SharePoint Templates: Helpful tools in Hosted SharePoint Web Sites

Providing a starting point for the developers and the partner who look forward to build deeper solutions based on SharePoint hosting, the SharePoint Templates caters to the different business process needs in organization (irrespective of the size of the organizations). Fully compatible with the Microsoft office SharePoint designer 2007, the SharePoint Templates can actually be divided into two separate groups namely server admin templates and site admin templates. Providing out-of-the-box custom scenarios, the SharePoint Templates in SharePoint WSS 3.0 hosting can be applied in certain business tasks like sales campaign tracking or managing the helpdesk. Site admin templates are custom SharePoint Templates which can be easily installed into the template gallery by a SharePoint site administrator without requiring access to server administration. Server admin SharePoint Templates are site definitions. They enable tighter integration and increased functionality within Windows SharePoint Services platform. As against the Site admin templates their installation requires a server administrator.

The Application Templates which are out-of-the-box options and are pre-created can help you to start with your hosted SharePoint web site, or pages inside SharePoint Hosting Site. Easily applicable to the new pages, the SharePoint Templates and can be easily manipulated and changed, just like you do while building a SharePoint page from right from the scratch. The application templates also help to create web based applications which are capable of increasing the overall efficiency.

There are in total 40 SharePoint Templates created by Microsoft. These templates do not only save time but also increases the overall efficiency and also helps in the manipulation of the web parts (which are used to construct the SharePoint pages). The SharePoint templates are added or removed or can be edited according to your needs. All that you need to do is to identify your needs… You have a solution to your problem!

Source:- hostreview.com/

Microsoft Launches Online Exchange, SharePoint

Microsoft on Monday officially launched hosted versions of Exchange and SharePoint, two of its biggest on-premise cash cows, and continued to drive home the message that channel partners have nothing to fear from Microsoft's plan to move all its enterprise apps to the cloud.

Exchange Online and SharePoint Online are part of Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), which also includes Live Meeting and Office Communications Server, although the latter is still in beta and won't be available until next spring.

At a launch event in San Francisco, Stephen Elop, president of the Microsoft Business Division, said companies can reap cost savings of between 10 and 50 percent by moving to Microsoft-hosted SharePoint and Exchange services.

Microsoft's launch last month of the Windows Azure cloud-based development platform marked a significant step forward for Microsoft's Software Plus Services strategy, which blends on-premise software with Microsoft-hosted apps delivered over the Web from Microsoft's data centers, Elop said.

Microsoft has already sold more that 500,000 seats of Exchange Online since making it available to enterprises last year, but has also seen "a tremendous amount of interest" in BPOS from companies of all sizes, Elop said. More than 1500 companies have signed up for the Microsoft Partner Program for Microsoft Online Services since its launch in July, he added.

In July at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference, some solution providers were upset by the commission structure for BPOS as well as by Microsoft's revelation that it would take over control of billing customers.

Exchange Online is priced at $10 per user/month, SharePoint Online per user/month is $7.25. Office Communications Server Online will be $2.50 per user/month, and LiveMeeting will be $4.50 per user/month. Microsoft will offer these services in one-year automatically renewing agreements.

At the Monday launch event, Elop insisted that Microsoft has maintained "a deliberate dependence" on its partner ecosystem by offering VARs the chance to develop recurring revenue streams.

To illustrate what Elop described as the "absolutely overwhelming" channel response to Exchange and SharePoint Online, Microsoft had several partners on hand to discuss deployment scenarios. These case studies helped underscore Microsoft's mantra that VARs can adapt their business models by focusing on value-added migration and customization services.

"The whole world is changing. It requires change, but it's representative of what's going on in the market today," said Elop.

Adam Smith, director of marketing at Phase 2 International, a Honolulu, Hawaii-based solution provider, says in the current economic environment, his customers are finding it easier to pay a monthly subscription as opposed to a major one-time capital expenditure.

Smith admits that the Microsoft's WPC announcement was initially ominous for Microsoft hosting partners, but said the practical realities of deploying on-premise Microsoft apps quickly dissolved those fears.

"We've never had a customer who was satisfied with an out-of-the-box, Microsoft application," Smith said. "Every customer, without exception, has required some level of support, training, integration, or customization."

Source:- crn.com/

Microsoft SharePoint update released

Companies using Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 could be interested to discover an update to improve the application has been launched, it has been reported.

Microsoft has released an update to bolster the search functionality of SharePoint, fixing a long-term bugbear with the program, according to CMS Wire.

Noting the search features in Microsoft SharePoint have been know to frustrate users, the news provider reveals the recent update provides a federated search function and performance improvements to querying and indexing capabilities.

Furthermore, the infrastructure update for Microsoft Office Server delivers a unified administration dashboard to SharePoint.

