#ECMJam 3 – SharePoint & ECM

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Yesterday, the third #ECMJam was held. A lot of people were involved and it was a very interesting discussion about

the place of SharePoint in the world of ECM.

Bryant Duhon was the Jam facilitator. Check out his “Introductory” post here (http://www.aiim.org/community/blogs/expert/ECMjam-SharePoint-and-ECM).

There were a number of Questions that formed the basis of the discussion. These were:

“ Q1: Is there problem with #sharepoint expectations, marketing, or the product itself?
bduhon
August 11, 2011
“ Q2: #SharePoint / #governance — how to do it for real (in 140 characters or less!)
bduhon
August 11, 2011
“ Q3: Is there/has there been a backlash vs. #SharePoint? http://ow.ly/60GnJ
bduhon
August 11, 2011
“ Q4: What does #SharePoint do well ootb? What doesn’t it do?
bduhon
August 11, 2011
“ Q5 Can #SharePoint solve #collab and DM problems for larger companies, as well as smaller? Can/does it really scale?
bduhon
August 11, 2011

Each question raised some interesting responses.

With regards Question 1, there was a feeling that SharePoint was not quite an ECM application:

“ #ECMjam A>Q1 Sharepoint is no #ECM system when you take the #AIIM definition as reference
PROJECTCONSULT_
August 11, 2011
“ #ECMjam A>Q1 Sharepoint claims to be #ECM, but a lot of ECM vendors make money enriching SPS2010 with ECM functionality
PROJECTCONSULT_
August 11, 2011
“ Q1: There’s a problem with expectations! #SharePoint isn’t the be-all/end-all too many folks seem to believe.
steveweissman
August 11, 2011

Others pointed out that the problem isn’t with what the product, itself, can do, but with the “misunderstanding” of what SharePoint actually is.

“ Q1: IMO, SharePoint “problem” is not with product as much as with misunderstanding of what, why, where, how it can/should be used.
lehawes
August 11, 2011
“ Q1 Agree that SP does a lot and what it does, it does well. TCM is the big gap. #ECMjam
inoldland
August 11, 2011
“ Q1: #sharepoint is a platform, but was sold as a product. Leaves users spending $$$ to get what they were promised #ecmjam
danieloleary
August 11, 2011
Others expanded on this, and discussed what ECM should actually be, as well as pointing out that after the “purchase” of SharePoint, extra costs.
“ Q1 you can not achieve ECM with 1 product or a platform, SP still does not provide scanning OOTB #ecmjam + you need PM consulting & techserv
shadrachwhite
August 11, 2011
“ Q1 Saw recent data from a SP conf that for every $1 of SP license it sells, partners sell $6 of services. Underscore OOTB issue. #ECMjam
inoldland
August 11, 2011
“ Q1: So expectations are over-hyped and fueled by microsoft to make #SharePoint out as more than it is. #ECM #ecmjam
bduhon
August 11, 2011
“ Q1. As follow up to my previous comment, from my standpoint, people just seem to buy software as a panacea. Why not more plan 1st #ecmjam
bduhon
August 11, 2011
“ Q1. My theory, it’s from Microsoft, so folks believe it’s just going to be out of the box #ECM. #ecmjam
bduhon
August 11, 2011
“ And not just by Microsoft RT @bduhon: Q1: So expectations are over-hyped and fueled by microsoft #ECM #ecmjam
steveweissman
August 11, 2011
“ Too hard, too long, too obvious! RT @bduhon: Q1. people just seem to buy software as a panacea. Why not more plan 1st #ecmjam
steveweissman
August 11, 2011

Question 2 (SharePoint and Governance) was met with a unaimous response – PLANNING & CONTROL

