Latest Articles on SharePoint Alternative

HyperOffice Introduces HyperMeeting

ptaneja — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:14:49 -0500

HyperOffice recently launched HyperMeeting, a robust and easy to use web conferencing solution primarily meant for the small to mid sized business segment. Like HyperOffice, HyperMeeting is web based. Users simply need to sign up online and start conferencing.

HyperMeeting includes the usual range of features like PowerPoint presentations, whiteboard, desktop sharing, application sharing, file distribution, full conference recording etc. One unique feature is the ability to easily switch between administrator and audience with a simple click.

But what really sets the solution apart is it’s ability to fully integrate with HyperOffice, HyperOffice’s (pardon the confusion) rich collaboration and messaging suite. The synergies to be had from integrated messaging, collaboration and conferencing are tremendous. This also makes HyperOffice’s the most comprehensive web based productivity suite, even exceeding Google products (google does not have a full fledged conferencing tool) and Microsoft’s recent “Productivity Suite”.

In spite of the hype and hopes surrounding Microsoft’s Online Services, it has really fallen short. The “productivity suite” may offer all the pieces of the puzzle – messaging (Exchange), collaboration (Sharepoint) and conferencing (LiveMeeting), but the pieces don’t fit together. They’re piecemeal, bare bones solutions, which will need to be configured and integrated by the users themselves.

HyperOffice, with integrated HyperMeeting, on the other hand, offers a single console, ready to use solution in which all pieces of the puzzle communicate with each other perfectly.

Articles

hyper — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:43:13 -0500

this is articles

Sharepoint Study - Careful before you use Sharepoint for public facing websites

ptaneja — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:36:56 -0500

I recently came across a very interesting report on Sharepoint by J Boyce. The report titled “Best Practices for Using SharePoint for Public Websites - A Business Person’s Guide”, outlines the reasons why organizations opt for SharePoint as a solution for public facing websites, the pitfalls of doing so, and discusses the shortcomings of the oft touted arguments for selecting SharePoint as a collaboration solution. The report is well researched and well founded, based upon extensive interviews with SharePoint experts, consultants and organizations spread all over the globe.

Some prominent recommendations and observations of the study are as follows:-

- Extreme caution is enjoined while using Sharepoint as a solution for public facing websites as it is certainly not as safe and risk-free as many like to think.
- More often than not, the decision to opt for Sharepoint is an IT decision and not a business decision, leading to a disconnect with business objectives.
- Common arguments in favor of selecting Sharepoint – Works best with MS Office, match for current and future requirements, a safe choice; are deconstructed.

The report comes at a not so cheap 135 pounds. But the investment is well worth it for companies considering opting for Sharepoint.

The Dream Product is Here?

ptaneja — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:45:16 -0500

With its recently released "Information Worker Suite", has Microsoft finally realized the dream the small to mid sized business owner has long harbored? An integrated product addressing all of a business' compelling IT needs - hosted exchange for email setup, and shared calendars, tasks and contacts; hosted Sharepoint for collaborative workspaces and document management and LiveMeeting for web conferencing, all rolled together beautifully in the "Information Worker Suite". No need to ever look elsewhere; no need for hardware, software downloads, implementation or maintenance; and all at an imminently affordable $15. Might not your eyes brim over? Might not you be choked with emotion?

Snap out of it.

For all that Microsoft may seem to offer, its product is none of that. For one, it is not an integrated all in one product. It's the same old bare bones hosted Exchange, hosted Sharepoint and LiveMeeting, offered at a joint pricing. Not a ready to use, all in one product. That means implementation that YOU have to do. Don't want to handle three separate products? Well, its integration that YOU have to perform. Isn’t that what small to mid sized business were running away from all along?

So is there no hope?

There has been hope all along. Just open your eyes and look around. Smaller companies who have matured working for small to mid sized businesses have been offering such a dream solution for years. A great example is HyperOffice. It’s been marketing itself as a Sharepoint and Exchange alternative for years.

HyperOffice is web based (no hardware or software downloads) and includes email setup, shared contacts/calendars/tasks, document management, intranet/extranet publishing, forums, Outlook integration, desktop integration, mobile access, chat and much more; all rolled into one, accessible from a single, easy to use console.

The only allegation that could have been leveled against them is that they did not offer web conferencing. Well, not any more. They recently launched their web conferencing tool, well integrated with the rest of the suite.

