Need for Change Management in a Hybrid SharePoint Environment

Microsoft does recognize that Hybrid SharePoint environments are here to stay for some time. Most of the companies have earnestly started exploring the implications of the cloud. Organizations are realizing that they need adequate amount of time to figure out whether they are required to transfer their assets to the cloud, and if so, how they would be moving their digital assets within the cloud. It is a fact that software delivery is moving towards the cloud and maximum number of organizations across the globe are considering their own strategy for the cloud. However, the rate of adoption of the cloud varies as per the industry, geopolitical as well as regulatory openness. As organizations gradually make this shift, they will continue to transfer certain digital assets along with prime work loads to the cloud. Hence solutions will definitely be required for management of the new hybrid world.

The dilemma with this hybrid world coupled with the associated requirement for change management solutions are not completely new. However, the velocity with which companies are shifting key work loads towards the cloud is creating an awareness of these requisites. Around ten years ago, collaboration platforms as well as hosted supply chains appeared online, a majority within the high-tech manufacturing space, experiencing the pains of a shift to the cloud: huge file transfer protocols, WAN optimization, edge devices, single sign-on along with other means of communication enhancements across private networks. Years later, we happen to be dealing with a number of similar issues, and this time, it's on a much higher scale. A lot of improvements have taken place in the collaboration technologies but there is still the need for tools to assist in managing between cloud platforms and on premises.

Hybrid environments would continue to remain a prime factor for a minimum of three to five years. This recognition by Microsoft showcases the requirement for robust change management abilities across the cloud and on premises environments. Change management does not simply imply migration, it also takes structural mobility into consideration. Moving content, lists, metadata, forms, workflows as well as other components within diverse SharePoint environments along with maintenance of their integrity, has turned into a business imperative.

Change management within the hybrid SharePoint development environment implies the following:

• Enhanced movement between the development, staging as well as production environments.
• Development of solutions once, followed by going for replication of the same across environments.
• Restructuring of topology and content as workloads are migrated into the cloud.
• Creating and managing governance standards which are consistent, throughout these environments.
• Introducing bulk changes to the environments instead of site-by-site.
• Creation of dashboards as well as federated reports across all the environments.

There are a number of efficient vendors for rendering support to the hybrid SharePoint world, thereby offering administrators with flexible as well as powerful tools for the purpose of reporting, permissions management, information architecture management or re-design, compliance and auditing, along with distributed management which offers farm admins to power users increased hold over their environments. There are suites which offer great assistance within the change management category, providing potent functionality for helping organizations manage and gain control over their hybrid SP environments.

As organizations begin to explore Office 365 and how to reap adequate benefits from the large investments made in the transition from SharePoint on premises to a cloud-oriented model, it is advisable to begin thinking about the ways in which the various assets can be managed during the transition, whatever time the transition might involve. Proper solutions that cater to the needs of administration, governance and change management with respect to SharePoint must be adopted for business effectiveness.

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.

Should I migrate to SharePoint on Office 365?

Office 365 has become one of the largest bets of Microsoft. But it is essential for the end-user to ensure that whatever is being done proves beneficial for the business, brings returns and adds value. Hence there is a common dilemma as to whether one should migrate to SharePoint on Office 365. Before finding an answer to that question, let us understand some basics.

An Overview

As companies increasingly feel the need for information technology, it can be said that every company needs to fulfill some core needs, namely, Instant Access to People, Email as well as Collaboration on Files.

• Email: Undoubtedly, sending and receiving of mails is a requisite for all organizations. But it is not possible for everyone to afford the effort, time and expertise that go into maintenance of an infrastructure like this. Office 365 provides Exchange as a service, facilitating the execution of a number of activities without the need to worry about the infrastructure.
• Instance Access to People: So far as the world of the end users in concerned, instant messaging is quite common. However, when it comes to the workplace, there is hardly any means of communicating, which has become a challenge given the present need to operate from outside the workplace. With proper access to people, the requirement for internal mails is reduced. Lync as a service is offered, which renders instant messaging along with real-time presence. Even voice calls are possible and you can also create pre-planned online meetings with people internal or external to your organization.
• Collaboration on Files: The File Server or Shared Drive no longer lives up to the expectations of modern technology advanced users. A company server comprising a physical folder structure has documents stored within one folder or another, a phenomenon that hinders the ability to find or classify. Currently the workforce expects document access and has fundamental collaboration needs such as content approval. SharePoint as a service is offered by Office 365, ushering in the robust champion platform within the package. Since long, SharePoint has been utilized as a platform for building Extranets, Team Collaboration Sites, Intranets as well as Websites. It fulfills a number of fundamental collaboration requirements and also makes room for creation of other web-based solutions.

