1. SkyDrive Pro: SkyDrive Pro is part of both the SharePoint service in Office 365 and server. Some people misperceive SkyDrive Pro as a replacement for SharePoint, rather it is a vital part of SharePoint 2013. SkyDrive makes it even easier to work with your documents while reinforcing social networking, collaboration, search, metadata, workflow and compliance. It brings the SharePoint user experience together.
2. Shredded Storage: For those of us trying to streamline document storage, this is a great new feature. Shredded storage for SharePoint 2013 will remove file duplicates and reduce the amount of content sent across the wire.
3. 3.      Yammer: I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about the enhanced social media features for SharePoint 2013. And recently, Microsoft announced they’re acquiring Yammer, the fastest growing enterprise social networking vendor, and that after the acquisition closes, they will expand the connections between Yammer and SharePoint and other Microsoft technologies even further.
4. 4.      Sites Hub: The new “Sites Hub” shows all your sites in one place, helping you streamline your workflows across the board. Microsoft also expanded team collaboration tools to include new team newsfeeds, team OneNote notebooks with real-time co-authoring, task timelines and Exchange team mailboxes.

The buzz continues to get stronger as the release date gets closer for SharePoint 2013. If you have any questions about buzz words or new features within SharePoint 2013, please contact us at CoreBix.

By Robert Jumblatt of CoreBix, Washington, DC Microsoft SharePoint Solutions Experts

 Document storage- Document storage is a basic functionality most all organizations need, especially at the beginning. Microsoft SharePoint creates one place to store contracts or financial documents so the integrity of data stays intact and businesses stay on track.

1. Collaboration Tools- The next phase incorporates collaboration tools into the mix. As your team grows, you need more avenues to share business critical information. Microsoft SharePoint is that platform, allowing team members to share secure information online, anytime and from anywhere.
2. Customizations- Customizations creep in during the third level as document storage and collaboration enhance your business. Companies may need better insight into data or need assistance with management projects from start to finish. Customizing Microsoft SharePoint to meet these needs early on will reduce confusion later in the game.
3. Workflows- Similar to customizations, setting up workflows will streamline overall business tasks and create an optimal work environment. You can set up specific workflows for a certain team so they see projects through to completion. Workflows keep everyone on the same page, enhancing productivity.
4. Full on Custom Development- Some organizations are in already in full swing, thus need a solution to fit the exact needs of what they already do. Full-on custom development allows for customized reporting and business intelligence models as well as streamlined operational tasks for specific roles.

 All of these stages may sound familiar to you and we here at CoreBix can help you see through them with our SharePoint expertise. Stay tuned in to our blog for detailed posts around each maturity level that will describe tips on how you can make the most out of your SharePoint solution, no matter how “mature” you may be.

 By Robert Jumblatt of CoreBix, Washington, DC Microsoft SharePoint Solutions Experts

1. How many lists can you have per website? In SharePoint 2010, the recommended limit is 5,000 and you can have up to 2,000 in SharePoint 2007
2. How many items can you have in a folder? In SharePoint 2010, you can have up to 5,000 items and in SharePoint 2007, the recommended limit is 2,000 items per folder.
3. How many files can you have in a document library? In SharePoint 2010, the maximum number of documents per library is 30,000,000. You can create very large document libraries by nesting folders, or using standard views and site hierarchy. This value may vary depending on how documents and folders are organized, and by the type and size of documents stored. The limit in SharePoint 2007 is 10,000,000 and having more than 50 lists and libraries in the site’s navigation structure makes it more difficult to navigate the content by using the user interface.
4. What is the size limit for SharePoint’s content database? The content database limit in both SharePoint 2010 and 2007 is 200 GB for collaboration and 1 TB for document archive. In general, we strongly recommend limiting the size of site collections to 100 GB for better site performance.
5. How many users can there be in a site collection? You can have up to 2 million users per site collection in SharePoint 2010 as well as in SharePoint 2007.
6. What is the file size limit?  The default maximum file size is 50 MB in SharePoint 2010; however, this can be increased up to 2 GB. Remember that a large volume of very large files can affect the performance of your site. This hasn’t changed from SharePoint 2007. The file size limit in 2007 is also 2 GB.

We hope these answer your questions about SharePoint storage limits. If you need any more assistance figuring out what capacity is right for you, please contact us at CoreBix.

