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.