SharePoint End-User Adoption and Productivity List

SharePoint has undoubtedly emerged as one of the best web application development platforms that is being implemented by enterprises all over. Now, attempts are constantly being made to improve the user adoption and productivity of the SharePoint 2013. There are a number of tools, techniques and methods that are implemented for making SP more user- friendly as well as productive.

Enhancing the Level of User Adoption

Before looking into some tips on how the productivity can be increased, let us begin with a discussion of the different stages of user adoption as follows:

Collaboration of Documents
Document Collaboration is the very first and the most basic way of letting users adopt SP 2013 with higher level of effectiveness. With SharePoint, document sharing does not stay restricted to sending emails back and forth but extend much beyond that to include check in/out, alerts, versioning and so on. The integration with Office further paves the way for a direct opening of the files from the Office programs.

A Single Focal Point or Team Sites
It is always more comfortable for the users if they get the chance to reach a certain point where they are making regular use of this platform. While trying as well as exploring certain new things, users become friendly with the concept of team site. Calenders can be shared, tasks can be assigned while contact lists can be created for proper referencing. Connection among each other through Outlook makes SP more productive.

Coordinating Business Processes
When the users are able to keep in touch by virtue of the team sites, they engage in the task of automating business processes. Using the workflows is indeed an elaborate task with multiple processes that need to be taken care of. Now, irrespective of the numbers of processes or the complications involved in the same, it is always easy when the processes are automated.

Reporting with SharePoint 2013
For organizations that are pretty much advanced with regards to SP implementation, reporting is quite hassle-free. The application of the tools should be followed by an understanding of the placement of the data to ensure that the best-suited tools are used. As far as the end users are concerned, there are different products along with equally varying ways that can be presented. SharePoint is deployed as the primary means to presenting these reports. The level of user adoption is automatically higher with SP being used for both document collaboration as well as reporting.

Social Media Adoption
The good thing about Microsoft SharePoint 2013 is that the social features and functionality are available everywhere. Even today, few organizations are found considering the social part of SharePoint 2013 even after they have become rather experienced in SP use and knowledge. At the same time, there are organizations that implement social media as a significant part of their use of SP and they actually benefit from it. However, integration of the social media and SharePoint must take place following a carefully planned process.

Tips on Increasing Productivity
The successful deployment of SharePoint 2013 can be gauged from the increase in the overall productivity. There are certain strategies that can be adopted to ensure that the implementation of SP has a direct influence upon the productivity.

• The end-user requirements should be taken into consideration in designing an interface that maximizes productivity. The site aesthetics matter to a great extent. For instance, branding of the SP intranet implies that users should seriously consider it along with its use.
• Training is must to let users get the most out of an application. Awareness about the functional requirements as well as that of the not so professional or specialized areas goes a long way in increasing productivity.
• Performance happens to be more important than a lot of other things. Increased emphasis should be laid on improving the load time of the pages, accelerating the upload and download time of files and making sure that the servers work well enough to cater to high demand.

The above-mentioned list of stages and tips helps improving end-user adoption and productivity of SP 2013. And that is equally as important as optimizing the process of SharePoint application development.

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

Design Tips for SharePoint 2013 Apps on Tablets

The discussion on the tips for designing for the SharePoint 2013 Apps on tablets should essentially begin with the concept of minimal viable product. The idea is to enhance the user experience with Office 365 and Microsoft Office. Enterprises seem to be on the lookout for continuously updating the products to gain a strong competitive advantage and engaging in viable business in Office 365.

With the increase in the number of mobile devices and tablet users, it has become necessary for the SP 2013 apps to stay accessible as well as work effectively on these devices. Here is a list of tips on designing excellent SP apps for the tablets.

Always Go For Responsive Design
Whenever it comes to designing SP 2013 applications for tablets, a responsive design is a prerequisite. Now, for those working on a publishing site or planning to render it with a great look and feel, a responsive web design is must. Now, for those not using a custom master page as a basis for compatibility with other apps, a responsive design might not appear to be that suitable.

Maintain the Minimum Possible Width
Although the base resolutions vary depending on the landscape mode, majority of them have a width of 980 pixels. While the meta tags, JavaScript and CSS allow for control over the zoom behaviors and view port to a significant extent, it is always better to ensure that the columns in the tabular layout look impressive. This would also keep the initial investment to be made by the enterprise pretty low.

Make Efficient Use of CSS
The detailed pages for the varying entities in the form of matters and clients comprise a table at the top along with a set of tabs at the bottom, displaying related data. It is the entity as well as the data that work together in determining the number of columns in the header. On the other hand, for the clients, the columns denoting the phone numbers, address and notes are hidden especially, in cases where there is no data.

Now, these tables pose challenge because of the fact that both the width of the browser as well as the one that is required to display particular data within the table vary. The solution lies in using the base of 980 pixels, which renders a lower bound. Also, with a vertical alignment at the top, padding is explicit while word-break is natural.

Derive Benefits Out of the 'Focus on Content' Button
The 'Focus on Content' button appears at the upper right hand corner of the page. This is quite a beneficial feature and using it optimally can actually lead to an effective designing of SP 2013 applications for tabs.

Not Putting any Options in the Quick Launch Section
The pre-dominant belief is that while using a tablet, focus should always be laid on the content. However, it is better not to put any important option in the 'Quick Launch' section for this section can not be viewed by the tablet users and hence, the app will be of little significance for them.

Avoid Adopting the Minimal Download Strategy
The minimal download strategy is fine for those in any app web. However, this feature calls for some serious compatibility issues in certain browsers. The minimal download strategy can be disabled using the CSOM.

Prefer a Dynamic Sizing of Dialogs
While much of the discussions so far have been done with, height is also a matter of concern when it comes to using a dialog framework. It is always essential to go for dynamic alignment and setting the options depending on the natural height of the page.

With the above-mentioned tips and strategies, one can certainly develop suitable SharePoint 2013 apps for tablets. And while looking for SharePoint services India, make sure you are reaching out to companies who have solid credentials and have proven expertise in application development in SharePoint and have equally strong domain expertise as well.