Why should you consider migration?

This is an obvious question. So, let us look into some of the benefits to be derived by migrating to SharePoint on Office 365.

• Cost: Migrating will definitely do away with a large portion of the maintenance cost. All servers, support systems, configurations along with anything else required to keep the maintenance activity in-house are eliminated and just offered as a component of this particular solution of Microsoft. There is in fact no need to buy servers or licenses.
• Updates: Office 365 is a great option if you want your workforce to be up to date with all latest versions, thereby benefiting from the latest integration and features. As a subscription model, automatic as well as free upgrades to both the products and services available are obtained, based on your plan.
• Hassle-free: It is indeed great for businesses if they do not have to worry about deployment, servers or other things that come with possessing in-house servers or your own IT department. Getting the service of instant communication, live meetings, emails along with a collaboration platform is a great thing.

Many people try to avoid migrating to this platform because of certain legal and compliance issues. However, most of the worries originate from personal beliefs. To do away with such legal concerns, you should look deep into the Trust Center, which is a storehouse of information. It should be realized that your content, depending upon your location, might be available with datacenters in other countries. Given the sensitivity of the documents, it might be difficult to consider migration. But the Trust Center offers Data Maps, thereby assisting with notifications once the data is transferred to another location. If you need an experienced hand with your sharepoint migration to office 365, you can hire a SharePoint development company in India who can help you migrate within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide sharepoint webparts development services as well. If you would like to speak to a certified SharePoint programmer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

SharePoint Migration Using 3rd Party Tools

Currently in SharePoint, content migration is achieved using third party tools. Leveraging third party solutions simplifies the procedure along with reducing the effort or time needed for the process. It also cuts down on the cases of failed migrations arising out of issues such as file corruption. Analysis has revealed that clients spend good amount of time preparing data for migration, and these efforts may not yield fruit in case the policies and procedures are not adhered to. Owing to such risks, clients prefer using third-party ISVs or independent software vendors for migrating content from on-premises SP into the hosted service. Let us check out the following third party tools that facilitate migration or consolidation of content.

AvePoint: A recognized leader in rendering infrastructure management solutions for Microsoft SP, AvePoint is a cost-effective and efficient solution for migrating business-critical content from diverse electronic repositories to Microsoft SP. The following are a few of the different DocAve Migrator modules:

• Content can be automatically moved from source SharePoint 2003 or 2007 into the mapped elements within SP 2007 or 2010 by SharePoint Migrator.

• Website Migrator provides an efficient, reliable and affordable solution for the organized transfer of web content to MS SharePoint 2007/2010.

• Content sprawl is reduced along with IT productivity enhancement by eRoom Migrator through centralization of eRoom project databases as well as other collaborative assets across a single SharePoint 2010 and 2007 repository.

• Consolidation of manifold EMC Documentum content sources over SP can be automatically achieved by Documentum Migrator, thus maximizing ROI for legacy content present within EMC Documentum.

Clockwork Software: This software offers reliable document migration from old ECMS to SharePoint 2013 or SharePoint 2010. Successful migration can also be achieved from any SQL Server based ECMS (CMS, DMS, EDRMS) with files stored over a network drive or share. ECMSs such as Hummingbird DM6, Worksite, FileNet, DOCs Open and so on. With this, various version and metadata can be migrated to SharePoint libraries as well as folders. It is also good for small migrations.

Idera SharePoint migration suite: It is by far the most comprehensive solution available. This tools empowers you to visually architect as well as organize content and metadata during the migration process, thereby improving usability, eDiscovery, search and manageability. This suite can be used again and again, without any services, in a variety of scenarios that include SP site reorganization, SP platform upgrade, as well as rolling out new applications and sites. The following are the components of the migration suite:

• SP information architect which facilitates rapid and convenient development, deployment as well as maintenance of SP taxonomies and metadata.
• SP content organizer allows for the application of metadata and relocation of files anywhere within SharePoint with simply a few clicks.
• With the help of SharePoint migration manager, content can be deployed, migrated or compared within different versions of SP or from file systems.