Next time Microsoft paints glorious pictures, don’t fall for it.

HyperOffice Review

ptaneja — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:58:01 -0500

Review Rating – Two Thumbs Up! (because I have only 2)

Although we will review HyperOffice mostly as a "sharepoint alternative", it is pretty much the most comprehensive web collaboration software out there. It covers almost the entire range of features in the SharePoint & Exchange alternative domains, has sophisticated document management capabilities, and allows mobile access (HyperOffice on iPhone particularly impressed me) all rolled into one.

To start our review, HyperOffice is web based, so it does not require any hardware setup, or any downloads at the user's end, as with SharePoint or some of its alternatives. To get going you need to sign up online (the customary free trial is there, and allows full access). You have the choice of setting up a domain with a HyperOffice extension (yourcompany.hyperoffice.com) or a custom domain (yourcompany.com) for a little extra charge.

Intranet - Each user gets a "personal area" which has a desktop (with announcements, to do lists, news, events, notes, access to tools etc), a mail client, personal document management, a personal calendar, personal contact management, "my tasks", "my links", "my reminders" etc.

In addition "group areas" can be easily set up for the entire company, departments, teams, ad-hoc projects etc. These group areas have a group desktop (or homepage) (group announcements, events, news, access to tools etc), shared document management, shared group calendar, group contact lists, group links, group project management, forums, polls, instant messaging etc. A group administrator can very easily manage membership of a group, by adding or deleting new members, and even managing the level of access different members have within a group.

This intranet design is very simple and logical, allowing employees to easily manage personal information, or get together and work and collaborate on group information. Each tool has its own nuances and power, but touching upon all of them would unnecessarily take up space.

Extranets & Customer Portals - Extranets/Customer portals are simply group areas which have membership of relevant employees and partners and clients, as applicable. So extranets can simply be seen as an extension of the intranet. External members can easily access these extranets with any web browser and the requisite login and password. 128 bit encryption ensures safety of company and partner information.

Customization - HyperOffice includes a "publisher" tool through which intranets and extranets can easily be customized to a great extent. "Publisher" is a push button tool, and does not require any designing expertise at all. You can easily manage the look, layout and design of group homepage; create any number of pages; add branding; create linkages to tools or documents etc. You can choose from a range of pre-built templates or even create entire websites from scratch. In addition you can choose what tools you want included in a particular group.

Customizing and branding intranets, extranets, and customer portals is a great way of impressing and motivating people. With HyperOffice's publisher, it is truly child's play.

Document Management - HyperOffice has an elegant and powerful document management system, and it is intelligently integrated with the intranet design as mentioned above. Some of its features are as follows:-

Organization - Personal and group documents can easily be organized as folders and subfolders.

Filetypes Supported - The system is filetype agnostic.

Collaboration - Multiple employees can get togather and work on documents and files. Versioning, change notifications, automatic locking, audit trails, document commenting etc facilitate collaboration.

Desktop Integration - HyperOffice's web folder concept allows users to access and work on files directly from their local system's desktop. You simply need to download a small module called "HyperDrive", which installs a "web folder" on your desktop through which you can easily navigate to all your files and folders like you would within Windows. Any changes you make to your documents are automatically updated on your online account.

Drag and Drop - Web Folders also allow you to drag and drop multiple files and folders to your online account. Beats doing it one at a time!

Access Control - The administrator can easily manage which people can access what information and what they can do with it (read, write, delete). Access can be set at the "group" level, the folder/subfolder level, or even the document level. Through "profiling" you can even hide information from people who do not have the rights.

Browser Access/Mobile Access – HyperOffice is accessible from any web browser, either Mac or PC. What’s more, its even optimized for mobile browsers. I was especially impressed with HyperOffice on iPhone. It pretty much powers iPhone to be used as a collaboration tool.

Security - In a web based system, letting go of your information and allowing it to be hosted on a third party's system is certainly an act of faith. HyperOffice certainly keeps the faith with an excellent record. They have extensive security protocols, 128 bit encryption, and automatic backups, which can be considered as better can provide in house.

Conclusion - The above features can well be called half of HyperOffice. It also includes integrated Exchange killer features like email hosting, Outlook integration, automatic synching; as well as cool concepts like “interlinking” (the ability to associate related data).

Pricing is very reasonable, at around $7 per user per month. Through ideal for small to mid sized businesses, the solution is highly scalable, with many 1000 user clients in its kitty.