“ #ECMjam A>Q2 #Sharepoint governance needs good planning and administration esp. in distributed environments
PROJECTCONSULT_
August 11, 2011
“ 4 characters: P-L-A-N. 5 characters: T-H-I-N-K RT @bduhon: Q2: #SharePoint/#governance: how to do it (in 140 characters) #ECM #ecmjam
steveweissman
August 11, 2011
“ #ECMjam Q2-You can define segments of SP with different technical restrictions to assist in governance (e.g. size quotas for team sites)
DerekPunaro
August 11, 2011
“ Q2: #sharepoint governance must be both centralized and distributed. Policies set by org, solution design by business units. #ecmjam
lehawes
August 11, 2011
“ #ECMjam A>Q2 Viral, uncontrolled installation and usage of #Sharepoint is the death of every information management governance!
PROJECTCONSULT_
August 11, 2011
One of the advantages of SharePoint is that is puts the administration, and “growth” of a site into the hands of the end-users (empowers). But this is also a disadvantage. Sites can expand and spread “virally”. The discussion touched upon this.
“ Q2: Governace requires planning up front and RIM on the back. Can’t be done with a full featured ECM #ECMJAM
incontextmag
August 11, 2011
“ Q2 @piewords “Viral w governance can work.” Sort of like a organizational social media policy? #ECMjam
inoldland
August 11, 2011
“ More involved but yes RT @inoldland: Q2 @piewords “Viral w governance can work.” Sort of like a organizational social media policy? #ECMjam
piewords
August 11, 2011
“ Q2 so how do you explain governance to an end user and get them involved? Easy to say, hard to do #ecmjam
danieloleary
August 11, 2011
“ There, and in CIO office (and in Redmond?) RT @bduhon: Q2. So #governance is where a hammer is needed? #ECM #SharePoint #ecmjam
steveweissman
August 11, 2011
“ Q2. So, @danieloleary @jessewilkins: #governance is where a hammer is needed? #ECM #SharePoint #ecmjam
bduhon
August 11, 2011
The discussion surrounding this question ended with a few good points that summed up the use of governance in a SP environment. It is useful, but needs to be applied sensibly.
“ So what kills #SharePoint? RT @incontextmag: Q2: SP doesnt kill governance. People kill governance. #ecmjam
steveweissman
August 11, 2011
“ Q2: SP doesn’t kill governance. People kill governance. #ECMJAM
incontextmag
August 11, 2011
“ (Answer) So what kills #SharePoint? Governance! (sometimes) RT @incontextmag: Q2: SP doesnt kill governance. People kill governance. #ecmjam
steveweissman
August 11, 2011
Question 3 (Is there/will there be a backlash against SharePoint) was very much related to expectations.
“ Only against over-inflated expectations. RT @bduhon: Q3. Is there/will there be a backlash against #SharePoint? #ECM #AIIM #ecmjam
lptacek
August 11, 2011
“ #ECMjam A>Q3 #Sharepoint is already outdated compared to mobile and apps
PROJECTCONSULT_
August 11, 2011
“ After 10 yrs? Seems to me we should have seen one already. #ECM #AIIM #ecmjam
steveweissman
August 11, 2011
“ #ECMjam A>Q3 #Sharepoint is too complex in relation to consumerisation of #collaboration & #ECM
PROJECTCONSULT_
August 11, 2011
“ Q3: There surely is a @sharepoint backlash, but it’s misguided, because it’s based on the misunderstandings we discussed re: Q1. #ecmjam
lehawes
August 11, 2011
“ Q3 Backlash will come only if SP doesn’t deliver value. Same reason there’s backlash against anything. (Apologies to Susan Faludi.). #ECMjam
inoldland
August 11, 2011
“ Q3: SharePoint has a place, but it’s not a mass market tool. It won’t ever be the Facebook of ECM #ecmjam
danieloleary
August 11, 2011
In the end, this comment was made:
“ Q3: The problem is that they market it as ECM but ECM is a category and no one product is all ECM. #ECMJAM
incontextmag
August 11, 2011

But someone pointed out:

“ Only in our circles; elsewhere they promote other stuff (eg, collab) RT @incontextmag: Q3 The problem is that they market it as #ECM #ecmjam
steveweissman
August 11, 2011

Question 4 discussed what SharePoint did well, and what it did not do well.

While this question didn’t generate the same discussion as others, there were some interesting comments.

