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.

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.

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.

Steps to Migrate PHP Intranet site into SharePoint 2013

Today, SharePoint has possibly emerged as one of the best tools in the world of technology. However, there has still been an increase in the number of poor as well as unusable Intranets of the application. Most often, enterprises looking forward to migrate a PHP intranet to SharePoint often face issues in the endeavor of executing a successful migration.

So, how to achieve a successful migration and develop a good Intranet? Well, here is a quick look at the three steps to a successful migration that is sure to set the right path:

Always work with SharePoint 2010

It is understandable that you want to migrate to the 2013 version of the application software; after all, being an advanced product it comes with the goodness of cloud. However, for a successful execution, you must take it easy. The 2010 version, which was released in May 2010, obtained a service pack in June 2011. The latest 2013 version, which has just released might not be able to offer a stable experience. On the other hand, the 2010 version has been tested to provide a valid experience. Truly, there exists some limitations, but not without exact workarounds along with solutions. When it comes to using 2013, it is always wiser to give it a year for better development as well as improvement.

Avoid customizing the look and feel
Well, it is quite known that every organizations wants it logo to appear at the top left corner of every page. Additionally, you also want all the links to appear in a similar manner as against the PHP intranet alongside the header featuring a navigation communicating something about your brand. You want it to look as well as feel good. However, it must be noted that such aspects rarely matters in the case. After all, it is being developed for employee use and they already know you alongside being familiar to your logo along with brand values.

The job of the intranet is much bigger than just reinforcing the brand. It plays a better role in storing the document templates and helps in smart presentation of data related to employee performance. Furthermore, it also stands as the major engine of workflow behind your organization processes. Now, the brand is definitely important and your Intranet must exude a look and feel representing the same. However, it is more important for the intranet to function right. The focus must always rest with making a functional as well as rich intranet alongside focusing on the branding of the same.

Never completely end the project
You must always remember that developing an Intranet is not just a matter of few days or months. Indeed, organizations need to work on the same continuously. Disbanding the project team will never help in determining the success of the project. Starting with the development of Intranet is just the beginning and there is a lot of work that the enterprise needs to do with time. From placing fresh content to training the users concerning the refreshing courses, the application needs to accelerate the growth of your business as well as adapt to the changing requirements of the same.

You can achieve all these functionality along with benefits through SharePoint. The application not only helps in creating the front-end of your Intranet, but the back-end as well. For better execution of the migration process, the focus must rest on creating an Intranet team for ensuring better functionality of the same. The application software comes with task lists, email alerts, calendars, and special project site templates. You have a knowledge of all these because you are constantly telling your end users about all the features. The key lies in starting to use all the features for a better experience.

Therefore, to execute a successful migration during SharePoint website development process, you must focus on the long-term end of the project and follow the above-mentioned stapes carefully for experiencing the best of SharePoint, 2013.

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

Tips for Integrating SharePoint data with Java Applications

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SharePoint Development Services

SharePoint development services enable SharePoint users to customize and extend SharePoint’s core capabilities to suit their unique business needs better. SharePoint was launched by Microsoft in 2001. Ever since its first release, SharePoint has significantly evolved adding much new functionality over the last decade. It is credited to be Microsoft’s “fasted growing product in the company’s history” with significant adoption amongst enterprises and Fortune 500 companies around the world. 

SharePoint: Both an Application & an Application Platform

SharePoint derives its massive popularity from its power, flexibility, and extensibility. A part of SharePoint is the pre-built, off-the-shelf application for quickly deploying collaboration and productivity sites. The other part of SharePoint is the platform itself on top of which to develop any web-based functionality imaginable to suit your business needs. SharePoint development services come in handy to customize the SharePoint experience for your users and to build and deploy custom applications and business solutions. 

SharePoint: Endless Possibilities

SharePoint is compared by many to the versatile Swiss Army Knife – the one which contains many. SharePoint is multi-faceted in its capabilities and different organizations can use it very differently.  Depending on their business needs, organizations might use SharePoint for intranet portals, extranets, document management, collaboration, social networks, websites, enterprise search, and business intelligence. Expert SharePoint development services can not only expedite the process of SharePoint customization, they can also bring to the table years of experience in extending SharePoint’s intrinsic capabilities and developing optimized business solutions to realize its true power. Depending on your business needs, you might be interested in SharePoint integration, SharePoint custom solutions development, SharePoint migration, SharePoint branding, etc.

SharePoint Integration

Recognizing the progressively important role SharePoint plays in organizational collaboration and productivity, many Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application software packages offer SharePoint integration capabilities. SharePoint also has a complete development stack based on web standards to facilitate integration with other organizational software suites. SharePoint development service providers immensely facilitate, through their cross-product expertise, SharePoint integration with SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle, Siebel, MS Dynamics, MS Office, MS Commerce Server, Exchange Server, etc. products.

SharePoint Migration

SharePoint development services in the area of SharePoint migration may include migrating from ASP.NET or earlier versions of SharePoint (SharePoint 2001/2003/2007) to newer SharePoint versions (SharePoint 2007/2010). SharePoint migration may also entail migration of external databases (Oracle, Excel, Access, SQL, etc.) into SharePoint Lists / Libraries.

SharePoint Custom Solutions Development

The possibilities are enormous here, including but not limited to customizing SharePoint Workloads / Capabilities such as Sites, Communities, Content, Search, Insights, Composites; developing Custom Web Parts, Application pages, Content Types, Search (simple and advanced), Workflow (using Visual Studio), Event Receivers, Features (custom Actions, custom Ribbon controls, etc.), Timer Jobs, HttpModules, Delegate controls, Web Services, Reports, Utility apps using SharePoint object model, Utility apps using SharePoint web services, etc.

Companies like Mindfire Solutions provide expert SharePoint development services backed by years of experience of providing SharePoint services for a variety of industries and customer needs. We have served over 50+ clients in this technology domain.