Why Your SharePoint Investment May Be at Risk

Is your SharePoint investment about to go down the toilet?

Are you having a hard time getting buy in and/or participation from users?

Not sure how to keep people and departments engaged?

Are you feeling the pain of this huge electronic elephant on your IT department's chest?

Does your IT team feel the frustration of babysitting the rest of the organization when it comes to SharePoint?

Your SharePoint investment does not have to become another shared drive. It can be the dynamic collaboration and document management system the salesman said it could be for your organization. You simply have to empower the users to see the vision.

The vision comes with training. But not just the generic or standard training you get at factory-type training centers. They need training that makes sense to their daily tasks. They need training  that is relevant. They need training that is practical. They crave training that is fun!

To make your SharePoint investment pay off your users must feel empowered, not afraid.

They must feel a sense of adventure and possibility, not dread.

They must feel the tool is made for them or that it can be customized, not overwhelmed by the massive blank canvas that is SharePoint.

Are you ready for a training solution that will be:

• Practical
• Relevant
• Fun
• Customized

SharePoint end-user training delivered by Samantha Gregory is the solution you've been praying for.

Samantha Gregory is a 10-year SharePoint veteran. A self-taught user, she has moved up in the SharePoint ranks. As a power user turned site administrator turned SharePoint analyst turned UX/UI project manager turned SharePoint Trainer, Ms. Gregory has been where your users are. She understands their pain and frustration because she has been in the trenches too.

Samantha Gregory has been a consultant and trainer for Aerospace, Insurance, Telecommunications, Engineering, City, State, and Federal government agencies and companies including:

• NASA - Marshall Space Flight Center
• Siemens Energy
• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Weather Channel
• Atlanta Housing Authority
• Verizon Telematics
• SAIC

Don't you owe it to your users to give them the training they crave beyond the generic training they get at the one size fits all training centers by people who have not spent a day working in the SharePoint trenches?

SharePoint training by Samantha Gregory is personalized, practical, customized, and relevant to your company.

Samantha is a tireless trainer who will not quit until your team is comfortable and even excited about the possibilities.

Schedule your training today and ensure your SharePoint investment pays off tomorrow because you have happy, engages users.

Contact for a customized quote at 404-939-6179 or visit sharepointdarling.com/training

How to Choose a Document Management System

As the name implies, a document management system is basically a software package that helps to increase the productivity and efficiency of your company by organizing your documents into an easily accessible system of searchable archives. Which document management system is right for you for you will depend greatly on what kind of work your company does and what kind of information you need to store.

Document Organization and Security

Regardless of the specific demands of your business, most good document management systems have a number of things in common. A good system will be able to keep your documents organized and safe while integrating smoothly with any other software you may use. It will present a clear solution for inserting your information into the workflow that you define and will be easily searchable. Most businesses need their document management systems to provide a permissions scheme that will allow company managers to give access to certain documents to certain people and deny access to others.

Disaster Recovery

There should be a good disaster recovery system in place in any document management system. Multiple backup copies of your information should be securely stored in multiple locations to ensure that your information is not lost regardless of any catastrophes that may take place.

Document Capture

It’s important that the document system you choose offers document capture solutions that are compatible with your business. The user interface should be easy to learn and use, and printing documents from the repository should be easy. The best document management systems also include character recognition systems, text indexing, and bar code reading. A solid document control system is also important to make sure that only authorized people have access to your information.

Document Control

Document control is an essential part of a document management system. There should be an approval process that is secure yet not cumbersome. The approval process should be highly visible and easily completed. There should be a custom naming scheme to allow users to set document and version control numbers to help differentiate between documents and track their life cycle. Document ownership should be cleared defined and changes should only be allowed by those with the correct privileges to private piracy or even theft.

Three popular document management systems on the market today are SharePoint, Documentum, and Alfresco.

SharePoint is available as either a free or premium Microsoft application and comes with all the user-friendliness and Windows integration expected from any Microsoft software. It has a wide variety of customization methods and allows for easy permission and version control. SharePoint has a limited, text search function that is complemented by separate application provided by Microsoft, the Microsoft Search Server Express, to provide comprehensive document searching features. The resource for the above information on SharePoint can be found at the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_SharePoint.

