Have you wanted to explore the mobile capabilities of SharePoint 2010? I’ve just published an article on CMSWire that provides an overview of what you get “in the box” and your opportunities to extend the native functionality.
You can read “SharePoint 2010 and the Mobile Experience” on CMSWire’s web site.
In SharePoint 2010, Microsoft has provided new functionality called “Sandbox” or “User Solutions” that allow administrators and Site Collection owners to upload new functionality scoped to a single site collection. This means that site collection owners can host bespoke code or 3rd party add-ons that are useful to them without affecting others on the same farm. This functionality is incredibly useful in situations where organizations have shared SharePoint farms that serve the needs of various groups. It’s also very useful if organizations are looking to leverage services like SharePoint Online or Microsoft Business Productivity Online (both services offer a SaaS-based version of SharePoint), but have historically been prevented from including custom code.
In the May issue of SearchWinIT’s SharePoint E-Zine, I discuss the management controls and shortcomings of this new feature.
One of the criticisms lodged against SharePoint is that you install it one day and the next day you end up with thousands of sites. Each site brings with it potential security risks from improper security settings and massive storage consumption resulting from, among other reasons, content dumping.
Even assuming you don't have either problem, it's always better to have a well managed SharePoint environment than one without appropriate controls on usage. That's where site provisioning comes in.
To be honest, there's no magic formula for managing the site-provisioning process on SharePoint. Different companies will have success with different approaches. But there are some guidelines that enable every organization to both provide flexibility to its end users and ensure an appropriate framework to help manage growth, security and usage.
URL: http://searchwinit.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid1_gci1360488,00.html
NOTE: Beyond what’s mentioned in the article, SharePoint Solutions has a good tool for helping to managing the provision process called siteProvisioning Assistant. The product provides a nice mix of pre-built approval processes and end user ease of use.
