Chapter 1: Getting to Know SharePoint
In This Chapter
Getting a handle on SharePoint’s evolution
Spotting where SharePoint fits in a Microsoft ecosystem
Figuring out what SharePoint can offer your business
If you’re new to Microsoft SharePoint, you should know it’s an integrated suite of software programs designed to help organizations make the best possible use of their intellectual assets. SharePoint combines Web browsing with client-server networking to manage in-house information in some powerful ways:
♦ Discovering and sharing the important business information that lurks unused within many organizations
♦ Managing Web content by regulating access to documents and data
♦ Boosting collaboration through social networking
♦ Providing tools for business intelligence — turning raw data into usable business information
♦ Serving as a flexible environment for developing custom software to meet differing business needs
This chapter gets up close and personal with SharePoint, lays out how it has evolved since it first popped up in the marketplace, and gives you a glimpse of how it fits into a Microsoft strategy called Unified Communication (which some folks consider a whole new way of doing business). We figure a quick overview of where SharePoint has been will shed light on SharePoint features and functions as they are now. For example, SharePoint 2010 is highly integrated with Microsoft Office and can be deployed in a mind-boggling variety of ways — but it got to that point ...