All in all, it is a top notch tool, and goes highly recommended.

Enterprise 2.0 Conference Concludes

ptaneja — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:18:52 -0500

The much awaited Enterprise 2.0 conference concluded recently at Boston. The hot debate during the conference was the adoption of social media in an enterprise context. In conclusion, everybody accepted that social media gradually finding their way into the enterprise was the way of the future. SharePoint's attempt to sell itself as a social solution largely felt flat on its face. Other keynotes by the "biggies" like Oracle and Sony, also didnt find much favour with the audiences. All in all, it was brilliant new startups which took the show.

For some great coverage of the event, read this, this, this and this.

Hurricane Weather & Intranets

ptaneja — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:32:40 -0500

Though the title of this article may sound like salt in one's dessert, but my musings have quite naturally headed in this direction with the storm clouds of hurricane season brewing. To be honest, the thought isnt completely original, and my musings on this subject were evoked only after reading this article. It will not be exxageration to say that small businesses, running out of small offices or even homes, are most affected by hurricanes. When the roof of your home is flying around, or when youre huddled in s storm shelter, business information isnt exactly on top of your mind. But your business does suffer, and many a time you have to pick up the pieces or even start from scratch. Here are a few ways in which a robust intranet solution can help keep your business togather even when the winds are swirling around.

1. Backup - An intranet solution with automatic backups ensures that even when information stored at one location is lost, it is always retreivable from the backed up location. Web based solutions offer automatic backups, and the information is never really on your local servers to be lost. It is stored in secure facilities scattered around the country, so you can rest easy.

2. Work Togather Remotely - Stormy weather may prevent employees from coming to the office facility, but a robust intranet solution ensures that most of the tasks (collaborating on documents, discussing issues, planning, scheduling projects) may be done with everyone working from home.

3. Web Conferencing - Sometimes when mere exchange of information does not suffice, employees can get togather and verbally discuss issues using web conferencing integrated with the intranet. It may not exactly be like being togather in the board room, but it serves the purpose.

4. Extranets - Extranets, which are merely an extension of intranets, are a good way to keep the ball rolling when youre collaborating with clients and partners. The fact that you continue working on joint projects even with hurricanes in the region, will surely strengthen bonds.

If you think of any more ideas, please leave a comment :)

2008 SoftwareCEO Innovation Award Finalists

ptaneja — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:50:23 -0500

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), the mega association for the world’s IT industry, recently announced the finalists for the coveted 2008 SoftwareCEO Software Innovation Awards.

The SoftwareCEO Awards recognize innovative software products and pioneering business models in eight different categories. Award winners will be declared at the Software Marketing Perspectives conference in May at Santa Clara, Calif.

Since our site has a small business focus, I have my eyeballs directed at the "Most Innovative Small and Medium-Sized Infrastructure Software" category. The finalists are – eEmpAct, docufree, HyperOffice & Blue Cat Networks

The World Wide Web Enters Adolescence

ptaneja — Thu, 01 May 2008 11:40:29 -0500

Would you believe it? The world wide web is still a bubblegum chewing, pimply faced, hoarse voiced, awkward youngster. Yes! 30th April marked the 15th year since the European nuclear research lab CERN put the web in the public domain, on 30th April 1993. Considering the way the web has seeped into our everyday lives, one would have thought it was a lot longer.

To commemorate the occasion, BBC interviewed some prominent names from the web to gauge how they saw the future of the web.

Microsoft Finally Wakes up to the SMB Call – Lets See How it Goes

ptaneja — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:09:58 -0500

Microsoft finally took a full blooded step into the hosted services arena - Exchange & Sharepoint are finally available as hosted services to small and mid sized businesses. Called Exchange Online and Sharepoint Online, these offering were earlier available only to businesses with more than 5000 employees, but this minimum limit has now been removed. This is obviously intended to get a part of the burgeoning SAAS market and the lucrative SMB segment. Some say it is in response to the heat produced by Google’s recent launches of business focused online services like Google Apps, Google Sites etc.

It is a limited beta as of now, and according to Bill Gates, general availability of the service is expected by the end of the year “if all goes well”.

Where do Microsoft’s current hosting partners and resellers go? Microsoft’s position is that these resellers should get out of base level hosting and start offering value added services, or sink. That was always the case, with the intense competition in the hosted service arena.