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Microsoft Overhauls SharePoint To Compete With Slack In The Mobile Era (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the new-and-improved dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Microsoft is overhauling SharePoint today, and introducing iOS, Android, and Windows 10 Mobile apps. The iOS SharePoint app will arrive by the end of June, with the Android and Windows 10 Mobile versions due for release later this year. All of the mobile apps are designed to make SharePoint more accessible on the go, allowing users to access things like corporate intranet sites and content. Alongside the new apps, Microsoft is also providing access to SharePoint Online document libraries in OneDrive mobile apps, and the ability to copy from OneDrive to SharePoint. Microsoft plans to synchronize SharePoint Online document libraries with the new OneDrive sync client by the end of the year, and integrate SharePoint sites with Office 365 Groups. Microsoft's new Flow service, which lets you automate tasks, will also be integrated into SharePoint by the end of the year.

50 of 75 comments (clear)

  1. That's great! by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1, Interesting

    This is great! Just one question: What the hell is SharePoint? Sounds like one of those "Push Technologies" things that disappeared.

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    1. Re:That's great! by olsmeister · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's something that they've rolled out at work that nobody uses.

    2. Re:That's great! by MightyMartian · · Score: 2

      You too, huh? "Oh look, you'll be able to collaborate easier", to which everyone looked amazed and said to each other "Yup, I'll sure use that", and then proceeded to continue emailing each other documents in progress like they've been doing for twenty years.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    3. Re:That's great! by pr0t0 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's a Microsoft technology used to:
      A) Share documents, lists, and calendars with other people in your organization who have absolutely no interest in, and never will look at those things.
      B) Work well with only the current iteration of Internet Explorer, but not subsequent ones.
      C) Mimic the look and functionality of a web site, but is coded like some kind of embedded control software for 1960's nuclear power plants that may one day be ported to work on an AS400 if it takes off.

      I spent a fair amount of time as a SharePoint 2007 admin, and was recently rescued from having to oversee the migration to Office365 and OneNote (the latter of which I hear is a total cluster-f@#$).

      --
      I'm sorry, but your opinion seems to be wrong.
    4. Re:That's great! by peragrin · · Score: 1

      Hey, at my work we finally got them to use a the file server and they all access the same document for their editing.

      Maybe sometime in the next thirty years I can get them to CVS, and revision control.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    5. Re:That's great! by Darinbob · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Worst product that Microsoft ever invented. Worse than Vista. But somehow it is popular with IT directors because they keep rolling it out despite the user's cries of despair. It also has a complicated API that requires spending lots of money on Microsoft classes, so that anyone who's gone through the classes is compelled to claim that that SharePoint is useful and not at all a waste of money. It's main purpose seems to be the stifling of all office communication and collaboration, so that Microsoft appears to be a functional organization in comparison.

    6. Re:That's great! by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 4, Informative

      I only use my department's SharePoint when I absolutely have to, but I've never been able to make heads or tails out of it.

      It seems to be some kind of half-assed mashup of a website, a file share, a blog, a wiki and a revision control system. I think it combines just the worst attributes of each one. Maybe it makes sense to someone, but I can never find anything in that mess.

      Most of the people I work with stick with one of those simple open source wikis that we have set up. You have to do manual markup to add stuff, but at least it makes sense.

    7. Re:That's great! by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it's always bad to put in "I poisoned the CEO and slept with the CFO's wife on the CIO's couch while the CTO watched."

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    8. Re:That's great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      it's also bloated shit that takes a minute just to traverse a folder.
      oh, and it randomly corrupts itself, crashes, and requires repair software microsoft has conveniently provided.

    9. Re:That's great! by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Taking into account the invasive nature of windows10, sharepoint creates a central focus point for all a companies developing ideas that would be accessible externally via windows 10, each an every time an improperly configured user PC enters the network or on every questionable patch. Likely it would be very wise to definitely no install it on other OS because why give your corporate secrets away like that to be used against you, not just in loss of IP but actively against you financially, deep, deep, insider trading wise.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    10. Re:That's great! by chipschap · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's an enterprise document sharing and collaboration tool, which pointy-haired bosses love, and no one (except them) uses.

