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Top 10 Reasons to Deploy Windows SharePoint Services

Windows SharePoint Services takes file sharing to a new level.
Instead of just dumping files into directories, Windows SharePoint Services supplies Web sites with document storage and retrieval with check-in and check-out functionality, version history, custom metadata, and flexible, customizable views. Users can find and share data, with the added assurance that data will not be lost.

You can share many kinds of information.
SharePoint sites store event calendars, contacts, Web links, discussions, issues lists, announcements, and much more. By using Windows SharePoint Services, you can create smart places that help your users share information and get work done, not just a place to save files.

Users get the authority, flexibility, and customization they need.
You can grant users the ability to create sites, allow them to control site membership, monitor site usage directly, and moderate content submissions. Users can even create site templates and share them with one another, reusing customized, proven site solutions.

IT gets the management tools it needs.
Despite the authority delegated to users, Windows SharePoint Services also enables you to track which sites are created, who owns them, how long a site has gone unused, and so on. You can enforce quotas for sites, users, and storage; block users from adding specific file types to sites; and automatically delete sites that are unused for long periods of time.

Windows SharePoint Services scales to enterprise deployments.
You can deploy Windows SharePoint Services in server farms that support tens of thousands of sites and can handle the typical load of hundreds of thousands of users. Windows SharePoint Services supports load balancing for Web servers and server clustering technology for all data—including configuration, documents, and list data.

If you want to start small, Windows SharePoint Services runs on a single computer.
Despite the fact that it was engineered to scale to large enterprise deployments, Windows SharePoint Services runs well on deployments for small business, departmental, or pilot environments.

You can enhance your SharePoint sites using Web Parts.
Site owners and users can add the Web Parts you provide to their site pages, adding new features to the sites they already use. ASP.NET developers can write Web Parts to provide data access, Web services, and many other applications and content to SharePoint sites.

You can manage Windows SharePoint Services the way you want.
You can manage and configure Windows SharePoint Services right out of the box by using a Web browser or command-line utilities. You can also manage server farms, servers, and sites by using the Microsoft .NET Framework–based object model and Web services, making possible a great many custom and third-party administration solution offerings.

You can use Microsoft Office System 2003 as a powerful set of collaboration tools.
Thanks to the Web services provided by Windows SharePoint Services, programs in the Microsoft Office System—including Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Microsoft Office InfoPath, and Microsoft Office OneNote—can use information in SharePoint sites natively. Programs in the Microsoft Office System allow users to add members to sites, assign tasks, and communicate with members both by e-mail or in real time by using online presence, all while working on documents stored in SharePoint sites. With Microsoft Office Outlook, users can view calendars and contact lists stored on SharePoint sites and can create and manage sites devoted to editing documents and organizing meetings.

You can organize sites and site content by using Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003.
Windows SharePoint Services provides large numbers of individually productive places. SharePoint Portal Server connects these places to people, teams, knowledge, and applications to create smart organizations. It adds site organization and navigation, content topics, targeted news, personalized sites, content search, organization-wide alerts, enterprise application integration, and more to a Windows SharePoint Services deployment.

SharePoint Services Benefits

• Benefits for IT Professionals.
  Built on the Windows Server 2003 platform, Windows SharePoint Services makes it easy for IT professionals to implement a dependable, scaleable collaboration infrastructure, using straightforward administrative tools and services. IT administrators will benefit from the following:

 Reliable and Scaleable Platform

Whether deployed on a single server supporting a small organization or in a large enterprise with tens of thousands of sites and thousands of users, Windows SharePoint Services provides a cost-effective, scaleable collaboration and information sharing solution, without compromising system reliability, security, or performance.

 Reduced Complexity and Cost

The rich, built-in functionality and ease of use of Windows SharePoint Services gives IT administrators the means by which to decrease the cost and complexity associated with site provisioning, site management and support, operations, and backup and restore. Moreover, because Windows SharePoint Services is so easy to extend as an organization grows, as well as easy to integrate with a variety of applications and systems, it is possible to build a collaboration environment with minimal administrative time and effort.

 Advanced Security and Administrative Control

Windows SharePoint Services is fully integrated with Windows Server 2003, enabling administrators to benefit from the rich functionality offered by such services as Active Directory, Live Communications Server, and MSN Connect. Centralized administration, effective data life-cycle management, and improved network and site performance are just some of the benefits administrators will enjoy.



• Benefits for Users.
  Windows SharePoint Services provides the following advantages to the individuals and teams who use it:

 Better Discoverability

Finding and accessing information across a distributed workplace is a major challenge for which Windows SharePoint Services offers an effective solution. By providing users with a single Web-based team environment and built-in search capabilities, Windows SharePoint Services helps users to find information more effectively than with traditional file shares.

 Better Communication

With the built-in alert capabilities of Windows SharePoint Services, users can be notified when changes are made to shared information. Microsoft Office Live Communication Server provides users with the means to communicate instantly, whether by video or audio, and Microsoft Office Live meeting enables users to communicate and collaborate with anyone.

 Better Team Processes

The process of document creation and review is made simpler and more effective with built-in document versioning plus check-in and check-out capabilities. Additionally, using Windows Rights Management Services, authors can determine how their documents are distributed and used by others.

 Better User Experience

By integrating Web-based team collaboration services into everyday tools such as Microsoft Office, users can quickly and effectively adopt new collaboration tools and services. And by providing Web-browser access, Windows SharePoint Services makes it easy for users to access team information through a single site on demand.