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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Should You Use SharePoint As Your CMS?

By Jake Gavin


Even given the rapid pace of SharePoint application development, Microsoft's CMS faces a lot of competition, both open-source and commercial CMS software. Some have advised that Sharepoint attempts to be all things to all folk and ends up suffering some inabilities as a consequence, while more technically advanced users may wish to use software which is strictly a content manager's system. Naturally, the cost of SharePoint may also deter some individuals and smaller businesses, particularly if there is a free, open-source alternative which can do what they want their CMS to do, irrespective of whether it can match SharePoint vis overall functionality.

Any CMS worth having will facilitate making, modifying and sharing web content, naturally. It should also handle authorizations and other security issues along with document management and support. The original point of Microsoft SharePoint development was to make a tool for collaboration and file sharing in corporate intranet settings rather than being a content manager's system. Before the 2010 version of the software, SharePoint was said to be a less than ideal CMS to say the least. Nonetheless the 2010 version included several upgrades courtesy of the SharePoint application development team at Microsoft, including improvements in content syndication and workflow management as well as scalable feature sets which added to the versatility of the software.

There are quite a few content management features integrated into SharePoint, but even with plenty of inspiring Microsoft SharePoint development behind the software, many users will find it too complicated for a small, simple internet site. Web designers who need a blog will also probably want to avoid using SharePoint, since it's not aimed at this sort of site the way that choices like Wordpress and Drupal are. Video revising and sharing is also problematic with SharePoint and real-time stats aren't available to the user. As of the newest version of the software, it also lacks smooth integrating with social networking platforms and an application store (however , SharePoint application development has been going on to address this and the subsequent version will include these features) .Nonetheless, SharePoint has a big following, thanks to its stableness, comprehensive support and document management features. It's also a favorite in corporations due to its integration with Microsoft Office and for the way that it facilitates partnership for internal use or publishing to the web.

Microsoft SharePoint development is paralleled by the development efforts of its CMS rivals, including Oracle, SiteCore and Autonomy, to name just a few. There truly isn't such a thing as the best CMS out there, since this is largely dependent upon the user's needs , budget and the boundaries of the project at hand. Both free and commercial CMS software have their own sets of pros and cons; open source software frequently lacks the kind of dedicated support you'll find with commercial software, but it may also be really high-priced.

In the final analysis whether to go with SharePoint or another CMS depends on your position and whether or not you need all of the capacities that come with the extensive SharePoint application development which has gone into the product. A careful cost-benefit analysis of the situation is essential and it is what will lead firms and individual end users to make the right choice for themselves.




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