The Role of SharePoint in Your Business’s Digital Strategy

The digital marketing strategy of modern businesses focuses mainly on customer relationship management and customer engagement. Often businesses look for innovative customer relationship management (CRM) systems to enable their marketing, sales and customer service professionals to build long lasting customer relations. The right CRM solution can help your business in implementing a personalized customer engagement model to engage the customers and deliver higher customer satisfaction. Businesses across the world rely on SharePoint as a smart CRM platform to optimize its digital marketing strategy.

Why SharePoint can Optimize Your Business’s Digital Marketing Strategy?

Simple and Attractive Interface: SharePoint 2013 comes with an interface that is clean, simple and easy-to-use. While accessing the interface, users can avail the universal navigation feature of Office 365 navigation. As the interfaces supports touchscreens, it becomes easier for users to access it on their mobile devices. Also, they can use Office Web Apps to edit and drag-and-drop documents.

Mobile Experience: The latest version of SharePoint also renders site based on the user’s mobile device, and accommodate mobile web browsing. With more and more users accessing internet on their smartphones, tablets and phablets, the feature makes the interface effective in staying connected to their work on-the-go. At the same time, the user can view the interface in both landscape and portrait display modes, while accessing push notifications and location services.

Easy to Share Information and Ideas: SharePoint 2013 is also designed with a set of social network-like features. The authorized users can publish their Office documents to SharePoint, and share the files with others. The interface further allows them to post activity updates, share ideas, check what members of the team are working on, and get answers from their colleagues. Further, they can use their mobile devices to share their ideas and documents on the go.

Option to Organize Projects and Tasks: The professionals also use SharePoint as a CRM system to arrange their projects and tasks. Once they organize the tasks and projects, those will appear as upcoming deliverables across SharePoint, Outlook and MS Project. A business, at the same time, can set up a team site to gather the documents and emails of the teams in a centralized location. The documents can be further synchronized across the conventional and mobile devices through Microsoft SkyDrive.

Design and Publish Public-Facing Websites: An organization can create a public-facing website by availing the streamlined design features of SharePoint 2013. Microsoft has further updated SharePoint with an improved Content Management System (CMS) to make it easier for users to publish a variety of content. Thus, an organization can create community sites to enable its sales and marketing teams to share and collaborate with others.

Integrated Search: The latest version of allows businesses to effectuate document management and collaboration through a super fast search engine called FAST. As FAST is now embedded in SharePoint 2013, the users can avail the advantages of the super fast search engine without incurring any additional expenses. Also, FAST comes with a set of features that make the searching process more efficient and faster. For instance, the users can use the thumbnail preview option to browse through the documents without opening those up.

Enhanced Stability and Security: The updated version of SharePoint is compatible with several operating systems and mobile devices. So the users can access the web interface by using any of the major web browsers on Windows or Mac. It also comes with workflow advancements to eliminate the chances of system outage. The authentication enhancements further contribute towards optimizing both security and connectivity.

Most businesses, nowadays, deploy distributed teams to reduce project overheads. Microsoft has updated SharePoint 2013 with features to complement the needs of distributed teams, and help them in working together. Further, the users can start using SharePoint site without requiring any additional or specialized training.

You can hire developers from top custom sharepoint development companies in India who can help you build your projects within allocated budget and time schedules.

We provide sharepoint application development services. If you would like to know more about the experience of our sharepoint developers, please get in touch with Mindfire Solutions.

Best Practices for SharePoint security, privacy and compliance

Huge amount of content is being generated by organizations everyday and with cloud solutions, enterprise social collaboration as well as mobile access, new ways are being adopted by employees for information sharing. This is leading to continuous expansion of the ways of collaboration. Most organizations use Microsoft SharePoint as a corporate information hub with the content coming from external clients and partners as well as internal employees. This may result in risks entering the organization such as malware getting in to the enterprise, regulatory compliance issues cropping up as well as sensitive information getting exposed unintentionally. This makes it essential to secure the system properly so that you protect sensitive information from getting out. Here are some practices that help improve SharePoint security.

Assigning users to groups- This is a practice that should always be adopted. Through assignment to SharePoint groups, the capability of a particular user may be predicted without their security profile getting audited. While using Active Directory, hybrid should be used in conjunction and then SharePoint groups created. AD groups should then be assigned to the apt group.

Need-to-know assignments- People should only be assigned to sites where the access is mandatory. Only if somebody can demonstrate the need for accessing a site, then they must be assigned to a group which is associated with accessing the needed sites. In most scenarios, if the purpose behind a user’s presence in contributor groups cannot be justified, then they should not be allowed on the site in the first place.

Site inheritance should not be broken at object level- There can be a lot of frustration as well as confusion if permissions are broken at the object level. A user should be assigned to proper security group; then they must be left alone. If the list or library contains sensitive data then a child site must be created and accordingly group permissions assigned.

