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.

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.

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.

DotNetNuke vs. SharePoint - 8 Solid Reasons Why Favor SharePoint?

SharePoint and DotNetNuke are in high demand these days as they are the most preferred and popular web application development platform and content management system respectively. Now, SharePoint is favored more due to certain reasons. Here is a brief overview of the grounds on which SharePoint can be regarded as being more beneficial than DotNetNuke or the similar other platforms.

1. Documentation

SharePoint facilitates very easy as well as comprehensive documentation while an average kind of documentation is offered by DotNetNuke. Document collaboration in this platform is absolutely hassle- free. Compared to the traditional and conventional method of document sharing, documentation in this platform allows emailing of files back and forth. Additionally, versioning as well as check in/out alerts add to the advantages of documentation in this platform.

2. Product Development

Microsoft SharePoint comes with a brand new product development application that helps the product development teams to work with the help of a collaboration tool. As such, product development is executed faster in this medium compared to that of DotNetNuke.

3. Creation of Blog Site

This web application development platform comes with a built-in blog site template, including all the facilities to enhance the level of collaboration, share knowledge as well as publish news and updates. Hence, creation and maintenance of blog site is rather easy in SharePoint. The same activity in DotNetNuke, on the other hand, involves extra costs.

4. Chat Options

Chat can easily be implemented in SharePoint, where it comes as a Free Add-on. The feature is totally unavailable in DotNetNuke.

5. Photo Gallery Feature

The platform has an in-built photo gallery feature. As such, profile pictures are used to make the pages appear more inviting and interesting. The platform allows profile pictures of three different thumbnails to be used in varying contexts. This photo gallery feature comes as an ‘add on’ in DotNetNuke and involves extra costs.

6. Survey

The survey feature of SharePoint makes it stay one more step ahead of DotNetNuke. The Survey feature can be easily enabled using the settings. For the DotNetNuke, on the other hand, this survey feature comes as a free add on.

7. Subscriptions

SharePoint has in-built subscription feature, something that is totally absent when it comes to DotNetNuke. The former offers support for site subscriptions, which can be considered as a collection of sites, subscribing to a set of settings, service partitions as well as individual features. These site subscriptions are also termed as tenants and they can be managed by means of a new administration site template. Creation of a site subscription object in this web application development platform necessitates the administrator to create a SPSiteSubscription object and add a SPSite object to the SPSiteSubscription.

8. Link Management

Managing a set of links in this much preferred platform is quite hassle- free, as the same has this feature incorporated into it. Link management helps in keeping track of the essential website URLs. These links are available to anyone who logs in. Link management feature is a free add on in DNN but not in-built as it is in SharePoint.

Owing to the above- mentioned advantages and many more, SharePoint has indeed turned out to be an inseparable part of the daily business operations. It works with commendable ease and efficiency when it comes to collaborating designs as well as carrying out technical documentation. Whether it is with regards to document management or issue tracking, the platform gives utmost advantage to the SharePoint application development team while also enabling them to come up with the best- possible outcomes.

DotNetNuke is a favorite content management system too, but when it comes to comparing it with SharePoint, the latter is obviously more beneficial, which becomes explicit from a glance at the prominent points that help make the difference.

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.

.Net to SharePoint Migration - Top Insights you can't ignore for a successful migration

Any sort of migration must always begin with a proper understanding of the capabilities of both the source system and target system. What new potentials the target system might provide? Is there any missing functionality in the target system that might necessitate the purchase of third party components? These are some aspects that need to be considered prior to taking the plunge. A proper understanding of the differences as well as the similarities of both the platforms will definitely help in the entire process of migration.

Today, a number of .NET developers are considering a move towards the creation of a SharePoint site. So, why such a move has been favored by web developers all around? Well, here is a quick look at the reasons that favor the SharePoint solution:

• No need of providing support as well as maintenance to data stored in the database of SQL server in the SharePoint.
• Site templates can be used for the creation of new sites and publishing pages featuring different layouts.
• Versioning of the content can be maintained easily without any coding
• Security of item level can be provided without taking up any extra effort.

These reasons strongly support the migration of .Net application to a publishing website of SharePoint. In most cases, the use of a migration tool is witnessed as it ensures an efficient and successful migration. The migration strategy involves the following aspects.

1. Source System (SS) - An application based on .Net usually stores data in a specific database of SQL server. This is referred to as the source database. The data comprises of the profile information of user, static texts, files, and images.

2. Staging Database (SD) - A staging database needs to be designed for pushing the data (apart from the binary ones) from database of the source system with proper formatting making use of the stored process. It is to be noted that the binary data will be recovered directly from the source system file.

