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CIO at MMI Holdings
User
It has helped with document management and sharing with user-controlled security

What is our primary use case?

  • Company intranet and extranet.
  • Enabling the employee workforce to be more efficient in their day-to-day work they need to deliver for the organisation.

How has it helped my organization?

  • Document management and sharing with user-controlled security
  • Ability to use lists, document management, and workflow to manage the hand-off of work efforts internal to the organisation.

What is most valuable?

  • Document libraries (tagging and search)
  • Lists
  • Workflow (added)
  • Security
  • Alerts
  • Publishing features and co-authoring.

It is functionalities that improve the efficiency of the employee workforce.

What needs improvement?

  • Better collaboration, and team sites (social flavour) mobile enabled
  • More and improved integration capabilities into the eco-system of solutions available.
Buyer's Guide
SharePoint
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about SharePoint. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,767 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
IT & PMO Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor
Integrates with Office 365 and Active Directory. We went with it because of it's familiarity to our users.

What is most valuable?

Integration with Office 365 and Active Directory, and access from all our company users as part of the Office 365 licenses. Also, hassle free access from mobile devices to sites, forms, and lists, with powerful content search and preview.

How has it helped my organization?

We use it for all intensive document sharing business units and especially for document versioning control (quality control area in manufacturing). We also use the online forms (Infopath) to automate simple procedures in conjunction with Microsoft Flow..

What needs improvement?

The cloud-local file synchronization application (OneDrive for Business). It is not as simple as expected, but it works.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used SharePoint since 2013. From on-premise to the online version.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Sharepoint Online is a mature product.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have had no issues with stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have had no issues with scalability, but you must buy additional storage if you use the given amount within your tenant (enterprise plans: 1 TB + .5 GB per subscribed user).

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

The customer service is very good.

Technical Support:

Technical support is really good; fast responses and good resolutions within the standard included support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used SharePoint 2010 on premise. We switched due to the license cost and to give access to all our company users. Also, because SPO was included in the Office 365 plans. As a SaaS, it is always up to date.

How was the initial setup?

Setup was not complex at all. We used third party tools to migrate productive sites and the new sites were created easily. The main difficulty is user adoption. It must be done with a lot of workshops.

What about the implementation team?

We implement through a Microsoft Partner. The expertise was very high.

What was our ROI?

No ROI calculation, but today we have almost all of our procedures online - paperless office.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

You can always make a good deal with Microsoft, especially shortly before the end of their fiscal year (July).

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did a business case and technical evaluation of Google Apps and Office 365. The winner was Office 365 due to user familiarity.

What other advice do I have?

It is always good to start with a special need in a business unit and show quick wins to other units, as part of the adoption plan.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
SharePoint
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about SharePoint. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,767 professionals have used our research since 2012.
PeerSpot user
Senior Consultant/Project Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Consultant
My project sites can include views that apply to specific business uses. We can assign attributes to artifacts and then create views based on them.

What is most valuable?

The ability to assign an attribute to a library artifact allows the site owner to create the appropriate views based on artifact attributes (category, owner, etc.).

How has it helped my organization?

I have updated my project sites with views that apply to specific business uses, such as a project manager looking for a document assigned to a phase in the project (i.e., planning, design, execution) or an engineer looking for a document type (i.e., vendor contract, design build diagram, user acceptance testing worksheet).

What needs improvement?

Unless you have worked with a SharePoint business analyst, designer or power user, managing individual sites does require training to understand the components of the site settings and content. Folks usually start using SharePoint as a file repository without any structure. It can be overwhelming when you have 1,000's of document that a user has to parse through if just looking for a specific title. Without a consistent framework consisting of a standard nomenclature established in the initial strategy of rolling out SharePoint, using SharePoint as a file share becomes unruly.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've worked with various SharePoint versions since 2008 but more recently with 2010 and 2013 as a power user in managing artifacts for various project and programs.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Most instances of SharePoint are stable. I have rarely experienced instability. Usually, it’s the management of user names and groups that results in problems.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I am not at the experience level to notice such an issue.

How are customer service and technical support?

Most of the technical support has come from SME's and internal developers.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I always used Sharepoint.

How was the initial setup?

I have no experience with rolling out templates or actual new instances.

What other advice do I have?

Get training for IT and training for your base user. Developing a framework (nomenclature, categorization and user needs).