Refrain from assigning document level permissions as far as possible- Assignment of permissions at the very document level can turn out to be a maintenance nightmare. If the need arises, then additional sites or libraries must be created before breaking a list or library’s security. Permissions may be broken but it may turn out to be a fatal decision.

Monitoring content- You should monitor the content both on schedule as well as in real time by using automated processes that are rule-based, in a way that will provide protection to the information in a systematic way. The content must also be classified by the use of related metadata where metadata may be added by the authors but the controls of allowing user’s classification being overridden, is with the system.

Audits and scans- To check the level of compliance, ongoing audits must be performed as well as scheduled scans run regularly for SharePoint sites.

Risk evaluation- Risk must be evaluated according to the organization’s logic for providing multiple perspectives related to potential risk to data transport as well as delivery.

Measuring progress- Over time, progress must be measured so that priority is demonstrated, along with the triumphs of compliance initiatives; accordingly modifications should be made wherever necessary.

Prioritizing areas for improvement- Areas that need improvement must be prioritized and accordingly concerns as well as issues should be addressed. For that you should work in close association with content authors as well as stakeholders.

Linking compliance improvements- Compliance improvements must be linked to migration programs. For example, before migrating to SharePoint, scan data should be run on file shares. It should also be remembered that new initiatives need compliance.

Implementation of proper monitoring ensures that your information stays safe. However, the security problem is not simply a SharePoint-specific problem and may be said to be a universal problem for all content, no matter where it resides. But proper planning along with the correct technology may help you address this concern.

You can hire developers from top custom sharepoint development companies in India who can help you build your projects within allocated budget and time schedules.

We provide sharepoint application development services. If you would like to know more about the experience of our sharepoint 2010 development experts, please get in touch with Mindfire Solutions.

Gartner Calls Sharepoint an "Evolutionary Dead End" that "No One Likes Using"

As per the views of Jeffrey Mann, a Gartner analyst, Microsoft should soon do away with SharePoint and companies that are largely dependent on the platform should actually consider a more cloud-based future. The Gartner analyst also said that though a majority of the companies make use of SharePoint, they do not quite like it. SP is also less functional and less useful in many respects. Moreover, it does not facilitate smooth content migration and requires greater amount of online management.

With SharePoint being customized in most organizations, it also appears to be excessively big and complex. Certain businesses are also making use of older versions of this web application development platform. With regards to the question of whether to move to cloud or move out of it, Mann says that Microsoft should essentially move SP to the cloud by means of killing its current form.

The enterprise social networking platform, on the other hand, comes up as a hope for Microsoft, as both of these compliment each other in multiple ways. SP, on becoming more cloud- based, will have a strong influence by Yammer.

However, the problems regarding the on-premise deployment of SP, slower arrival of upgrades, lower functionality will remain the same. Hence, a cloud- based solution is considered more beneficial for the large-sized organizations. In fact, Mann advises the technologists to start developing plans for post- SharePoint scenario.

Reasons behind People Disliking SharePoint

While Gartner declares SharePoint to be an evolutionary dead end, there are quite a few reasons behind people hating SP. Surveys conducted at different points of time also point out to negative sentiments. Here is an overview of some of the causes behind this dislike:

It Takes Too Long a Time to be Deployed

One major problem with SP is that the deployment process is quite elaborate and time- consuming. Presence of technical difficulties often make it rather impossible to get done with the deployment process within the allotted time. An unnecessary delay is certainly undesirable because it compels organizations to lose valuable time and resources.

SP Requires Assistance of Third-Party Tools

Enterprises realize that SharePoint cannot be used “out-of-the-box”. Augmentation of the platform for the purpose of fulfilling the specific business requirements is nearly impossible without the use of the third-party tools. Governance is perhaps the biggest technical issue when it comes to the implementation of the development platform. Managing the metadata and taxonomies is equally difficult. It is for these reasons that 50% of organizations are planning heavily on having the third-party add-on products.

SharePoint Promises to Handle Too Many Tasks

SP has always been promoted and marketed as a solution to several problems and issues. Now, whether it is document management, corporate intranet, project management, wiki or blog, SharePoint promises to handle it all. Consequently, the end result is often far from being satisfactory.

User Experience is Nothing Satisfactory

It has been revealed by certain surveys that users are not really happy using SharePoint. Individuals who find it difficult to handle this particular platform prefer going back to the original business process for smooth operations and better accomplishment of projects.

Lesser Mobile Device Access to SharePoint

SharePoint's mobile device access is slow and ineffective. The dissatisfaction about the matter has been expressed by many users. The issue automatically prevents the users from staying updated and productive, no matter where they are.

How to Lead to Successful SP Implementation and User Experience?

In spite of the many difficulties associated with SharePoint, the platform is actually of several benefits. Here is a list of tips and strategies, following which SP can be made more acceptable.