"Some additional improvements include a greater granularity for crawl source history and list that shows all running crawls and durations," the publication explains.

The update also includes content deployment and infrastructure fixes for Windows SharePoint Services, MS Project and MS Servers.

A new study from Forrester Research suggests large companies are adopting Microsoft Office SharePoint Server at an increasing rate.


source:- onestopclick.com/

Tzunami Announces a New Version of Tzunami Deployer for Sharepoint 2003 Migration

The Latest Version Offers Enhanced Features for Migrating Content From SharePoint 2003 to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS)

Tzunami Inc., the pioneers and one of the leading providers of content migration technologies announced today the release of the latest version of its Tzunami Deployer for SharePoint 2003 Migration. Version 2.3 provides enhanced features for migrating content from SharePoint 2003 to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS) at a lower, fixed-price than alternative systems. Added benefits include full support for Site Templates and lists, maintaining list views, an improved Rule Engine to automate the migration process and overall user interaction.

"Our latest version of Tzunami Deployer for SharePoint 2003 Migration has been developed in response to the current demands in the marketplace for an economically viable solution that meets all content migration needs," said Nimrod Berger VP Global Sales and Marketing of Tzunami. "With our vast industry experience, Tzunami has created a solution that is not only technologically sophisticated, offering a rich-user experience, but which provides a strong return on SharePoint technology investment."

Tzunami Deployer for SharePoint 2003 Migration is a stand-alone application enabling rapid content migration to advanced SharePoint 2007 structures. Key features include property and value mapping which allows users to manage the migration of metadata while retaining vital enterprise information. Furthermore, the solution fully supports and preserves security settings and handles all types of items, documents and site collections. Whether it is required to maintain the current structure during migration or completely remodel, the solution enables users to model, customize or redefine the structure of the migrated content.

Tzunami Deployer for SharePoint 2003 is part of the Tzunami Deployer Family of Products. A simple, multi-source tool, Tzunami Deployer seamlessly transfers data from all major legacy Enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems as well as customized solutions. Features such as a powerful graphic user interface with easy-to-use drag and drop features, streamline business-critical processes simply and efficiently. Furthermore, Tzunami Deployer automates the entire process of migrating unstructured content and provides remote access to sites, including those behind firewalls. Tzunami Deployer saves time and easily transfers content from multiple sources including: File\Network Shares; SharePoint Portal Server 2001; SharePoint 2003/WSS 2.0; MOSS/WSS 3.0; Exchange Public Folders; LiveLink; DocuShare; EMC Documentum; EMC eRoom; Hummingbird DM; Hyperwave; Plumtree/AquaLogic; Lotus Notes; custom repositories and others.

Source:- marketwatch.com/

MultiFactor SecureAuth(R) for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server

MultiFactor Corporation, an innovator in 2-factor authentication, Microsoft web application security and VPN Authentication solutions, today announced the availability of SecureAuth 4.5 for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, a secure access solution for enterprise portals.

Office SharePoint Server 2007 is Microsoft's industry-leading platform for document management, enterprise content search and data aggregation. Office SharePoint Server 2007 is increasingly utilized as the offering of choice for scalable portals to both internal users, extranet partners and customers. The ability of Office SharePoint Server 2007 to expose content, previously only available to intranet users, is unparalleled in portal products.

MultiFactor's SecureAuth, a Microsoft Certified solution is specifically designed for integration into the ASP.NET application framework. SecureAuth offers a deployable, non-phishable, authentication solution that requires no extra servers or infrastructure.

"Office SharePoint Server is a robust platform designed to meet the business needs and resource constraints faced by the enterprise today," said Deb Bannon, SharePoint Senior Product Manager. "The integration of Office SharePoint Server with products like MultiFactor SecureAuth enables the enterprise to further secure content shared across the intranet and with extranet partners."

"SecureAuth utilizes native ASP.NET authentication and data integration features to seamlessly integrate into an Office SharePoint Server 2007 deployment. SecureAuth takes advantage of the new forms based authentication features in SharePoint Server 2007 to redirect the user to the SecureAuth solution and then conduct a secure, non-phishable validation," said Garret Grajek, COO of MultiFactor Corporation. "Upon authentication the user is redirected back to SharePoint Server 2007 to obtain the roles and permissions set up by the SharePoint Server 2007 administrative console."

In conjunction with the Office SharePoint Server platform, SecureAuth is able to deliver a secure credential, mapped directly to the individual user. SecureAuth utilizes the existing data store shared by the Office SharePoint Server 2007 platform, thus eliminating the need to create or replicate an additional data store.

