Migrating from WordPress to Sharepoint?

Owing to the user-friendly aspect, a large number of organizations are increasingly realizing the need to migrate from WordPress to Sharepoint. These companies prefer to host the content within distinct libraries or lists utilizing a metadata structure. Moreover, they want to make use of a powerful search engine that would empower users to conveniently arrive at the data they are searching for.

The WordPress to Sharepoint migration projects are very intricate, but yield effective results once the problem areas are tackled before going for the actual process. In fact, moving to SP is much more than copying the content to any SP site from the source destination of the data.

Content Analysis

A good understanding of the content as well as its usage is important. This analysis phase involves the verification of the content volume and usage along with the permission setup. It is significant to comprehend the manner of data usage and the procedure that is involved in creation and modification of content. Knowledge of this is a great help while setting out libraries and sites. Here data is organized into categories depending upon what can be moved rapidly, what is possible to be archived and what might create problems. Hence, when you are migrating from WordPress to SharePoint, this phase is crucial for planning the project as well as its successful completion.

Cleanup and Preparation

Migrating offers a great opportunity to clean archive content and directories which have become obsolete. One of the key aspects to ensure a successful migration is to solely move those items which require moving. This leads to a short migration life cycle and also enhances the content's usability through retention of that data which is actually relevant in today's business perspective.

Taking care of site configuration

Once you arrive at a specific amount of data that is ready for migration, the generic configuration of the site libraries as well as the site itself can be defined. You can also go for search engine configuration, defining metadata and also establishment of permission groups.

One issue that you might face is defining the metadata. The content that needs migration may be present within an environment wherein there is no metadata, for instance a file server where the content resides in a folder structure This folder structure should not be used for classification of data since content in SP always revolves around metadata. In such case, a robust metadata structure should be built within the destination library which assists the users to locate the content. Following this, content types, lists or libraries need to be created with specific focus on the source location's security setup. It is best to split the content into a number of libraries or ascertain fresh permissions setup for business owners.

Testing

After configuration of the destination sites, you can perform certain test migrations making use of a limited set of documents to ensure that there is proper configuration of the current site structure. Involvement of key users is advisable for carrying out certain tests through addition or modification of documents.

Migration of data

This is the phase wherein the real migration from WordPress to SharePoint takes place. There are a number of migration tools which enables successful migration.

Testing during migration

Owing to a number of organizations or technical concerns, migration jobs are usually carried out in batches. So there is good opportunity to perform certain testing procedures after the completion of each batch. This makes it convenient to quickly correct any faulty migration procedures, thereby ensuring an appropriate working ambiance in the end.

Once all these steps are meticulously followed, it ensures successful migration from WordPress to SharePoint. For more effective results, you can always involve the end users. Define certain key users, let them comprehend SharePoint and then gather their feedback. This will help you collect useful information and also enhance the user adoption procedure. This would help you leverage the benefits of SharePoint portal development.

We provide SharePoint development services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified SharePoint developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Integrating Crystal Reports with SharePoint -Things to Keep in Mind

The popular business application, SharePoint, is now widely preferred by most software companies. With the newest versions coming up, this web application platform is used for a number of purposes, out of which the sharing of electronic documents and images of the scanned paper documents are the most prominent ones. SharePoint enables developers to create websites, which further allow an easy uploading as well as managing of documents. Even the communities can be formed around particular functions, necessitating access to the documents. These documents then become ready for searching, collaboration, management, updating or archiving.

The Need for Integration

While SharePoint with its multiple functionalities is of immense use, it cannot be denied at the same time that it is not so useful when it comes to the business intelligence system. It is here that the integration of SharePoint with Crystal Reports becomes necessary. The integration largely helps in making the information accessible as well as ready to analyze from the organization. Once the integration is done, the data can be drilled into different sets, which makes the process of categorizing them easier. The integration supports accomplishment of the following tasks:

• Analyzing data in thorough details
• Identify the relationship between costs as well as revenues of your organization
• Identify processes and products that are adding value as well as reducing the margins.

Now, there are few things to be considered to ensure that the integration of SharePoint and CR goes off well while also paving the way for the required benefits.