• A well-defined deployment process should be planned beforehand. This plan should also consider the needs of the business users apart from that of the tech savvy ones.
• The project must focus on business solutions. For instance, it should take into account the ease with which SP can be accessed from anywhere.
• Integrating SP into the everyday work flow of a business user is also essential.

Apart from the above-mentioned strategies, one can also go by Jeffrey Mann's advice, that is to use the third party tools to cover up for the deficiencies of SharePoint.

We provide SharePoint migration services. If you would like to know more about the expertise of our SharePoint developers India, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Design Manager in SharePoint 2013 Designer - A Detailed Introduction

Understanding the Design Manager
Design Manager is primarily meant to help the users of SharePoint create custom designs and achieve the respective goals if they want SharePoint 2013 to represent the brand of the organization. It comes up as a particular feature in SP 2013, paving the way for a completely customized, pixel-perfect outcome using the familiar web designing tools. As a publishing feature, it is available in the publishing sites in both Office 365 and SP server 2013.

This extremely useful feature allows the creation of visual design for websites using the web designing tools and HTML editor. Only HTML and CSS can be used after which the design has to be uploaded into SP. Basically, it enables management of each aspect of a custom design.

So, designers using this excellent feature will have to precisely undertake the following activities:

• Grasping and understanding the main SP design concepts
• Creating a mock-up of the design in CSS and HTML
• Implementing the same utilizing the Design Manager feature

Implementing a Design by Means of the Design Manager

It is essential for the SharePoint 2013 users to be aware of the usage of the feature in implementing designs. On looking at the feature, one gets to see a series of links representing the high-level tasks to be performed. Following is a step-by-step sequence in which the task of implementing a design is executed with success:

Prior to Making Use of Design Manager
Even before you start using the feature, you have to create an individual design or use a ready-made website template. While mocking up the sites in HTML and CSS, you will come across certain HTML files implementing designs for the particular way in which you want the different pages to appear. You also need to take the necessary SharePoint permissions, more particularly, you have to be at the Designer permission level to use the feature.

Management of Device Channels
Before starting right away with the task of designing your site exploiting this essential feature, you need to take into account the specific devices to be targeted and the kind of user experience on each of them. Once you have considered the specific device channels, it is time to use multiple ways in rendering a single publishing site by means of mapping varying designs to equally varying devices.

Now, the device channels, which are created as well as stored in the SP list, have ranking and therefore, the order of the same also matters. The inclusion rules are also processed accordingly.

Uploading the Designed Files
Once the designing is done, the designer can use any HTML editor of his preference and work with files locally on the specific computer. However, these files need to be uploaded to the Master Page Gallery of the SP site so as to enable the feature to convert, preview and at the same time, polish the already created design.

The best- possible way to upload as well as continue working on these files is by mapping a drive on the computer to the Master Page gallery of the SP site. This paves the way for a folder on the computer to be connected to the Master Page Gallery. The result is that one can work on files that are present on the server in SP 2013 provided that they are local files.

Editing the Master Pages
The next task is to create a fully branded master page containing all of the functionality of SharePoint that one wants. The steps through which the editing is done are:

• Conversion of HTML file into a SP master page
• Previewing the master page while also facilitating fixing of the possible issues
• Addition of the SP snippets to the master page

Editing Display Templates
In the event of using the on-premises installation of the SharePoint server, one has the option of using the Content Search Web Part along with a few other search- driven web parts. This helps in the display of the results of the search queries as content on the pages. Now, the search-driven web parts make use of the display templates for two main purposes. These are firstly to map managed properties returned in the search result items to properties that are available for JavaScript. This includes any custom JavaScript that one chooses to implement. The second purpose is to make use of CSS and HTML to find out how these properties are displayed.

Editing Page Layouts
The process involving the creation of page layout in Design Manner is somewhat different from that of creating a master page. First, a page layout needs to be made using the .aspx file and HTML file. Following this, the associated HTML file has to be edited from the mapped drive in the HTML editor. The feature ensures that the page layout is created in a manner that the correct set of page fields get added to the page layout.

Apart from the above-mentioned steps, creating themes and composed looks, publishing and applying the designs and creation of the package of the same are the final steps to be taken when it comes to using Design Manager in SharePoint 2013 development projects.

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Migrating from MOSS 2007 to SharePoint 2013- Don’t Miss Out on these 10 Tips

The much popular and preferred web application development platform, SharePoint, comes up in newer versions at frequent intervals. Business entrepreneurs need to update themselves with the upgraded technology to ensure deriving the maximum benefits out of the applications, devices and platforms. SharePoint is undoubtedly one among the most beneficial technological advancements that affects business operations and increases the overall level of efficiency to a great extent.

Migrating from MOSS 2007 to SharePoint 2013 is interesting as well as challenging. The process involving SharePoint site migration is also complex at the same time though the complexity depends upon the kind of customization available. Many of the SharePoint environments are often integrated with the external systems by means of the Business Connectivity Services or the custom connectors. The complex environments often pose challenges to the process of migration and it is here that few factors need to be taken into consideration. Here is a list of tips on executing a successful migration from MOSS 2007 to SharePoint 2013.