3. Target System (TS) - Following this, it is important to create a parallel sub site for each .NET application page categorized under diverse functional areas in SharePoint under separate site collection.

4. Migration Tool (MT) - Henceforth, the migration tool that is designed will extract the data from the source system database and subsequently push it to the publishing pages of SharePoint in the corresponding site. Here is a look at the process:

Choose the content pertaining to a specific functional area from the staging database into the .Net Data Table and create publishing pages concerning each row mentioned in the table. You must update the metadata following this:

• The tool helps in wise migration of all Meta data including the Modified date as well as Created date along with other specific custom fields.
• It also helps updating the published content, rollup image, and page image on the fly
• The tool also assists in setting the custom properties of a customized web part in a publishing page on the fly.
• It will choose the binary data from the database of the source system along with uploading the specific data into the picture and document library of the SharePoint site respectively.
• For a specific functional area, the migration tool will likely go for the creation of sub sites on the fly following it up with creation of page with the updated Meta data.

The tool also offers the status of the presently running tasks.

General Steps to Migration

ASP.Net to SharePoint migration involves three basic steps. Here is a look at the same:

• Addition of a Web Deployment Project to the website that helps creating a single DLL for all codes and several other dependent DLLs of the website.
• Copying the DLLs bin folder into the bin folder of the SharePoint and modification of the web configuration file for using the copied DLLs.
• Opening of the SharePoint site from the Designer and importing the web pages from the application following it with the linking to proper DLLs.

Adopting the above-mentioned steps and strategies will surely help you to go forward with the successful migration of .Net to SharePoint. To help you with small migrations, you could even use webparts. To help you with SharePoint Webparts development, there would be numerous companies who can assist.

We provide custom SharePoint development services. If you would like to discuss with our SharePoint developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

SharePoint Webparts Application Development Services

MS SharePoint is a web-oriented platform for collaboration and document management system. SharePoint webparts solutions are used to create various websites with shared documents and numerous other applications. Microsoft SharePoint webparts application development services is a software platform for collaboration and web publishing combined under a single server. In a nutshell we can state that SharePoint application development is a document management system, is a communication platform, is an Intranet/Extranet, is a rapid development environment, easily manages documents and helps to ensure integrity of content. SharePoint custom Development Services deploys solutions tailored to your business processes, builds a collaborative environment quickly & easily, reduces the complexity of securing business information and provides a very cost effective foundation for building web-based applications. SharePoint application development services easily scales your collaborative solutions to meet your customized business needs. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) enables organizations to easily setup collaborative enterprise tools and manage enterprise content based on their custom needs. SharePoint Application Development technologies provide an extensible solution platform and offers a wide array of buit-in features & applications hostings. SharePoint Webparts development Services facilitates exchange server functionality, is highly customizable, creates dynamic storage systems, pulls databases from external databases etc. There are various offshore companies in India that help clients to develop such softwares. Mindfire Solutions is a top software development and IT consulting company in India. SharePoint Application Development Services is one of its core area of expertise.

Mindfire Solutions is one of the premier SharePoint Application Development company in India. Mindfire Solutions has deep expertise SharePoint 2010 application development services. The services provided by us in SharePoint Application Development Services are SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS), SharePoint Site Branding, SharePoint Web Development & Portal Development, SharePoint Custom Webpart development, SharePoint Enterprise Content Management, SharePoint Enterprise Portals and Business Intelligence, SharePoint integration with Microsoft Info Path 2007, SharePoint Site Migration, SharePoint Installer applications, SharePoint SQL Reporting, SharePoint QA and Testing. Mindfire Solutions is the ultimate destination to hire dedicated offshore SharePoint programmers and developers. You get the benefit of most flexible hours of working, affordable cost, experienced SharePoint web Development consultants and time savvy benefits. We have a highly experienced team of dedicated SharePoint application Developers with years of experience in Offshore SharePoint application development services. We also have 100 hours risk free trial* for new clients.

To know more about our expertise in SharePoint Development Services and outsource your SharePoint webparts Development requirements, please contact us at sales@mindfiresolutions.com or call 1-248-686-1424. We will be glad to help you.

About Mindfire

Mindfire has been awarded as the best IT unit award in the SME sector by govt of Orissa. We have also been declared to be in the "Breakout Zone" in Software/ISV category in the ‘Global R&D Service Providers Rating 2011’ released by Zinnov Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd. Mindfire Solutions is now on its path of rapid growth and expansion. Mindfire currently operates with 4 floors at Bhubaneswar Advanced Development Center and 2 floors at New Delhi Advanced Development Center.