Using Amazon Web Services with SharePoint 2013

In addition to being a web application development platform, SharePoint is also used by a large number of enterprises for document and management. Microsoft has released SharePoint 2013 with a set of advanced features to broaden its capacity. It allows organizations to avail the latest cloud-based iterations of the collaboration platform. The SharePoint applications in the cloud can be further managed by users through customized applications designed by several companies including Microsoft.

The users also have option to run SharePoint 2013 with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to avail several benefits including no upfront investment, lower operational cost, enhanced speed and flexible capacity. Microsoft has made it easier for users to run SharePoint in AWS through the License Mobility through Software Assurance. Also, Amazon EC2 running Windows Server create a secure and reliable environment to deploy and run the SharePoint applications.

Important Advantages of Using Amazon Web Services with SharePoint 2013

No Upfront Investment

When an organization decides to deploy SharePoint in the cloud, it is not required to invest any funds upfront. As Amazon requires users to pay only for the cloud resources used by them, they are not required to procure any new hardware. In addition to pay-as-you-go pricing, Amazon further takes care of the hardware management. Thus, an organization can optimize its content management without incurring any initial cost.

Easy and Fast Deployment

An enterprise can further deploy SharePoint applications in the cloud without putting any additional time and effort. After obtaining the required license, it can deploy the application quickly without waiting for the required hardware to arrive. Microsoft has further optimized the online version of SharePoint by including several advanced features to eliminate the functional gaps associated with switching to a cloud-based environment.

Use Existing Skill and Software

Similar to hardware, a business can run SharePoint application with AWS without requiring skilled developers and resources. Microsoft has designed the platform with a set of simple and easy features. So an enterprise can quickly create and deploy new apps by using its existing developers and software assets. Unlike other cloud services, the AWS platform supports a large number of operating systems and programming language. So the .NET developers can create robust application by using familiar tools and IDEs like Visual Studio.

Curtail Capital Expenses

Each modern business explores option to convert capital expenses into operational expenses. But the team managing infrastructure always tries to sabotage such initiatives in order to retain control. An organization can use SharePoint 2013 with AWS to curtail both capital and operational expenses. It can scale down the cost according to its cloud resource requirements. At the same time, a business can further avoid the large and upfront expenses. The AWS Cloud allows organizations to add capacity according to the changes in business demand. So an enterprise can easily scale the cloud capacity quickly according to its needs.

Manage SharePoint through Customized Applications

Unlike large enterprises, the small and local businesses cannot afford to deploy an IT team to manage their content and documents. SharePoint 2013 facilitates document and content management without deploying a dedicated team. The users have option to manage the SharePoint application with AWS using a variety of applications developed by Microsoft and third-party companies. So it becomes easier for the small and medium enterprises to align technologies with business processes without deploying any additional resources.

Enhanced Security

While deploying an application in the cloud, users have to explore ways to keep it secure and inaccessible. As a secure and durable technology platform, AWS is widely used by companies belonging to different industries and regions. The certifications and audit standards used by the platform is further recognized across industries. Thus, an organization gets a secure and reliable environment to deploy SharePoint applications.

A number of recent reports have highlighted that a gradual increase is noted in the number of enterprises using Amazon Web Services with SharePoint 2013. However, each organization also needs to identify and address some of the important challenges while using AWS with SharePoint 2013. It also needs to choose the right third-party applications to get enhanced data privacy and security. You can hire developers from custom Sharepoint development companies who can help build sharepoint apps for you within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide sharepoint webparts development services. If you would like to hire sharepoint developers for your development needs, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Sharepoint 2013 branding with Design Manager

In SharePoint 2013, Design Manager renders a new trend for creating websites. This tool is accessible when you activate the Publishing Infrastructure feature or use the Publishing Portal site template at the site collection level. The purpose of this new tool is to offer users an easy way of branding SharePoint. This advanced tool allows designers to create a compelling behavior, look and feel for a SharePoint 2013 site by using the techniques they are most comfortable with. It also supports exporting and importing of a visual design, and thus helps you assure a consistent visual experience across all device platforms in your industry.

This article discusses about the designing and support capabilities involved in this development technology. Let's have a quick tour through SharePoint 2013.

Considerations for SharePoint Designers or Developers:

• Design packages: To create as well as export the visual designs as a package.

• Device channels: To create, change or delete a device channel along with reorder device channels in SP 2013.

