1-page Solution Brief - Posted 12/1/2006
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Project leadership firm improves employee communication and reduces IT costs with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Steady growth challenged Point B staff members’ ability to efficiently communicate and collaborate. A company portal based on Microsoft Office SharePoint® Portal Server 2003 became difficult to use and expensive to maintain after repeated customizations.
Situation
Point B is a professional services firm that specializes in leading projects to completion for companies of all sizes. Typical Point B projects include integrating an acquisition, launching a product, and getting a new system up and running. The company’s success had caused headcount and offices to double in recent years. Staff members in five locations were finding it harder to communicate and collaborate quickly and effectively. Growth made the collective experience of the firm a richer knowledge base, yet one that was harder to tap into. With more teams scattered across more offices, it also became challenging to manage operational task assignments and task status.
Point B had adopted Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Portal Server 2003 to enable web-based content distribution, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. However, custom enhancements had made portal navigation inconsistent and frustrating. Employees could not quickly find the people or knowledge they needed. Customized enhancements were also expensive for the IT staff to maintain and support.
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We anticipate that Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 will speed time-to-knowledge, which speeds our ability to complete client projects. |
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David Wu
Chief Information Officer
Point B |
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Solution
As participants in the Microsoft Office Rapid Deployment Technology Adoption Program, Point B contacted Saltmine, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner with offices in Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon, to explore new functionality available in the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Of special interest to Point B was Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, which offers needed capabilities such as workflow and document management, right out of the box.
As the foundation of Point B’s new portal, Office SharePoint Server 2007 provides enhanced enterprise search capabilities that speed employee time-to-knowledge. Business Data Catalog exposes line of business information to SharePoint and Knowledge Network discovers tacit knowledge in the company. Improved integration of SharePoint Server 2007 with the Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007 messaging and collaboration client allows Point B to push relevant information to workers through their inboxes.
To automate workflows and reduce process missteps and miscommunications, Point B is using the information-gathering features of Microsoft Office InfoPath® 2007 and InfoPath Forms Services. Office InfoPath 2007 enforces data collection rules, provides automated next steps through web based forms, and integrates with Office SharePoint Server 2007 to provide searchable archives of forms data.
Point B is looking forward to using automated workflows and its easier-to-use portal to more efficiently serve clients. Plus, the more capable portal means less IT development, freeing the IT staff to focus on creating new service-enhancing solutions.
Benefits
- To boost employee productivity through improved site navigation, personalization, and enterprise search capabilities
- To improve communication and collaboration through improved search, allowing associates to locate relevant people and information faster and respond to clients sooner
- To compress wait times and reduce missteps by automating task routing and operations workflow
- To reduce IT costs by replacing custom and third-party software with out-of-box features, lowering development and support costs and eliminating third-party licensing fees
- To roll out new portal features faster, giving employees enhanced collaboration capabilities and enabling them to stay ahead of client needs
The information contained in this document relates to prerelease software product which may be substantially modified before its first commercial release. Accordingly, the information may not accurately describe or reflect the software product when first commercially released. This document is provided for informational purposes only and Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to this document or the information contained in it. Microsoft, InfoPath, the Office logo, Outlook, and SharePoint are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. Document published December 2006.