About MultiFactor Corporation

MultiFactor Corporation delivers proven two factor authentication, web application security, and VPN security methodologies. SecureAuth is a tokenless authentication solution generates and validates client and server side certificates without PKI. MultiFactor Corporation's real-world security solutions draws from a diversified team of cryptographers, network and Web application specialists and certified security engineers to provide inexpensive and easily deployed security solutions.

source:- marketwatch.com/

MultiFactor SecureAuth(R) for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Delivers Efficient, Inexpensive Solution for Secure Portals

MultiFactor Corporation, an innovator in 2-factor authentication, Microsoft web application security and VPN Authentication solutions, today announced the availability of SecureAuth 4.5 for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, a secure access solution for enterprise portals.

Office SharePoint Server 2007 is Microsoft's industry-leading platform for document management, enterprise content search and data aggregation. Office SharePoint Server 2007 is increasingly utilized as the offering of choice for scalable portals to both internal users, extranet partners and customers. The ability of Office SharePoint Server 2007 to expose content, previously only available to intranet users, is unparalleled in portal products.

MultiFactor's SecureAuth, a Microsoft Certified solution is specifically designed for integration into the ASP.NET application framework. SecureAuth offers a deployable, non-phishable, authentication solution that requires no extra servers or infrastructure.

"Office SharePoint Server is a robust platform designed to meet the business needs and resource constraints faced by the enterprise today," said Deb Bannon, SharePoint Senior Product Manager. "The integration of Office SharePoint Server with products like MultiFactor SecureAuth enables the enterprise to further secure content shared across the intranet and with extranet partners."

"SecureAuth utilizes native ASP.NET authentication and data integration features to seamlessly integrate into an Office SharePoint Server 2007 deployment. SecureAuth takes advantage of the new forms based authentication features in SharePoint Server 2007 to redirect the user to the SecureAuth solution and then conduct a secure, non-phishable validation," said Garret Grajek, COO of MultiFactor Corporation. "Upon authentication the user is redirected back to SharePoint Server 2007 to obtain the roles and permissions set up by the SharePoint Server 2007 administrative console."

In conjunction with the Office SharePoint Server platform, SecureAuth is able to deliver a secure credential, mapped directly to the individual user. SecureAuth utilizes the existing data store shared by the Office SharePoint Server 2007 platform, thus eliminating the need to create or replicate an additional data store.

About MultiFactor Corporation

MultiFactor Corporation delivers proven two factor authentication, web application security, and VPN security methodologies. SecureAuth is a tokenless authentication solution generates and validates client and server side certificates without PKI. MultiFactor Corporation's real-world security solutions draws from a diversified team of cryptographers, network and Web application specialists and certified security engineers to provide inexpensive and easily deployed security solutions.

source:- marketwatch.com/

Microsoft Posts 14,000 Pages of Office, SharePoint, and Exchange Protocols

Microsoft yesterday announced it has posted 14,000 pages of technical documentation describing how to use the protocols for its Office, SharePoint, and Exchange products. The company says the move brings the total number of pages of technical documentation it has posted to 44,000, and takes another step toward fulfilling the commitment to openness it made in February.

With this move, anybody with an MSDN account can freely access the "preliminary versions" of 14,000 pages of technical documentation for the protocols Microsoft used with Office 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, and Exchange Server 2007. Following a review of the preliminary versions, Microsoft expects to release the final versions of the technical documentation by June, at which point it will have decided upon a suitable way to license the information.

The new documentation released yesterday describes the use of protocols for "connection points" between several products, including: Outlook and Exchange Server 2007; Office client applications and SharePoint Server 2007; SharePoint Server 2007 and other Microsoft server products; and Office client applications and other Microsoft server products.

The move follows through on the commitment Microsoft made in February to be less secretive and more open with its customers, business partners, competitors, and open source advocates. As part of that announcement, Microsoft also pledged not to sue open-source programmers for developing software that uses the interfaces.

Microsoft made several other pledges in February that it is in the process of fulfilling. One of these includes the creation of the Open Source Interoperability Initiative, which the company said in February would foster openness between Microsoft and the open source community, including organizing and conducting special events. However, there doesn't appear to be much to this initiative yet except this Microsoft Web page.

Other promises made by Microsoft as part of its Four Principles announcement include enhancing data portability through the creation of new import and export functions in its products (such as Office); enhancing support for open formats (such as ODF) in its products; and adding the capability to change the default file format in its Office applications. A Microsoft spokesperson says the company will announce additional documentation and disclosure schedules in the next several months.

In any event, Microsoft is celebrating the release of the 14,000 pages of preliminary versions of technical documentation. "We believe that providing open, consistent access to these protocols will further unleash the creativity of all developers to work on real-world interoperability solutions," said Tom Robertson, general manager of interoperability and standards at Microsoft.

(Source: itjungle.com)