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

Will Computing take over the main tasks of Physicians?

Is it possible to automate a doctor-patient interaction with machines and algorithms handling 80% of the work? It might sound a bit outlandish but a reputed Silicon Valley investor feels it is quite a possibility. The person feels that general checkups can easily be handled by computer algorithms as well as an average physician. They may also have a lot of utility in recommending people for a physical visit to a doctor (when there is an actual need) after analyzing vital inputs shared by them and in the process save effort, time and money. Suggestions from these systems would also be based on history of illness, test results, symptoms etc. just like actual physicians would do.

Not many leaders from this field quite agree with this thought though. The argument broadly put across by them is in the lines of replacing human beings with robots. What a computer can replicate is the analytical and logical thinking which a physician would put in while treating a patient. However, it will fall short when qualities like creativity, experience and most importantly empathy comes into play. All these are adequately used by physicians when they arrive at conclusions related to a certain course of action for treatment. Also, another valid point to be taken into account is that each patient is different from the other; not necessarily reflected in terms of readings from tests, medical devices measuring vitals etc. This has led to the second school of thought by another bunch of healthcare leaders who take the middle path. According to them, the current state of affairs requires technology to permeate more into the healthcare domain but not so much so as to reduce the importance of physicians for making decisions. Ultimately physicians should have a role to play in validating technological inputs.

If the focus were to be shifted to the positives that technology has to offer, the list will be a long one. In fact, all the push from the Federal government for Health IT implementation under Obamacare is result of it. At an elementary level, technology in healthcare has led to marked improvement in provider adherence to clinical guidelines. At a more complex level, it has led to the process of “hot spotting”. This results in identifying problems in patients and making required interventions before a flare up happens; thereby saving high treatment cost and lives. Use of mobile devices like smartphones, tablets and other devices is also transforming the way healthcare delivery is taking place.

If we take a long-term perspective of the industry, within a few years from now there will be humungous amount of electronic healthcare related data created. Efforts are now being directed towards preventative care, population health, implementation of health insurance exchanges and a general shift from quantitative to qualitative healthcare. However, reaching a stage where disparate systems start talking to each other and are able exchange data will not be enough. There will be a need to have systems in place to mine the data available and come up with solutions to assist physicians in decision making – from suggesting the best treatment methods to other areas of decision making .These will become all the more relevant to the new healthcare delivery models e.g. ACOs which are emerging.

Thus, technology is proving to be very important in helping doctors to provide quality care. But expecting it to delivering the care outright would be a long shot. Also, the industry as a whole will improve only if the people at the core of the business i.e. the physicians are motivated to make a difference. Research done in this field has indicated that Physicians like to be given a certain level of autonomy in structuring their clinical activities and high control over the pace and content of patient care. The recent changes in terms of the compliance rules and regulations seems to be taking a toll on them as it indirectly reduces the time they get to spend with their patients . This problem is expected to be resolved over time as their familiarity with using new info systems and workflows gets better.

Leveraging newer technologies and building applications and systems which help make the tasks easier for physicians is the need of the hour and fortunately is on the rise as well. Healthcare software developers with solid domain expertise and strong technical know-how are making this a reality.

We provide medical software development services. That includes software development and independent software testing. So if you are looking at hiring certified software development experts for building healthcare applications, please feel free to speak to one of our developers or healthcare software testers at Mindfire Solutions and you will be glad you did.

5 Reasons Every Retailer Should Have a Mobile App

Mobile devices have become an integral part of the lifestyle and habits of modern people. Along with gathering information on various topics, most users also use their mobile devices to carry out a variety of transactions on the go. The growing popularity of mobile devices is also affecting the way traditional way of promoting and marketing products and services. The results of several surveys have highlighted how an increasing number of users are buying products or services using their mobile devices. Along with promoting products by targeting the most relevant customers, the app will further made it easier for a retailer to enable customers purchase the products in a quick and hassle-free way. So a retailer can always consider investing in retail app development to avail several benefits.

Why Mobile Applications have become Essential for Each Retailer?

1) Meet the Latest Trends in Shopping
The busy lifestyles of modern people do not allow them to visit several shops. So most people, nowadays, use their smartphones or tablets to gather information about a specific product, service or store. Similarly, people also love to purchase products or services by downloading the mobile apps launched by different retailers. According to Compete.com, “Almost half of people who own smartphones are becoming mobile shoppers. People don’t just shop on their phones because of the convenience of mobility; one of the survey results indicated that 74% of shoppers do mobile shopping at home. Around 30% of them do mobile shopping at work.” So a retailer can always meet the latest trends in user choice by launching a customized mobile app.

2) Promote Your Brand
Each retailer finds it a daunting challenge to make customers consistently aware of his brand. Some stores even spend extra funds to attract and engage customers. The retail mobile app enables a retailer to remind customers about his brand without putting any extra efforts and money. As the retail application will remain on their handheld devices, it will consistently remind users about the brand. Further, the app can be used as a medium to seduce customers by conveying additional product information. The app can further make it easier for the user to buy the product by displaying the retail outlet locations according to his address. At the same time, a retailer can use push notifications to remind customers about new products or services.

3) Share Information through Customers
Most people stay connected with their friends, family and coworkers through social media. It is also a common practice among modern customers to share information about their shopping. Along with sharing information about the products purchased by them, the users also share their shopping experience. So the mobile app can be used by the retailer as a medium to encourage customers to share his products. The customers can further post product reviews and ratings to make it easier for their friends to pick the right product and store. Also, the app can fetch information from popular review websites to help customers in making the right decision.

4) Carry out Digital Marketing Campaigns
Each store has to make and implement a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to promote its products by targeting the most relevant customers. Many retailers even customize their online promotional campaigns to target specific segment of customers. The retail mobile app will contribute towards optimizing digital marketing results. Along with sending catalogues and flyer to customers, the app will further enable retailers to attract them by offering promotional deals and coupons. Also, the digital marketing campaign can be carried out at a rapid pace by targeting the relevant customers.