• Image renditions: To create, edit as well as delete image renditions that define the attributes used for the purpose of displaying images in the publishing sites.

• Display templates: To relate display templates to Search Web Parts. Learn about how the templates are organized, for mapping properties by using jQuery or variables, or creating a custom display template.

• Themes: To use themes for customizing the look and feel of the sites.

• Snippets: To use the Snippet Gallery in Design Manager so that you are able to add SharePoint functionality quickly to your HTML page layout or master page. Snippets are HTML representations of SharePoint components and hence a snippet helps in controlling like a Web Part or a navigation bar.

Design Manager to Implement Designs

On the left side of this tool, there is a series of links representing the high-level tasks that need to be performed. Based on your designing plan as well as the requisites of your site, you might not have to carry out all these performances in thorough order. Nevertheless, this sequence is a vital starting point.

Before you start using this technology, you need a scheming. You can use a ready-made website template or create one of your own. A designing is simply a group of files that employ the visual designing of your site.

Generally, the file categories include:

• At least one HTML file which is going to be changed into a SharePoint master page

• JavaScript files

• One or more CSS files

• Different supporting files

• Images

Design Manager to Customize Your SharePoint 2013 Site

In order to represent your company's brand or if you want it to be designed in a way that does not look like SharePoint, you can easily customize your site as per your preference. Creating a custom design by using Design Manager can help you achieve the desired business goal. The new tool is a feature in SharePoint 2013 making it easier to create a fully pixel-perfect and customized design implementing the web-designing tools that you find yourself familiar with. It is a publishing dimension that can be made available in publishing sites in both Office 365 and SP Server 2013. The technology can also be used for branding the public-facing website in Office 365.

This tool can also help in creating visual designs for websites by applying any web design tool or HTML editor of your choice, and then upload that designing to SharePoint. Design Manager is the central hub as well as interface where all aspects of a custom designing is properly managed. Often, visual designing creations of publishing sites fit into the larger process, in which thousands of people as well as administrations are involved. You can hire developers from top companies in sharepoint development who can help you build products within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide sharepoint development services. If you would like to speak to one of our expert SharePoint developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Detailed Feature Reviews of Design Manager in SharePoint 2013

SharePoint Server 2013 comes with several innovative features including the Design Manager. The feature enables enterprises to manage the styling and branding of SharePoint sites and pages in a more structured way. It can also be used in Office 365 as an advanced site design tool to design custom websites for an organization or business. The developers also have option to create custom website designs by using HTML editors or web design tools they are familiar with. At the same time, the advanced features of Design Manager allow developers to build a completely new website within a shorter span of time.

Key Feature Reviews of Design Manager in SharePoint 2013

Mange Device Channels

The option allows you to optimize areas of the website content by targeting different devices. SharePoint uses the user agent to find out the device being used by the user, and use the information to perform specific tasks. For instance, the user agent helps SharePoint to find out if a specific device supports Flash content or not. So the target areas of content can be rendered based on the device used by the user. Also, the Manage Device Channels option can be used to create new channels and edit existing channels.

Upload Design Files

You can use the feature to upload the HTML version of your master file along with JavaScript and CSS files, and similar design resources. Also, the feature allows you to access and edit the design files in a straightforward way. At the same time, you can further check if a network drive can be mapped to the master page gallery or need to be accessed through the Windows Explorer.

Edit Master Pages

Your will use the feature frequently to convert the uploaded HTML files into SharePoint master page by using conversion wizards. After clicking on the link, you will be allowed to choose the HTML file to be converted, and follow a series of screen to create a new master file. The feature can also be used to publish a major version of the file from the list. Also, you can view an error message if there are any problems during the conversion process.

Edit Page Template

The latest version of SharePoint also comes with innovative display templates. These display templates are used to format search results and other web parts related to search. The Edit Page Template feature of Design Manager allows you to copy an existing template, and customize it according to your specific requirements.

Edit Page Layout

The page layouts in SharePoint enable you to use an HTML page like a master file, and render the output by adding SharePoint specific lines of code. As the name indicates, the option can be used to create new page layouts by naming the page layout and associate it with a master file. Once the page layout is created, you can download it to your computer. The file will include the SharePoint specific lines of code required to render the output correctly. The feature further allows you to upload your existing page layouts or save the layout directly to the master gallery.

