SharePoint

Opmerkingen: Considering both the positives and negatives, I think Sharepoint is a fairly decent tool for what it offers. We went from using exclusively Google's products to Sharepoint, but I still find myself going back to Google Drive, etc. for a good portion of my work. It's not that Sharepoint is explicitly bad by any means--in fact, there are a few things that it does really well. It's just that given the choice between Google's suite and Sharepoint, I find Google's easier to use and less "packed". Using Sharepoint is like shopping for cereal with 50 different choices, whereas using Google is like shopping for cereal with only 5 different choices. It might seem great to have 50 choices on the surface, but you soon find yourself in the middle of the aisle unable to make a decision because of the myriad of potential choices you could make. I'd like to again stress that Sharepoint is not a bad tool. It's just ok. If you're currently using Google's suite of products and are happy with it, I don't see any point in switching to Sharepoint. If you're looking for a wider variety of features than Google's suite, Sharepoint would be a great choice.

Pluspunten: I like the ability to quickly share, access, and retrieve documents that my team and I use on a weekly basis. It's nice having one place where everything is stored, and that I don't have to go to multiple storage locations to get what I need. The versatility of Sharepoint is also a bright spot. I can upload just about anything, and the storage structure is intuitive enough that I can find pretty much anything I need without a direct link to the file or folder.

Minpunten: The UI can be confusing at times. It was confusing at first on how to navigate back to top level folders or storage locations after diving a few levels deep, and figuring out how to access the file options (delete, share, etc.) wasn't clear on the first use. I had to click around a bit in order to find what I needed. Another point on the UI is that while it seems to have gotten a makeover in recent months, there are still holdovers from a time where it seemed that "sleek and modern" was not the order of the day--I'm specifically referring to the Permissions and Access Requests screen that I had to use in order to allow people from other parts of the company access to my team's documentation and files. It can also be somewhat "clunky" and slow when processing requests, but I'm not sure if that is a function of the software itself, it's cloud-based nature, or just my company's internet acting up again. The amount of "fluff" in the feature-set I've come across is substantial. It's nice to have the versatility provided, but I think where Google's suite of products really shines is that it gives you exactly what you need, and no more. With Sharepoint, it seems like there are a multitude of features that are available but won't actively be used. For example, the homepage customization is robust, but if no one is going to use it past a basic level, what's the point of having all the extra tools? It only confuses users and adds to a subtle sense of overwhelm when using the product

Opmerkingen: We are primarily using the system for document management. By connecting to a Microsoft Office server we are able to create and manage all documentation within SharePoint rather than having multiple versions existing on individual PCs. The fact that we can share news and utilize a central corporate calendar are cherries on top.

Pluspunten: SharePoint allows you to accomplish multiple tasks within one space and then easily present it to staff. In our case we use the system to present a centralized corporate calendar, manage our procedural documentation, share news/announcements, and to present a centralized staff directory with essential information based on active directory.

Minpunten: There are small navigational quirks that are not a big deal overall, but lead to the need to train staff before use. For example, the need to enter an asterix (*) when searching a partial word. E.g. wir* (for wire)

Opmerkingen: My overall experience with SharePoint has been positive across the many years I've used it. One of the best features I learned about in recent years was the ability to map SharePoint to a drive on your computer. This has really helped in terms of uploading and downloading multiple files simultaneously. If you plan to use SharePoint, I highly recommend looking into this feature as it will save you a ton of time and enable you faster access to your files versus accessing them from a browser window. Mapping is extremely easy and, in my experience, invaluable. You will also find that you can post graphics on your SharePoint pages. We frequently post "work anniversary" or "birthday wishes" for our team. Lastly, the calendar is extremely helpful as you can block out vacations, conferences, and other events, and know, at a glance, what's happening each day without having to search through Outlook or other resources.

Pluspunten: I've used SharePoint for over a decade. Long before "the cloud" was the tech buzz word, SharePoint was providing users with web-based storage access, and it still does. There are many things to like about SharePoint. First and foremost, it functions much like a web site. Users can easily navigate to their SharePoint home page and set up additional pages, upload and download files, add calendars and calendar events, and much more. SharePoint also creates archives of all files, so if you revise a file and then later need to see an earlier version of that file, you can use SharePoint's versioning functionality to do this. It's a great utility for storing files of all sorts that others on your team need to use. Uploading and downloading files couldn't be easier. We created different landing pages based on our company's needs. For example, we have a Marketing page to store our collateral, a Content page for manuscripts and legal documents, and an HR page for human resources-related materials.

Minpunten: It can take users a bit of time to understand the unique functionality of SharePoint. However, if you navigate around the toolbars you should find what you are looking for. In terms of design, SharePoint is relatively basic, so users looking for something with a bit more visual flash might be disappointed. Though if you are mainly looking for a reliable place to manage countless files, SharePoint is probably right for you.

Opmerkingen: It's great that most big companies use Sharepoint as well. We have been able to use Sharepoint with multiple companies with integrating new softwares and products. It has definitely been the best product for working with teams inside and outside of the company.

Pluspunten: This software is perfect for sharing files throughout the company, especially one like ours that covers multiple states. With Sharepoint, we can work on things as a team without having to be on a call with one another.

Minpunten: It took a little bit to get setup and to train everyone how to use it, but once everyone grasped the concept, it hasn't been too bad.

Opmerkingen: We use SharePoint primarily as version control for documentation and also for request tracking via a SharePoint list. It is an adequate solution for these needs but leaves some things to be desired.

Pluspunten: Convenient way to share files in and outside of your organization. It is truly loaded with good features; whether or not your instance will be capable of utilizing them all is another question (see cons).

Minpunten: Occasional integration issues with Microsoft's other apps such as OneNote. I had the hardest time moving a OneNote from one SharePoint to another and wound up having to do so one page at a time. SharePoint lists are our only recourse within my company for external user request tracking, and they are clunky at best. Users do not like the front-end form no matter how much tinkering we do in the provided form design tools SharePoint Design and Infopath. Poor visibility of who has access to what. The permissions hierarchy and inheritance is just not clear, and clean-up of any SharePoint you take ownership of will be a hassle. Many useful and seemingly rudimentary tasks are made difficult by integration issues with our corporate network, however this could have as much to do with our excessive security protocols than SharePoint. As such, I have not considered it in this review's score but gone ahead and included this complaint as a point of reference for anyone considering adopting SharePoint at their company. If your company's infrastructure and security model is already difficult to navigate, then it is unlikely you'll be able to take full advantage of what SharePoint has to offer without a very talented implementation team.