Before you hire your SharePoint deployment company you should ask certain crucial questions to ensure that you are choosing the right company to deploy SharePoint in your organisation.

The first and the most important question that you should ask your software company is their experience level as an organisation in terms of the number of years they have been dealing with SharePoint.

Secondly, you must also check for the average experience level of the experts that will be engaged in the deployment of SharePoint in your organisation. This is a very important question because as a software company they may have several years of experience, but the professionals that are present at the time of deployment of SharePoint in your organisation, may just be newbies in SharePoint. This will certainly become an area of concern during the implementation stages. So it is best to establish the average experience level of the individual software professionals that will be engaged in the deployment of SharePoint in your organisation.

Thirdly you should ask the versions they work with and make sure that they specialise in the version that you would like to deploy in your organisation.

Fourthly, you should ask your SharePoint deployment company for a detailed picture of the required hardware and software.  You must also make sure that you understand the cost involved in having the required hardware and software in place.

You should be clear about the nature and the duration of SharePoint support you will get from your deployment company. Once you deploy SharePoint 2007 in your company, you will have to live with it day in and day out and you are likely to run in to problems. The answers to “when you do run into such problems how do you deal with them” and “who you will be running to for help”, should be established before you venture into SharePoint 2007 deployment. Many companies struggle in this area because they get inadequate SharePoint support from their software company either because their software company has insufficient experience or because they lack enough manpower to provide the required support.

Overall cost for the implementation of SharePoint 2007 and subsequent support will be of paramount importance. You must make sure that you understand their pricing structure very clearly before you contract your software company.

Having specific experience in your industry is an added advantage so this should be one of the important questions you should ask your SharePoint deployment company.

Questions on overall timeline for the deployment of SharePoint for the entire organisation and the measures that you would be required to take for seamless integration of SharePoint 2007 for your organisation must be answered.

It is not enough to ask these questions, you should make sure that you get satisfactory response from your SharePoint deployment company.

So you have decided to implement SharePoint in your organisation and you have started looking for a company to assist you with the entire process. Companies make a number of mistakes during the implementation of SharePoint which lead to unsuccessful or less effective deployment of SharePoint.

Before you start your search for a software development company to help you with SharePoint deployment you should have a very clear understanding of your entire organisation and the document flow within the organisation. Remember, the success or failure of your SharePoint deployment will depend totally on the quality of information that you supply your software company. If any wrong information is passed on or miscommunication should take place in this area, then it will result in serious problems at a later stage.

Secondly, many companies just jump into this process without realising the complexity of the task they are undertaking. So you should understand that SharePoint deployment is a very complex process. You will certainly need the best experts in this field and with their help you will be able to face the challenges more effectively. This also involves hard work from your end as an organisation.

Thirdly, companies try to evaluate their service provider or software company solely based on the quote offered rather than basing their decision on the experience level, quality of solution offered, reputation of the company, possible future SharePoint support etc. This often backfires as they end up spending more on solving the issues created by ineffective deployment of SharePoint.

Having poor hierarchy in terms of access, permissions, administrators, contributors, authors, approving authorities etc, is another common mistake. This often happens with companies that have very little knowledge about SharePoint but like to implement it in their organisation. This is where the software company should help your company understand the implications of implementing SharePoint in your organisation and how it could be effectively put to use. Only an experienced company will be able to offer such help to their customers.

As implementation of SharePoint is a complex process, it may not be readily welcomed by the entire organisation. So, before the implementation, the idea should be sold well throughout the organisation so that every stakeholder cooperates in whatever way required during the implementation of SharePoint and for the successful running of the system. Many companies take this factor for granted and fail to sell the idea well within the organisation.

Ineffective training, motivation and follow-up are other common problem areas. Companies fail to spend enough time training and motivating their staff in the effective use of the new system that they are deploying. If effectively used, SharePoint will increase the efficiency of the entire organisation.

SharePoint is one of the most versatile software products for businesses from Microsoft. Today more and more business organizations are realizing the potential of SharePoint integration and implementing the same to take their business operations to the next efficiency level. SharePoint helps businesses enhance their business processes with its vast collection of inbuilt software tools. This is one of the most powerful business content management systems ever known.

Organizations will be able to streamline their business processes and their operations using SharePoint. Implementation of Microsoft SharePoint is easy and fast. The learning curve here is also very short when compared to the other similar solutions available in the market. Coordination between various teams within the organization will be enhanced and the top level management will have lesser hassles in coordinating the teams with the use of SharePoint.

SharePoint comes with a number of inbuilt tools using which all the electronic content can be organized and managed easily. Every electronic transaction within this system can be tracked easily. Sharing of information between the individuals of the same team and between the teams and among the entire organization is very easy. Various grades in access to information can be set using the inbuilt programs. This gives organizations complete control of information. SharePoint also allows organizations to create online information sharing in the form of web pages or wiki pages.

Various queries can be set for document organization and document retrieval. SharePoint also allows collaborative editing of documents with complete tracking facility. Other useful features that will help the members of the organization include contact management databases, to do lists, workflow planning, programmable alerts and discussion boards. On the whole SharePoint will help you enhance your staff’s productivity level.

Though SharePoint is an effective content management tool, it is vital that it is implemented well. Finding the right SharePoint consultant is very important for the successful implementation of the system across the entire organization. Depending on your requirement you can implement SharePoint for the entire organization of just for a certain section. The SharePoint consultant you hire to deploy SharePoint in your organization should be a certified SharePoint partner.