Publish and Apply Design

Once you create the custom design according to a brand, it needs to be published and shared with others. The publish and apply design page allows you to apply the brand by clicking on a given link. It is also the most straightforward way to share and publish the brand created by you with others.

Create Design Packages

The page facilitates movement of your designs between multiple environments. Once you choose the design package name, the page will allow you to include search configuration. During the process, the page will gather all the files and packages, and bundle those neatly into a WSP file. After creating the WSP file, it will show you a link to download the file. At the same time, the file will also be stored to the solutions store at the site collection level. So you can easily move the design packages to Office 365.

As an innovative tool, Design Manager allows users to brand SharePoint in an innovative yet easy way. They can avail the feature to make the look and feel of a SharePoint site both fresh and distinct. So it becomes easier to make an organization’s website represent its brand, instead of looking like a SharePoint site. You can hire a top companies in sharepoint development who can help you build products within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide Sharepoint application development services. If you would like to speak to one of our expert SharePoint developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Movin’ On Up – A SharePoint 2013 Migration Case Study Collections

More and more companies are migrating to SharePoint 2013 to avail a set of advanced features. Microsoft has also made it easier for enterprises to migrate to the latest version of the content management system without putting any extra effort. It also offers several strategies to make it easier for companies to migrate to SharePoint 2013, including in-place upgrade, database attach, and hybrid approaches. However, many companies are still skeptical about the effectiveness of the new technology. If you are still not sure about migrating to the latest version of SharePoint, it is time to know about some of the companies who availed many benefits by migrating to the new platform.

Case Study I: Most enterprises find it a daunting challenge to access and manage content and information stores in many databases. Further, the amount of data will vary according to the size and nature of business. Similar problem was being faced by a Paris-based company managing popular civil air ports. The organization was struggling to optimize its existing content management system by aggregating and optimizing 2 TB of data stores in over 70 databases.

At the same time, the company was also looking for efficient options to make the data searchable for all its employees and clients. As the organization was already using SharePoint 2010, it decided to migrate to the latest version of the platform to avail advanced search features. The tech lead of the migration project mentioned that the migration process was fast and smooth due to the SharePoint 2013 Community Site.

Case Study II: Most companies also look for more cost-efficient ways to store, manage and access the data stored across different databases. Further, an organization uses several databases to store information based on their category. An UK based company recently evaluated the advanced content management system to consolidate its data stored on over 80 databases into a single repository.

The single repository will make the information accessible to employees, vendors and clients without increasing operational expenses. The management opts for SharePoint 2013 to consolidate data along with sharing the data collaboratively. The organization has to still invest some additional funds to migrate to SharePoint 2013. But the investment made it easier for the organizations to deploy a series of SharePoint portals to make the data accessible to all concerned parties.

Case Study III: A constant increase is noted in the number of organizations adopting Cloud computing. The innovative and new way to store, manage and access data is also popular due to its effectiveness in making the content accessible to users on the go. But most companies find it difficult to transfer the huge volume of data available for public consumption into Cloud environment.

Recently, a popular car manufacturer migrated to SharePoint 2013 to make the huge volume of information and content available in Cloud environment. In addition to making the data accessible to concerned parties, SharePoint 2013 further made it easier for the company to administer and maintain the data without deploying dedicated IT staff. Further, the migration enabled it to customize its portal by targeting all types of users without putting any extra effort and funds.

Case Study IV: The rapid expansion of a business also makes it essential for it to migrate to an advanced content management system. A large financial corporation based in Virginia realized the problem when it started providing services to clients located in other regions. As the company was formed with the intention of providing local banking services to the Virginia community, initially it did not feel the need for an advanced content management system.

But consistent growth made it a daunting task for the organization to choose an information system that complements its extended operations and needs. The financial organization opted for SharePoint 2013 after evaluating several technologies and solutions. The latest version of SharePoint made it easier for the company to build a social intranet solution to meet its diverse needs. Also, the SharePoint training provided to its employees ensured that its core business is carried out more efficiently.

As SharePoint 2013 can be used for a number of purposes, a business can always customize the platform according to its specific needs. Microsoft further allows enterprises to pick from a number of SharePoint site migration options according to its specific needs and budget.