Metalogix: Data can be migrated into SharePoint from any source system by using Metalogix. It is possible to migrate from one version of SharePoint to another, from diverse Enterprise Content Management systems as well as from Exchange public folders, websites, blogs or file systems. For simplifying the process, there are different kinds of modules like SharePoint Site Migration Manager,Website Migration Manager for SharePoint, Metalogix Migration Manager for Blogs, etc.

Axceler-Davinci Migrator: It reduces the risk, brings down the cost as well as reduces the time required for the procedure. With the help of the Davinci Migrator, you would be able to identify possible problems prior to their occurrence. Migration estimates aid the creation of realistic schedules. Moreover, Davinci allows migration in a single big wave or a series of continuous smaller waves. Hence you have the freedom to operate as per your own schedule.

Apart from the above-mentioned ones, there are a number of other tools such as Vital-Path, Vyapin, Tzunami, Proventeq and so on. By using these third-party tools, many obstacles that cause hindrance to the overall migration process, can be overcome. If you need an experienced hand with your sharepoint migration, you can hire developers from top companies in sharepoint. That will surely release a lot of stress associated. However please do ensure that the vendors you choose at least possess the awareness of tools available.

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

Understanding Details of SharePoint Reporting

SharePoint reporting is a broad and important area of discussion. Prior to going into the discussion of what is SP reporting and how does it help, it is necessary to look into why the same is necessary. When it comes to the governance implementation, understanding and managing the activities within the SP environment is extremely essential. Now, these include identification, assessment as well as prioritization of data, measuring and monitoring of the same, review and modification of the government strategy and creation of policies that guarantee overall security.

What is SharePoint Reporting?

SharePoint Reporting is a wide area that calls for varying requirements based on site, site collection as well as farm-level requirements. Seen from the perspective of the administrators, appropriate reporting helps in the maintenance of governance rules and compliance policies while also monitoring the issues related to growth and scalability.

Different Areas of SharePoint report development

SP Reporting can be broadly divided into five categories as follows:

• Permissions Reporting which involves troubleshooting to find out why users are unable to see the content, communicating about various types of compliance and auditing to find out who can access sensitive content.

• Usage or Activity Reporting is about finding out which content to be used, planning prospective growth as well as grasping hardware requirements.

• Audit Reporting to determine the details of the access and accordingly, adhere to the internal along with external compliance requirements.

• Performance Reporting that involves monitoring page load time to detect problems apart from planning for enhanced usage.

Permission

Report of permissions is immensely crucial for several reasons as follows:

• Auditing
• Maintenance of accurate records of user access
• Troubleshooting problems related to functionality that arise from the users' attempt at performing tasks without the required permission.

However, even with this, SP is unable to carry out centralized management of all permissions. Moreover, real time report is not a feasible option either because the data is available at the site-level, gathering which takes a lot of time. The newly improved 2013 version of SP solves these problems to a great extent though farm-wide visibility is still demanded by the administrators.

Usage and Activity

It is an essential way of tracking mechanism for planning capacities, disaster recovery while also helping the administrators undertake a much more effective management of the respective environment on a daily basis.

The concept paves the way for the necessary resources for the monitoring as well as measuring of the level of user adoption. This ensures that the businesses are able to derive the maximum profit out of their investment.

Storage

It is about analyzing storage, which in turn, is essential for planning capacities as well as understanding the requirements of growth cum performance of every team within an organization. Finding out the best practice to monitor as well as set limits on the size of the SP sites is an integral part of the governance policies. This should be followed by the setting of the governance policies on the right track along with assuring the end users about the availability of the storage to cater to their particular business needs.

Audit

For the SharePoint administrators, it is an essential point of focus, allowing the platform to become more widely adopted as well as critical for business operations. Audit reporting helps in establishing a stronger and well-maintained governance using both technology along with the best practices.

The requirement for this arises from several quarters, including the necessity of additional data as a part of capacity planning and for producing reports that display the access to certain items within a period.