5) Easy to Make Retail Mobile Applications
With more and more programmers switching to mobile application development, it has become easier for a store to build and launch its own app. A number of frameworks have further made it easier to build retail mobile applications using technologies like JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS. Further, the apps can be again customized to work seamlessly on major mobile platforms like iOS, Android and Windows. The apps can also be designed as a product catalog or shopping cart by integrating a set of simple features. Despite being simple and easy-to-use, a retail app can still impress users by conveying important information like products and prices.

The rapidly growing popularity of mobile shopping has encouraged many retailers to launch mobile applications. According to some reports, over 80% of the top retailers have already launched customized mobile apps. So a store can consider launching its own app to beat competition. At the same time, it can leave it competitors behind investing in retail mobile app development. Certified app developers from a top mobile app development company can help you build innovative apps for your retail business. Are you already thinking of an idea to implement via a mobile app? Look no further. Try us.

We provide mobile app development services. If you would like to speak to one of our expert mobile app developers, please reach out to us at Mindfire Solutions.

The Importance of SharePoint Software Development in the Marketing Technology Today

Microsoft launched SharePoint in 2001 as a rapid web application development platform. But within a decade, it is being used by enterprises for various purposes. Many companies even use SharePoint to manage their content, documents and records. A number of survey results have further highlighted that the platform is being used widely by companies across the world to build intranet. The innovative features offered by SharePoint 2013 also make it easier for businesses to constantly collaborate and communicate with both external parties and internal departments.

The quick and hassle-free sharing of documents, images and content further helps the marketing teams in boosting sales, and beating competition. At the same time, an enterprise also has option to build a customized SharePoint intranet site to enable members of its sales teams to access the latest information, images and videos on the go. If you are yet to migrate to SharePoint 2013, it is time to understand the significance of the platform in latest marketing technologies.

Why Invest in SharePoint Intranet Solution for Your Marketing Team?

Hassle-Free Communication and Collaboration
The SharePoint intranet will allow you business to store marketing brochures and similar collateral in a PDF or Microsoft Word format. The data can further be tagged and classified according to your marketing strategy. So the members of your marketing team can access the most updated and relevant data without putting any extra time and effort. You can further use the versioning feature for documents to ensure that your employees are accessing the most updated version of marketing collaboration. The quick and hassle-free collaboration will contribute towards optimizing the performance of your sales team.

Better Control over Marketing Images
Most marketing campaigns, nowadays, use images to attract and engage the prospects. But each member of the sales team must know the approved marketing images. As SharePoint allows you to store the images at a centralized location, the library can be accessed by each employee, along with acting as an archive for old marketing images. The accessibility with further help you marketing department to exercise a greater control over the images that will be used as part of the ongoing marketing campaign.

Easy to Share New Marketing Videos
Similar to images, videos are also an integral part of marketing campaigns. Some of the video clips can be used to promote products or services offered by the company, whereas others will convey important information to the employees. SharePoint allows you to add new marketing videos by using the Media Web Part feature. You can simply post the latest video on the home page of the intranet, and the video clip will be accessible to all employees in an instant. The feature can also be used to display both audio and video clips on the various pages of the site.

Find Required Information Quickly
Microsoft has further designed the latest version of SharePoint with an advanced search center. The feature enables users to find the most relevant information on a topic in a simpler and faster way. The search results will be displayed according to the relevance of words in the search term entered by the user. Further, the search center is designed with a refinement pant that allows users to restrict the search results by choosing from the links appearing in the panel. At the same time, SharePoint further enables enterprises to promote the expected results through features like Keywords and Best Bets. These features will help you in allowing sales team members to access the most relevant information according to their individual contribution and expertise.

SharePoint 2013 also comes with a set of innovative features that enable the members of a distributed sales team to stay connected with each other. The members of your marketing team can use the instant messaging and online chat option to find the members of their group who are currently online. So they can discuss various aspects of a sales deal in an instant.

Custom SharePoint development teams can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

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

Top Test Automation Frameworks

With software development becoming more complex and competitive, it has become essential for enterprises to explore options to optimize the application’s performance, quality and reliability. Each developed software application also needs to be tested thoroughly to assess its quality. As software testing requires both time and resources, many enterprises opt for test automation frameworks. Along with speeding up the software testing process, the frameworks are further effective in identifying all bugs, flaws and problems in a developed software. Each business also has option to pick from a wide variety of test automation frameworks. However, one can always consider using some of the testing frameworks that are used widely by software testing professionals across the world.

5 Widely Used Software Automation Frameworks

1) Selenium
Selenium is hugely popular among web application developer to automate web browsers. Along with checking how the internet application works on different web browsers, the developers also use the framework to automate a set on web-based administration tasks. The huge popularity of Selenium has further encouraged many companies to integrate as a native part of their browsers. Based on the requirements of the web development project, a company can choose the Selenium IDE, Selenium WebDriver or Selenium Remote Control. Both Selenium WebDriver and Remote Control are also designed with Selenium Server integration.

2) Watir
As an open source member of Ruby libraries family, Watir supports each application regardless of the technology used for its development. IT supports only the Internet Explorer on Windows. But the testers can use the Watir-WebDriver to test the performance of the web application across major browsers including Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Opera. The framework further makes it easier for testing professionals to emulate the exact user behavior by pressing buttons, clicking on links, and filling in forms. At the same time, it also allows testers to check the test results as these will be displayed to end-users.

3) Windmill
As an innovative web application testing tool, Windmill enables testing professionals to automate and debug the applications without putting much time and effort. It is also be best choice for testing the websites designed with huge AJAX and JavaScript functionality due to its effectiveness in facilitating communication between the client-side code and the services. The framework allows testers to check the quality of a web application by using a set of tools like cross-browser test recorder, interactive service shell, JavaScript test integration, and malleable proxy API. Also, the testers can use the Windmill Controller to observe the performance of a website by choosing different options.

4) Squish
Squish is used widely used by enterprises to carry out functional GUI regression tests. The framework launched by FrogLogic can also be used as a powerful tool for GUI test automation across different platforms and technologies. As the GUI testing required both time and resources, many enterprises use Squish to optimize the quality of their applications within a stipulated timeframe. Along with desktop and web application the framework is also used widely for testing mobile and embedded applications. Along with automatic test script recording, and option to run the scripts in batches, the testing automation framework further makes it easier for testers to create, maintain and execute legible test scripts.

