Consejo Blog: Making Information Technology Work

Create a Support Program for your SharePoint Environment

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:02:49 PDT

A recent article in CIO Magazine provided some great content around the true cost of SharePoint. Social software and portals expert, Peter Sejersen from J Boye, has expanded that discussion when he added a quick case study of a DIY SharePoint implementation at the municipality of Aalborg in Denmark. However, one dimension of SharePoint that has not received a lot of attention is support. In

Article: Effective Site Provisioning for SharePoint

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:13:41 PDT

One of the criticisms lodged against SharePoint is that you install it one day and the next day you end up with thousands of sites. Each site brings with it potential security risks from improper security settings and massive storage consumption resulting from, among other reasons, content dumping. Even assuming you don't have either problem, it's always better to have a well managed SharePoint

Free Webinar Series: Improving SharePoint Search

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:37:04 PDT

I will be joining a list of fantastic speakers on a free four-part webinar series on improving SharePoint search. The series was developed by Earley & Associates. From the web site: “From basic search scopes to custom properties, unstructured content to structured data, we’ll cover a variety of methods you can use to improve your search experience and results.” Please join us for one or

New Support Offering for SharePoint Farms

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:24:53 PDT

Today we announced the availability of a new SharePoint support offering called SharePoint Operational Support Solution or SOSS. Consejo has been focused on SharePoint development since our founding. What we’ve found, particularly with small and medium organizations, is that it’s tough for IT groups to support the relatively new SharePoint implementations effectively. Most often, we see

SharePoint Summit 2009 Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:17:22 PDT

I have just returned from a fantastic trip to Montreal for the SharePoint Summit, where I taught one tutorial on making SharePoint work in the Enterprise and one regular session on Web 2.0 and SharePoint. The sessions were very well attended (partially to my surprise) and I really enjoyed seeing a different side to SharePoint implementations – in the U.S., Consejo tends to see more commercial

SharePoint Migration PodCast

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:35:23 PDT

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a podcast regarding SharePoint migrations. The podcast is in the style of an interview. We cover topics like: what to watch out for, best practices for migration and practical planning tips. You can register to hear the podcast here: http://library.theserverside.com/data/document.do;jsessionid=DE5FF872B3C13936ECBD952257887AC9?res_id=1237487165_

SharePoint Page Layout Error: Only Content controls are allowed directly in a content page that contains Content controls

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:32:00 PST

I recently built a SharePoint feature to provision custom master pages and page layouts for a client. Overall the solution worked pretty well until one day, while making changes to one of the page layouts, I saw the following error: Only Content controls are allowed directly in a content page that contains Content controls. Since other blog entries, referenced at the end of this article, can

Customizing a SharePoint Site's Visual Design

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:58:38 PST

One of the common questions we get from clients is "how do I apply a custom design to my SharePoint site?" While SharePoint's interface is relatively clean, it has the ubiquitous "SharePoint Look." Most clients want to make their sites match their brand, palette and navigational style. However, it's not always easy to figure out the various elements that need to change. To that end, here's a

Insignia Bluetooth Headset - One Year Later

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:16:28 PST

It's been nearly a year since I acquired my Bluetooth headset. In that time, the headphones have served me well. Unfortunately, on a recent trip, the headphone finally succumbed to the abuse they've endured; the plastic that connects the two ear phones snapped -- likely twisted a bit too far in my laptop case. However, over the course of the year, I learned a few things I thought others would

Gilbane Boston 2008 and SharePoint

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:08:06 PST

As I finish up my presentations at the Gilbane Boston conference, I am still struck by the number of questions surrounding SharePoint. During my "SharePoint in the Enterprise" talk, a number of attendees asked about whether SharePoint could be a stand along ECM solution. Others were concerned about integration with 3rd party products -- specifically how SharePoint could co-exist with other

SharePoint Report 2009 Released

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:05:25 PST

Consejo and CMS Watch have just completed an update to the SharePoint Report called the SharePoint Report 2009. If you're in considering SharePoint for your organization, buying the report will save you both time and money. For far less than it would cost to hire a consultant to deliver the same information, you are given pointed advice about what SharePoint does and does not do, as well as

SharePoint at the JBoye Conference in Denmark

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:16:29 PST

As the JBoye 2008 conference in Aarhus, Denmark wraps up the final day, I can't help but be amazed at the popularity of SharePoint in both in the U.S. and abroad. With a great deal of Consejo's work located in the U.S., it's easy to get caught up locally and forget the more global community. During the conference, there was one consistent theme from the largely European-based audience: most

IT and Business Alignment Forum

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:24:21 PDT

UPDATE: Changed Discount Code International Institute of Research (IIR) recently created a new, combined conference that brings together the best of business and IT strategy (Enterprise Architectures Conference, Business Process Management Conference and Enterprise Web, Portals & Collaborative Technologies Conference). The new IT and Business Alignment Forum will be held 10 to 13 November at

Rookie mistakes to avoid during the SharePoint implementation process

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:48:39 PDT

Despite what may seem like a virtual explosion of SharePoint in the enterprise, it has been around since 2001. However, because of the various architectural changes in the recent version, SharePoint's popularity has taken off. The challenge now is to ensure that it is implemented properly in your environment. Read the full article here...