      I've observed and experienced the same thing. It seems to come about when Microsoft suits get together with corporate suits to do some suit talk, and then all of a sudden, hey, we have a new "solution" that will utterly transform your work life!

      If you are in the IT department, your work life will indeed be transformed as now it is you who have been made responsible for ensuring all the results the Microsoft suits promised the corporate suits. If you are in another department, you'll go to some classes, log on once or twice, and continue doing things as you always have--- you know, in a manner that actually works.

    11. Re:That's great! by art123 · · Score: 1

      The best part of SharePoint for document storage is its document versioning, indexed search of content, and searchable customizable metadata tags.

    12. Re:That's great! by MightyYar · · Score: 4, Insightful

      My favorite feature is the tendency of the Office built-in gee-wiz integration to just sort of fail silently sometimes. Everything opens up fine. Hitting save seems to save it. Close it and there is no problem. Then go back to sharepoint and where are your changes? If you are lucky maybe still somewhere in your %TEMP% folder. Fun, fun.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    13. Re:That's great! by deniable · · Score: 1

      It's a document storage / search system. Edward Snowden says it's really good. Even better when it's misconfigured.

    14. Re:That's great! by thegarbz · · Score: 4, Informative

      It may be have the worst attributes of everything but that's because of what it tries to do: everything.

      Want a document management system? Sharepoint!
      Want a media management system? Sharepoint!
      Want a collaboration system? Sharepoint!
      Want a CMS based website? Sharepoint!
      Want a file server? Sharepoint!
      Want a blog? Sharepoint!
      Want a database link for time management? Sharepoint!
      Want a front end for your accounting system in SAP? Sharepoint!

      Are you an admin and want some job security by creating a completely unmanageable system that no one will understand except for you? 3 words: Share Fucking Point!

      Ok jokes aside, if you want to do any single thing then Sharepoint is quite horrible. But if you want to do everything then Sharepoint as frustrating as it is can be a one stop shop.

    15. Re:That's great! by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Worst product that Microsoft ever invented.

      Only if setup incorrectly or used poorly i.e. just as a DMS.

      Sharepoint has a great benefit from being able to do everything. It doesn't do everything well. Heck it doesn't do anything well. But it does do everything. That's the reason why IT want to roll it out. A document management system, media management system, content management system, database front end, collaboration back end all rolled into a website.

      I am one of the users who cries, but in the past 7 years at my company I've seen the number of programs and links to various different software packages / online web interfaces drop from about 20 to 1, and for all the wasted effort in fighting Sharepoint there are great benefits in not having to learn a shitload of different systems ... assuming your IT department has any kind of consistency when they attempt to put things into sharepoint.

    16. Re:That's great! by Hognoxious · · Score: 5, Funny

      At least it doesn't try to be an init system.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    17. Re: That's great! by Pascoea · · Score: 2

      Yup, one of the best and one of the worst features listed in subsequent comments.

      • + The co-editing works really well in Word, and is a useful feature
      • + Document versioning has saved my ass on more than one occasion
      • + There is a search functionality
      • - The search functionality has the same search algorithm as my 14 y/o. "It's not there, I swear I looked"
      • - The UI/UX is atrocious. (Back button has a tendency to send you to unusual places when using a metadata structure instead of a folder structure. Unnecessary additional clicks.)
      • - Maybe it's me, but the "online editors" for Word and Excel aren't useful.
    18. Re:That's great! by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      Boy

      Wouldn't it be nice if there was an easier way to do this? I mean just pay a monthly bill and use a website to import names from a CSV spreadsheet and it magically just works for a flat monthly fee?

      That would be great!

      --
      http://saveie6.com/
    19. Re: That's great! by lucm · · Score: 1

      They rolled it out wrong.

      Normally it should be set as a mandatory browser homepage across the company so everyone would use it to prevent their browser from starting up quickly.