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Senior Data Center Solutions Architect at ChaanBeard.com
Reseller
Top 20
Provides team site sharing, internal collaboration, intranet websites, and document archive storage.

What is most valuable?

  • Team site sharing
  • Internal collaboration
  • Intranet websites
  • Document archive storage

How has it helped my organization?

Our pre-sales, technical and sales folks use SharePoint to archive files, share configurations and presentations, etc.

What needs improvement?

Intranet/website publishing tools and features are kludgy and sometimes defy logic.

The ribbon interface is not intuitive. Information rights management is difficult. It is not standards based.

The custom .net usage in fact requires Windows Azure, which takes the complexity to another level. Also, you need to build this into your existing business systems to make full use of the features.

Regarding publishing, there seems to be a gap with HTML 5 publishing tools and/or tools like Dreamweaver and such, which lack strategy, synergy and standards, from my point of view.

Also, searching for information appears based on Bing and that is utterly useless. One needs to bolt a Google search engine onto your solution for optimum results.

SharePoint in either server or cloud offerings is itself very complicated in terms of all the moving parts to consider, which takes time to figure out regarding feature sets and use cases for them.

It would be nice to see a top-notch web-publishing tool that a five year old could use to go with the suite of Office online applications with much better integration with serious 3rd party search tools.

It’s nice to have server or Azure based options, but a hybrid cloud that offers both needs some work. Neither HPE or Dell are competent with their appliance offerings in the CPS space that could be offered as a package, if customized and developed into a single SKU appliance-based platform with all the goodies inside the rack.

Plug, play and connect…customize, develop and deploy. Repeat...

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used SharePoint for four years at various customers plus my own company.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have never encountered stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It has not reached it’s scalability envelope yet.

How are customer service and technical support?

Outstanding support on SharePoint, in particular from Microsoft.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used NetMax. The OpenStack Linux stuff is hacked like no other.

How was the initial setup?

Setup is very simple, though all the features take a while to get your arms around (foundation, server, designer, business sync, etc.).

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Use volume licensing to get the best pricing from Microsoft for a customer.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at NetMax and various Linux offerings.

What other advice do I have?

Tread slowly and do the basic training.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are a Microsoft Gold partner.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Director, Systems Management & MIS Operations at a university with 201-500 employees
Real User
Access to files is secured and controlled via roles & permissions in LDAP.

What is most valuable?

There are a lot of valuable features (e.g., ease of use, collaboration, integration with LDAP, security, accessibility, stability, etc.).

Integration with LDAP is valuable because:

  • Access to all files is secured and controlled via the roles & permissions that are sitting in LDAP for each user. This saves time and effort in determining who should have access to what, how and where.
  • Access level in terms of editing capabilities can be controlled easily, too.
  • Advanced reporting: Tracking who accessed what, how and when, recording the details, including all successful access and all denied attempts.
  • Made multiple-factor authentication possible· Password synchronization, password recovery, SSO (single sign-on)

How has it helped my organization?

It provides a common place to communicate and collaborate, common repository of documents, etc.

What needs improvement?

  • Data and use analysis
  • Load balancing
  • Common theme
  • Better editing tools: The editing tools are still not up to par with all the existing hi-tech & GUI editing tools:
    • To name a few: Real-time trapping, dynamic previews, auto-theme regeneration, animation features, 3D features, color grading & saturation, real-time snapshot replication & deduplication, multi-platform and software language adoptability, file-level security & encryption feature, content security capability
    • Hardware Limitations: Responsiveness to multi-gesture input devices (similar to the ones used in the Iron Man movies or the Minority Report), robotic assistance (thumb print, eye retina scan, voice recognition, etc.)
    • WCAG: auto-accessibility compliance capability & assistance

I have seen bits & pieces of these features from different software companies, but none have actually put them all together, yet.

One day – someday – with the fast developments in technology, the best is still to come.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used it for 14+ years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have not encountered any stability issues; very reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have encountered scalability issues, but only due to a physical server. With virtual server architecture, this can be resolved easily.

How are customer service and technical support?

From Microsoft, technical support is very good – but rarely needed.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I previously used a different solution; switched because of ease of use and deployment.

How was the initial setup?

Initial setup was straightforward; some steps are implied for an experienced IT tech.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We got this through the California Foundation for Community Colleges; a four-site license.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Before choosing this product, we evaluated an in-house solution.

