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.

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7 Apps that Bring SharePoint to the iPad

The need for the right applications is immense when it comes to catering to the vast range of mobile users. People making use of iPad and iPhones need to access SharePoint content too and it is for this reason that it becomes essential to bring SharePoint to the iPad. The unconventional applications are often found working effectively for the purpose.

Now, quite a lot of options are available for making Microsoft SharePoint accessible on the device. The traditional iPad browser paves the way for a somewhat satisfactory experience. Several factors need to be considered in this regard. For instance, content editable attribute is supported by the desktop version of Safari while such facility is not made available by the Safari on the iPhone OS. This attribute is used by the application development platform and other collaboration products such as that of the Office Web Apps. This ensures a rich editing experience within a supported browser.

On the other hand, offline support and a richer experience is facilitated by certain apps that can be downloaded from the Apple App Store. Here is an overview of some of the popular as well as prominent apps that helps in bringing SharePoint to the said device.

1. SharePlus Office Mobile Client

SharePlus emerges to be one of the most prominent and universally used iOS Client for SharePoint that enables carrying the highly valuable information assets of this web application development platform on the Smartphones or tablets, irrespective of the prevailing scenario of connectivity. The app works well on several OS like Android, iOS, Mac and Blackberry.

2. Filamente

Filamente is often considered to be the most beneficial and user- friendly apps that offers a simple yet intuitive way of interaction with the development platform from the mobile devices. Setting up Filamente for the team site is quite easy and hassle- free. Other advantages of this application come in the form of a rich text editor plus link to Dropbox feature.

3. Moprise: SharePoint Documents for iPad

Morpise is an excellent collaboration client for iPad. This application, featured by Apple in iPad @ Work, enables users to access, share as well as collaborate any of their SharePoint document on the larger screen.

4. Harmon

The version 1.2.3 of this application of 2.5 MB comes with a rather intuitive user interface while also bringing forth an easy setup for the team site.

5. Briefcase Pro

Briefcase Pro is one such app that facilitates effective search from anywhere. The application has an intuitive user interface coupled with a fairly rich text editor.

6. Native iPad

Native iPad, as an application, is widely preferred primarily because purchase of additional software is not a necessity for the same. The application has no offline capability, which ensures that the security risks are much desired. Above all, it facilitates text input for list items.

7. SP- Dashboard

Coming up to be yet another useful app for bringing SharePoint to the iPad, SP- Dashboard for iPad allows users to browse SharePoint data in a much easier and efficient manner. It offers a good experience of navigating through the SharePoint sites and viewing the lists, libraries and documents. Additionally, one can also define the favorite lists, documents as well as libraries for fast access while renaming the favorites for a better overview.

With this application at your service, presentation of the SharePoint data with complete mobility becomes possible. As the retrieved data is automatically updated and stored on the device, there is no need of an internet connection for accessing the data.

All of the above- mentioned applications and products are intuitive with some of them being better than the others. The apps not only serve the purpose of bringing SharePoint to the iPad but also reduce the cost of ownership in the long run. Sharepoint 2013 mobile development teams can help you build mobile apps using SharePoint 2013 within allocated budgets and time schedules.

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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.

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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.

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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.

SharePoint and Social Media Goes Together for Unlimited Benefits of Businesses

The social media has become an inextricable part of modern lifestyle. With millions of people using major social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin on a daily basis, the social media has also become an effective medium of web-based communication and information sharing. The social networking platforms have further enabled companies to promote their products and services by targeting customers residing in different regions.

At the same time, many businesses also use social media to stay connected with their existing customers and potentials, along with gathering their suggestions, feedback and views. The huge popularity of social media has further made it essential for each business to choose a content management system that allows them boost public relations by availing the benefits of social media. Unlike the conventional file sharing softwares, the latest version of Microsoft SharePoint offers a variety of functions related to social media and collaboration.

In addition to seamlessly sharing data among your distributed team mambers, clients, vendors and other stakeholders, you can also use SharePoint features to build a customized social media portal for your business just like Facebook. The My Sites feature further enables your employees to create and edit their individual profile pages, and synchronize theire profile with the Active Directory. They can further create public profile to make share both personal and professional information with cowoekers and clients resding in other countries. The social media feature of SharePoint 2013 has made it easier for a business to avail the combined benefits of social media and an innovative content management system. This makes the search for “Top companies in Sharepoint” rise to gigantic global numbers.

Singificant Advantages of SharePoint Social Features

Centralized Location to Store All Your Conten: Each user wants to store all his files in a central location where the information can be accessed easily by others. The My Sites features allow users to have a central location for their personal and professional information. Microsoft has further optimized the features to make it easier for users to access the required information without putting any extra time and effort.

You also have options to use the default Team Template to see links for Sites, Newsfeed and SkyDrive on the top of the page. These links will make it easier for users to quickly navigate within the My Site. Once you make these sites available on several templates, the members of your distributed team can easily navigate from the content related to a specific team or project. Also, they can easily collabaorate the information with their personal account.

Easy to Organize, Access and Share Your Data: Many users look for easier options to organize their content, rather than linking the content to their personal account. Share Point 2013 suuports a concept knows as Follow. The feature enables users to easily and quicky add links and references to specific files on their individual My Sites. At the same time, you can use the features to easily follow documents, people, tags and sites within SharePoint. Based on the things you want to follow, you can see the icon directly that will make it easier for you to access the content in future.

For instance, if your project requires you to create and review new documents, the Follow concept will make it easier for you to add reference to the existing as well as new content. Also, you can review the documents easily by seeing your newsfeed updated. Simialarly, your suggestions and feedback can be viewed by other team members through their newsfeed updates. So they can easily decide the content that they have to rely on, instead of navigating through the entire site.

Options to Start and Continue Conversations: The SharePoint 2013 further allows users to discuss the content by posting, and responding to comments. When one opens his newsfeed, he can view the information on different categories. The section will also see the things that you follow under each catergory. Along with following the content, you can use the feature to interact with other users directly from the site. You can simply add the @ symbol before the name of the specific post, and make it easier for others to find the global address. Also, the mentioned users will get email notifications informing them about the update.

Further, when you create a new team site, it will by default contain a newsfeed. The newsfeed can be used by your teammates to discuss the content. As all your contents are located in a cental place, your coworkers can easily iniatiate a conversation, and participate in discussions. Your colleagues also have options to interact with each other by sending emails. But the interactions through newsfeed will complement the needs of all users. Also, the conversations will remain more centralized within your team or project content.

If you are new to building a social media sharing site using SharePoint 2013, it is advisable to gather instructions provided by Microsoft. The whitepaper further explains how to customize your content management system to avail the features and functionality offered by major social networking platforms.

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.