      Another typical use of Sharepoint is to let people escape from reality for a moment, thanks to its permissions/roles/ownership configuration. Venture into those site settings pages and you'll forget all about the argument you had with your wife during breakfast. Pure magic.

      --
      lucm, indeed.
    20. Re:That's great! by DarkOx · · Score: 2

      No its more like, we are taking away your really efficient useful department file server that you can easily share and exchange documents on with this horrid web application.

      Instead of just being able to efficently drag and drop files or save documents directly to a path from an application you get open your browser and navigate this website everytime.

      No you refuse?

      Okay well there is explorer integration that makes it look like file sever again! You will love it, oh well you can only copy files back and fourth in Explorer or your Microsoft Office applications, you'll need to save your third party applications documents locally and then copy the file. Its several orders of magnitude slower than the file server was! Also you will be able to open documents just fine but inexplicably get spurious connectivity errors that prevent you from checking it out for edit. When that happens just save a local copy and hope nobody else also tries to edit the document before you can upload your changed copy, or you can go back to the web browser and manually check it out. Its better though! We insist its better!

      Every end user I know at every company that uses it calls it "Swarepoint'. Collaboration software it may be but its the worst productivity killer I have ever met!

      --
      Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
    21. Re:That's great! by tgharold · · Score: 2

      Slack is a private chat client for use with teams of employees. It's a lot like multi-media capable IRC chat, with direct messages, pre-created channels, but with the ability to paste in images, code fragments, multi-line comments, youtube links, etc.

      We use it, it works very well and is cross-platform. You can also tie it into GitHub (to announce when an issue is created/closed, or a pull request is created), as well as tying into other systems.

      You could probably do all this with IRC, but Slack does it in a more polished fashion that just works.

    22. Re:That's great! by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Sounds quite negative but let's look at these in turn:

      Want an overpriced, budget blowing system

      Compared to pay for recurring licenses for multiple individual systems Sharepoint is usually cheaper when you use all of it's features. Already said, don't pick it for any single feature because you'll find something better for less. But replace all of your systems with it and you'll be miles ahead in cost including support.

      Want to hire 3 people to support it, outside consultants to review what the last company did wrong, have them alter it, make it worse, and claim success? SP!

      So every enterprise piece of software then.

      Want an "all Microsoft shop" now? SP! (Heaven help us)

      Many places already are, and if they're not it's only because they have some functionality they haven't figured out how to replace with a single vendor yet.

      Want to upgrade your entire network due to complaints of speed, even though your gigabit-to-the-desk should be sufficient (seriously?!~) SP!

      Err. I have no problem using all features of Sharepoint remotely over my home internet connection through a VPN, and my internet is pretty shit. Not quite sure what you're on about there.

      Want to tie up meeting rooms and grab all the other suits to discuss "updates and tweaks" ? SP!

      As opposed to? What do you think when IT departments aren't having meetings about Sharepoint? Meetings stop? The department goes back to nerf fights? Meeting rooms are meeting rooms. They will be used by a department regardless of which project they are current "optimising".

      Want to drive your graphics team crazy with mundane tasks, like ico and gif creations? SP!

      Like really WTF are you doing, why are you doing it, and how is it Sharepoint's fault if you waste resources on making icons?

    23. Re:That's great! by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      WTF is Slack?

      Heathen!

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    24. Re:That's great! by orgelspieler · · Score: 1

      You forgot the most important feature of SharePoint: Pissing off users by not doing anything well, despite being told by the corporate mother ship that we have to use it. Basically it does nothing that a good corporate share couldn't accomplish. Hell, until the most recent revision, you couldn't even view thumbnails of JPGs. Still can't upload an entire folder at a time, either.

    25. Re:That's great! by EndlessNameless · · Score: 1

      You have to do manual markup to add stuff, but at least it makes sense.

      This is exactly why Sharepoint is so popular.

      The users don't want to learn markup, and they're happy screwing around with the documents in Microsoft Office until they look right.