1. Following a 2-Step Approach

Migration of content from the SharePoint 2007 to 2013 version is a two- way process in cases where no 3rd party tools are used. The first step is to upgrade MOSS to a temporary 2010 version by means of database attach and the second is to move the content to the 2013 version in very much the same process. Third Party tools like that of the AvePoint can also be made use of. Cleaning up the content prior to the migration is equally essential.

2. Migrating the Code

Migration of the code is an important step that has to be done manually as, the code is a primary component in migration. The prevalent code has to be evaluated and analyzed in details before building the overall solution or migrating the code. It is necessary to analyze a lot many things to find out if they work with newest version of SharePoint. These include the code- based customizations, third- party tools, add- ins, web parts and so on.

3. Determine the Functionality of the Customization

The process revolving around the migration, as already said, is quite complex, which calls for the fact that certain customizations might not work out in the desired manner. Now, for customizations that are necessary but turn out to be incompatible, the cost as well as the efforts that need to be put into it have to be considered. Ensure remediating the customization in every possible way, for instance, reusing the core source to avoid reinventing the wheel and thereby, reducing the cost and effort.

4. Make the Customization Ready for All Versions

Whenever the remediation is done, the customization becomes applicable for not just the 2013 version but also the 2010 version of SharePoint. One must ensure that the customization is actually ready for all versions.

5. Consider the Permission and Authentication Model

When it comes to the Migration, special emphasis needs to be put into the new security model for building the entire solution with greater efficiency. It is advisable for anyone to do the permission migration and code migration separately. This helps in isolating and identifying the particular permission related issues that are likely to occur.

6. End User Training and Adoption

Moving users from MOSS 2007 to SharePoint 2010 requires training the users to enable them discover the difficult aspects of using SP 2013. The entire IT department of a business enterprise must become familiar enough with the usage of the newest mode of this web application development platform. Effective training paves the way for familiarity of the system and this in turn, leads to a better use of the development platform.

7. Finding Out Sites Customized with SharePoint Designer

It is necessary to determine as to what had been done with the sites that were customized with the SharePoint Designer. The URLs as well as the site owners with the few 'one off' sessions need to be identified to find out what actually had been done with them.

8. Installing or Upgrading to the SQL Server

Apart from upgrading to the Windows Server 2012, installing a new SQL server 2012 or upgrading to the SQL server 2008 is rather necessary. It is equally necessary to determine as to whether the SQL Server 2005 box had been dedicated to the SP or if there were other databases installed in it in clusters.

9. Considering the Power Users

Any business enterprise going for a migration must have some power users, who are particularly adept in handling this advanced web application development platform. There will be several requests for the automation of paper- based processes. Experts will facilitate deriving the maximum ROI on the business process automation.

10. Upgrading to the Microsoft Office 2010

The point is apparently but is often missed out by many. To provide a perfect user experience following the migration, upgrading to the Microsoft Office 2010 is essential to help in the training for the upgrade.

The above- mentioned tips allow for not just a successful migration but also making it useful for the business enterprises.

We provide SharePoint bespoke development services. If you would like to know more about the expertise of our SharePoint programmers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Tips for Integrating SharePoint data with Java Applications

A number of enterprises today are looking forward to integrating content from the SharePoint site with java applications. Such organizations are usually considering avenues to deliver an integrated and optimized experience for the end user across a range of software platforms. In addition, the endeavor is also directed towards the aim of bringing the SharePoint data into compliance with governance, security, and branding standards. Net result, SharePoint application development and data migration is heading northwards.

Now, when it comes to integrating, the same can be achieved through the different tools or SharePoint integrator offering maximum competency and comprehensiveness. The software usually enhances the ability of the portal to take up an all-encompassing job that combines all assets of the enterprise together with the SharePoint content like the java applications with a scalable and saleable environment.

In today’s present age, the dominance of SharePoint is indomitable. The particular document management system application is today found everywhere and is rapidly used across enterprises. However, the challenge comes when enterprises need to integrate the SharePoint data with Java applications. Well, it is to be noted that the integration does not come easy and the organizations need to depend on a number of considerations for achieving the best.

If you seem to be wondering about the factors, then here is a look at the aspects of dependency that helps achieving optimal integration of the software with the web application –

• The particular version of Java that is being used
• The version of SharePoint that is being employed for the purpose
• The level of integration that is actually needed for the enterprise

Let’s assume the use of SharePoint 2007 and Java 1.5 for the integration exercise (the usual scenario that crops up while integrating existing applications of Java to new services of the document management system application).

Now, it is to be noted that it is quite difficult to determine the end of the particular approach. However, one of the major objectives of the integration approach rests with the fact of producing a matrix of the accurate approach of use across the various versions of Java and SharePoint.