5) NUnit
As a unit testing framework, NUnit is hugely popular among Microsoft .NET developers and testers. The xUnit based unit testing tool is also written fully in C#. So it is effective in taking advantages of a number of .NET language features. The professionals also have option to avail advantages of xUnit for several .NET languages. The framework is also being redesigned at regular intervals to take advantages of the innovative and extended .NET language features.

A business can avail several advantages by using a test automation framework. But it is also important to evaluate various frameworks according to a number of factors and specific requirements of the project. You can hire software testers from top automation testing companies India who can help you accomplish testing with the automation testing tools within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We are one of the reputed automation testing companies in India. If you would like to speak to our certified automation testers or would like to know more about the work we have done, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Tips to build PHP applications on Windows

Within a very short span of time PHP has emerged as a popular web programming language. According to many reports, over 20 millions websites and web applications use this open source programming language. The rapidly growing popularity of the web development language also compels many programmers to switch to PHP development. The programmers familiar with widely used Microsoft products like Visual Studio and SQL Server often find it a daunting challenge to migrate to PHP development. However, these developers have several options to set up PHP development environment on their PCs. The right environment will further make it easier for programmers to build robust web application by using an IDE and PHP interpreter.

Tips to Rapidly Built PHP Applications on Windows

Compare Different Options

You have a number of options to avail PHP for windows. But it is always important to determine the version of PHP you want to use before choosing an option. The simplest way is to download and install software applications like the PHP Binary Interpreter and NetBeans 7.2.1 IDE. Also, you can consider using an .MSI installer, if you are planning to use versions older than PHP 5.3.0. Also, you need to understand the exact steps to configure the environment by extracting content of from these ZIP files.

Use the Built-in Web Server

The PHP 5.4+ comes with a built-in web server. The web server comes with features to facilitate local development without requiring any specific configuration. Also, you can consider using a set of customized development tools like Zend Server, Microsoft Web Platform Installer, WAMP and XAMPP. These tools will enable you to set up and run the Windows development framework in a quick and hassle-free way. The tools will further allow you to avail the advantages of a web server along with MySQL. However, it is also important understand the key differences between using these tools on Windows and Linux.

Avail the Advantages of IIS7

You can even consider developing the Windows development environment by availing the features of IIS7. These features will further contribute towards optimizing the stability and performance of the production system on Windows. IIS7 is also designed with a GUI plug-in called phpmanager that can be used to configure and manage the application development environment in a much simpler manner. At the same time, you can also use the built-in FastCGI features to configure PHP as a handler. Microsoft has further enabled developers to access additional resources and tutorials.

Know the Bugs while Running the Application

Often developers have to deploy a PHP application, developed on Windows, on non-Windows platforms like Linux. The change in running environment will results in creation on strange bugs. Therefore, you must note the changes in the versions of PHP and operating systems. Also, you can consider using a virtual machine to handle the differences between deployment platforms. There are also several software applications that make it easier for you to setup a virtual environment by following a set of simple steps. For instance, Vagrant allows you to create a virtual environment to run the PHP application by following few steps. Similarly, you can use the provisioning software provided by Puppet or chef to set up and customize the virtual machine manually according to the needs of your project.

When you plan to develop PHP applications on Windows, it becomes essential to understand how to set up the development environment properly. You may also have to put some amount of time and effort to create the right environment. But you can start developing the PHP application in no time after setting up the environment on Windows by using customized tools.

You can hire php programmers from top companies in India who can help you build products within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide php application development services. If you would like to discuss with an expert php developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Why Use Newest Technologies in Mobile Apps Development

With more and more people switching to smartphones, mobile app development has become one of the fastest growing businesses. But with every other enterprise launching its own app, the mobile application development has also become much more complex and competitive. Also, it has become essential for a business to consider several factors to make the application popular. It is also important for an enterprise to beat competition by optimizing the aesthetic appeal and performance of the mobile app by using the latest and advanced technologies. On the whole, each company must make and implement a comprehensive strategy to build, promote and market the mobile application. However, the strategy also needs to concentrate on using the newest technologies to meet the latest trends in user choice and mobile app development.

Significance of Newest Technologies in Mobile App Development

Deliver Improved Contextual Experience
Most people use their smartphones to gather information on a particular topic. Each user also wants to access the latest and most relevant information on the topic. So an app must be effective in optimizing user’s contextual experience. Along with the user’s personal decisions, actions and emotions, the contextual experience also depends on his current location and environmental conditions. Therefore, the app needs to aggregate a wide variety of information gathered from many sources. The latest technologies have made it easier for developers to optimize contextual experience of users by gathering and aggregating the required information through their handheld devices.

Take Advantage of Smartphone’s Innovative Features
The huge popularity of smartphones has encouraged many enterprises to launch new mobile devices at regular intervals. Each new version of a smartphone also comes with a set of innovative and extended features. Most users also want to download apps that enable them to use these fresh features. For instance, the app can be popular when it allows users to avail some of the built-in features provided by their smartphones like camera, GPS tracker, maps and Cloud storage. The newest technologies help developers in optimize the performance of the application by incorporating features according to the facilities provided by the mobile device.

Meet the Upcoming Trends
Nowadays, a user has options to choose from a large collection of apps available under a specific category. Also, the choices and habits of users change on a constant basis. For instance, a number of recent reports have highlighted that users are opting for apps developed with voice input options. The Apple Siri, Google Now and Cloud computing have further enabled users to use their mobile devices in a completely distinct way. So the development strategy must consider the current and upcoming trends in user choice to launch a popular mobile app. The latest technologies enable developers to build application by targeting the latest trends in both user choice and mobile technologies.