      And since the office staffers are already used to massaging Microsoft Office documents into shape, it's basically zero learning curve. I've seen Help Desk explain CAPS LOCK on multiple occasions; I have no hope the entire office can be trained on wiki markup.

      The Sharepoint admin has to invoke some serious black magic to get the search feature working decently after every migration to a new version (because apparently Microsoft can't implement decent default behavior)---but the users don't see that. They see the familiar Internet Explorer and Office GUIs, and they get to stay inside their comfort zones.

      --

      ---
      According to the latest ruleset, this post should be modded as Vorpal Flamebait +5.
  2. Corporate communication is for cows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    You are all Cows. Cows say Mooo. Mooo! Mooo! Moooo Cows Mooo. Moooo say the corporate management cows. YOU OVERPAID COWS!!!

  3. Today? by grim4593 · · Score: 1

    If the new iOS app isn't coming until the end of June and the Windows 10 and Android apps aren't coming until later this year, Onedrive integration won't be added until the end of the year along with Flow... What exactly have they overhauled "today"?

    1. Re:Today? by prijks · · Score: 3

      SharePoint 2016 was released officially today (it's been out a while but General Availability was announced today). During the announcement webcast they previewed many of these features. So it wasn't so much overhauled today as it was shown publicly for the first time today...

    2. Re:Today? by grim4593 · · Score: 1

      Ah. That is what i get for reading the summary.

    3. Re:Today? by MightyMartian · · Score: 1, Troll

      So it's still beta/vapor ware.

      Wake me up when it actually works, and when it actually is useful.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  4. Car analogy for the title. by deniable · · Score: 1

    They're overhauling a worn-out semi-trailer to compete with a messenger bike. Then TFS doesn't say much about Slack features.

  5. Jesus such hate by WinstonWolfIT · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The consultancy I work at also has sharepoint consultants and I've seen massive operations use it very well especially after it's been setup properly.

    1. Re:Jesus such hate by WinstonWolfIT · · Score: 1

      Also, we use it to run our business internally and it's quite excellent. On internal projects I work with it all day long and it almost never disrupts my flow. Co-authoring is cool, the workflow engine is good out of the box and excellent with a 3rd party automation product. Maybe opinions have been coloured by older versions? I know I used to detest 2007, but we're on 2013.

    2. Re:Jesus such hate by Merk42 · · Score: 1

      This is Slashdot, Sharepoint is bad because M$. You wouldn't understand because you're a Microsoft shill.

    3. Re:Jesus such hate by squiggleslash · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I've seen two massive operations use it, but with neither were there any signs it was a useful tool beyond encouraging some employees (not even all, it's too hard for most) to centralize their documentation. It's easier, for most people, to use standard network shares and email to collaborate.

      And, as others have mentioned, vital functionality requires Internet Explorer. Specific versions of Internet Explorer. It doesn't work properly with Edge, for instance.

      The fact this tool requires "Sharepoint consultants" to set it up "properly" is a warning flag. The only Microsoft tool I've seen that needs both but ends up being a joy and a genuine advantage to a corporation once it is is ActiveDirectory - but it remains surprising nobody's stepped in with a simpler alternative to that. Sharepoint? *shudder*...

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    4. Re:Jesus such hate by gachunt · · Score: 1

      I'm not a fan of Microsoft, but Sharepoint is the one thing they did right. (kind of)

      The kind of part: The interface is not as intuitive as it should be, and it was never meant to run websites. Think "document management", not "content".

      But, once you learn the ins-and-outs, it becomes a valuable tool.

      It's sad that most companies install it, then forget it. (like they do all other software) Sharepoint needs devoted resources to help staff realize it's power, as well as train in proper document management / tagging practices. It's a different way of working and requires some culture change.

      Most usefully for me is the XML and REST features. Providing a quick-to-set-up front-end interface where I can take the data behind the scenes and run other applications.