Principle requirements
The principle requirements that must be followed while taking up the approach are as follows:

• Support for authentication schemes for IIS
• Support for the protocols of remote access
• Support for an integration up to highest level possible
• Integration based on LAN

Access Options of SharePoint Service Well, fortunately the products pertaining to SharePoint feature a number of access options that are entirely service based and dependent on the particular version. However, you need to keep in mind that the previous versions usually featured less capabilities based on the interfaces. Therefore, you must always have a look at the specific capabilities of need prior to making any choice.

Java Choices
The options of integration vary greatly depending on the particular version of the Java that is being used:

• Java 1.4 : The 1.4 version of the web application offers a restricted support for services based on the document management system application that exists in the distribution base. While a number of possible frameworks pertaining to Java web services can be used, the Axis 2 offers a special support to the NTLM V1 catering to all the requirements. Additionally, a primary consideration rests with support for the authentication schemes IIS. The base distribution features XML – RPC support
• Java 1.5 : The 1.5 version of the Java platform offers complete support for web services based on the document management system as well as the XML- RPC interface.
• Java 6 : This particular version offers complete support to the XML-RPC and web services that are available in the base distribution as well as supports an authentication of NTLM V1.

We provide custom SharePoint development services. If you would like to know more about the expertise of our expert SharePoint developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Integrating ColdFusion Applications with Microsoft SharePoint

While ColdFusion is recognized as a much preferred programming platform, the recent trend is that of integrating it with Microsoft SharePoint. Why? Because SharePoint bespoke development helps create most personalized web products which greatly enhance the efficiency of operations in an enterprise. The latest version of the former platform, that is ColdFusion 9, will feature this integration. However, before going into the details of how this integration can be executed or the possible benefits of the process, let us understand few basics about SharePoint.

Basically a content management system at its best, SharePoint is an application that helps in accessing data stored in the MSSQL database. The integrated search services facilitated by it help in adding team collaboration context to the management of the data files, generated by the Microsoft Office Suite. When it comes to SharePoint, the site hierarchy and the permission- based roles become important. The key permission levels allow users to read, contribute, design as well as take full control of the SharePoint sites along with data after a certain stage.

With regards to the integration, the most important requirement is to understand the precise needs of the users. ColdFusion 9 incorporates the integration feature to solve most of the problems of a majority of users and not to satisfy only a handful of them.

Single-Sign-On Support
The demand for a single-sign-on (SSO) support is the most common of all requirements. This support would allow the ColdFusion applications working under SharePoint increase the level of the platform’s authenticity as well as security by means of removing the necessity of logins and authentication of the ColdFusion applications. Now, with ColdFusion 9, the task becomes easier as a result of an inclusion of the SharePoint integration files in ColdFusion. The installation and configuration of these files paves the way for the platform to invoke applications offering SSO support.

ColdFusion Applications
The concept of the platform applications running the Microsoft SharePoint platform might appear to be a little confusing. Web Parts and ASP.Net server controls are used to build the applications. The Web Parts can actually be pre- written in the controls provided by Microsoft, 3rd party controls as well as the individual controls. With ColdFusion 9 applications and the SSO support, necessary grounds for the perfect integration are ready.

Web Parts
Users might simply want to access data in the platform and may not be looking for running application as a Web Part. There are many who use the platform with the intention of deriving benefits out of user lists, views and groups, use the platform search option or work with the stored images and document workspaces. All these activities can be done with the help of exposed web services. However, a new tag is made available for maximum control as well as higher level of performance.

The Cfsharepoint Tag
The cfsharepoint tag is a powerful one, enabling manipulation of SharePoint by virtue of its several attributes. It facilitates around 50 actions. The tag can actually make the platform do anything. All that one needs to do is pass the credentials in a structured manner or supply the values individually in the form of domain, password and username values. The credentials must be stored in the Application.cfcfile.

An integration of ColdFusion with Microsoft SharePoint encompasses SSO, platform applications, Web Parts, SharePoint services along with the cfsharepoint tag. With these, the requirements of the users are catered in an effective manner while the incorporation of ColdFusion as an important part of an enterprise is also realized. The integration increases the power and productivity of the platform to great heights. Thus, seen from all respects, the merging of the two popular and prominent web application development platforms is of immense use for the experienced developers as well as that for the enterprises.

We provide Coldfusion Sharepoint Integration services. If you would like to know more about the expertise of our expert certified sharepoint developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Converting an ASP.NET site into a SharePoint site - Top 7 Issues faced and their solutions

SharePoint has become increasingly popular nowadays. A plethora of web projects are directly started in SharePoint. But still there are a lot many projects which remain out of the SharePoint scope and exist purely in the form of ASP.NET application.

