There are three commonly heard reasons why companies do not use expert SharePoint consulting services to help with a SharePoint project.
- We can do it ourselves, why spend the money?
- We aren’t big enough to interest most consulting firms.
- didn’t have a good experience last time I worked with a consultant.
Actually, those could be valid reasons not to use a qualified and experienced SharePoint consulting firm, but they are frequently just excuses to block a SharePoint project from moving forward. Additionally, those three excuses most often apply to the second phase of a technology project – Development, not the first phase – Design.
If SharePoint is a viable tool to solve a specific problem, improve the efficiency of the employees, or expand the capabilities of the company…then SharePoint is a solution that should be given the respect and consideration it deserves. And the starting point for any SharePoint project is in creating a good Design.
What is SharePoint
Simply put, SharePoint is an all-in-one solution to communication problems between members of a project or team; it is also an enterprise management system designed to work with both the company’s Intranet and Internet. SharePoint offers a way to collaborate with others, organize teams, manage projects, and share documents. SharePoint connects people with information.
Consider the comments by Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO: “SharePoint is the definitive Operating System or platform for the middle tier. SharePoint is the missing link between personal productivity and line-of-business applications.” He also said, “There is incredible enthusiasm among the developer community for SharePoint. We know that thousands of developers have used the SharePoint platform, and we believe that number will increase to more than 1 million developers by 2013.”
Whether Steve Ballmer was correct in his prediction of 1 million developers or not, we do know that there is a huge demand for qualified SharePoint professionals and that finding a good developer is challenging. When we say developer we don’t mean someone who just learned to put together a SharePoint Designer workflow. We mean someone who understands source control, who knows the difference between a class and an object, and who can see, with bit of debugging, whether a loop is safe. Someone who can provide expert guidance when designing a system that truly meets your needs.
Why Work With a SharePoint Consulting Service
So back to the notion that the excuses mentioned above are offered up as more of a delay tactic to keep the SharePoint project from ever getting off the ground.
Given SharePoint’s critical role in opening communication channels between employees, applications, documents, and external stakeholders, the first step in a project is to prepare a strong technical Design. Unfortunately, although they don’t usually admit it, company leaders tend to put off the Design phase because it can be a distraction. Even though a SharePoint project might be justified, many companies don’t want to invest the time or resources into building a business case and designing a system that addresses all major concerns.
At this decisive point, talking with an experienced SharePoint consulting service like SharePoint Engine is the right step. SharePoint Engine has highly trained and seasoned consultants who have been through the process of designing and building over 100 SharePoint systems; they can be of great service and should be your first step!
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