    5. Re:Jesus such hate by WinstonWolfIT · · Score: 2

      Your comment is absolute bollocks. I use Chrome and Firefox with absolutely no issues. CRM Online is still quite IE-centric, but Sharepoint 2013 most decidedly is *NOT*.

    6. Re:Jesus such hate by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Then you're not using Sharepoint, just the subset that works within Chrome and Firefox.

      If you're not at the very least checking out and editing Office documents (which is an IE only thing, and doesn't even work with Edge), you're not really using Sharepoint as intended.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    7. Re:Jesus such hate by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      I've seen two massive operations use it, but with neither were there any signs it was a useful tool beyond encouraging some employees (not even all, it's too hard for most) to centralize their documentation. It's easier, for most people, to use standard network shares and email to collaborate.

      And, as others have mentioned, vital functionality requires Internet Explorer. Specific versions of Internet Explorer. It doesn't work properly with Edge, for instance.

      The fact this tool requires "Sharepoint consultants" to set it up "properly" is a warning flag. The only Microsoft tool I've seen that needs both but ends up being a joy and a genuine advantage to a corporation once it is is ActiveDirectory - but it remains surprising nobody's stepped in with a simpler alternative to that. Sharepoint? *shudder*...

      Is there ANY CMS system that doesn't require a consultant and months of effort?? Try open source Drupal? Sharepoint is simplistic in comparison and it takes months with a dedicated team to get anything with Drupal.

      Another point is with MS products there seems to be an ulterior motive too.
      If you pay a monthly fee boy the problem seems to just go away. It is like they purposedly make Exchange too only configurable with advanced powershell on purpose to encourage all but the biggest enterprise players to switch to the cloud and office 365.

      --
      http://saveie6.com/
    8. Re:Jesus such hate by WinstonWolfIT · · Score: 1

      I was doing that today specifically, in Firefox, all day. You have no idea what you're talking about.

    9. Re:Jesus such hate by Maxwell · · Score: 2

      I've also seen 10+ sharepoint server farms with 700k in consultant fees, and 3 full time employees to manage it...replace a 30k a year CMS. Works great! Happy customers all around!

    10. Re:Jesus such hate by Maxwell · · Score: 1

      There were indeed many simple CMS platforms out there, and a number of really good, simple intranet hosting platforms - they are dying off as the sharepoint monster takes over (except reddot, opentext killed that one) and distorts the original meaning of what a CMS was. Sharepoint is not a good CMS, isn't that good of a DMS and is horrible intranet/web site. It's the solution to a problem no one had.

    11. Re:Jesus such hate by Maxwell · · Score: 1

      Get off 2010, MSFT gave up on the forced IE thing in SP2013...

    12. Re:Jesus such hate by orgelspieler · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry, I read that in my head with a sarcastic tone. Are you being serious? Is my company just so incompetent that they set it up and rolled it out completely wrong? Part of my problem with it is how bad Office 2013 sucks.

    13. Re:Jesus such hate by SignOfZeta · · Score: 1

      Almost entirely. The client connectivity features (like Export to Excel and Connect to Outlook buttons) still don't work in anything but IE. Everything else seems to be vastly improved, though. Maybe in SP2016...

  6. Hmm Funny by Bender+Unit+22 · · Score: 1

    It's "The Verge", and they didn't demand that I checked my privilege?

    1. Re:Hmm Funny by Bender+Unit+22 · · Score: 1

      No there's whole bunch of them, Anonymous Coward, and sorry, but it is the worst bullshit.
      Well, won't waste more time on a week ass Anonymous Coward. Looser. :D

  7. end of the year, end of the year, coming soon.... by Maxwell · · Score: 1

    end of the year, end of the year, coming soon....really! don't sign up for Slack yet! Wait! We have a chat tool too* FUD * not integrated, requires separate per-seat license and a few more servers to manage

  8. Re:And versioning still doesn't work by Maxwell · · Score: 2

    I hate sharepoint, but the versioning and real time co-authoring is one of the things they got right - it's a few clicks to turn it on (per library) and it works very very well...