The Better SharePoint...

Microsoft SharePoint is a browser based document management and collaboration system, that rules out traditional content management systems with its investment in the powerful interaction with Microsoft Office. SharePoint in general refers to a family of products that include, Windows SharePoint Services (WSS), Microsoft Search Server, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS), and Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer(SPD).

Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) provides the base infrastructure that facilitates and enables the usefulness of other SharePoint family of products. The best part of WSS is that it is built upon a IIS 6 (Internet Information Server) - SQL Server - ASP.NET 2.0 infrastructure and integrates seamlessly with the .NET framework. Which means that any .NET based developer at his/her option can enhance the capabilities of WSS at their option.

WSS is formulated by a ring of services provided around some core platform services. Ian Morrish explains the WSS 3.0 Architecture in here. Among the ring of services provided are:

1. Collaboration
2. BI
3. Business Processes
4. Portal
5. Content Management
6. Search

However, these basic services can easily be extended or supplemented by enhancements or additions, by exploiting the flexibility of the WSS Architecture. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and Microsoft Search Server are implemented on top of WSS and add more functionality upon the existing core. Microsoft Office Forms Server is another product that exists within the WSS based application line of sight.

The Better SharePoint comes with further extending the infrastructure to tailor corporate requirements that expose multi-divisional, geographically dispersed, large organizational information infrastructures, under a single system that provides all necessary document management and collaboration requirements. Typical systems enable employees, customers, and other interested parties interact through highly customized business systems based on SharePoint family of products.