Is Microsoft®
SharePoint™ Really A Document
Management Solution? There's no doubt that SharePoint is one of Microsoft’s most
popular products, with over 85 million licenses sold worldwide to date. And it’s
easy to see why. SharePoint is a desktop application that offers a collaborative
portal enabling employees to work together on projects, review and edit
documents, access information, share ideas—even find employees by skill set or
the projects they’re working on, and manage content and workflow on a very basic
level. In some ways similar to traditional document management systems,
SharePoint stores files in one central location for quick and easy access by
employees companywide, with an interface familiar to the vast majority of
users. But SharePoint has its limitations. And for many companies, it
is not the best solution for their document management needs. Here’s why: - SharePoint was never designed to be a Document
Management product.
It originated as a portal and collaboration tool
for users to share information and communicate with ease. However, it was
only after Microsoft realized that the collaboration process usually involves
some type of content (e.g. documents, e-mail, spreadsheets, graphs, etc.) that
they decided to give SharePoint Electronic Content Management (ECM) capabilities
to attach, manage and track changes to content.* - It is not really free.
While SharePoint
Server is embedded with a base level of document management functionality—i.e.
issue and file tracking, workflow foundations and file histories—users must
purchase paid licenses to benefit from advanced capabilities such as setting
document access security levels, out-of-the-box document workflows, search
capabilities for enterprise content and users, e-forms, and basic data
integration and records management.
- It lacks document imaging functionality, a fundamental
capability in a full-featured document management solution.
Imaging
and electronic reports management can comprise more than 70% of the content an
organization needs to manage. Yet Microsoft has publicly stated that it has no
intentions of ever making imaging part of the SharePoint platform.**
- It has limited capacity to store and retrieve
images.
SharePoint has limited capacity to store images.
Furthermore, it stores them differently than a full-featured document management
system, slowing down rather than streamlining business.
- It is not meant for transactional
content.
Because of its inefficiency in working with images and
providing a robust workflow solution, SharePoint is not suited for transactional
content such as vendor invoices, proof-of-delivery documents, claim forms, or
loan forms. Full-featured document management systems are best suited for these
applications.
- It lacks report management
functionality.
Capturing and managing all output generated by key
business applications, such as accounting reports, inventory reports and
ledger balances, is a key requirement for many businesses. Only a robust
document management system offers this functionality.
- It lacks full workflow and business process management
capabilities.
While SharePoint provides the foundation for some
out-of-the-box document workflows, it lacks the full workflow and BPM [business
process management] capabilities really needed to support the complex process
optimization and business efficiency standards that today’s businesses want to
achieve. So while SharePoint offers basic document management utility,
its structure precludes it from providing the functionality inherent in
full-featured document management solutions. But if you already have or are considering buying SharePoint,
don’t despair. Digiscribe can seamlessly link its full-featured document management systems to SharePoint for a truly
integrated solution that gives you the flexibility to meet all of your document
management needs now and in the future. At Digiscribe, we take the time to understand your business
processes, your budget, your challenges and your requirements, so we can
recommend a document management solution that meets your specific needs. To learn more about how Digiscribe can integrate our document
management solutions with SharePoint and meet your company’s needs, please
contact me at mtaube@digiscribe.info
or call me at 800-686-7577 x 103. I look forward to
speaking with you. 
* Source: Integrated Solutions, December 2007 Revealing
SharePoint’s ECM Identity
Written by: Ken Congdon
** Source: Mike Ball,
VP of marketing and product strategy for Clearview Software.
Microsoft
SharePoint is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. |