Point Me to SharePoint

Most people working in offices either email each other links to folders on a server in order to share documents and information, or they email back and forth all day with screen shots and documents attached.  This is not the ideal way to share information, especially in sensitive industries such as law or healthcare, where confidential information might be included.  What about your colleagues who never check their email?  Or that one guy who chooses the "Reply to All" option on every email he sends?  There must be a better way to share information...

Regardless of the size of your office or region, sharing documents and information with your colleagues can be cumbersome and time-consuming.  Microsoft has developed a piece of software that helps alleviate some of those difficulties.  SharePoint allows you to share MS Office documents using web sites.  "Wait!  I'm not a web developer!"  That's ok, you don't need to be.  SharePoint sites are easily maintained and user-friendly, with simple file uploads.  Users can also use Announcements to keep teammates informed; Alerts to notify team members if a document changes; Task Lists to assign work to team members; Events to schedule meetings, deadlines and gatherings; Discussions to allow conversation between colleagues; and Contact Lists to share email addresses and phone numbers.

The web sites that are created using SharePoint can be public or private intranet sites.  One person is usually set in place as the site administrator and appropriate levels of access are granted to individual team members to define abilities to read/write/delete content.  SharePoint also comes with templates to create a standard look and feel for the sites or you can set up custom templates for your organization.

The software that will be needed to use SharePoint differs depending upon the role of the user.  Below is an example of the types of users, their responsibility and what software would be needed:

Your site will also need to be hosted on the Internet, a service that can be purchased on a monthly basis from your local ISP (Internet Service Provider).  If you're not sure who to contact for this service, there are several SharePoint Hosting companies available online.  SharePoint Portal Services can also be purchased, though this is a very expensive option, ranging from $4,000 to $30,000 per server.

Not sure what to do from here?  SharePoint can be taken for a "test drive" using a free 30-day trial - just search the web for SharePoint Trial and you will find several sites offering this option.  Once you're ready to move forward with SharePoint, you can expect to spend around $975 for the basic version of SharePoint, which is good for up to 12 people on your team.

Good luck and happy sharing!