A common task that becomes applicable during migration of an existing ASP site to a SharePoint site is transforming the landing page of the site to SharePoint page. That is where the problem starts. So far as .NET applications are concerned, they incorporate diverse modern technologies and tools such as URL Rewriting, SilverLight, MVC and so on. These tools are extremely common when it comes to .NET development. However, they can pose potential problems in the world of SharePoint. Let us discuss some of the issues faced in conversion of a .NET site into a SharePoint site.

1. Master.page: SP does not support the AutoEventWireup=”true” attribute on every page. So it is good to remove the same. Moreover, there is no support for user controls on master.page, so they can be moved to CONTROLTEMPLATES folder and references need to be changed. All classes from where inheritance takes place should have namespaces.

2. CSS: SP does not render 100% CSS validation. In this case, it is good to go for CSS customization and debugging, wherein you would be getting a clean CSS file. In this all the customization would be reset. Resetting reduces browser inconsistencies especially with respect to margins, default line heights, font sizes of headings, and the like.

3. Web.config: It is to be ensured that the correct sitemap defaultProvider from the ASP.NET web.config is being used. If the same is not done, all the sitemap elements would be recognized as SharePoint Publishing class elements, which is considerably different from asp.net SiteMap classes.

4. URL Rewriting: In case URL rewriting or any other specific modules are required, the < system.webServer > section needs to be created in the SharePoint config file and added accordingly. Moreover, all the DLLS need to be added to the list of SafeControls.

5. Code: So far as the DLLs are concerned, [assembly: AllowPartiallyTrustedCallers()] is a must. Again it is advisable to ensure that all the DLLs are signed. Namespaces are a must for every class.

6. Autodiscover service: It is seen that once an ascx control is created for use in SP which has access to Exchange 2010 through its web services. Everything is okay when the same is executed in the .NET test site. However, whenever the control is utilized in SP an error occurs and the following message is shown: “The Autodiscover service couldn't be located”. This problem can be warded off by adding the domain root certificate utilized by the exchange server in the form of “Manage Trust”.

7. Deployment of ASP.Net web application: In case you have a SP Portal where deployment of .Net Web application is required, the main goal is the integration of all the asp.net application created so that every application has a single access point within SharePoint. For this, initially a SP site collection needs to be created in the web application following which sub site creation is required for each application. In this way, separation of each application can be achieved.

SharePoint application development is a popular choice when it comes to developing web based projects. However, the above mentioned issues are often faced during migration of an ASP.NET site into a SharePoint site. Following the requisite solutions can do away or mitigate these issues and help individuals or organizations to go for successful migration. So, plan accordingly, utilize the proper strategies and you will definitely achieve the right migration solution that will ensure that you have complete control over your data.

We provide ASP.NET SharePoint migration services. If you would like to know more about the expertise of our expert SharePoint programmers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Migrate a SharePoint Team Wiki to an Enterprise Wiki

An Enterprise Wiki (EW) refers to a publishing site that offers updating and sharing huge volumes of information within an organization. In case an organization requires a centralized, large knowledge repository which is designed to both share as well as store information over an organizational scale, the use of EW can be considered. They make use of the Enterprise Wiki site template, developed over the publishing infrastructure of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. This particular infrastructure makes room for a number of means for controlling content. For instance, permissions can be assigned or workflows may be used for establishment of an approval procedure.

The EW Site template can be leveraged for the creation of sub-sites or site collections. The site created through this template is focused on the content. The “Pages” Library is the main component of the site. Again, there is the “Wiki Page Library” list template. It has the potential to host wiki pages and can be utilized to create various kinds of sites. In fact, Wiki Library list template serves as the default pages library for the “Team Site” template.

Planning for an Enterprise Wiki

Before implementation of an EW, the concerned organization must determine whether it is the right solution. It is a perfect solution when the business is in need of manifold users for contribution to the knowledge repository. But in case a means to establish one-to-many communication regarding an area of interest or a project is required, a Team Site should be preferably used.

While deciding whether to go for it, the following things should be considered: 

• Purpose to be served: It should have a clear-cut purpose. For instance, a particular business goal can be addressed or it can be a centralized knowledge body regarding particular business problems, processes or topics. The aim is to offer a space wherein members belonging to a virtual community can remove, change or create content, including content created by previous authors. However, in case you need to have a knowledge exchange means that is more structured where one-to-many communication is mostly used, a blog or a team site comprising Web Edit facility can be used.
• Number of users who would be contributing: A number of factors influence this decision. These are- whether there is potential to support enhanced growth coupled with the need for enhanced server and network capacity, whether legal consideration regarding contribution are there, whether key contributors from each business area should be determined.
• Control of EW access: Ideally, each member of the organization should have access to update, edit or contribute content. In case there is the need for information separation with respect to groups, blog or team site with Web edit can be used.
• Implementation of control over content: Blogs are designed in order to provide structured knowledge exchange while a wiki makes room for informal contributions. However, there are requirements and guidelines with respect to an organization for handling of particular content regarding specific subjects. Addressing inaccurate or inappropriate entries can also be considered.