Points to Consider for Successful Integration

To begin with, a CR scheduler should be incorporated, which allows scheduling of reports that need to be sent at specific date and time to the particular business users in the desired format. The incorporation of the Crystal Reports scheduler offers the members of the organization with the required information without a wastage of time and efforts and they can, therefore, engage in quick decision making. The reports created by the business users can also be stored centrally with the help of SharePoint and accordingly, accessed by the staff members who are in need of the same. Crystal Reports pave the way for scheduling reports on the use of SharePoint to get an idea about how the web application platform is influencing the work of the staffs.

Yet another important factor that has to be considered in this regard is that of using the SharePoint system in the automation of business process. The newly integrated report scheduler, if used, on an event-driven basis, enables a rather process automation. Consequently, modification to files or databases lead to a chain of actions, saving the hard work that had to put into the task otherwise by an employee.

The events include receiving orders from customers and triggering an automatic sending of the packing slip to the warehouse, reducing of the inventory levels, ordering the new products along with materials to fill up for the lack of stock, scheduling delivery of the given order and also billing the customer. Earlier, these actions had to be not only performed by the individuals but also necessitated the inputs from several professionals belonging to the various departments of the organization. Now, the automation is done electronically, saving the transactions that seem to be lagging behind, cost of staffing and the obvious chances of human errors.

Considering the importance of the integration of SharePoint with Crystal Report, companies are now going for Crystal Reports Distribution or what is also known as CRD. CRD can actually work wonders in reducing costs while at the same time, increase the margins and efficiencies. Scheduling and automation of information across any organization is easier than ever before. Custom sharepoint development teams can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide SharePoint application development services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified SharePoint developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

A Guide to Success in SharePoint Adoption and Security

One of the rapidly growing and rampantly used products of Microsoft, SharePoint has become a favorite of a number of fortune 500 organizations. It is a marvelous tool possessing a wide array of capabilities. SharePoint caters to high grade business analysis in order to recognize opportunities and problems, thereby assisting businesses to enhance content collaboration as well as boost access to business intelligence. This web application platform also makes sure that robust data security, auditing processes and compliance are perfectly in place.

However, simply installing and making SharePoint available will not be able to guarantee its successful implementation all through the organization. While there has been considerable increase in the deployment of SharePoint in the business world, empowering users to adopt this platform and sustaining the same with proper security can indeed be a great challenge. Here we bring to you some crucial guidelines that will facilitate SharePoint adoption in your enterprise to reap business benefits from it.

• Analyze your specific needs: Prior to the implementation of SharePoint, it is essential to understand the organizational goals, initiatives and objectives because of the fact that SharePoint comes with a number of features that are compatible with particular business requisites. It is also advisable to have a look at the current application usability, procedure and populace concerned, the problems linked to them and how the platform can address the issues.


• Designed architecture: In order to make the SharePoint environment user-friendly and rich, it is important to have in-depth knowledge of SharePoint design and how the templates can be well defined through leveraging a number of navigation and content types. Lots of organizations go for the development of web pages with inadequate planning and do not consider accessibility by end-users in order to update the content. Maintaining proper flow while building the architecture will pave room for convenient access for end-users who will be able to derive complete benefit from the existing features. Hence, innovation in architectural plan and design offering space for new features and fulfillment of requisites surely assists users to come up with quality output.


• Plan your implementation according to crucial needs: Instead of installing all the SharePoint application features, implementation of crucial features catering to particular needs is much better. Certain essential features include intranets, business intelligence, managing sales, document sharing and tailor-made applications accessible with the help of dashboards.


• It is vital to be proactive: Besides architectural planning and development in line with present business requirements, it is also essential to think proactively and develop templates for future capabilities and requirements. Proactive design meets the needs of end-users, thereby ensuring usability and sustainability.


• Be slow and steady: Doing a lot of things simultaneously is not a good idea. Rather, you should start bit by bit, and plan your implementation steadily with the passage of time. For instance, it is good to first aim at a specific group of capabilities or people, concentrating on particular concerns which people come across, such as accounting, managing sales, sharing of spreadsheets or business planning.


