Experts in share point audits

Experts can show the way to success with SharePoint

As the Microsoft SharePoint platform is gaining popularity, more and more business enterprises are keen to take advantage of the technological advancements that the platform offers. The changing business scenario encourages more collaboration and participation from both within and outside the organization and there is no better platform than Microsoft SharePoint to achieve the goal. Companies are now building their applications on the SharePoint platform and include applications like Accounts, HR, Logistics, Procurement and Administration that are critical for the operations of the companies. To keep the applications up and going and also to derive the maximum benefits from the SharePoint platform these companies are dependent on experts in SharePoint audits, who provide the necessary support in achieving the objectives of the companies and fulfill their expectations from the SharePoint platform.

The expert entity

The experts in SharePoint audits are people who are trained and experienced in Microsoft SharePoint and many of them are recognized as Microsoft Most Valuable Partner (MVP), a recognition that is earned by these professionals for their in depth knowledge of Microsoft products and their technical expertise. The experts are passionate about SharePoint and possess exceptional leadership qualities of sharing their knowledge with others. Mostly serving as consultants under various organizations, the role of the experts are being expanded each day and their demand also keeps on increasing as they have the knowhow of making best use of the SharePoint potential for business.

What the companies expect

The expectations of the companies from the experts in SharePoint audits can be understood from the goals that they set in regard to the use of the Microsoft SharePoint platform for their business applications. These can be briefly outlined as:

• The applications should run at optimal levels of performance without any interruption.
• To make provision for improvement of the applications and its development in future.
• Develop a strategy to include new business needs in future in the SharePoint environment.

Role of the experts

The role of the experts is defined by the needs of the organizations, although their capabilities are much more than that. Keeping parity with their richness of technical knowledge, they are also thoroughly conversant with the business processes across various business sectors. Broadly speaking, the role of the experts can be captured in the following:

• Consulting for business process - They are involved in the process of business process consulting and show the way to optimize the processes for seamless alignment with SharePoint.
• Information Management techniques – Showing the methods of organizing documents in SharePoint.
• Managing web content – Management of the content in the web portal and ways to do it.
• Mobile and Social strategy - Sharing the secrets of using the social functionality of SharePoint.
• Integrating enterprise systems – How to integrate diverse business systems in the SharePoint environment.
• Strategy development for value added service - Devise strategy for using the advanced features of SharePoint in areas of intranet portals, knowledge management, advanced document management and business automation.

Need for experts

Anything that is special needs the involvement of experts in its implementation and upkeep and it is precisely for this reason the experts in SharePoint audits are in great demand. You need their help in proper implementation and governance of the system as they provide clear guideline about some key areas that are very much needed for extracting maximum benefit from the system. These areas include:

• Customization of SharePoint.
• Strategy for deployment and testing.
• Planning for backup and recovery.
• SharePoint Dos and Don’ts
• Development guidelines specific to the SharePoint platform.
• Standardization and development process.
• Limitations of SharePoint and guidelines for performance.
• SharePoint Solution audits

The most significant factor that contributes to the success of SharePoint in any business organization is user adoption. The system that is implemented has to be run by people who should be comfortable to work in the SharePoint environment. This would determine the extent to which the system is being used. Therefore, the users need to know the nuances of the system, the different aspects of the platform that can be effectively used for any particular business process and its limitations. The more the users are familiar with the system the better they will be able to adopt it and higher will be the value received from the system.

Achieving higher user adoption is only possible by imparting training to the users about the system. This is the only way that system efficiencies can be improved. Once again the need for experts in SharePoint audits is highlighted, because they only can train the users of SharePoint.

Training the users

There are various training programs available that can train the users and teach them about SharePoint. But the most important thing is to train the users in the same SharePoint environment in which they are working. It is of no use to impart theoretical knowledge that does not find appropriate application in the daily work done by the users. Training the users in the SharePoint environment that they work makes it easy for them to relate the technicalities and features with the business processes and business terminology that they are acquainted with. It makes learning meaningful and interesting. Gaining perspective in learning is what the experts aim at when they train then users in SharePoint. The process of training is continuous because achieving user adoption is just the beginning and will not be useful if care is not taken to sustain it.

Training curriculum

The training is aimed at covering all users in an organization with the education focusing on the particular SharePoint site that the organization uses. The curriculum is developed according to the specific needs of the organization. The experts use scenarios that are lab based to speed up the process of skill acquisition. Traditional training methods are supplemented by video tutorials, printed tutorials and simulation exercises that help to recreate the real life experiences.

Virtual training

The training courses are organized onsite and similar to classroom training modules. But for organizations with multi location operations, virtual training programs are also organized to overcome the time constraints that arise due to issues related to the availability of the trainers at that location. This allows the coverage of a wider section of users who can connect with the trainers online. The curriculum remains the same with the only change in the mode of imparting training. The onsite training that is conducted at one location can be participated by the users of other locations by availing remote access to the program. This saves considerable time and is preferred by most companies.

Sustainable adoption

Organizations are being attracted to use SharePoint to save time, gain revenue, increase efficiency, better access to analytics like SharePoint audit, more collaboration with partners and stake holders, enhanced business processes. High adoption level holds the key to success in achieving the benefits of SharePoint but for purposes of extended benefits that can be generated continually, it is equally important to devise strategy for sustainable adoption. Making the users aware of the benefits and communicating with them regularly is necessary as well as ongoing training for the users, both new and old.

Long term value
The experts in SharePoint audits can continue with the hand holding post training to generate long term value. The ongoing training programs take care of training the new entrants and also re-train the old timers who get the opportunity of updating their knowledge with the improvements that have been made to the SharePoint site of the organization.

The expert’s contribution

The contribution of the experts in training the users is reflected in the benefits that can be derived from the training.

• The training is aimed at developing user adoption as well as sustaining it and is given hands on in a simulated environment of the actual work environment.
• The curriculum is tailor made and is a blend of practical education and exercises related to the particular SharePoint environment.
• Video tutorials speed up the process of learning.
• Handy printed guides related to the functionalities make it easy for reference when working.
• Refresher training is available through video modules.

The users of SharePoint will need the help of the experts in SharePoint audits all the way till the time they can develop the internal resources for training the users in SharePoint. The development of internal trainers is imperative, keeping in mind the costs involved in hiring the experts and that training is a continuous process in the use of the SharePoint platform.

The experts can help organizations to develop their internal training faculty to enable sustainability of user adoption programs. For this, selected talents from the organization can be trained as trainers for which there are  Train the Trainer training modules available that have been developed y the experts. The process of SharePoint training continues as the baton is passed on from the external experts to the in house experts who have been groomed to train the users.