Develop Cross-Platform Mobile Apps
An enterprise can always get higher ROI by launching the same app for different mobile platforms. By launching a cross-platform app, the company can target more users, while availing the distinct features provided by each mobile operating system. The conventional technologies are not effective in developing different versions of the same app by targeting different mobile platforms. But the latest technologies and mobile app development frameworks have made it easier for developers to build a cross-platform interface without putting any extra time and effort. Some frameworks even enable developers to build mobile application by using widely used web technologies like HTML, JavaScript and XML. A business can always adopt the newest technologies to launch an app by targeting more users regardless of their choice of mobile devices and operating systems.

An enterprise also has several options to build mobile applications by using the newest technologies. Many companies even outsource mobile app development project to avail the latest technologies without putting any extra time and effort. However, a business must invest in the latest technologies to get higher returns on its investment over a longer period of time.

You can hire developers from top mobile apps development companies in India who can help you build mobile apps within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide mobile app development services. If you would have a need for mobile app development or would like to speak to one of our top mobile app developers, please reach out to us at Mindfire Solutions.

SharePoint 2013 Development: Solutions vs. Apps

Microsoft launches each new version of SharePoint 2013 with innovative features and broader capabilities. The latest version of SharePoint comes with a set of advanced features that enable developers to build apps with additional features and functionality. Microsoft also recommends all developers to build SharePoint Apps. However, the enterprises still have option to build conventional SharePoint solutions. So it becomes important for enterprises to decide the pros and cons of both SharePoint apps and solutions. At the same time, they also need to understand some of the key differences between these two to take the right decision.

SharePoint 2013 Development: Solutions vs. Apps

Execution of Code: The SharePoint apps run completely outside the SharePoint server. Further, the custom code is executed on a non-SharePoint server or the client browser. However, a business has options to pick from three types of apps, i.e., SharePoint-hosted, provider-hosted and auto-hosted. The SharePoint –hosted apps can run within the framework without any external dependencies. But the provider-hosted apps are designed with a single or multiple SharePoint components. Similar to the provider-hosted apps, the auto-hosted apps are also designed with external business logic and data storage. When these apps package is installed, a user can avail both website and database.

Enhanced Stability and Capability: As the apps run outside SharePoint server, these are effective in providing enhanced stability, performance and compatibility. A business can easily switch to a more advanced version of SharePoint as the apps are testing platform independent. At the same time, the apps can communicate with SharePoint through CSOM, ODATA and REST API. Microsoft has optimized these features to enable developers to build custom SharePoint apps without using the server-side API.

Easy to Deploy and Reuse: Microsoft has further made it easier and simpler for developers to install and upgrade the SharePoint apps. The simple configuration will further encourage many developers to switch to Sharepoint application development. At the same time, the apps can also be reused, packaged and marketed through a Public Marketplace or Corporate. The options make it easier for end-users to buy apps that can run on-premise and cloud environments, while complementing their specific needs.

Support for Server-Side Code: Unlike SharePoint solutions, the apps do not support server-side code. So the programmers have to build a solution to implement a new functionality by writing server-side code. Further, the code cannot be stored on the SharePoint farm as part of the app. The server-side code needs to be hosted on premises or in the cloud. On the other hand, the SharePoint app enables enterprises to promote a custom functionality by targeting relevant users. That is why; the solutions will be still used as part of robust SharePoint apps.

Custom Functionality: SharePoint allows enterprises to manage a variety of documents and content store on their intranet and on the web. The customized SharePoint solutions are used widely by businesses to manage their online and offline content. But Microsoft recommends enterprises to build apps to create a custom functionality as a sandboxed solution in SharePoint 2010. Further, the apps can also be used in SharePoint Online. On the other hand, the SharePoint solutions will be effective only in local and on-premise environments.

Adding User-Centric Functionality to SharePoint: In comparison to SharePoint solutions, the apps are more effective in adding user-centric functionality to SharePoint. The apps can also be used as a medium to implement functionalities according to the specific needs of an enterprise. These custom-functionalities further extend the internal functionality like Event Handler or Timer Job of SharePoint solutions. Also, the apps are effective in creating custom-functionality to make SharePoint more user-friendly.

As a business has option to choose from SharePoint apps and solutions, it is always important to do a cost-benefit analysis. A company can further determine its exact needs before comparing these two options. However, an enterprise can always switch to SharePoint apps to avail a number of advantages, while meeting the latest trends technology.

We provide SharePoint site migration and SharePoint deployment planning services. If you would like to speak to our 100% SharePoint certified team, please get in touch with us at 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.

SharePoint 2013 Best Practices: Setting Up a Dev Environment - One Piece!

In order to establish a development environment for SharePoint 2013, you must begin with determining what kind of environment is required. The first step is to understand what you want to develop. You might look forward to building solutions which exclusively make use of the server-side object model. Creation and publication of apps for SharePoint can also be done, and in that case you need to opt for an Office 365 developer site. In case you want to build apps for SP catering to a corporate catalog like apps having complete control permissions, you have to consider SP 2013 full set up on a local computer as well as configuration of that set up for application isolation.

Installation of app OS for SP development environment

With respect to development environment for SharePoint app installation, the requirements are less costly and stringent compared to those for a production environment. Irrespective of the development environment, it is essential to use a computer having an x64-capable CPU, along with minimum RAM of 16 GB for installation and running of SharePoint 2013. It is preferable to make use of 24 GB of RAM.

Considering your specific budget and requirements, any one of the below-given options may be chosen:

• Installation of SharePoint 2013 on 2012 Windows Server or 2008 Windows Server R2 Service Pack 1 x64.
• Utilize Microsoft Hyper-V and go for setting up of SharePoint 2013 on a virtual machine that is running R2 Service Pack 1 x64 2008 Windows Server or guest operating system for 2012 Windows Server.

Installation of the app building prerequisites for the OS and SP 2013
To get Sharepoint application development right using SharePoint 2013, your operating system needs to have particular pre-requisites installed prior to the beginning of the installation. Owing to this, SP 2013 incorporates a PrerequisiteInstaller.exe tool which helps in the installation of all the pre-requisites. This tool should be done before execution of the Setup.exe tool. The following is the series of steps:

1. The PrerequisiteInstaller.exe tool is run.

2. The Setup.exe tool, that comes with the installation files, is executed.

3. Then the license terms for Microsoft Software should be accepted.

4. Once you go to the “Choose the Installation” page go for Stand-alone.

5. In case there are any errors during the installation process, the log file needs to be reviewed. For locating the log file, the first step is to open a Command Prompt window, followed by typing the requisite commands. Once you are done with the installation, you will be able to see a link to the log file.

