17 Aug 10 How To Deploy SharePoint 2007 Web Parts
The benefits of using SharePoint web parts (from a reputable organisation) are well documented. Web parts are low risk, reliable, proven, great value and fast to deploy. It’s the last point of fast deployment that we will cover in this article and, more specifically, how to make sure that you get the basics right and ensure your deployment goes smoothly.
The Basics
Whether you are preparing to deploy a simple web part you have created yourself or you are using a third party product, it is important to follow a clear set of governing rules regarding deployment. This will ensure that your production environment is reliable, has high availability and performs to an optimum level.
In preparation for deploying third part tools ensure you have the following:
1. A clear documented deployment process
2. An adequate level of testing required for multiple environments
3. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities for deployment
4. An understanding and adherence to SharePoint’s security model – this is an area where a SharePoint consultancy firm can assist you
It is surprising to learn that many customers have environments where third party tools have been deployed, for testing and evaluation purposes, directly to a production environment without any prior testing or deployment to an acceptance environment. This is definitely not recommended and introduces a level of risk which is unacceptable for an application, such as SharePoint, that can quickly become a critical system to your business.
Key points
• Deployment to Acceptance and Production environments should be performed by operations (not the people who developed the product/solution) using clear, step-by-step instructions provided by the supplier or developer.
• All solutions must have a documented and tested disaster recovery procedure.
• The Acceptance and Production environments should be matched as closely as possible (including the number of servers) within your budget.
Recommended Hardware
Web front-end servers and Application servers:
o Minimum Dual 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 CPU
o Minimum 2Gb RAM
Database servers:
o Minimum Dual 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 CPU
o Minimum 2Gb RAM
Recommended Software
The following software MUST be installed on the server farm before proceeding with the installation:
• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 (Standard or Enterprise) or Windows SharePoint Servers 3.0 SP1
• Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 or later
• Internet Explorer version 5.5 with Service Pack 2 or later
SharePoint 2010 and Sandbox Solutions
With SharePoint 2007, only a SharePoint Farm Administrator (the highest level of access) can deploy third party products before they can be made available to users. If you were unfortunate enough to deploy a rogue product, or if something went wrong during the installation, it is possible that the deployment could bring down your entire environment.
Now, with SharePoint 2010, this problem has been mitigated by the introduction of a new feature, known as Sandbox Solutions. Sandbox solutions allow you to deploy products to a single site collection without affecting the entire farm, thereby isolating the risk. Additionally SharePoint 2010 also monitors third-party products, and if they are performing badly, or negatively affecting the system, they will be automatically disabled. This means, that with SharePoint 2010 it will be even easier and faster to deploy third party tools and products.
There have also been enhancements to SharePoint which will enable you to use products with limited or no upfront costs that can be consumed on a pay-as-you-go model.
About Content and Code:
Article author Mathew Holden provides a guide on deploying SharePoint web parts and useful tips for successful product development. Content and Code a leading SharePoint consultancy, and qualified Microsoft Gold Certified Partner have experience developing high quality SharePoint products such as the Organisational Chart.
If you have any questions about this article or would like to know more about Content and Code products contact products@contentandcode.com.
Tags: Organisational Chart, Sharepoint products, Sharepoint solutions, SharePoint web parts
14 Jul 10 Content and Code Launch New Product Partner Programme
Content and Code, one of the UK’s leading SharePoint web parts and template providers, have launched their new product partner programme, designed to provide companies with incentives to refer, resell and implement their popular SharePoint web parts and templates, both for SharePoint 2007 and 2010, to clients worldwide.
Content and Code’s Product Partner Programme will enable you to:
- Help your clients achieve their business goals
- Grow your business by winning bigger and better projects
- Offer better value for money to your clients (and use the available budget to deliver them even more value)
- Deliver your projects on time and on budget
- Provide your clients with immediate value (because products are simple and quick to install)
Content and Code Product Partner’s will enjoy significant commercial and technical benefits, including earning commission with an easy to understand, flat-rate system, fully-functional demonstration software installed on your environment and quick responses to technical and sales enquiries from our team of experts
“Our new partner programme will provide partner organisations the perfect opportunity to easily sell popular and mature products to the growing SharePoint marketplace. We value our partners and are committed to creating a long lasting partnership that focuses on the enormous global opportunities of SharePoint web parts and templates” said Ben Moller-Butcher, Online Marketing Manager for Content and Code.
Organisations that are interested in becoming a Content and Code Product Partner can contact at resellers@contentandcode.com. Alternatively, find out more information about the programme at http://store.contentandcode.com/default/partner-programme.
About Content and Code:
Content and Code have recently won the 2010 Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Award for the UK. The company was chosen out of an international field of top Microsoft partners for delivering market-leading customer solutions built on Microsoft technology. The company is the leading provider of SharePoint solutions in the UK as well as developing SharePoint products and templates for both SharePoint 2007 and 2010.
Tags: Sharepoint products, Sharepoint solutions, SharePoint web parts
05 Jul 10 Content & Code release new version of their SharePoint web part, 1OrgChart
Visualise your workforce with Content and Code’s 1OrgChart version 4.2.0.2 – the most efficient way to create organisational charts within SharePoint
Content and Code’s 1OrgChart version 4.2.0.2 provides you with the fastest and most efficient way to create organisational and departmental charts within your SharePoint environment. Employee information is pulled from user profiles to automatically give you the most accurate representation of your workforce.