We provide SharePoint development services. If you would like to speak to one of our certified SharePoint developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Why the Term Governance for SharePoint is Overhyped

A prevalent belief is that so far as SharePoint is concerned, the term governance is very much hyped and hence, we tend to talk more about the concept of governance rather that the solutions essential to do away with the problems it is entitled to deal with. Before discussing further on this matter, let us have a look at what governance means. When it comes to a non-profit organization or a business, governance implies cohesive policies, consistent management, decision-rights, processes and guidance with respect to a particular area of responsibility. The term is not related only to SharePoint, but organizations should think about it irrespective of the technology platform used. Instead of talking about the necessity for proper governance, it is more important to deal with the actual day-to-day challenges faced by the organizations while managing or organizing their information.

Solutions are more significant than the concepts

Very often, SharePoint is what we call as a grassroots implementation. Basic installation of SharePoint can be conveniently done, making the platform available to departments or teams for organization or collaboration around a particular information set. Once everybody gets started, each group tends to utilize it differently or use various methods for information organization and share. Sites often tend to grow out of control, a phenomenon referred to as “SharePoint sprawl.”

The question that arises is why a grassroots implementation should be stopped if it allows more effective collaboration. It is by no means the optimal solution to any SP implementation. But in case some groups are allowed to use it, they understand the value and render increased support to the platform. Now, the best information architecture needs to be considered depending upon the requirements of those already utilizing it. You can take into account proper site planning, user training, data security and gradually shift the current users towards a proper SharePoint development model.

The rapid changes taking place within organizations make the job of a SharePoint admin difficult, because the person always has to be proactive in order to adapt to the environmental alterations quickly. At this point, procedures and policies become essential.

Presently, organizations take the advantage of a number of tools and technologies along with file sharing sites such as SkyDrive, DropBox, Amazon or Google Drive. Herein, they come across convenient means to share documents as well as carry them wherever they go. The biggest SharePoint administration challenge is- How can you guarantee that only the appropriate people have access to it?

The meaning of governance is different to different people

One of the complications that lies with talking about governance is the fact that the concept is as such loose which implies that its meaning might vary from people to people. In case you are sitting within a room and are going around a table for getting a comprehensive overview of the challenges faced by organizations in management of their information, you will most certainly not find someone saying that they are in need of proper governance. It might mean a lot, including policies related to the creation and archiving of SharePoint sites, ways in which taxonomies are developed as well as maintained or procedures that guarantee correctness of permissions.

The truth is that it implies all of the above and more. Rather than trying to deal with the real meaning of the concept of governance for an organization, it is more important to comprehend the manner in which the organization works and then discuss the problems faced by them in dealing with SharePoint as well as information in general. It is advisable to put forward certain solutions to cope up with the problems, be it better procedures and policies or any kind of supporting technology.

We provide sharepoint site migration services. If you would like to hire sharepoint programmers from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Working with the Content Search Web Part in SharePoint 2013

The Content Search Web Part or CSWP is basically a web part that has been introduced in the latest version of the advanced web application development platform, SharePoint 2013. The web part makes use of the different modes and options of styling for the purpose of displaying content of varying dimensions on the SP pages.

A Quick Overview of Content Search Web Part

The good thing about CSWP is that it displays the search results in a typical manner, allowing users to format the same rather easily. Now, each of it is associated with a particular search query and it is the results of this search query that the feature displays. On the other hand, if you want to change the way in which the results appear on the pages, you have the option of using the display templates. The display templates are basically snippets of HTML and JavaScript that are responsible for rendering information that is returned by SP. The information awaiting display is inserted in the JSON format into the page.

When To Use CSWP and CQWP?

CSWP is capable of returning any content from the search index. This can be used on the SP 2013 sites at the time of connecting to a search service and getting back to the already indexed search results in the pages. The freshness of the content is determined by the number of crawls. Instant content or the fresh versions of the same can be displayed by means of using the Content Query Web Part (CQWP) instead of CSWP. This feature can also be used for displaying the minor versions of the content, which is otherwise, not facilitated by the search crawls. Yet another advantage of the feature is that it offers to display results from sites that are marked to be non- indexed by the site collection administrators.

How to Use the Feature?

Organizations, trying to make the most of this new feature in SP 2013, must follow the required steps in using the CSWP. Here is a brief overview:

• To begin with, the 'my community site' needs to be edited and the CSWP needs to be added. The latter is found in the Content Rollup category.

• Configuration of the feature can be done by means of clicking anywhere in the same and following this, choosing the tab, from which the feature’s Properties needs to be clicked.

• A query has to be setup and for this, one should click on the Change Query from the properties box.