6. When the installation is done, you will be prompted to begin the configuration wizard for SP Products and Technologies.

7. Once the configuration wizard is over, the Template Selection page pertaining to the new SP 2013 site is visible.

Installation of Visual Studio 2012 along with tools
When you go for installation of Visual Studio 2012 as well as the Office Developer Tools for the same, you obtain every tool and template required for development of SharePoint 2013 across your local development machine.

After you have completed installation of Visual Studio 2012, Office Developer Tools with respect to Visual Studio 2012 along with the SP Client Components need to be downloaded as well as installed. The client components and tools can be installed by opening the Apps download page for Office and SP Developer Center, thereby selecting the link pertaining to the web-based platform installer which installs the assemblies and tools required for development of SP apps. The specific version of the assemblies and tools is suitable for a SP hosted, autohosted or provider-hosted app for SharePoint. The assemblies can be used within the client components for development of a web application or a client application that connects to SharePoint, and is running or hosted over an x86-bit platform. In case your target is a web application of x64-bit then the x64-bit versions of the requisite assemblies have to be installed separately.

We provide SharePoint site migration and SharePoint deployment planning services. If you would like to speak to our 100% SharePoint certified team, 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.

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

5 ways to spruce up SharePoint 2013 for your intranet CMS

One of the biggest drawbacks that affect content management is the lack of proper search plug-ins. In the current scenario, businesses do not have adequate amount of time for tracking down different files. SharePoint comes to rescue in such a situation.

SharePoint intranet comes with convenient document libraries, enabling every business to categorize information in the way they want. In fact, you can have all your content easily accessible by means of different libraries within a hosted portal- a library for media, one for finance, report, sales, marketing and so on. The inconvenience of lost data will never be experienced. The intranet also comprises the latest antiviral software for ensuring preservation of online infrastructure.

As a business owner or team member, SP allows you to open up documents through the web, and also to synchronize work via document collaboration. In short, SharePoint provides a collaborative, hosted solution for content management through the intranet. Investing in SharePoint development for org-wide collaboration always pays rich dividends. Let us discuss 5 trending ways which will help you to spruce up SharePoint 2013 for your intranet CMS.

1. Creation of an intranet newsfeed with SP 2013
With the help of an intranet newsfeed, users are able to publicly and rapidly communicate with each other by sharing ideas, posting updates, asking questions along with other activities. So far as the management is concerned, it is a great means for engaging with employees personally, directly and openly. Moreover, the SharePoint newsfeed renders a micro-blogging experience similar to that derived from social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Users are able to post comments, direct particular users with the help of @targeting as well as tag the same to a particular topic utilizing #tags. Comments or users can be liked or followed.

2. Showcasing intranet blogs with SP 2013
Intranet blogs are a brilliant way to discuss on relevant topics providing authors with the capability of communicating a message as well as starting conversation and collecting feedback. Readers can have their opinions heard and addressed. Authoring and publishing tools are offered by the SharePoint blog site to authors, in the same manner as they would expect from a consumer CMS. The features include the ability of video embedding from sources such as YouTube, rich text editing, capability of content publishing directly from MS Word. It is possible to like, rate, follow or share blog posts.

3. Using SharePoint 2013 for creation of intranet survey
With the help of intranet surveys, creators are able to speedily crowd source precious information from a huge employee pool. As participants, employees can get an easy means for bottom-up feedback and hence become more engaged. The SharePoint survey app offers a template to easily as well as quickly build surveys with diverse question types (multiple choice, text fields, rating scales). On completion of the surveys, results are represented graphically with the facility of exporting to Excel. The promoted links app of SharePoint builds metro-style tiles along with a hover-over state in order to make room for additional text information. The advantage is that tiles offer increasing visual engagement as against a standard list, following the SP site's theme.

4. Leveraging SP 2013 for surfacing intranet KPIs
With regular and convenient access to KPIs, employees can adjust their activities to accommodate the changing business demands. Enhanced visibility of performance metrics at an organizational level helps in greater employee collaboration. With the help of the Excel Web Access Web Part, data can be displayed from an Excel spreadsheet straightaway onto a SharePoint page. Granular control can be maintained by the author over the data that can be displayed from the spreadsheet and accessed. Once it surfaces on the SP page, the data can be made user-interactive.

5. Using SharePoint 2013 for creation of an intranet discussion list
Through intranet discussion lists, users can discuss specific topics with subject matter experts and their peers. It can be used for diverse purposes helping employees draw the benefits of a wide organizational network of resources and knowledge. Forum-style collaboration areas can be created with the help of SP Community Site Features. Using the discussion list, users can start discussions or ask questions. Moreover, categorization of the content can be done.

For creating an engaging and dynamic intranet CMS, SharePoint 2013 is loaded with all the requisite functionality. Great outcomes can be enjoyed by those who comprehend the changing intranet demands and leverage this new functionality.

We provide SharePoint application development services. If you would like to discuss with an expert SharePoint developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

How To Control App Token Lifetimes in SharePoint 2013?

SharePoint has emerged to be one of the most beneficial web application development platforms these days. The newer versions of this platform have turned out to be of immense use for the business enterprises as, they assist in the successful accomplishment of several tasks and necessitate much less time and efforts. Now, developers are trying out more innovative ways of exploiting SharePoint so as to derive the maximum advantages out of this already useful platform. Controlling the app token lifetimes in SP 2013 is one area of concern that is emphasized upon to a significant extent.

The first question that arises in this regard is where one can control the app token lifetimes. However, when considered on a broader platform, it will be seen that the place of control is actually not so significant and that a highly advanced app like TokenHelper can be of substantial help. There are around one or two JWT tokens that are created if one goes by the IssueToken method. It is usually one when the app only token is being used and two tokens for the application and the current user. However, in both the events, the JsonWebSecurityToken is created and the parameter that is used to create the same determines as to how long it is valid.

