sharing tools comes with a number of handy features like desktop file access, advanced search, editable content and web content management. As the system maintains all your files in a scalable and centralized repository, you can easily maintain it without putting any extra effort. Also, the system offers searching capabilities and efficient browsing, along with wizard based configuration. You can further avail additional support from the Alfresco team by buying the paid edition.

2. MindTouch: Many reports have cited MindTouch as the best file sharing alternative to IBM Lotus and Microsoft SharePoint. The open source enterprise collaborative system further supports the most advanced knowledge bases, intranets and extranets. You can use MindTouch to share the files across the extranet and intranet of your company, along with web dashboards, product documentation and knowledge bases.

3. Liferay: As a social collaboration solution for your business, Liferay enables you to streamline the entire communication at your workspace without putting any extra time. You can use the system for building group cohesion and raising productivity levels. Based on your convenience, you can use the community edition for free without availing any support, or avail additional support by buying the paid enterprise edition. Each edition of Liferay enables you to enjoy features like enterprise collaboration; web publishing and shared workspaces; social networking; identity management; and content and document management with Microsoft Office integration.

4. Plone: Plone is popular among users due to its easy to install and use features. The users without having technical skills can also use the flexible content management system to create, maintain and share information through a web browser. So the small companies can use Plone to manage their files without deploying a team of trained technicians. Along with offering easy to use and extend features, Plone also uses advanced security techniques to keep your files safe, secure and inaccessible.

5. Magnolia: As a content management system, Magnolia is popular among users residing in various parts of the world. Despite being available under an open source license, Magnolia offers a number of easy-to-use features to empower a variety of enterprise websites. You can use the page editing interface provided by Magnolia to design the content layout as it will be displayed to your website visitors. While using Magnolia, you also have options to get services and supports from partners and vendors from different countries.

6. Sensenet: Many large and renowned companies use Sensenet as an open source alternative to Microsoft SharePoint. Along with managing your documents, web content, and business processes, you can also use Sensenet to easily collaborate with your distributed team members, peers and clients in a friendly online workspace. Based on your needs, you can use the Sensenet community edition for free under the GPL license, or buy the commercial enterprise edition with additional support and services.

In addition to these six open source alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint, you also have options to choose from several other content management systems including WebGUI, Mambo, KnowledgeTree, and Callanos. However, you can also consider several proprietary file management systems that enable you to manage your content without investing a lot of money.

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

SharePoint – Ultimate Enterprise Apps creation Platform

SharePoint, a very important candidate to be the Apps platform for hybrid on-premise and cloud deployments. Several booming apps developed by SharePoint have a cross-platform implementation with higher user experiences and can run any device with ease. App vendors seem willing to require the price of maintaining multiple versions to secure better stability, performance and practicality utilizing the chances within the platform. Modern Apps with an HTML5 interface are more demanding in the web world. Itis both a platform and an application. We need to understand where to use it best in each area.

SharePoint comprised of web technologies and standards-based APIs, launched in 2001 by Microsoft. It was version 2007 that first staked SharePoint’s claim as an application development platform. Then an updated version of SharePoint 2010 was released. As application usage grew, customers wanted to customize their site based on their own unique needs. Organizations seeking to involve the business users and analysts in all aspects of development, not just during the requirements gathering process.One of the reasons for the success of SharePoint has been its ability to empower end users. From creating custom views on lists, customizing web parts and building workflows, SharePoint has allowed the end-users to create much of the functionality they need without relying on IT each step of the way. It helps an enterprise to manage its data, applications and information more easily.

The recent trend of social networking makes unstructured content even more difficult. The Content Management Services provided by SharePoint makes it easier, where users find it difficult in terms of flexibility to tag a document, rate it, find and act with the topic matter consultants associated with the document, tired close to period. HTML5-based mobile browser experience, ability to associate multiple master pages to a single site, support for push notification and the addition of geolocation list datatype to make it easier to implement location awareness etc. With so many other worthy enhancements to choose from (enhanced API, performance improvements, BI enhancements), SharePoint database that stores the data, view, queries and macros.

