Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, New Management tool

SharePoint Server 2007 is the latest business management and collaboration tool from Microsoft. The new tools provide many features, according to the Microsoft website: “Office SharePoint Server 2007 is a new server program that is part of the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Your organization can use Office SharePoint Server 2007 to facilitate collaboration, provide content management features, implement business processes, and supply access to information that is essential to organizational goals and processes.”

I am not familiar with the SharePoint Server 2007, nor do I think I will be using it any time soon, but I decided to familiarize myself with this new server from Microsoft as it is…..well ”new” and as a manager in an IT firm, its my duty to stay informed about new technologies in the field.

Don’t confuse Office SharePoint Server 2007 with Windows SharePoint Services:

If you have heard about Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, you may wonder how it relates to Office SharePoint Server 2007. Windows SharePoint Services is a technology that is included in Microsoft Windows Server 2003. Windows SharePoint Services helps teams stay connected and productive by providing easy access to the people, documents, and information that they need to make well-informed decisions and the facilitation of work flow to complete projects.

Office SharePoint Server 2007 relies on the Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 technology to provide a consistent, familiar framework for lists and libraries, site administration, and site customization. Any features that are available in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 are also available in Office SharePoint Server 2007.
However, Office SharePoint Server 2007 offers enhanced and additional features that are unavailable on a Windows SharePoint Services site. For example, both Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services include site templates for collaborating with colleagues and setting up meetings. However, Office SharePoint Server 2007 includes a number of additional site templates that are related to enterprise and publishing scenarios. Similarly, Office SharePoint Server 2007 enhances the search technology from Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 to include features that are useful for employees in large organizations, such as the ability to search for business data in SAP, Siebel, and other business applications.

Most parts of the above articles were adapted from Microsoft website at: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointserver/HA101732171033.aspx

As busy professionals, we may not always have the time to keep up with the latest developments in our fields; I thought it would be worthwhile for my readers to get a brief summary of a new technology.