Effective communication within the organization is the key to success and that is what SharePoint deployment will help you with. If well deployed, it will minimize the normal constraints of organizational communication that are related to location and technology used. SharePoint creates a stable platform where all the members of your organization can effectively access, share and manage documents effectively. Very often organizations struggle to make important decisions because of the lack of availability of the required information at the right time. Once SharePoint is implemented in your organization you can do away with all such problems. These are just some of the many benefits in deploying SharePoint in your organization. Contact us for SharePoint consultancy needs.

With temperatures of -15 hitting most of the UK last week it became a struggle to beat the freeze while local authorities battled to keep the roads and schools open.

Temperature’s plummeted and people across the UK battled treacherous condition’s igroup battled to keep working through the week. However, with remote access, SharePoint and mobile working allowed igroup’s Chester office to perform as normal as many employees struggled to get to work.   

Chris, head of operations managed to struggle into work all through last week while the rest of the team dared not to brave the weather. Below are the snowy scenes from our Chester office.

Although ice, freezing fog and up to 11 inches of snow hit the UK igroup’s staff could work and continue as normal from their homes. As many organisations were struggling to keep to productivity levels normal remote working is a way forward. By employing a remote and mobile working philosophy productivity continues no matter what the weather and ensures that your business doesn’t lose out. During the decade employers will become even more flexible to suit our changing weather conditions and daily lives.

Anytime, anywhere working with mobile solutions and SharePoint keep’s ‘business as normal’.

82% of housing departments and associations have stated that mobile working is a priority for them in 2010, yet only 38% have a mobile working strategy in place.

 Integration with other IT applications is the main bug bear faced by housing departments in developing a mobile working strategy. Applications such as Micrsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be intergrated with a mobile IT solution, such as Dynamic Forms. However, according to the poll, the greatest benefits in implementing a mobile working strategy are to provide flexible and innovative ways of working for housing staff (33%) and higher service to citizens (36%).

Housing associations face immense challenges (NHF, 2009). These range from being able to generate tangible savings in 2010, improving ways of working for staff and enhancing service for citizens. Housing associations are coming around to the idea that mobile working strategies can deliver innovative, yet practical, ways of solving these challenges.

An example of mobile working initiative is to give field staff handheld devices to carry out updates on repairs and timesheets while they are out visiting customers which are logged on completion. Immediate benefits in achieving efficiency improvements.  In addition to reducing levels of manual data entry, fuel and inventory costs will decrease and there have been significant gains in productivity.

sept 2009.pdf (806.10 kb)

igroup have launched their September 2009 newsletter which can be found on www.igroupltd.co.uk.

By reading igroup's monthly newsletter find out about what igroup are up to, what new prodcuts and services we offer and updates on igroup's staff and customers.

Each month you can read how igroup have helped their client's to run faster with increased efficiency and productivity whilst being more competitive and helping them to cut cost's. Find out where you can see igroup at trade show's and seminars, and if you can't make it, updates on how they went will be published in the newsletter and igroup will add pictures of its staff at events, seminars and with clients.

Mobile computing: powering public service

Today’s technologies support workers on-site through suites of products devoted to connectivity, security and productivity.

According to the Future Work Forum, one in three UK workers does at least part of their work each week away from the office. Millions of working hours each day are spent working in the community, travelling to meetings and remote offices, or working from home. It’s a scenario that’s especially familiar to anyone working in the public sector, says Nick Umney, a technical specialist working in Microsoft’s Public Sector team. “Today, very few people spend five days a week working at a desk in the office, particularly with the growing awareness of flexible and remote working,” he says. “The challenge is how we enable those workers in the field, or at remote locations, to be as productive and efficient as they possibly can.” 

 The ‘Real’ work is outside the office

One part of the solution is to deploy mobile technology to provide public sector workers with access to job-related information wherever they are based. The potential benefits of mobile working are certainly compelling: the UK government estimates the public sector could save up to £336 million a year through mobile working. These savings would be generated through reduced office costs, efficiency savings, service improvement and improved data quality. “I agree that the public sector could benefit enormously from mobile working because for many roles, the ‘real’ work is outside the office,” says Rob Bamforth, a research analyst with Quocirca. “Providing access to IT on the move saves time, and therefore makes the individual more productive.”For example, the London Borough of Sutton achieved 47% efficiency savings when it provided finance staff with tablet PCs to record the results of home-based interviews with individuals requesting financial support. Staff used specially designed forms on the tablet PCs to record vital details, and generated the required paperwork for an application on the spot. Computerising the process has reduced errors and also means the results can be processed more easily – a typical application can now be assessed in less than one week, compared to five weeks previously. In Sheffield, 84 local councillors have been provided with handheld computers that allow them to electronically record requests and complaints from citizens, which are automatically sent back to the council’s contact centre. The system saves each councillor around three hours per week in paperwork and administration, translating into a major financial saving for the council.  

See how Dynamic Forms can help your business and increase productivity in the field: www.dynamic-forms.net                  www.igroupltd.co.uk  

On Wednesday 28th October igroupltd are being joined by Microsoft and Accenture to conduct a FREE seminar centred around mobile computing, mobility, mobile field data collection and SharePoint.

BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE NOW. Either follow the link or email: seminars@igroupltd.co.uk, call: 0845 838 2184. Visit us at http://www.igroupltd.co.uk/ / www.dynamic-forms.net/Pages/Home.aspx

 Book before the 5th October and recieve a Free White Paper on Mobile Computing!

GUEST SPEAKERS Peter Daley, senior manager in Accenture’s Mobile Solutions practice, will be givign a talk on enterprise mobility, industry trends, mobile computing and where the market is going. Peter is responsible for Accenture’s European Field Force Transformation offering, using mobile technology and business change to drive increased effectiveness for distributed workforces. In addition, Jessica Meats Microsoft's Partner Technology Specialist in SharePoint and InfoPath, who focuses on business processes and forms.