It is for the app token that the TokenHelper makes use of a constant, which is known as TokenLifeTimeMinutes. By default, this constant has a value of 1,000,000, which leaves no scope of worrying except in cases where one wants to limit it. Now, for the user token, the constant is hard- coded by default for making use of a lifetime of 10 minutes. The values can be found as well as changed into whatever you want just with a little drilling into the IssueToken method.

With a deeper look into the code, it can be seen that the TokenHelper incorporates a delegate that is invoked in what is known as the GetClientContextWithAccessToken method. This method plays the important role in adding a bearer token to any particular request that comes into the SharePoint from the particular app of the user.

Now, if the user sets a breakpoint on that specific line of code and eventually step through the request from the app, none of the token 'setup' functions creating the ClientContext will be resulting in an HTTP call. At this point, the ExecuteQuery method has to be called on the ClientContext object. The request goes over the wire, the delegate fires and finally, the token is added to the request. While one can cache the access token obtained in the high trust app, there may not always be a justified reason behind doing so.

On the other hand, caching the app tokens is beneficial only at the time of using the relatively low trust apps. When such is the case, one has to save one or more trips to ACS for the purpose of accessing token at the time of caching them. In events where there are multiple users or several requests, the process helps. The only thing that one needs to be aware of in this regard is the right ways of caching the tokens for the low trust apps.

This is just a brief overview of the overall process of controlling application lifetimes in SharePoint 2013 along with a discussion about the use and benefits of the high trust as well as the low trust apps. However, it is a task that needs to be taken up by only the experts and pros in the field, who are aware of the processes and can therefore, adept in handling the same to produce faster results in less time.

You can hire developers from top SharePoint development companies in India who can help you build products within allocated budgets and time schedules.

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

The Problem with Leveraging SharePoint Records Management Services in Office365

The big question is, considering Office 365, where is Records Management fitting in? The old news is that SharePoint 2010 RM is not registering good performance within the e-discovery space. However, this is not considered a hindrance by most organizations.

It is a fact that IT is capable of pulling the objects which are essential to cater to the counsels’ expectations with respect to its own SOP or standard operating procedure, which generally incorporates a third party software. E-discovery has been performed by information technology more regularly and far longer than implementation of electronic retention by RM.

Automation is great
SharePoint 2010 RM services are capable of beautifully automating records declaration. They can be deployed successfully through mapping the records retention schedule across SharePoint 2010 RM.

The content types pertaining to the series can be holistically leveraged across site collections, followed by attachment of information policies. Then the indexing services to be run at particular intervals are recalculated.

The future hazards
Off-the-shelf SharePoint 2010 RM services are being trusted by corporate records programs. In an age where Records programs are entirely suspended or drastically squeezed, this is a quite inexpensive option for automated records declaration.

Since Office 365 lacks a related Records Center template, it is possible for the program to be vulnerable. The absence of automation can damage the program’s reputation. In case automated records declaration is leveraged in SharePoint also, the same might as well be in trouble.

What are the choices?
The necessities of the information architecture going beyond records policy amount to a textbook dilemma. Considering the case of information professionals, the design choice comes up with potentially long-term as well as negative connotations. In case an organization has automated records declaration through SP 2010 and its department of Information Technology is looking forward to embrace cloud services, it is a difficult choice. Deconstruction can be followed by manual records declaration implementation or the services of third party experts might be sought for devising something new.

Perhaps the best option in doing nothing in this particular case. First, something or the other will ultimately break. Secondly, this is a department that thinks forwardly and hence it cannot be visualized as restricting to one particular solution due to the lack of options. Thirdly, the employee turnover happens to be so high that the future administrator tends to lose all context pertaining to the architecture. Fourthly, retention schedules are subject to change and so unraveling of the Center for reconstruction in accordance with the new schedule is an enormous concern.

Manual records retention can also be considered as an option. However, it is an inferior one:

• In-Place RM exists till today within Office 365, although it has been reduced to a mere status symbol. A one or a zero, which implies that either the record exists or it does not. In fact, the option for management of the same from the back-end is not available with the Administrator. The good news is that interaction with the end users is possible. On the other hand, the bad news is that until and unless the C-level stresses on and communicates its requirement, end users would definitely have to time for annual review. Destruction does not take place.
• For devising out-of-the-box manual RM services within Office 365, the best way is the creation of a Records sub-site for each site collection. In every ways, the same folders should be used as are planned for the SP 2010 Records Center. The content types may be bypassed entirely and the same information policies may be used directly behind every folder.

Those objects which are required to be declared as records can be copied from the major site collection pages to the Records sub-site’s suitable folder. Since it is the case of a copy (wherein move is not available), the metadata changes should be noted and the peer should return to the original object for deleting it.

For initiation of a solution, the help of a third party may always be solicited. On one hand, it is being demonstrated that you need a compromise. Migration to the cloud cannot be hindered. On the other hand, you wish to make use of your cordial partnership with IT very meticulously at this point. Since Records is your project, it should not go to the backseat, being assigned with cleaning up legacy data.

On the positive side
In case you are going for RM in Office 365, the positive point is that it is convenient to edit retention periods. As discussions are held with each peer for planning of their folder structures, the maps need to be edited. It should be explained why and how folders pertaining to every site collection are a component of a bigger process-oriented schedule. Moreover, site permissions need to be unraveled for rebuilding them. After all, there is once more the opportunity to describe the mission as well as the significance of the program. As your IT department gears up for handling 2014 projects, it's a great idea to seize the moment for RM in Office 365.

If you were to attempt a SharePoint site migration project to Office365, understanding of these choices and pros and cons would ensure a successful migration.

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

Top 8 Ways to Mitigate Risks in SharePoint Deployment

Deployment of the useful web application development platform of SharePoint involves certain risks. The SharePoint sites, which primarily include the SharePoint Online and the hosted SharePoint farms, have high chances of falling prey to some of the serious content security risks. Considering the fact that SP Online is highly preferred by all types of enterprises today for regulation of data, securing this data is a dire necessity. In fact, organizations are often found facing certain problems when it comes to maintaining the security of the data in SharePoint. The risks need to be mitigated without any wastage of time to ensure smooth work flow.