Before creation of an Enterprise Wiki, the following tasks must be completed: 

• In order to provide storage for notes and social tags, a Managed Metadata serve application should be created.
• For the management of the site collection wherein the EW is located, administrator permission pertaining to site collections must be there.
• A User Profile Service Application must be developed in case the EW is intended to be used with My Sites.

Migration of Wiki Library

The following methods may be followed for migration: 

• The Enterprise Wiki may be linked to the existing Wiki library without moving the same. In this case, navigation must be well structured.
• This involves linking to the existing Wiki Library. Here, the entire library is moved or copied to the EW site. This facilitates links to other pages and lists because they belong to the same site always.
• Old wiki pages can be migrated into new EW Pages. This implies copying the wiki page content within the “Page Content” field. This can be manually done but may take a long period of time.
• Migrating to Enterprise Wiki may indeed prove beneficial for your organization. The steps should be carefully followed and it should be properly done to ensure maximum success.

We provide custom sharepoint development services. In addition we can assist you in migration to and from Sharepoint. If you would like to speak to one of our certified sharepoint programmers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Top Reasons why you should choose SharePoint 2013

Over the last five years, SharePoint has been widely adopted across organizations. Certain major changes were ushered in by SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013 carried on with the trend through the introduction of some revolutionary features with respect to web content management, big data, search and workflow. Here are 10 top reasons why you should consider upgrading to SharePoint 2013.

1. SharePoint apps

The Apps for SharePoint are autonomous functional pieces that broaden the potential of a SharePoint website. JavaScript, HTML, CSS, as well as protocols like OAuth (Open Auth) and OData (Open Data) can be leveraged to communicate with SharePoint with the help of Apps. Since the app constitutes a safe isolated container, it is possible to go for client site calls through the use of JavaScript. One of the most noteworthy advantages of the app model is that there is a separate server for running of custom code. Hence the organization does not need to worry about potential performance problems that the custom apps may create.

2. Free Office Web apps that operate across mobile devices

In case of external as well as internal users, Office Web apps do not require any office client. The only thing is that internal users need to possess an Office 2013 license (pro or standard) so that they can edit documents. Extranet users can avail free Office web apps and moreover, they do not require CALs. Again, Office Web apps at present operate on mobile devices such as the iPad.

3. Enhanced workflow

When you upgrade to SharePoint 2013, it is possible to maintain the previous SharePoint 2010 engine. You can download and install a new add-on known as the Workflow Manager separately. This Workflow Manager is capable of running across its own server. Moreover, respective databases are there for the Service Bus and the manager itself. With SharePoint 2013, workflow creation has become extremely convenient, due to the presence of the Task Process Designer canvas. It makes use of a Visio 2013 add-in inside SharePoint Designer 2013.

4. SharePoint Search

For the 2013 version, Microsoft has come up with SharePoint Search wherein the FAST features are built in. This ensures scalable and powerful search for the users bringing in broader search capability, faster results and more functionality.

5. OData supporting Business Connectivity Services

SharePoint 2013 comes with BCS or Business Connectivity Services that facilitates connection and interfacing with data that is external to SharePoint, with the help of added OData Support. SharePoint was always able to come up with list data by being an OData provider, and now it can join with external sources with the help of OData.

6. Yammer integration

Every SharePoint release brings with it new enhancements and social features. Microsoft has already purchased Yammer last year and lately the Yammer integration roadmap has been released by the company. Ultimately Yammer integration is all set to entirely replace the SharePoint Newsfeed through 90-day updates.

7. Community Portal Template

SharePoint Server 2013 broadens the discussion list concept through the introduction of Community Site, a new site template. The unique feature is that users can have access to this site and also observe conversations, following which they can join a community for posting. Other noteworthy aspects of the site template include the following:

• Once you become a member, the community site can be automatically followed.
• Adjacent to all posts, member photos are revealed.
• To trigger participation, “gamification” options such as badges, points are there.
• Capability of topic based conversation categorizing.

8. Big data support

SharePoint 2013, with the help of integrated PowerPivot technology, facilitates support for larger data. Created over the Vertipaq engine, it is possible to compress and filter large data sets, making room for speedier operations.

9. Cross-Site publishing enabling enhanced publishing capabilities

SharePoint Server 2013 brings in cross-site publishing to ensure effective web content management. This in turn improves the authoring and publishing procedure of the company. With the help of cross-site publishing, storage and maintenance of content is possible for one or more sites. There is an authoring site collection wherein once the content is changed, the same gets reflected on other site collections where the content is being reused.

10. Enhanced design capabilities

SharePoint Server 2013 offers enhanced features for site design and content layout.