What other advice do I have?

Go for it. It works.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user326337 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user326337Customer Success Manager at PeerSpot
Real User

What made you choose this over an in-house solution?

PeerSpot user
Manager, IT Automation and Technical Services at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Accessing it from a DMZ (i.e. the internet) allows vendors and outside third parties to work with it, but it tends to be unstable and slow when accessing some features.

Valuable Features:

  • We can access SharePoint from a DMZ.
  • Vendors and other outside parties can work with it easily.

Improvements to My Organization:

Prior to implementing SharePoint, we accessed our network just via the internet. However in 2013, we implemented it. With accessibility from a DMZ, SharePoint is a good solution for outside access.

Room for Improvement:

It tends to be unstable and slow when accessing different features.

Use of Solution:

I've used it since 2013.

Deployment Issues:

N/A

Stability Issues:

N/A

Scalability Issues:

N/A

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user67752 - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal with 51-200 employees
Vendor
Why SharePoint Is So Popular, Yet Gets Such A Bad Rap

It’s rare to come across an organization (typically mid or enterprise size) that doesn’t have Sharepoint deployed. In fact out of all of the large organizations I have worked with or talked with I can’t think of a single one that doesn’t have an instance of Sharepoint deployed. Many collaboration vendors today all claim that they are being used by all the Fortune 100 (and they are), Yammer recently announced that they had over 800,000 paid users. Compare this to Sharepoint which over the past 5-6 years has sold over 36 million user licenses!

So it appears that Sharepoint is widely popular among many companies yet when I talk to employees at these companies it’s rare for me to hear anything positive said about the platform. It’s a bit of a conundrum, Sharepoint is everywhere yet it appears that many people hate it, well, if they hate it then why are companies deploying it?

There are a few major reasons for why companies end up going with Sharepoint:

  • they get it a very low cost (oftentimes free) because they are Microsoft partners
  • they are already so dependent on Microsoft products that Sharepoint seems to be the logical choice
  • a proper vendor evaluation never takes place and instead the company goes with the apparently easiest and lowest cost alternative
  • enterprise security from a reliable vendor
  • companies know that Microsoft isn’t going anywhere whereas some of the other collaboration vendors in the space might not be around the long
  • it was one of the earlier collaboration platforms available (initial release was actually in 2001)
  • they focus on what Microsoft says it can do and is good vs what it can really do and is good at (marketing vs reality)

I’m not going to go into detail about the platform itself and why so many people are upset with it. You can do a simple Google search for “I hate Sharepoint” or “Sharepoint sucks” to find more than your fare share of articles, blog posts, and videos about why people are unhappy with the product.

Companies that deploy Sharepoint (or any other collaboration platform) and then realize it’s not the right fit end up in a bit of a pickle. It’s very tedious and expensive to switch collaboration vendors especially if you’re a large company. Some companies such as TELUS use certain features of Sharepoint integrated into a broader collaboration platform toolset but many other companies out there simply feel stuck and lost.

The reality is that Sharepoint is getting such a bad rap because many of the companies using the platform shouldn’t be using it, Sharepoint is not the right fit for many companies that continue to deploy it. This is why companies such as Newsgator were created, to help improve the usability and functionality of Sharepoint. This is also why so many vendors out there continue to integrate their solutions with Sharepoint. Some vendors try to replace Sharepoint but many acknowledge that it’s not going anywhere since it is so deeply rooted within many companies.

It’s unfair to criticize Sharepoint by saying “it sucks” because it certainly has its uses within organizations but that doesn’t mean it should be used in EVERY organization. Sharepoint 2010 has definitely seen some improvements and I believe that Microsoft will continue to make enhancements to the platform (or they will buy Newsgator). Honestly companies that deploy Sharepoint only to see negative feedback about the platform really don’t have anyone to blame but themselves, harsh but true.

Moral of the story is that organizations need to do more when it comes to making sure that they are deploying the right tool for their employees. Sharepoint isn’t necessarily a bad platform but it is certainly not THE collaboration solution. Make sure to do your homework before deploying tools.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user99735 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user99735Senior Manager, Customer Advocacy at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor

Spot on diagnosis of why Sharepoint remains prevalent at a lot of orgs, especially in the enterprise. EMC used Sharepoint to manage sales requests for demos, white papers, and best practices, but the team in charge felt that while Sharepoint was a reliable, secure relational database, it did not offer the realtime reporting and customizable dashboards necessary to make the app really sing. At Intuit QuickBase, we see this all the time. Customers are limited in their flexibility to work with their own data, and soon find themselves looking around for a tool that's more easily customizable.