The “does well” comments included:

“ Q4 SP does sharing, collaboration and portals very well OOTB. It does not handle high-volume, transactional stuff well. #ECMjam
inoldland
August 11, 2011
“ Easy way to share Office docs. Replacement for file shares. RT @bduhon: Q4: What does #SharePoint do well ootb? #ECM #AIIM #SP2010 #ecmjam
lptacek
August 11, 2011
“ Q4 – Collab & portals are good. Governance, transactional content, capture weak. #ecmjam #ecmjam
mtwessel
August 11, 2011
“ #ecmjam Q4: Good: Basic document management. Huge improvement over shared drives. Bad: Dependent metadata and field validation.
DerekPunaro
August 11, 2011
“ Q4 SEARCH! In 2010 they nailed it, wish every platform was as functional #ecmjam
danieloleary
August 11, 2011

Whereas, the “does not do well” included:

“ Q4 SP doesn’t do BPM well. Managing docs from outside an org’s four walls that need to be processed. #ECMjam
inoldland
August 11, 2011
“ Q4: Doesn’t physical records management, BPM, transactional content management, scanning & capture, archiving & library services #ECMJAM
incontextmag
August 11, 2011
“ Q4 – Weakness: Seen many orgs empower depts to make their own teamsites, but result is too many silos and no enterprise governance #ecmjam
mtwessel
August 11, 2011
“ Q4: SP default is to store as blobs, inflating the DB, but if you do much you need a SP work around. #ECMJAM
incontextmag
August 11, 2011

Question 5 asked “Can SharePoint solve collaboration and DM problems for larger companies as well as for smaller?”

Generally it seemed that while SharePoint was useful for a small company, the administration, and maintenance requirements were too high to make it practical.

“ #ecmjam Q5 SharePoint has always been able to scale the difference is it puts it in the users hands front end, versus other ECM backend
rileybeebs
August 11, 2011
“ #ecmjam Q5 so scaling requires more planning, but absolutely can scale for large companies
rileybeebs
August 11, 2011
“ Q5 the time to live and staffing requirements are too much for small business, #sharepoint is a better fit for larger orgs #ecmjam
danieloleary
August 11, 2011
“ #ECMjam A>Q5 #Sharepoint can solve DM problems in smaller orgs but is some overkill in regard to admin
PROJECTCONSULT_
August 11, 2011
“ Q5 no 4 SMB’s. lack time and IT resources. rely on specific OOTB and references to their biz/problems that dont exist #ecmjam
SteveatFB
August 11, 2011
“ Q5: Technically (performance, scaling) Yes, but for the features and manageability No. #ecmjam
Tomkan
August 11, 2011
The discussion also touched upon the scalability of SharePoint, as well as its use in the Cloud.
“ Short ans: yes. Better ans: yes, but, with “but” = may require 3rd pty apps RT @bduhon: Q5 Can #SharePoint really scale? #ECM #AIIM #ecmjam
steveweissman
August 11, 2011
“ Q5 the best way to scale sharepoint is to run in the cloud #ecmjam
shadrachwhite
August 11, 2011
“ What kind of cloud? Cloud cloud or VM? [email protected] : Q5 the best way to scale sharepoint is to run in the cloud #ECMJAM
juliecolgan
August 11, 2011
“ #ECMjam A>Q5 #Sharepoint as Office365 SaaS might be the solution for SMEs
PROJECTCONSULT_
August 11, 2011
“ @bduhon q5 Not yet. There is promise for the future for SP for SMBs with Azure and the future cloud platformed SP in dev. #ecmjam #AIIM
nickinglis
August 11, 2011
“ Q5 Wondering if performance is an issue as SP scales (when it does). #ECMjam
inoldland
August 11, 2011
“ #ECMjam Q5: We’re 26,000 people. SP scales, but it needs careful focus and planning.
DerekPunaro
August 11, 2011
“ Q5: hmmm. Scale in what way? functionality … no. of users … geography … ? #ecmjam
steveweissman
August 11, 2011
So it was  a very interesting discussion with a lot of interesting comments.

For a read of the actual tweet stream, click here (http://www.hashtracking.com/fast-report/?hashtag=ecmjam)

Related articles
  • TakingAIIM
  • A meeting of the great ECM minds – the #ECMJam (markjowen.com)
  • AIIM White Paper on SharePoint Deployment (arnoldit.com)
  • A Tip for Adding Muscle to SharePoint (arnoldit.com)

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