SharePoint helps users to create customized applications in a cost-effective way. There are two main categories of SharePoint solutions are: those executing code on the server (Trusted Solutions) and those who doesn’t (NoCode solutions).

NoCode Solutions

SharePoint in many ways resemble the integration architectures we see in the public web space, with light-weight interaction between distributed services. This means that a solution can be developed without any in-depth knowledge about the SharePoint platform, which is a great opportunity for novice users who are new to developing their business online by setting up a potential App.

The skill set for NoCode solution development relies heavily on client-side technologies, such as JavaScript, jQuery, HTML and some basic ASP.NET.

NoCode solutions have the great advantage of very low server footprint and thus there is very low risk of deploying these solutions, as they cannot interfere with the operations of the platform. They do not deploy or execute any compiled code to the SharePoint infrastructure, typically consume the SharePoint APIs and data over distributed interfaces such as Web Services or REST via the browser. This advantage is especially important in large-scale multitenancy hosting scenarios such as Office365, where operational stability and tenant isolation is extremely important.

The drawbacks of NoCode solutions are mainly focused around the inability to utilize the raw processing power and services of the native server environment. This means that if you need to do stuff like running scheduled operations, or execute some demanding processing task, you’ll need to externalize that task to an external service. Enterprises might also worry about the potential security and compliance risks of using NoCode solutions, as they commonly include mashups, which in turn takes advantage of external services. One example is the use of Google Charts. It provides a very simple, client side Java-script only solution, but the data you are populating your charts with are inherently shared with Google.

Trusted Solutions

SharePoint supports different kinds of trusted solutions, running on the SharePoint server infrastructure and on multiple browser. These types of solutions are established using WSP packages and execute compiled code on the infrastructure itself. The platform carries varying degrees of isolation to permit for different security and operational contexts. Microsoft has managed to set up a comprehensive structure with support for characteristic administration, provisioning and governance over the past two foremost versions of the merchandise.

With evolving trusted answers normally requires .NET programming skills, and furthermore in-depth information about the SharePoint programming APIs and deployment form. Developing the front-end is much the identical as for NoCode solutions, apart from the possibility of leveraging the full power of the ASP.NET web framework. This represents a cost for vendors making an primary entry to SharePoint, but it furthermore represents a important opening to utilize the centre capabilities of the stage.

Trusted solutions make it likely to exploit the full promise of the native stage services, making it possible to construct exceedingly powerful, integrated solutions that hold all facts and figures inside the enterprise at all times. This becomes an progressively significant asset as the breadth of platform services offered by SharePoint continues to grow, with things like the very quick seek and move supplement, presentation point, the secure shop service, visio services, word automation services and more.

Apps in the Cloud

Microsoft is focused on ensuring that all features, capabilities, development models built in SharePoint are ‘service ready’ – built with both on-premises and SharePoint Online in mind. NoCode solutions are more or less cloud-ready in nature but Trusted Solutions are complex.

Microsoft supports all types of Trusted Solutions in the cloud and thus increase their scalability level. Office365 will require establishing process isolation for code running on their servers and with the current SharePoint Architecture, this can only be done at the Web Application level, thus Office365 have to be able to serve these “units” in the scalable way in which they are serving Site Collections today. We expect this to arrive with Office365 in pace with the increasing demand for virtual private clouds which is in demand by upper SMBs.

Once Microsoft has solved this little technical barrier they have in essence unleashed the full power of the SharePoint platform to allow it to be a potential host for Apps of all types, both on-premise and in the cloud.

A complex but complete platform

SharePoint, 4 major versions 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2013 support a broad kind of solution kinds with distinct complexity, possibilities, development approaches and governance considerations. The models cater to distinct needs of customization ranging from the least significant of purposes, to the most comprehensive business systems running on the platform. Microsoft has effectively supplied tools to permit explain problems at all grades and they have done it at a stride that has permitted a large community to pursue, invest and apply precious business solutions.

In the future, all of these solution types can run on-premise or in the cloud, served from a single App Marketplace for SharePoint. With sharepoint CMS customization services on the rise, it is nothing but clear that the world is getting ready to harness the benefits CMS has to offer.

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