Errin OConnor, Founder & CEO at EPC Group.net July 01, 2011 - 8:40 PM
Article Link: http://www.aiim.org/community/blogs/expert/Developing-a-Hybrid-SharePoint-2010-
ERM-5c-ECM-Platform-(SPaaS)
In developing any Enterprise Records Management (ERM) or (ECM) Platform, the key to
long-term success is your organizations ability to develop a roadmap that takes into
consideration the hybrid types of business and functional requirements that the systems
user base will encounter in the many months and years to follow its launch.
I am focusing on SharePoint 2010, but its key to take a step back and not just focus on the
technology, SharePoint, but what the true needs of the organization are and how best an
implementation can not only improve the work lives of the staff but to provide Return on
Investment (ROI) to the organization.
This ROI can be measured in terms of productivity, limitation of legal and litigious exposure
of "old" records no longer required by the approved retention schedule, improve search, or
even decommissioning several other systems with the licensing, support, and O&M costs
associated with those "other" systems.
There are so many organizations midstream in their initiatives that are not taking into
consideration a “core set of metadata \ content types” but also the need for mobile
compatibility and the development of a roadmap that takes into account the functional or
business needs that may come into play 24 months down the road.
A SharePoint Platform as a Service (SPaaS) with a hybrid approach will allow you to avoid
so many pitfalls and the need to re-architect or modify the system in the future. What
should be in this SharePoint Platform as a Service?
Good starting points for services to include are as follows: (Note: Think in terms of a Hybrid
SharePoint Ecosystem)
Records Management Service
Workflow (Reusable) Service
Business Intelligence \ Reporting Service (Dashboards, Scorecards, etc.)
Collaboration Service
Intranet Service
Extranet Service
A possible Internet facing SharePoint Service
Mobile “Edge Device” Service
Learning Management System Service (Training)
Application Development Service
Corporate Communication Service
File Share Replacement Service
Social, or I prefer, a Professional Networking Service (My Sites, etc.)
Scanning Service (OCR) (Paperless \ Green Initiatives)
SharePoint 2010 can accomplish all of these elements, but it is absolutely crucial for you
and your project team to be forward thinking and not scared to face these items that will
inevitably come up in a meeting in the next 24 months so why not be prepared.
The lack of, and\or, how to govern these items can be a major factor in many organizations
not moving forward on several of the items I have listed above but I will address that in a
future post.
To touch on one, the mobile world is here so if you are not developing your solution to be
compatible or to be able to adapt to mobile technology in the future, you may be creating a
whole new project for yourself in the future. These elements are true whether you are
talking about a major government institution, a Fortune 500 company, or a 500 user
SharePoint rollout.
In my posts to follow, I will drill down on strategies that will help you accomplish these
challenges and help to ensure your SharePoint initiative is a success not only in phase 1 but
in phase 5 or phase 6.
False starts in early phases can alienate your user base and stifle future phases or major
ROI elements of SharePoint so get your hybrid SharePoint Platform as a Service (24-36
month) roadmap together as soon as possible.