SharePoint’s Affect on Information Management

For many years content management systems have faced the challenge of a lack of discipline with regards to users effectively controlling the scope of the effort. It is easy to take advantage of any product immediately released. However, the launch of Microsoft SharePoint may be able to properly scope company initiatives.

Although SharePoint will not solve all of a firm’s problems because it is only a resource, the content management system has enough features that can provide increased business value over the previous method. On the other hand, many established vendors have additional features that Microsoft must compete with.

On that note, is primarily used for file sharing and the distribution of information across many departments. Due to its popularity, the system has grown and become extremely critical for many groups within an organization. In its simplest form, SharePoint is a transparent records management system that archives data from today, last week or a year ago. Many other content management systems offer the same task with plenty of other features.

However, where SharePoint shines is that the system is an excellent starting point for any initiative. Although it can be replaced by a more feature rich system, the platform answers the true needs of its users. For instance, there are several advantages to the system including:

•     Records management
•     Process automation
•     Invoice processing

In many organizations records management is a priority. Therefore, Microsoft SharePoint was designed to enhance the existing architecture of any system without the user being aware of the change. Users can create, delete, edit and perform many tasks common to records management.

Also, when developing the system, Microsoft determined that many processes needed to be automated. Therefore, a simple analysis determined that 87 percent of processes can be implemented into SharePoint with minimal effort. The remaining processes only impact a small amount of the work force.

At any organization, there are thousands of invoices processed every year. Therefore, procurement departments can easily manage all of them within the SharePoint environment. Therefore, the system can managed these documents regardless of size, file type and fax type. As a result, organizations do not need to purchase a separate software license for a program to manage the files and integrate them into SharePoint.

Microsoft SharePoint has been an extremely successful content management system that has been implemented into many major organizations across the globe. Although it may not have many of the other features found in its competitors, the system relies on simplicity for the average user.