• Customization of end user training: Almost all the companies have the feeling that the SharePoint platform is easy to comprehend and utilize. However, the fact is that without adequate training, it is difficult for users. Although a number of DVDs, books, training institutes and online courses are present, guidance on tailor-made features in SharePoint is rarely available. This calls for arrangement of business-oriented training on the part of organizations before the employees start handling SharePoint. Guiding users on the ease of accessibility of the platform, creation of training manuals, PPTs and notes will definitely enable users to effectively comprehend the application and get motivated to adapt to the change.


• Security through permission levels: Security over the SharePoint platform is made available through a range of default permission levels, which constitute the fundamentals of security for assignment to groups. Group sharing is always better than individual sharing, and afterwards, users can be added within each group to validate all the permission levels prior to providing.

When SharePoint is implemented in an organization in the proper manner following the requisite guidelines and security measures, it indeed makes room for organizational success and can enable one to derive maximum benefit for businesses through leveraging SharePoint development.

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

Crafting the Perfect SharePoint Solution for Your Business

SharePoint is a web-oriented tool from Microsoft that enables the user to locate and manage information across the web browser as well as share files in a more efficient manner. It is of immense help to businesses by serving as the central location for the storage of files, projects along with ad hoc information. In fact, SharePoint has the capability of searching the entered information as well as the information within any stored document. This in turn enhances the business productivity and helps in cost control. Let us discuss a few of the prime features of SharePoint before exploring how the perfect SharePoint solution can be built and leveraged for businesses.

Key features of SharePoint

• Document Management: This web tool facilitates several functions like check-in or check-out and also approvals.


• Discussions: The discussion board of SharePoint can remarkably trim down the time that is spent in meetings. An interesting feature is that the entire information related to the discussions lies centrally, is properly documented, has a back up, and can also be conveniently searched.


• Wikis: Internal knowledge bases can be easily developed with the help of SharePoint wikis. In this manner crucial information regarding the business operations is documented and retained within the business.


• Workflows: With the assistance of SharePoint you will be able to generate workflows focused on your business processes. This facilitates the replication of the same result every time there is execution of the process. Hence, a convenient means of tracking information flow is available, thereby leading to consistent results.

Techniques to Derive the Perfect SharePoint Solution

• All emails should be stored on a centralized and secure website to facilitate seamless archive.
• A centralized task location needs to be maintained in order to assign task to each team member. The tasks are automatically displayed on the To-Do List of Outlook 2007 and are linked to projects, thereby enabling one to identify the tasks that have not been closed.
• Large events should be organized and the relevant documents and assigned tasks should be stored, while posting whatever is linked to events. Integration of all this stuff with Outlook offers increased efficiency.
• So far as the documents are concerned, constant collaboration with every team member is a must in order to have a thorough understanding of each person’s tasks.
• On assignment of tasks to team members, there should be automatic notification to inform regarding the assigned task. Moreover, alerts are best to inform about updates.
• SharePoint should be used as a robust yet uncomplicated project management tool for the team or organization enabling management of documents and tasks within a single location.
• Document management should be done with the help of check-in and check-out tools.
• The content approval feature or the approval workflows should be properly leveraged for increased control over the organization’s documents.
• Training materials ought to be provided to partners, clients and teams within a website that is password protected and is accessible from anywhere across the globe.
• Documents as well as other information should be shared with partners or clients within a private and secure place.
• It is best to operate and access data through mobile devices having internet facility for increased convenience during travel or client meeting held away from the office.
• Brainstorming sessions and enhanced team communication should be practiced. Moreover, centralization should be done with regard to posting of announcements so that everyone is notified through mobile phone or email, irrespective of the place.
• All team discussions, projects tasks, centralized calendars, company contacts, files and team blogs should be taken offline and then the updated information should be synchronized.
• Central documents should be created to enable all stake holders to avail and modify the same document and access the update at the click of a button. All modifications can be synchronized with the single document.
• It is advisable to develop a project dashboard wherein common project elements like project tasks, project issues, project documents, project milestones, and so on can be viewed and filtered on a single page.

SharePoint comes with a range of features to facilitate and streamline business processes. Following the above-mentioned techniques can enable one to derive maximum benefit for businesses through leveraging SharePoint development.

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