By Robert Jumblatt of CoreBix, Washington, DC Microsoft SharePoint Solutions Experts

First of all, how do you want to handle your records? In SharePoint 2010, you have multiple options that allow you to archive records or keep them within your active document folders. Before SharePoint 2010, you had to create a records center site to serve as an archive. This was prone to confusion as users had to remember to move the file over once it became a record, and then users could not edit it at that point.

As you’re figuring out which option while work best for you, ask yourself a few questions:

• Governance: Is the governance of the collaboration site appropriate for managing records? Is your industry subject to regulatory requirements that mandate records be separated from active documents? Should the administrator of a collaboration site be trusted to manage a site that contains records? You might want to store records in a site that uses more restricted access than the collaboration site, or in a site that is backed up on a different schedule.
• Timeline: How long will the collaboration site be in use? If records will have to be kept for longer than the project is ongoing, choosing an in-place records management strategy means that you will have to maintain the collaboration site even after it is no longer used.
• Accessibility: Will the project members need frequent access to the documents after the documents have become records? If you use an in-place approach, project members can access documents in the same manner regardless of whether the documents are active or are records.
• Compliance: Are records managers in your organization responsible for only records, or are they responsible for all information, regardless of whether it is active or a record? If records managers are responsible only for official records, having a separate records center might be easier for them.

 Records management may seem like a small step in planning your SharePoint implementation, but it’s an important one. Answer the questions above, and you’ll have the framework laid out to avoid confusion

By Robert Jumblatt of CoreBix, Microsoft SharePoint solution provider out of Washington D.C.

Let’s review the costs incurred by manually entering your business critical data and in contrast, how SharePoint workflows can help reduce or even eliminate those costs:

Lack of Real-Time Insight: Manual data entry hinders your company from seeing exactly what’s going on at any given moment. The time it takes to update your system, is the time it takes for something else to change. This skew in data results in ill-informed decisions by upper management and frustration among employees. SharePoint workflows help update business information with a click of a button so that everyone within your organization can see the same, accurate, real-time data.

Waste of Valuable Employee Time: The amount of money you pay your employees of course depends, but when they’re using their time to enter data that could be automated through a workflow, it’s a waste of their time and your money. SharePoint workflows helps free up their time to focus on growing your business instead of maintaining it. They will have more time to analyze the accurate data in place and make better decisions that will benefit your company.

Inaccurate Customer Order or Contact Information: If your sales and/or marketing teams have inaccurate information about customer orders and/or contact information, it’s harder for them to close deals, see orders through to completion, and recognize potential opportunities. SharePoint workflows help ensure your team can see the information relevant to a particular sale, order, or opportunity at any given time.

CoreBix experts have worked with many companies helping streamline their business processes with Microsoft SharePoint. Please contact us if you need help setting up automated workflows in SharePoint 2010 and realize time and cost savings you didn’t know were possible.

By Robert Jumblatt of CoreBix, Washington D.C. Microsoft SharePoint Partner

Decomposition Tree: By using the decomposition tree within Microsoft SharePoint 2010, you can access the information you need by just using your browser. You can look at the data and see the inherent relationships that exist for each key point. This helps you prepare a more detailed and complete analysis of your business.

Performance Scorecards: In SharePoint 2010, you can take advantage of Excel Services and PerformancePoint Services connected to SharePoint Server 2010. These services help you create scorecards that keep your company on track. Having full insight into the status of your performance overall will ensure a productive environment and profitable returns.

Dashboards: Easy to read graphs and charts help everyone in your company stay on the same page. This access to deep insight helps ensure your company runs as smoothly as possible. Everyone and every process are aligned to the KPI’s your company has in place through the use of SharePoint dashboards. Employees can drill down to the level of detail needed to make accurate and timely business decisions.

CoreBix experts have worked with many companies helping enhance their business intelligence with Microsoft SharePoint. Please contact us if you would like more information on how SharePoint 2010 can help you reach your goals quickly and efficiently.

By Robert Jumblatt of CoreBix, Washington D.C. Microsoft SharePoint Partner

Reporting data should not be as troublesome as it is for most organizations. You should be able to visit a database, filter on the information you need, and export the relevant data out into a readable format for analysis.

There are misconceptions about Microsoft SharePoint’s capabilities when it comes to reporting. Many assume it’s just a central document management site that holds reports, but even though the reports appear within the context of SharePoint Reporting Services, in reality the reports are served not from the SharePoint Server but from the Report Server.