With the web application development platform of SP growing within an organization along with more of such secure content finding their place in SP, auditing helps administrators by offering them with the much- needed tools. These tools enable proper management of important events along with changes that take place within the environment.

Performance

This comes from outside the development platform of SP by means of reporting against the farm as well as customer script. Third-party monitoring along with performance tools are also available. Now, most of the performance reporting is owned by the operators and not the SP administrators or end users. Attempts are made at filling this gap by means of the addition of the toolkit.

With the above-mentioned ones being among the popular most, there are also other options of SharePoint reporting. Understanding the concept allows organizers to manage both systems and resources with care and expertise.

We provide SharePoint portal development services. If you would like to hire sharepoint developer from our certified team of SharePoint developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

SharePoint 2013 Top 10 intranet success factors

Did you ever find any difficulty while trying to explain SharePoint basics to a novice completely unaware of the technology? Probably, Yes! Chances are also high that you faced difficulty in terms of user training for facilitating a smooth migration process. What you need to remember while taking up the task of explaining SP to novice or new users is that the migration is just not all about branding, hardware, Web Parts, as well as customization. The document management system application has more to it and it is important to gather the basic knowledge of the same for better understanding.

Now, when it comes to determining the top intranet success factors, users and enterprises need to consider a number of other factors for evaluating alongside implementing the latest of intranet offerings by Microsoft. If, being an enterprise, you are planning to grow as well as evolve with SharePoint 2013, following the tricks of the trade is imperative for you.

 
Top Success Factors with Intranet
Here is a look at the 10 success factors that effectively blends best practices of intranet and the specifics as well as basics of SP 2013:

1. Understanding SharePoint at Best
SharePoint uses a number of terminology carrying specific meaning in respect to enterprise application. Terms like, list, site, as well as library features specific meaning and it is important for the users to understand the terms properly. Maintaining a glossary always helps even a novice understand the technicalities.

2. Analyze and Determine the Business Requirements
It is important to take up the process of defining the existing along with expected business needs, requirements, and interests, even if the decision of integrating SharePoint has been already embraced at corporate level.

3. SharePoint is a Platform of Managing Information
The advantages of SharePoint cannot be fully realized without a proper strategy of information management. Now, the strategy must ensure relating all application of information asset mutually. If this is not done properly, the weaknesses will become evident and irreversible.

4. Combine the IT and Business Development Teams
It is essential to closely integrate the IT and business development teams so that they get to work together on the methodology as well as management of an Agile project. Always remember to take special care if there is the involvement of a third-party implementation team.

5. Governance is Necessary
It is difficult to execute the completion of a project successfully, if there is no governance. To make things easier, it is advisable to have a governance guide highlighting individual responsibilities of users involved in implementing SP and using it to the core ready. Enterprises must ensure updating the guidebook with best practice instances.
 
6. Migration must be planned carefully
Usually, SharePoint features an upgrade cycle of three years as well as the specific versions come with a five year support. If a clear along with predefined business case is underlined for a project, then you must always make sure to migrate to SP 2013.

7. Quantify the Costs of Professional Services
Always keep in mind that fruitful and effective functioning of SharePoint is entirely dependent on skilled as well as knowledgeable developers alongside business analysts. Now, whether the need is sufficed by internal IT professionals or external developers, the cost can end up becoming more than what is actually expected.

8. Develop a Risk Register
Similar to all other enterprise applications, SharePoint development too is likely to feature some standard practices, some non-standard practices, as well as risks. Now, what gets difficult is establishing all the risks alongside administering progress in managing the process effectively as well as avoiding the risks efficiently. It is also important to find out an effective approach of maintaining a schedule and budget of the projects.

9. Avoid Taking Case Studies at Face Value
The main focus of case studies always remain on the positive attributes of a project. It is therefore essential to decipher alongside determine things that did not go well and why it went all wrong alongside finding out the ways of overcoming the problems.

10. Careful Management of My Sites and Team Sites must be Executed
It is essential to come into an agreement regarding the process of establishing a Team Site as well as closing it down when no longer in use. Developing hundreds and thousands of information silos is easy indeed.

