What is Share Point? Part: 1

Many of us don't know what Microsoft SharePoint is! Many of them don't even heard about Microsoft SharePoint!! 

Microsoft SharePoint is nothing but a Web application platform or simply a Web application Framework. It’s a product of Microsoft. For simplicity, we can call “Microsoft SharePoint” as “SharePoint” only. 

SharePoint isn’t a simple thing to explain. It’s huge and it's not a program too. It’s a platform or a collection of many products and technologies. 

Share Point is a Server Product

Actually, SharePoint is a server product. It comprises a multipurpose set of Web technologies in the backed by a common technical infrastructure that are useful for many organization. By default, it has a Microsoft Office-like interface, and it is closely integrated with the Office suite. The web tools are designed to be usable by non-technical users. SharePoint can be used to provide Internet-Portal, document and file management, collaboration, social networks, extranets, websites, enterprise search and business intelligence. It also has capabilities around system integration, process integration, and workflow automation.

You don’t have to install SharePoint in your own desktop, or laptop. It’s installed in your back-end system which is shared in a network. You have to connect to it. You may have Microsoft SharePoint Designer or Microsoft SharePoint Work Space installed in your computer so that you can customize your website quickly. But it’s not necessary all the times. You can remotely log in to the server and use these programs installed in the server computer. You just need a Web browser (Internet Explorer is best). 

Microsoft talks about SharePoint in six different areas.

Areas of SharePoint

Sites: Think SharePoint sites as a “one step shop” for all your business Websites. It’s not a single website. It’s a collection of Websites. It provides a full set of tools that you can use to create any kind of site, plus a single infrastructure that simplifies site management. You can create from a team site to an extranet site for your partners or to an internet site for customers, where people can publish and share information using only one System (Site Collection).

Benefits of site collection

• Easily Share and Publish Information: SharePoint sites are easy to make. You can create your own website using only the features of SharePoint. You can modify pages, change contents, add interactions or apply a designed template to your website very easily. Novice or expert, anyone can quickly create, customize, and publish a site that looks great and meets a specific business need.

• Ensure Broad Adoption:​ SharePoint sites are as easy to use as they are to make. That’s because SharePoint Sites works so well with other technologies that people use to do their jobs. Connections to Microsoft Office make it a snap to save documents directly to SharePoint sites. Even offline, people can access sites, documents, and lists with Microsoft SharePoint Workspace and synchronize changes just by reconnecting. Plus, cross-browser support and a great mobile experience mean that anyone can access and share content, in the office or on the go.

• Deliver Personalized Experiences: SharePoint 2010 Sites gives people the content they need, the way they want it. Features such as audience targeting, multilingual interface support, and user tagging provide a highly customized Web experience.​

We’ll discuss other areas of SharePoint in our next discussion. 

If you feel a little interest on Microsoft SharePoint, then why are you still waiting? Let’s begin.