When you open a report from your SharePoint site, a session is created that prepares the report for processing, retrieves data, merges the report into the report layout, and displays it right within your web browser:

While the report is open, you can export it to different application formats, or interact with data by drilling into underlying numbers or clicking through to a related report. The report server also synchronizes operations and data with SharePoint and tracks information about the files it processes. You will always have clear insight into what has been changed, by whom, and at what time it was changed. Since SharePoint is a centralized location for your team, it also limits concerns of multiple reports showing the same information.

CoreBix experts have worked with many companies helping streamline their reporting by leveraging Microsoft SharePoint. Please contact us if you would like more information on how reporting in SharePoint can help your business.

By Robert Jumblatt of CoreBix, Microsoft SharePoint solution provider out of Washington D.C.

PerformancePoint Services make the above possible with its new enhancements in SharePoint 2010. Here are just three ways PerformancePoint can help you effectively manage your team and company:

1. The KPI Details report is a new report type that displays relevant information about KPIs, metrics, rows, columns, and cells all within one scorecard. This simplifies reporting and makes it easier to comprehend when compiling analysis points of data.
2. Scorecards have been enhanced to make it easy for you to drill down and quickly access more detailed information. You can also sort, filter, and view variances between actual and target values to help you identify concerns or risks.
3. The Decomposition Tree is a new visualization report type available in PerformancePoint Services. You can use it to quickly and visually break down higher-level data values from a multi-dimensional data set to understand the driving forces behind those values. The Decomposition Tree is available in scorecards and analytic reports and ultimately in dashboards.

Contact us if you need help optimizing your SharePoint solution to meet your performance management objectives. As Microsoft SharePoint experts, our team members at CoreBix are equipped with unique fields of expertise.

By Robert Jumblatt of CoreBix, Microsoft SharePoint solutions experts based out of Washington D.C.

As a project manager, you are juggling numerous components of multiple projects all while making sure your team is keeping up with their assigned tasks. Many of you are trying to manage all of this just within Microsoft Outlook and desktop folders. Well, Microsoft SharePoint may just be the dream tool you’ve been waiting for. Product features save you time and eliminate confusion across your team.

Microsoft SharePoint makes your projects more efficient right from the get-go as your central repository for information relevant to your specific project. The project manager also gets control of who has access to the site, helping you maintain data integrity. There are quite a few features that make this collaboration tool a dream for project managers and here are just two of our favorites.

1. SharePoint and Outlook work together: You can create an event right in your SharePoint calendar. SharePoint and Outlook talk to each other, so you can see events created from SharePoint, as well as create events in your Outlook and it shows back up on your SharePoint space. This makes scheduling a breeze and also ensures you don’t miss any important meetings due to miscommunication.
2. Project document management made easy: It is easy to manage your documents with SharePoint, for example, you can drag files from your desktop and drop it right into your SharePoint site. SharePoint keeps its user interface and processes familiar for you and your team. You can also set up version control which allows you to check version history, keeping track of all changes that took place to each of your documents.

With Microsoft SharePoint, you can gain real-time view of your projects and you can access your site anytime and anywhere online. Contact us here at CoreBix to learn how to get a hold of this dream project management solution and tailor it to your specific needs.

By Robert Jumblatt of CoreBix, Microsoft SharePoint solutions experts based out of Washington D.C.

The following areas should be incorporated in your rollout and launch plan.

• Communication- Get the word out by using corporate newsletters, in-person meetings, and hallway bulletin boards to communicate the new SharePoint offering to the user community. Really highlight the benefits that it can bring each department and how connecting departments will make their jobs easier.
• Company handbook- Provide clear instruction on how and when users should work with SharePoint, including what constitutes abuse or misuse of the system, how to keep information secure, when to use SharePoint versus other alternatives, and how to request new functionality.
• Training- Your solution is only as good as the people who are using it. Ensure that users and administrators know how to use SharePoint effectively. The most important type of training is site collection administrator training, followed by end-user training.
• Incentives and rewards- Make sure that users understand what’s in it for them. It may be a good idea to get users contributing to SharePoint content, and reward them with gifts, recognition, etc. Once your employees break through that first time use, they will want to use it more often.

If you have any questions on any of the SharePoint Governance blogs we’ve shared with you over the past couple of weeks, please contact us for more information. As Microsoft SharePoint experts, our team members at CoreBix are equipped with unique fields of expertise, allowing us to construct your SharePoint site at an average cost rate, while maintaining the quality expected of custom SharePoint developers.

By Robert Jumblatt of CoreBix, Washington, DC Microsoft SharePoint Solutions Experts