• Customization of the current and global navigation menus can be done by designers and site owners through direct drag and drop of menu items onto the page.
• Sites can now be branded utilizing external tools such as Dreamweaver.
• SharePoint Server 2013 renders support in order to target different devices like set-top boxes, tablets and Smartphones.

SharePoint 2013, with all its innovative features, is indeed a great choice for those looking for an outstanding content management and collaboration solution that enhances productivity. If you planning for a sharepoint site migration to the latest version, make sure you evaluate the development company based on their expertise in handling migration services.

We provide sharepoint application development services. If you would like to know more about the expertise of our expert sharepoint developers, please visit Mindfire Solutions.

10 Must-Know Things about SharePoint 2013 for All IT Pros

The release of SharePoint 2013 has been considered a great launch from Microsoft’s closet. It is derived from the earlier editions of SharePoint launched in 2007 and subsequently in 2010 to offer better support for mobile users, big data and public-centric websites. Let us probe into some crucial aspects of this latest release of Microsoft that all IT professionals need to know.

What’s so stunning about SharePoint 2013?

• Enhanced branding for better web presence: Gone are the days when lots of time had to be spent brooding over confusing designer assets, complicated style sheets and complex packages. The process has now become much more convenient. Presently, any web designer having adequate skills in CSS, HTML and JavaScript will be able to brand a public-facing as well as internal SharePoint site within a short span of time. This in turn leads to the reduction of expense for internal support. Moreover, the utilization of SharePoint as a platform for public-centric websites becomes much more cost-effective.

• Improved hosting for public-facing websites: Previously, it was indeed difficult to host a public-facing website over the SharePoint 2007 platform. The same site could be hosted on SharePoint 2010 with more convenience and with the brilliant capabilities of SharePoint 2013, the process evolved significantly. The latest release incorporates the ability to dish out pages for a variety of devices such as tablets, mobile phones and so on. The latest version of SharePoint also includes a large number of features with respect to search engine optimization, such as friendly URLs, XML based sitemaps, SEO setting by a variety of site collections as well as robots.txt support in order to delineate areas outside the boundary of search engine crawlers.

• Augmented business intelligence: SharePoint 2010 started off with a brilliant platform for big data reports and business intelligence and the capabilities witnessed considerable expansion with the release of SharePoint 2013. Now, SharePoint is equipped with the tools to provide enhanced business analytics and insights. The assimilation between Excel and SharePoint has also become tighter. Moreover the latest version also comes with a potent PowerPivot program which allows you to work with a plethora of columns and rows directly within the memory. Again, features like Dashboard Designer, Visio Services and PerformancePoint Services all function in unison to present a handsome picture of business metrics and health.

• End-user training: The latest version of SharePoint is equipped with an innovative feature that enables a particular group of site collections to operate under the 2010 version during installation of SharePoint 2013 code. In other words, the SharePoint 2010 code is being run within the 2013 version, which facilitates compatibility maintenance and testing with all applications and custom codes built over SharePoint.

• Enhanced mobile support: As SharePoint sites were being utilized in different categories of businesses, the issue of poor SharePoint performance in mobile devices was something that Microsoft had to cope with, so far as the earlier editions are concerned. Presently, we have the HTML5 coded view alternatively called the “contemporary” view which is tailor-made to ensure rapid access across BlackBerry, Android, iPads, iPhones and Windows Phone devices. New support is also available for push notifications, therefore the 2013 version can conveniently reach out as well as push any message into the device depending upon a number of factors.

• Machine translation services: This is one of the most innovative features of SharePoint 2013, which performs content translation automatically. In case an individual or entity requires content to be translated over and over again into several languages, then this Machine Translation Service is of immense help to the content creators.

• Simplified licensing: This facilitates the accessibility of features that were earlier allowed only after payment of extra license fees. An important feature, Fast Search, was available at additional price with the 2010 version but now it is assimilated within the 2013 edition and comes at no extra fee or license.

• Cloud readiness: The 2013 version of SharePoint is developed to make room for cloud services. It can operate totally in the cloud by means of Office 365 and constitutes all the major aspects of SharePoint on-premises.

A couple of concerns about SharePoint 2013

• Migration: It is a known fact that migration towards anything new has its own woes. When it comes to SharePoint 2013, you cannot adopt it unless you are already operating on the 2010 edition, until certain third-party tools are purchased.

• Distinct product editions: To maintain the cloud readiness, Microsoft has come up with two flavors of the product: SharePoint Server, that can be installed on own datacenter and premises and Office 365, which operates within the cloud (in Microsoft’s datacenters). This leads to a series of overlapping elements with respect to the capabilities and features, but Microsoft hopes to cater to all categories of client requirements.

Like every product that is launched into the market, SharePoint migration 2013 might bring with it a few worries. However, keeping in mind the striking and beneficial features of SharePoint 2013, the product indeed has a long way to go.

We provide sharepoint cms customization services. If you would like to know more about the expertise of our expert sharepoint developers, please visit Mindfire Solutions.