SharePoint is a family of technologies from Microsoft that provides a server infrastructure to support the needs of information workers and their employers. SharePoint makes it possible for companies to engage all their information workers through the tools people are using already - Office clients (such as Word and Excel), Internet browsers (such as Internet Explorer), and e-mail clients (such as Outlook). Obviously, SharePoint works best with Office 2007.
SharePoint also provides workers with the ability to connect with each other. Instead of sending files back and forth via e-mail, workers can set up information environments that make it easy to collaborate on documents or share a calendar. SharePoint uses a Web site infrastructure to deliver the bulk of its features. Users can use a Web browser or familiar Office clients, such as Word and Excel, to access SharePoint’s features. Office clients enable information workers to use familiar tools in new ways, which reduces training and support costs and increases solution development opportunities.
SharePoint isn’t a new technology. The ability to provision team sites for use with Office clients was first introduced in May 2001 with a product called SharePoint Team Services. SharePoint Portal Server 2001, a product for connecting team sites, was released in June 2001. With each subsequent release, more and more features were added. Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) version 3, which was released in November 2006, represents a major re-architecting of the product.
Starting with the 2003 release, WSS became a component of the Windows Server operating system. The portal product, SharePoint Portal Server 2003, released alongside Office 2003. The latest release, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007, is now officially part of the Microsoft Office suite of products.
excerpt from Microsoft Sharepoint 2007 for Dummies book.
excerpt from Microsoft Sharepoint 2007 for Dummies book.