Incorporating several user led enhancements, 1OrgChart’s version 4.2.0.2 has significantly improved performance and speed, allowing you to quickly create and view enterprise level charts. Users will also notice the significant improvements to usability with customisable styles that match your intranet or website design, user-friendly colour coding options, easy browsing up and down organizational hierarchies and a new intelligent search function. 1OrgChart can also integrate with third party products, which means users can click on a user’s name in a chart and follow a link to another intranet location or people based application.
Pieter Veenstra, Content and Code’s Programme Manager, who has seen 1OrgChart develop over the last 3 years, commented that “1OrgChart is an extremely mature product now and with our new significant improvements to look and feel and speed, we are really confident that 1OrgChart is the best solution out there of this type. 1OrgChart has always provided users with a very good way of viewing organisational chart’s quickly within SharePoint, but our most recent user-led improvements have improved the product significantly.”
1OrgChart’s new features come with the standard functionality, such as online presence indicators and calendar and location information when integrated with Microsoft Exchange Server.
Current Features:
- Simple and intuitive user interface
- Quick to install
- Rapid and flexible configuration
- Intuitive search by full or partial name, phone number, job title, department and location
- Explorer panel (tree view)
- Online presence visible in search results, explorer and chart views
- Colour coding feature, which can be utilised in variables such as department, location and job titles
- Customisable style sheets to match your intranet or website design
- Import and export views – you can move your views between different environments
1OrgChart comes with a 30 day free trial and can be downloaded at: Content & Code’s organisational charts SharePoint web part.
About Content and Code:
Content & Code provides SharePoint web part allow you to enhance your SharePoint experience and achieve your business goals. All our high quality SharePoint products for SharePoint 2007 and 2010 are available to download for a free 30 day trial and are easy to download and setup!
Tags: Organisational charts, Sharepoint products, Sharepoint web part
11 May 10 How to Enhance SharePoint with Web Parts and Third Party Tools
Once again, Microsoft has lifted the bar with the imminent release of SharePoint 2010. However, there are still areas where businesses will demand more from the platform – specifically Project Management, Workflow, Replication and Backup are key areas where third party tools will add significant value.
Benefits of using SharePoint Products:
The key benefits associated with buying third party tools from a reputable organisation are:
- Proven – Tried and tested in real scenarios
- Low Risk – No need for custom development
- Great Value – Will cost you less to buy than to build
- Fast to Deploy – Evaluate products immediately with trial versions
- Reliability – Support, upgrades and updates available to download
- Community – Benefit from improvements suggested by others
There are already thousands of SharePoint products and third-party tools available on the web. Some of them are free and others can be purchased through online stores. This is expected to increase exponentially with the release of SharePoint 2010. So the question arises, how will you decide where to invest when it comes to enhancing your SharePoint deployment?
Points to look for when selecting a product and supplier include:
- A money back guarantee
- Support options – phone, e-mail, live chat, FAQs, forum etc.
- Software assurance for free updates
- Regular upgrades
- Evidence of quality – testimonials, case studies, external reviews etc.
- Discounts for non-profit organisations
- Partner program and reseller discounts
- SharePoint user interface
- Simple to install and use
- Option to request a product or new feature
Risks and Common Pitfalls:
Knowing the potential pitfalls when selecting a product could be the difference between a successful or unsuccessful deployment. Here is a short guide on what to look out for when picking a third party product:
- Bespoke development when source code is available – although having access to source code gives you the option to extend your product features, be aware that most suppliers will no longer only support you free of cost
- Hidden charges – support, annual license fees etc.
- Long term contracts
- Pricing model options – per server, per user, farm or enterprise licenses
- Custom user interfaces
- No rollback / uninstall option
- Reliance on SharePoint features
- Deployment to load balanced environments
- Poor documentation
Deployment Preparation:
Once you have made a decision about the types of third party products you want and before you try them, it is important that you have a clear set of governing rules regarding deployment. This will ensure that your production environment is reliable, has high availability and performs to an optimum level.
In preparation for deploying third part tools ensure you have the following:
- A documented deployment process
- Multiple environments for adequate testing
- Clearly defined roles and responsibilities for deployment
- An understanding and adherence to SharePoint’s security model – this is an area where a SharePoint consultancy firm can assist you
There are situations where SharePoint customers have deployed testing and evaluation versions of third party tools directly into a production environment. This is definitely not recommended and introduces an unacceptable level of risk for a business application such as SharePoint that can quickly become a critical system.
Key points:
- Deployment to Acceptance and Production environments should be performed by operations (not the people who developed the product/solution) using clear step-by-step instructions provided by the supplier/developer.
- All solutions must have a documented and tested uninstall procedure.
- The Acceptance and Production environments should be matched as closely as possible (including the number of servers) within your budget.
About Content and Code:
Article author Zane Freame has provided a guide on how to pick the best SharePoint web part and products to enhance SharePoint based on experience working with clients using SharePoint. Zane works for SharePoint Consultancy firm Content and Code, a qualified Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and specialist SharePoint products developer.
Tags: Sharepoint 2010, Sharepoint components, Sharepoint products, Sharepoint solutions, Sharepoint web part, Web Part