• A Query dialog box consisting of four tabs namely the Basics, Refiners, Settings and Test, will open up. The Basics tab will offer you with the chance to see the Switch to Advanced Mode and eventually, click on the Switch to Quick Mode. The query will begin from the Quick mode.

• Reaching the Select a Query menu, one can either choose items that match a tag or pictures. Querying documents or items that suit a particular content type is also facilitated.

• With the Restrict by app option, one can query the current site, current site collection, specific URL or go for the Don't restrict results by app option. The Restrict on this tag option should be chosen.

• Additional filters can be added here or the advanced mode can be checked out for other options. The Refiners tab, on the other hand, allows further filtering of the queries.

• The Settings tab has additional options in the form of the Query rules while the Test tab offers the final query text for the purpose of testing. On finishing, one needs to click OK at the bottom of the Build Your Query dialog box.

• Setting up the way in which the results will be displayed is the final step in the process.

Knowing about the ways in which the CSWP works helps in making the best implementation of this beneficial feature of SharePoint 2013. You can hire developers from top SharePoint development companies in India who can help you build products within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide sharepoint porting services. If you would like to hire sharepoint programmers from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

15 free SharePoint tools to make IT admins smile

SharePoint is a rich tool and offers extensive features for a better, customized and organized work flow. It enables to make processes easier and swift that enables organizations to make the best out of their employees. It is the best CMS that enables to manage huge amount of content effectively.

We live in a competitive world and latest technologies emerge to enable to deliver the best results possible. SharePoint is Microsoft's tool that enables to build richer attractive websites. It is considered to be the most popular collaborative tool that provides all the necessary tools to manage people and content effectively. This platform makes it easy for employees of an organization to share ideas and engage smoothly in knowledge sharing activities.

Some of the free tools which helps admins while customizing their websites are as follows:

1.Microsoft's SharePoint development Administration Toolkit 2.0 (for 2010 and 2007 versions)

Microsoft bakes a bunch of nice things into this little add-on, including a kit that generates test loads to check how well any SharePoint deployment runs. It includes another important addon for the Security Configuration Wizard so one can harden the profile of deployment through Windows Server 2008. The SPDiag 3.0 utility is most useful. It grabs a heap of statistics from all the servers in a SharePoint farm, interprets them and presents them in a very neat and customized report.

2.ManageEngine's Free SharePoint Health Monitor Tool

For smaller SharePoint deployment, this lightweight tool gives just an overall rollup of SharePoint farm's health status at a glance. The ManageEngine Free SharePoint Health Monitor fits this bill nicely, giving a conveniently efficient dashboard view where one can see the details about the memory, CPU and disk space usage for each server running SharePoint.

It can be drilled down into the SharePoint workload itself to see the response time, service status, Web server (Internet Information Services) process details and even SQL Server details such as buffer cache hit ratio, cache memory and free pages.

3.IntLock's CardioLog Analytics Free Edition

If systems have a quarter of a million page views or fewer per month, one can use this free tool to help which finds out the sites employees are using, how long they are typically engrosed with those websites and what areas of those websites are most used. It installs quickly and is compatible with all kinds of versions of SharePoint, even the latest new SharePoint 2013. One can easily upgrade to the paid version where the free edition has all of the same features, with the only differences being the page view tracking limit and allowing for web-based support.

4.Microsoft's SharePoint Designer (for 2007, 2010 and 2013)

Designer is like the FrontPage web design tool of the SharePoint world. One can use it to customize the look and feel of SharePoint websites, create and modify simple workflows and personalize a SharePoint deployment at ease.

If one have a large SharePoint deployment with multiple versions running at the same time, one must use the Designer version specific to the particular SharePoint edition.

5.Idera's Free SharePoint Admin Toolset

This is a combination of seven tools in one, a site monitor is present to check up on any SharePoint sites one manages, a space trends report to track using disk space on deployment for folders, libraries and websites, a handy accelerator that essentially rebuilds the database indexes on the SQL Server instance managing SharePoint deployment, a clean report to show how much SQL database space deployment is consuming, a permissions analyzer to show what users can access which specific websites and libraries, a smart tool to compare the configurations of site collections to see where they are different and a quick admin tool that brings together most frequently used links to SharePoint Central Administration. A very smart tool set to make tasks easier and smart way to deal with.

