What Goes Up Doesn’t Always Come Down

What Goes Up Doesn't Always Come Down

…And it Could Cost You

Now don’t get me wrong, I love Office 365 with SharePoint Online, I really do.  In fact, in my last two blogs, I’ve been singing the praises of benefits of how seamless and painless these environments can be.  But (I’m sure you could hear a “but” coming) a few experiences this last week have given me cause to curb my enthusiasm and pay very careful attention to the subtle differences between putting something on the cloud versus building something on the cloud.

SharePoint: Cloud or On-Prem? We Say Both.

SharePoint: Cloud or On-Prem? We Say Both.

 

Q: What’s better, SharePoint on the Cloud or On Premise?  A: Both!

One of the hottest topics in the world of SharePoint today is whether to locate your next instance of SharePoint on the “Cloud” or “On Premise”.  If you search the web you’ll find hundreds of blog articles providing detailed analysis of the pros and cons of either approach.  Fortunately, the answer is easy. It’s not an either/or situation…  it’s “both”.

Working in the Cloud is better than Going Up in Smoke

Working in the Cloud is better than Going Up in Smoke

Everyone Is Talking About the Cloud

There’s no doubt, that for many organizations there are compelling financial advantages for moving some, or all, of your systems to the cloud.  This is especially true in the case of SharePoint installations.  The cost of supplying and managing SharePoint to a large body of employees is lower on the cloud, and the capabilities are adequate, except…

Is Your RFP a Recipe for Disaster?

Is Your RFP a Recipe for Disaster?


Just like cooking, building the perfect company portal is a TWO step operation. Developing the recipe, then following the recipe.  Unfortunately too many “cooks” charge and start cooking.  Without a recipe to follow you’ll likely end up something inedible.

What Your Training Department Doesn’t Want You To Know

What Your Training Department Doesn't Want You To Know

Still using “Instructor Led” Training? Don’t let your Board find out!

Sure, instructor led training was the standard way to train in corporate environments for the last 100 years.  Before PowerPoint, it was dry erase markers on whiteboards and before that, chalk on slate.

The issue isn’t that this model is so expensive (lost time, travel, etc, etc.) or that it’s so ineffective (90% forgotten in 30 days) but that for the best run organizations it’s been replaced by a much better system.

Over the last 5 years there has been a huge shift to a dramatically more effective and efficient model; delivering training to each desktop via video streaming through your corporate intranet.

Training a Multilingual Environment in SharePoint

Training a Multilingual Environment in SharePoint

Multilingual SharePoint? Si, Oui and Já!

Multilingual SharePoint Training? Ne, Nej and Nein!

Do a Google search for “multilingual SharePoint training” and you’ll find an endless series of links providing information about how easy it is to get the SharePoint platform to adapt itself to the needs of a multilingual world.  And while that’s true, and Microsoft has done an incredible job in making SharePoint a great multilingual platform, it’s not what you were searching for. Multilingual SharePoint training is almost impossible to find.

Migrate Without Losing Your SharePoint Branding

Migrate Without Losing Your SharePoint Branding

 Is this even possible?

Well, yes and no.  Yes, if you branded a very specific way.  No, if you brand the way most people do.

Looks Stellar, but is Problematic

It’s pretty much understood that most people, especially senior management, take issue with the appearance of out-of-the-box SharePoint. The companies with the budget might immediately throw a developer or two at the problem. They’ll ask them to make SharePoint look more like a “website”. If the appearance of their intranet is especially important to them, they’ll even hire an outside company to “brand” their intranet. While the result often looks stellar, if not done correctly, it can be even more problematic when it comes time to migrate to a newer version of SharePoint.

Intranet Training: Every Cube is a Classroom

Intranet Training: Every Cube is a Classroom

 New Strategies in Intranet Training

There’s a new strategy emerging for training employees in technical intranet procedures. I’m speaking, of course, about online training and support provided as a series of brief video snips. Bite-sized training modules that are easily searchable inside your existing intranet are proving more compelling and cost-effective than the traditional intranet training model.

SharePoint Training Strategies Don’t Work

Sharepoint Training Strategies Don't Work

SharePoint’s Number One Problem is Poor Adoption

A recent IDC poll indicated that only 22% of the employee base use SharePoint on a regular basis. As if the negative ROI of this situation weren’t bad enough, another study shows that the cost of supporting SharePoint can be over $40 per person per month. According to a Osterman research study, 46% of employees say that poor training is the reason for the poor adoption.