Documentum is one of the most secure document management systems available, providing a strict set of compliance rules under which documents are stored. Documentum also offers excellent search and content classification features as well as easy management of input, business processes, customer communications, web content, and digital assets. A comprehensive resource on Documentum can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentum.

Alfresco is an open source document management and is provided free of charge by its distributors. Alfresco is designed for consumers who need a very scalable performance and offers multi-platform and multi-language support as well as a high degree of integration and flexibility. More information can be found at the following resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfresco_(software).

Choosing a document management system takes time and effort to validate the current systems available. It is important to remember above all things that user adoption also plays an important role. Without proper training, end users can be intimidate, even resentful of the new system.

If you need documentation management or SharePoint end user training contact me to discuss your company training needs.

SharePoint Training in Atlanta

Starting in January I will begin offering SharePoint training classes.

This is perfect for the person or group who wants hands-on training and instruction.

SharePoint for end users beginners class forming soon. Learn how to use SharePoint and advance your career.

****Class Begins January 20, 2015****

Do you use SharePoint at work but feel lost, confused, or intimidated by it?
Would you like to learn how to use it not only to get your job done but get kudos too?

If so this class is for you. In SharePoint Training for Beginners you get

• The benefit of a smaller class (10-15 people)
• Hands-on help
• An overview of the software
• Practical job-related content
• An instructor with 10 years of experience

Learn

• SharePoint interface and ribbon
• How to create Lists and Libraries
• How to customize your site
• How to use the calendar
• How to upload files
• How to manage permissions
• The different permission levels
• How to manage your documents and records

Morning and Afternoon snacks are provided. Beverages are provided throughout the day.

Classes begin in January so register now to reserve your spot. The class will fill up quickly!

Register Here >> https://sharepointforbeginners.eventbrite.com

Top SharePoint Training Resources for Beginners

The learning curve for SharePoint can feel steep.

You may have limited permissions or have the task of just uploading documents. Now they want you to learn more and have even gone so far to send you to a basic training class. I may have even seen you in my class. 

Now that the class is over you have probably retained about 10% of what you learned. 

No worries, they resources below will help you get through the rest of the learning process. 

If you have any questions shoot me an email or comment below and I'll do my best to answer.

What is SharePoint?

SharePoint Training / Tutorials for Beginning Users

SharePoint Simplified

I came across this site recently. I love the short videos describing all the features in SharePoint 2013

Lynda.com (Beginner SharePoint Training)

They have quite a library of SharePoint training (and training in general). It is a great resource however there is a monthly or yearly membership fee. It is worth it to get in depth training.

End User SharePoint

When I was something of a SharePoint newbie I found myself on this site. It was good for basic information where I learned a lot. There are a few beginner tutorials but it is mostly for intermediate and advanced users. There site has changed a lot but still worth a look.

Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Tutorials

Microsoft has free training for people who want to learn SharePoint. My only complaint is the information is not all in one place. I will link more training in this space as I find them.

SharePoint Training / Tutorial for Intermediate Users

Lynda.com (Intermediate SharePoint Training)

They have quite a library of SharePoint training (and training in general). It is a great resource however there is a monthly or yearly membership fee. It is worth it to get in depth training.

Introduction to SharePoint Performance Point

In the Enterprise version of SharePoint the feature Performance Point gives you the power to create dashboards easily. This video is a great overview.

Additional SharePoint Performance Point Training

This link is to a page at Microsoft.com that includes additional SharePoint Performance Point training. Take a look for more in-depth information.

Link an Excel Spreadsheet in SharePoint

If you want to maintain an Excel spreadsheet but have it displayed in SharePoint you can link the two together. When you make changes in the spreadsheet they are reflected in SharePoint.

SharePoint Designer 2010 (Video Introduction)
This tool is mainly for intermediate and advanced users. It offers great options to customize your SharePoint site. I appreciate the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface that let's you see what your site will look like before you publish.

I will periodically add more links to this page so check back weekly to see what's new!