6.Idera's Free SharePoint Performance Monitor

To have a detailed information at what is happening under the hood of any SharePoint farm, this great tool Idera's Free SharePoint Performance Monitor is used. This tool gives a holistic overview of the performance statistics and metrics for SharePoint itself, the SQL Server instance on any given server and information about the host's operating system and memory configuration.

The tool also can be configured to send simple e-mail alerts when one of the performance indicators does not work. One can also monitor multiple websites at a time for their deployments and one can generate nifty graphs and charts about connections, requests, response time, pages, disk usage and many more.

7.McAfee's Network Discovery for Microsoft SharePoint

It is a good SharePoint-specific inventory tool. If one has overall responsibility for a network, one might not even know if one of departments has deployed a SharePoint server. The McAfee Network Discovery Tool for Microsoft SharePoint will scan the network to find SharePoint 2003, 2007 and 2010 environments and then display the results of its scan in a nice neat HTML report that shows in detail which servers have been deployed and what version they're running.

8.Axceler's ViewPoint for SharePoint

This is a great tool for visualizing in a convenient table form exactly which users have what permissions on any given site. This could be very useful in an auditing scenario or any environment where permissions can tighten without granting full access to users needlessly. One can choose to work from the graphical dashboard, to run and print reports to provide to management or to work through with any administrative tools. It works with both SharePoint 2010 as well as SharePoint 2013 deployments. It even requires full SharePoint administrator permissions to do its job properly.

9.Quest's Server Administrator for SharePoint

This great tool is suitable on SharePoint 2007 and 2010. It lets to see which parts of farm configuration are affecting the security, performance and availability of deployment.

It helps to build PowerShell scripts to maintain environment. It also helps with a migration to SharePoint 2010 from 2007, required to get to SharePoint 2013 as well, by showing which parts of deployment are ready for the upgrade and which are not. And it provides an intelligent rating to show what is most important to upgrade before one begin against what would simply be "nice to have."

10.SharePoint SUSHI

SharePoint SUSHI is an open source project hosted on CodePlex that essentially takes the most common administrative tasks and puts them in one convenient tool. SUSHI, which bills itself as a "Swiss army knife for SharePoint," stands for SharePoint Utilities with a smart and useful interface.

One can view the lists and sites of any given user can access, which is really helpful for looking at effective permissions, upload user photos as profile images, back up and restore sites; apply a theme to a group of sites with one click and much more.

11.Clockwork Software

It is SharePoint Migration Tool, reliable migration of documents from old ECMS to SharePoint 2010 or SharePoint 2013. From any SQL Server based ECMS (EDRMS, DMS, CMS) with files stored on a network drive or share. ECMSs such as Hummingbird DM6, DOCs Open, Worksite, FileNet etc.

- Migrate all versions and metadata (including managed metadata)

- Migrate to SharePoint libraries and folders

- Apply document level security if desired

- Currently in use on migration projects totalling about 2 million documents

- Good for small migrations with a cost effective pricing scheme.

12.Metalogix

It can migrate content into SharePoint from just about any source system. From one SharePoint version to another (2003, 2007, 2010, WSSv2 or WSSv3), from various Enterprise Content Management systems (eRoom, Stellent, Livelink) and from file systems, exchange public folders, blogs and websites.

13.PCVITA Express Migrator

It is SharePoint comprehensive too designed for enterprise to migrate content to SharePoint as part of SharePoint migration strategy that goes above and beyond other traditional SharePoint migration software, thereby allowing to have visually architected migration. It provides an effective and simple solution for enterprise to migrate their business-critical data from different repositories (Lotus Notes, File Share, File System, Public Folder and SharePoint etc) to Microsoft SharePoint Server. The SharePoint migration product granularly migrates content while keeping all the associated metadata & permission intact.

14.Vyapin

A powerful tool for developing SharePoint application for migrating documents, NTFS permissions, data and their associated metadata properties from network file shares, file servers and local hard drives to Microsoft SharePoint 2013, Office 365 (SharePoint Online), SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2007.

Here are the list of functions it provides such as migrate folders and files into SharePoint libraries from various file servers and network shares. Carry forward default file properties, including custom Office document properties to the respective documents in SharePoint. Automate entire migration process, with the ability to correct and rectify migration errors using the pre-migration validation tool. Migrate content from file shares to on-premise SharePoint servers and SharePoint Online in Office 365 (Standard) environment using a single application.