Here is a brief overview of the risks involved in SP deployment along with the possible ways of reducing their effects.

1. Less Awareness about SharePoint Content

The lack of awareness about SP content is a prominent risk in the deployment of this particular web application development platform. The two main ways of spreading increased awareness are implementation of the governance guidelines along with providing of content classification. The end users should be trained accordingly for performing periodic scans of content. Teams also have the option of making use of the SP metadata as well as workflows to pass the sensitive information to the secure locations.

2. Failing to Secure the Content in SP Servers, Transit and Endpoints

Securing the content in the SharePoint servers as well as endpoints is necessary. Enterprises must make it a point to implement solutions that ensure the security of the content on the SP servers as well as the backups through access control and encryption. Additionally, the teams should also go for a whole-disk encryption for endpoints and most essentially, laptops. The SSL encryption for data in transit should also be enabled by the security administrators.

3. Misconfiguration of the Access Controls and Permissions

This is yet another risk that often poses a problem in the deployment of SharePoint. The solution lies in auditing the existing SharePoint permissions and then reviewing or creating of the corporate access control policies. Following this, the SP permissions should be aligned with the corporate directory services, by which, the administrators can get an idea about the usage of inheritance as well as unmanaged item-level permissions.

4. SP Platform Security Risks

The SharePoint platforms need to be hardened by means of disabling the ports as well as services that are not essential to the functioning of the platform. Regular patching apart from whitelisting of applications also helps in reducing the risks of platform security.

5. Failing to Limit the Administrator and Service Accounts

One essential way in which the risk of failing to limit the administrator as well as service accounts can be reduced is by limiting the privileges on service accounts. Disabling the install account and not using the shared administrator accounts are other prominent ways of mitigating this particular risk.

6. SP System Architecture and Network Configuration Issues

The system architecture as well as network configuration issues related to the SharePoint can be reduced by putting a dedicated SP web front end in a DMZ and by making use of a single-function-per-server approach. Hardening of the SP, OS as well as the database as per the best practices is also highly recommended.

7. Issues Related to SP and Malware

Risks arising from SharePoint as well as Malware can be solved by implementation of the server malware solution along with a regular updating of the anti-virus definitions.

8. Difficulty in Performing Backups and Providing DR Capability

The only possible way in which this problem can be solved is by performing annual backups as well as tests and restoring them on a regular basis.

Managing the above-mentioned security risks through an application of the appropriate security controls helps in reducing the level of content security as well as compliance risks in SP to a great extent. If you were to attempt a SharePoint site migration project, understanding of these best practices would ensure a successful migration.

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.

Getting Started Developing for SharePoint 2010?

The process of developing for SharePoint is naturally quite elaborate and encompasses several steps. In order to have a complete overview of the development on this much popular and preferred web application platform, it is good to go step-by-step and accordingly, begin with a conceptual overview of the SharePoint foundation.

Understanding SharePoint Foundation

The application of Microsoft SP Foundation is built on top of the Microsoft ASP.NET framework and the Internet Information Services. Server Farm, which is basically a set of servers running the various components of SharePoint Foundation, also comprises more than one front-end web servers along with Microsoft SQL server database servers. Every farm has an individual configuration database consisting of information about the front-end web servers in the administrators of the farm. Each content including that of the user information, on the other hand, is stored in the content database while the server farms too have multiple content databases.

Choosing the Best-Suited SharePoint API

Microsoft SP comes with three different types of APIs and the next question that arises with regards to the development on this platform is which of the APIs to be used. Here is an overview of the three kinds along with their advantages and limitations.

• Server-Side Object Model

To begin with, there is the server-side object model coming up with a wide range of options for extending the capabilities of SP 2010. The good part of this is that it has all APIs that are documented in the SP 2010 Class Libraries and Web Service References section of the MS SP 2010 software development kit.

• Client Object Model

The client object model allows for integration of SharePoint 2010 capabilities into script. This can be executed in the browser or code, in a .NET framework managed application or in a Microsoft Silverlight application. The APIs in this particular model act as wrappers around a customized web service, dispatching the calls to the server- side object model.

• SharePoint 2010 Web Services

The SP 2010 web services pave the way for an integration of the SP capabilities into a code that runs in a client- side or server-side applications remotely. This specific variety offers a limited set of REST interfaces for developers, who happen to be familiar with the particular standard.

Glide Path for ASP.NET Developers

This area concerns the use of SharePoint Foundation as an ASP.NET application. Developers must be aware of the manner in which development differs with respect to ASP.NET and SharePoint. The areas that need to be taken into account are mobile adapter development, modification of Web.config files, page development as well as user and group authorization.

SharePoint Foundation Development Tools

Several tools are implemented when it comes to developing solutions for this remarkable web application development platform. These tools can accordingly be customized to maximize the efficiency of the developer and lead to a better outcome. The setting up of the development environment for SP 2010 on Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 is an essential consideration. At the same time, one must also be informed about the usage of visual studio and SharePoint designer for SP development.

Important SharePoint Programming Tasks

A number of SharePoint programming tasks are taken up as a part of the process of developing for SP 2010. Following are some of these tasks:

• Conversion of date as well as time values
• Description of forms of URL strings
• Addition or deleting of list items
• Returning items from a list
• Registering as well as Importing of Namespaces
• Security validation and making of posts to update data

Knowing about the Best Practices

When it comes to development on the highly advanced platform of SP 2010, understanding the best practices is essential to ensure perfect execution of the task. Some of the best practices include the following:

• Avoidance of the suspended impersonation of the calling user
• Avoidance of unnecessary construction of SPWeb and SPSite objects
• Disposal of objects
• Restrictions on file naming
• Techniques of object caching
• Optimizing of the code performance

The above-mentioned steps offer an overview of how the development process can take place in a smooth manner. If you were to attempt a SharePoint site migration project, understanding of these best practices would ensure a successful migration.

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.

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.