Implementing the above-mentioned Intranet success factors in your SharePoint application development project can pave the road to success for your enterprise without any hitch.

We provide custom SharePoint development services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified SharePoint developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Migration Service for Office 365 SharePoint

SharePoint Online is best referred to as a group of web-based technologies and tools that enables your organization to manage, store, as well as share digital information. Developed on the 2013 server of SharePoint, this particular hosted service makes it easy to work on projects, store documents alongside data in a prime location, as well as share information. Now, migrating to this particular document management system web application is not easy. Prior to beginning with the process, it is important for you to involve in careful planning as you need to handle a huge volume of data that is very much valuable. Moreover, your organization or management will hardly tolerate any sort of downtime in this regard.

Therefore, the next big question that emerges in this respect is how to avoid the risks of losing data and ensure moving just the documents along with the data required during the time. In addition, the aspect of doing it quickly thereby, minimizing the impact upon the users as well as systems also needs to be determined.

With several migration tools available in the market, it can actually get easier than you can ever imagine. These unparalleled tools not only accelerate the entire process, but also simplify the same ensuring accuracy and rapid migration. Additionally, it also ensures that your migration ends up being cost effective catering to your uniqueand distinct needs. With the help of the migrating tool, you will be able to migrate Windows files, permissions, meta-data, work flows and content to Office 365 alongside Exchanging Public Folders while retaining the settings & customization. In addition, it also paves the road to smoother transition without affecting the business continuity. You can forever say goodbyes to time-consuming as well as complex processes.

How does it Help- The Unique Features of the Migration Tool

Here is a quick look at the unique features that make the tool stand apart in the market as against the manual process:

Effortless consolidation of data to save money and time – The software available in the market that enables an easy transition to Office 365 SharePoint Online allows you to group together all the important data scattered all over multiple source to a single source. This particular approach ensures lower maintenance costs as well as reduced complexity. You can move and transit data from the following sources:

• On-premises Microsoft SharePoint
• Microsoft Windows File Systems
• Microsoft Exchange Public Folders
• Microsoft Outlook

Fast Transition with Few Resources – You can easily and quickly take up the process of migrating several SharePoint libraries along with the lists at the same time making use of a multi-threaded engine to lessen project timelines alongside the costs.

Suits Distinct Business Needs and Interests Effortlessly – Office 365 SharePoint migration through the software available in the market also enables conducting bulk migration to speed up the projects as well as streamline the same. You can also take up granular or phased migration, which distinctly allows transiting just your need of the hour. The exclusive drag-and drop function allows you to make a selection of either individual items or the entire list with just a click of the mouse.

Controls Project Making your Way top Migration – The software also extracts the chaos and disturbances out of the project management task featuring real-time controls for scheduling alongside status reporting. You are actually equipped with skills required to successfully manage as well as execute the job of migration at a time that best suits your enterprise ensuring that its completely on schedule.

Complete Management of Metadata for Enhancing your Content – The migration software also allows you to maintain the metadata that is already assigned or assign new values to content during the process. This particular feature allows you to make complete use of your intellectual assets alongside improving the search accuracy.

Office 365 development tools offer a suite of cloud communication, productivity, as well as collaboration solutions that can be assembled together to execute distinct needs and interests of each organization.

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

Steps for SharePoint and PHP Integration

With the help of document libraries and custom lists, it is possible to read list data directly from SharePoint into the existing PHP application. In this way, a number of possibilities can be explored. Certain PHP tools are available through which it is possible to leverage the potential of the .NET Connector within the world of PHP. It ensures convenient access to SharePoint data such as documents and items. If developers are capable of working with recognized ADO.NET frameworks as well as SQL, it enhances the production quality, thus making the development process faster.

Connection of PHP applications

Developers now can avail the facility of connecting their respective PHP applications to SharePoint with the help of SQL, with the same convenience as is applicable in case of an ordinary database. Existing PHP tools are able to handle predefined lists such as the ‘Task list’ or the ‘Calendar’. Custom document libraries as well as lists can also be handled. 