15.Tzunami

This Deployer tool offers a cost-effective solution for migrating and consolidating multiple content sources into SharePoint. It supports almost all versions of SharePoint, from SPS 2001 to SharePoint 2013. Automating the entire process of migrating unstructured content.

SharePoint offers multiple benefits for enterprises big and small. It is for this reason that enterprises are stressing on this particular technology for enabling them to function optimally. It enables to increase employee productivity and enables them to remain more focused with their work. It can function as an effective content management system, document management tool and collaborative platform. Businesses have profited much more with this awesome tool and it has enabled to enhance business initiatives. SharePoint development services are frequently used to reap maximum benefits.

We provide custom SharePoint development services. If you would like to speak to one of our certified SharePoint developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Top 12 SharePoint Content Security Risks and how to avoid them

As organizations are increasingly using hosted SharePoint farms, SP sites or SharePoint Online for regulated and sensitive data incorporating PII or Personally Identifiable Information, customer financial data, healthcare information as well as intellectual property, data security has become a thing of high priority. Along with this, organizations also have to combat expensive compliance risks that revolve around regulated data and Sharepoint. Certain compliance or security risks associated with SharePoint environments can have grave impacts on organizations, if they are left unattended. Security breaches, irrespective of the means which cause them, can lead to fines, brand damage, loss of customer trust along with other serious effects. Let us discuss 12 of the commonly occurring security risks and ways to avoid them.

• Lack of awareness regarding SharePoint content: Governance guidelines should be implemented and content classification should be provided. This involves execution of periodic content scans coupled with providing training to end users. Along with this, SP metadata as well as work-flows should be used by teams for routing sensitive information to safe locations.
  
  
• Collaboration barriers: There are a number of users who regularly copy confidential or sensitive data from SP to their hard drive or to a USB drive, for, say, emailing it to some other person. In most cases, the aim of this copying is to facilitate information sharing with a person lacking access to SP documents. Hence businesses need to enforce clear policies regarding information-sharing, followed by access monitoring and enforcement of policy compliance.
  
  
• Not securing SharePoint from privileged insider accounts: Privilege levels with respect to administrator accounts should be limited, followed by deployment of third-party security solutions for enabling encryption as well as access control.
  
  
• Non-existent or deficient audit trails for SP usage or administrative access: For all the administrative alteration made to Sharepoint and also with respect to system or file access, it is advisable to enable auditing.
  
  
• Lack of content security in SP servers, in transits or endpoints: Companies need to implement solutions which offer content security on SP servers and on backups by means of encryption as well as access control. Along with this, teams should take into account whole-disk encryption with regards to end-points, particularly laptops. SSL encryption can also be enabled by security administrators through data in transit.
  
  
• Misconfiguration of permissions or access controls: First, existing SP permissions need to be audited, followed by review or creation of control policies relating to corporate access. It is good to line up SP permissions along with corporate directory services. With this, administrators would be able to comprehend the use of inheritance as well as improperly managed item-level permissions.
  
  
• SP platform security risks: You should harden platforms through disablement of services or ports that are not required for the platform function. Moreover, patch on a regular basis and take into consideration application white listing.
  
  
• SharePoint and Malware: A server malware solution should be implemented, updating the antivirus definitions on a regular basis.
  
  
• Failure to set limitation on service and administrator accounts: It is advisable to set limitations on privileges relating to service accounts as well as go for disablement of the install account. Also do not make use of shared administrator accounts.
  
  
• SP network configuration and system architecture issues: Putting a dedicated SP web front end within a DMZ, make use of a single function with respect to each server and harden SP, database as well as OS in accordance with the best practices.
  
  
• Setbacks in executing backups, and in providing DR capability: On a regular basis, backups need to be performed and the same need to be restored. Then the means of recovery from disasters with the help of SharePoint services should be considered.
  
  
• Improper search indexing: Often to obtain search results, administrators leverage an admin account, which leads to results that are not relevant for everyone. To avoid this, administrative accounts should not be unnecessarily used for operations wherein they are not required.
  

Management of all the above-mentioned security risks by implementing proper security controls help a lot in mitigating compliance and content security risks in SharePoint. Moreover, putting the SP environment across a robust security footing enables you to widen the scope of SharePoint use within your organization for enhanced communication or collaboration. You can hire developers from top SharePoint application development companies in India who can help you build products within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide SharePoint webparts development services. If you would like to know more about SharePoint 2010 development or SP2013 development expertise, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.