ECM Training from CMS Watch

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:23:42 PDT

CMS Watch recently released a new training program. Their Fundamentals of Enterprise Content Management Technology aims to help educate organizations on ECM technologies. The course has a broad focus from what "you're getting into" when implementing ECM technologies to how gather requirements (and a lot in between). Even if you are working with or plan to work with a consulting agency, it

.NET Framework Service Pack Breaks SharePoint v2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:44:07 PDT

Filed under the "be careful when updating servers" category, Microsoft announced on Wednesday that an update to the latest .NET Framework (v3.5) will cause problems with WSS v2.0 (and SharePoint 2003 by proxy). Anyone who has been working on SharePoint since the 2003 timeframe will probably remember that this is not the first time that framework updates have broken the previous version of

SharePoint and Coffee ... Perfect Together

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:37:19 PDT

It's not clear what implication the following recommendation from Amazon may have, but I suspect that Rob Bogue et. al. will be thrilled with the additional promotion. In fact, the recommendation is a split -- promotion of products based on what I just ordered (K-Cups for my new coffee maker) and products that fit my purchasing habits over the last few months. However, the presentation of

Take control of SharePoint Security

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:15:36 PDT

One challenge for companies implementing SharePoint is to figure out security. Keeping the model straight over time, as the SharePoint implementation matures, is even more of a challenge. SharePoint's ease of installation and high-level configuration can sometimes mask its underlying complexity, especially when dealing with more advanced scenarios like security. Click here for the rest of the

Integrating existing applications with SharePoint Server 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:05:54 PDT

It's likely that you are using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 in your organization. If not, there's probably a strong contingent within your organization lobbying to implement the technology. Once you have SharePoint server, though, there's the inevitable challenge of integrating existing applications into the portal framework. So, this begs the question -- if you want to use

SharePoint and Oracle Internet Directory (LDAP)

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:40:51 PDT

I have a client who recently wanted to leverage their Oracle Internet Directory server to authenticate users in SharePoint. Since OID is LDAP compliant, I figured I could just use the generic LDAP provider with SharePoint. Turns out, that provider is only supplied with MOSS and my client was using WSS. So, off to Visual Studio to create a custom membership provider I went. I've seen a

REVIEW: Carbonite Online Backup

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 20:13:10 PDT

One of the challenges of constantly traveling is ensuring that all of my data is continuously backed up. Having lost data as a result of either a hardware or software failure, I know I need a backup, but I could never find a good solution. Enter Carbonite. I happened upon Carbonite about four months ago. Essentially, they offer an online backup of your machine (Windows only). For $49/year,

Issues with Virtual PC 2007 and Vista

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:57:17 PDT

I recently upgraded my primary laptop to Vista Ultimate. Reluctantly I gave up the security of Windows XP and the comforts of a long-lived laptop build -- not that XP was my dream OS, but I had gotten used to its quirks and I knew what to expect. That said, it was getting long in the tooth and Vista did have a certain allure. After the upgrade (actually a reformat and a clean install), I

IIR Enterprise-3 Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Sun, 18 May 2008 11:48:43 PDT

This week I get the opportunity to attend and speak at the Enterprise-3 conference, hosted by International Institute of Research and BI Research. I'll be chairing a series of pre-conference seminars on SharePoint with Microsoft MVP Bob Mixon. In addition, I'm presenting a session on "Sorting out the Productivity Suite Mess," which looks at the major competitors of Microsoft Office as

SharePoint Report 2008 Released on CMS Watch

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:29:44 PDT

After months of work, the new SharePoint Report 2008 has been released. I collaborated with CMS Watch to develop a full 190 page research report that exposes what SharePoint does well, its limitations and what businesses of all sizes need to do to be successful when implementing the tool. I encourage you to review the sample content and review the TOC. If you have feedback on the report, I'd

Customized My Sites Exposed

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:46:57 PDT

We recently undertook a project to develop a global intranet for a relatively large organization. As part of the requirements of that implementation, the client wanted to create a highly customized My Site experience. As anyone who has delved deep into My Site customization knows, it's not straightforward, easy and may create maintenance issues long term. Ultimately, after working through