You can hear more about EMC's story here: www.youtube.com

Disclaimer: I work for Intuit

See all 2 comments
PeerSpot user
Data Expert at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Vendor
Sharepoint–how do I hate thee?

Sharepoint is Microsoft’s document sharing and collaboration tool. It allows you to share and manage documents, and to build websites – so it’s a content management system too. In my previous role I was strapped to the mast of Sharepoint: we needed to share files across the world, previously we used shared network drives, as a byproduct individual teams can also create websites. There were close on 100,000 of us at my previous employer.

The file sharing/content management schizophrenia can lead to horrible websites, on a normal website you might expect that following a link in a page will take you seamlessly to another web page to be rendered in your browser. Not in Sharepoint: the siren voice of the file sharing side means that all to often website authors are going to link you to documents – so you hit a link and if you’re lucky you get asked whether you want to open a document in Microsoft Office, if you’re unlucky you get asked to enter your credentials first. Either way it breaks your expectation as to what a website should do: hit link – go to another webpage.

For every function you can imagine Sharepoint has a tick in the box:

  • Blogging – tick.
  • Social media – tick.
  • Wiki – tick.
  • Discussion forums – tick.
  • Version control – tick.

The problem is that whilst it nominally ticks these boxes it is uniformly awful at implementing them. I’ve used WordPress and Blogger for blogging, phpBB for discussion forums, moinmoin and Project Forum wiki software, source control software, twitter, delicious, bit.ly, Yammer for social media and in comparison Sharepoint’s equivalent is laughable.

This ineptitude has spawned a whole industry of companies plugging the gaps.

Sharepoint does feature some neat integration into Microsoft Office: viewing shared calendars in Outlook, saving directly to Sharepoint from office application but this facility is a bit flakey – Office will try to auto-populate a "My SharePoint sites" area but does it via a cryptic set of rules which can’t be relied on to give you access to all of your sites.

For the technically minded part of the problem is the underlying product but part of the problem is down to how your company decides to implement Sharepoint. My WordPress-based site looks pretty much how I want it, bar the odd area where my CSS-fu has proved inadequate. In a corporate Sharepoint environment other people’s design decisions are foisted upon me, although Sharepoint’s underlying design often seems to be the root of the problem

Take this piece of design (shown below), this is part of the new Sharepoint social media facilities but it’s ugly as sin, most of what you see for each Note is Sharepoint boilerplate (Posted a note on – View Related Activities – Delete) rather than your content, furthermore I have repeatedly set my dates to format dd/mm/yyyy in the UK style and this part of my site remains steadfastly on the US mm/dd/yyyy format.

NastySharepointDesign

Here’s another nasty piece of design.The core of the document sharing facility is the Document Library, below is a default view of one of my libraries (with some blurring). All of the Sharepointy magic for a document is run off a dropdown menu accessed via a small downward pointing triangle on the "Name" field, the little triangle is only visible when you float over that particular line, note also that if you click on the name in the name field then that takes you to the document – so you trigger two different behaviours in one field.

NastySharepointDocumentLibraryBlurred

Other items in this table are hyperlinks but take you to entirely uninteresting content.

It didn’t have to be this way, the Document Library could functionality could have been integrated into the Windows File Explorer. Applications like the source control software TortoiseSVN and TortoiseHG do this, putting little overlays onto file icons and providing functionality via the right click menu. Windows 7 even has a panel at the bottom of the screen which seems to offer quasi-Sharepoint functionality – you can set tags for documents which could map to the "properties" that Sharepoint uses.

Users are familiar with the file explorer, Sharepoint discards that familiarity for a new, clunky web-based alternative. Furthermore users sharing files are often moving from a directory-based shared hard-drive scheme, Sharepoint allows you to use directories in Document Libraries but it breaks the property-based view which is arguably a better scheme but forcing users over to it wholesale is unreasonable.

In summary: Sharepoint suffers from trying to be a system to share documents and a system for making websites. It features a poor web interface for functionality which could be integrated into the Windows file explorer.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free SharePoint Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free SharePoint Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.