Seamless Integration with SharePoint

PHP tools available in the market assist in saving a lot of time when it comes to integrating with the document management system. With the help of these tools, you will be able to make use of the following aspects:

• Convenient installation is possible by simply including the library files, then setting up the connection settings to the SharePoint installation service.
• Through the use of the tools, it is possible to completely handle custom list items, develop any list that is required and that too, instantly. Moreover, predefined list items can also be managed. Again, you can also manage document libraries, folders as well as documents. You can even go for storage of data in database or dynamically read through the SharePoint integration service.
• Developers can effectively leverage these tools to work faster, developing better as well as increasingly flexible solutions. Every input-output from SharePoint gets transformed into the recognized database computer language Structured Query Language. Therefore it is easy to normalize the development process. As a result of this, developers with no prior expertise in SharePoint integration or development are able to conveniently work with document libraries along with list data.

Benefits of SharePoint and PHP Integration

Through the integration of SharePoint with PHP, there are a number of benefits that are achieved:

• The threshold of requisite knowledge is considerably brought down while working with data and integration pertaining to the document management system.
• The productivity of developers can be enhanced
• The maintenance costs can be lessened.
• The need for specific training for developers can be brought down to a great extent.
• The integration ensures easier support to data connectivity.

Features and Steps

Through the SharePoint integration service provided by a number of companies, the document management system can be queried like a regular database, irrespective of whether you are making the selection from amongst a default list, an edited version of a default list, a document library or a custom list. The data will be retrieved and made available to meet the specific requirements. You can go for the following:

• Choose explicit columns (SELECT Title, Id, FROM customList)
• Choose everything (SELECT * FROM customList, include the .all in the list name to obtain each element that is available from the list)
• Make the choice by view (SELECT * FROM viewName, customList.)

There are PHP tools offering support for creation, reading, updations and deletion with the help of SQL syntax in addition to stored procedures. Comprehensive handling of list items is made convenient along with management of document libraries as well as the respective items (documents and folders). 

Whether it is SharePoint 2010 development, or any other version, by leveraging a diverse collection of PHP classes, developers are capable of easily integrating SharePoint and PHP. 

We provide sharepoint development services. If you would like to know what makes us expert sharepoint programmers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

How Can You Integrate DotNetNuke 6 & 7 with SharePoint?

DotNetNuke has already established itself as one of the most popular as well as preferred web content management systems, based on Microsoft. Net. DotNetNuke websites are known to offer excellent user experience while also letting the brands enhance their identity. The recent trend is that of integrating this content management system with that of Microsoft SharePoint, of which the latest version has recently come out in the form of SharePoint 2013.

The integration is quite helpful for the businesses in a number of ways. Here is a brief overview of how the integration of DotNetNuke with SharePoint can be executed with success.

Effective Document Management with SharePoint

SharePoint is undoubtedly the most preferred as well as even sought- after system for document management, helpful for businesses of varying size or nature. Now, this platform is built into cloud, which allows maximum storage and accessibility. Consequently, the professionals in a team have an opportunity to share as well as collaborate on apparently large amounts of data and documents. Additionally, the platform integrates effectively with Outlook and this enables enhancement of the significance of the social tools. All this leads to a carefully organized atmosphere. The team members can also convert the raw data into important interactive reports.

Integration of DotNetNuke with SharePoint

The best thing about integrating the web content management system with the web application development platform is that the two of them integrates quite seamlessly. An automatic integration implies that no further efforts are required when it comes to operating the system. The DNN Community can merge with the platform in a rather hassle- free manner by means of using the custom modules. The primary idea, here, is to design a system that allows the platform to communicate from behind a firewall with the people facing the website. Now, all this means that the documents can be pushed into the portal on the DotNetNuke website with higher level of safety and efficiency. At the same time, the filter rules can be designed to track down the individual documents to find out as to where they go.

DNN Enterprise and SharePoint Connector

In instances where the platform is used as the document management system, integration of the same with DotNetNuke Enterprise Edition is actually of real benefits. The custom integration saves a lot of money of the enterprise while investment that is made is actually worthy.

The DNN Enterprise SharePoint connector comes up as a powerful and significant feature, supporting both 2007 and 2010 versions of the platform. The firewall issues can be avoided at the same time. Content, on the other hand, stays fresh and is published directly from the SharePoint Document Library. It is the DotNetNuke role- based security network that performs the essential function of protecting the published documents.

Making Use of the SharePoint Folder Provider

The SharePoint Folder is particularly useful in integration with DotNetNuke 6. It enables the DNN users to store as well as synchronize the files contained in the document libraries, located in 2010 version of this platform.

Here is an overview of the features of this Folder and the way it helps:

The communication between the web application development platform and the DotNetNuke 6 becomes faster and more direct by virtue of the folder. It paves the way for multiple providers to indicate to different document libraries from either the similar platform based sites or from the different ones.

The SharePoint Folder facilitates a number of functionalities such as addition cum deleting of folders, uploading, downloading, renaming of files along with synchronization of the files and folders. Above all, this Folder actually acts as a strong base for several DNN modules, which make use of the DotNetNuke file system. Custom SharePoint development teams can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide SharePoint application development services. If you would like to talk to one of our SharePoint developers or would like to take a look at the work they have done, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Things to keep in mind while migrating from ColdFusion to Microsoft SharePoint

Being a ColdFusion developer, chances of not knowing much about SharePoint certainly stands high. Therefore, before you take the plunge to migrate from ColdFusion to Microsoft SharePoint, you must consider developing some basic knowledge of working amid the particular environment.

What is SharePoint?

Well, in simple terms, it is referred to an application of content management system that allows an access of data stored in MSSQL database. The incorporated search services of SharePoint keep it apart from just file storage in common folders and add the context of team collaboration and data file management that are usually generated by the Microsoft Office Suite.

So, what are the aspects that you must primarily keep in mind to ensure a successful migration of ColdFusion to SharePoint? Well, here is a look at the aspects that prominently focuses on the task of understanding the content management system application:

Exploring the site hierarchy of SharePoint and roles that are permission based

The application usually exists in the form of a structured site grouping referred to as site collection. In this respect, it is to be made clear that site permissions are usually linked to the Active Directory login of a user. All permissions to site collection typically begin at the top level and spread downwards to the created sites thereby, acceding to the permission of the parent level.

Here is a quick look at some of the principle permission levels related to sharepoint application development :

• Read – users can only have a view of the data along with the sites
• Contribute – Users can view, add, delete, and update the data along with the sites
• Design – Users can views, update, delete, add, approve, and customize the data as well as the sites
• Complete control – Users can exert complete control over the data alongside the sites.

Knowing Lists of SharePoint: Views and Items

The SharePoint List is often recognized as the foundation of a site related to the application. In simple terms, a List is nothing, but similar to a database table. The content management system application comes with a several template concerning a List i.e. task list, contacts, calendar, etc. Each of these features their own default columns; however, the application can be customized catering to the exact needs as well as interests. For instance, you can always go ahead and add a column to the particular list like customer ID, document library, etc. You can also consider the idea of creating custom lists featuring no pre-incorporated or defined columns and save them as templates, if you wish.

Usually, the List consists of four default pages that are generated following the creation: a look

• NewForm.aspx – allows the users to add items maintaining a pre-generated approach to the list.
• DispForm.aspx – allows the users to review an item in read-only form
• Edit Form.aspx – allows the users to undertake editing of a integrated item with proper permissions
• AllItems.aspx – allows a display of all list items maintaining a view that is non-filtered

Adding to all these is the final feature of the List that is Stored Views. This actually refers to filtered displays of Items present in the list catering to the chosen criteria of a user.

SharePoint Pages and Web Parts

When it comes to displaying a web page in SharePoint, it is to be noted that a usual page is likely to consist of pre-defined aspects and Web Part Zones that allows an addition of a Web Part. What is a Web Part? Well, a code snippet that exhibits the contained data of SharePoint in a specific layout. For instance, you can have a calendar Web Part that specifically exhibits Items from a Calendar List of the content management system application, offering you the options of exhibiting contents as a list of events or in the form of calendars offering monthly, weekly, and daily views. Building a page featuring multiple Web Parts allow you to put forward a design enabling a view in the form of dashboard quite quickly.

Once, you get all the necessary permissions within the environment of SharePoint, you can easily go ahead and experiment with the migration. Being a ColdFusion developer, you now have the choice of creating ColdFusion applications within SharePoint in a way like never before.

We provide sharepoint bespoke development services. If you would like to know what makes us expert sharepoint developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.