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By Tom Groenfeldt
Want to see what can be done with Microsoft SharePoint? And learn about it without getting lost on the Microsoft.com site? Look at Topsharepoint.com, a Web site that showcases some of the best designed SharePoint sites from around the world. And if you have a great site to show, send it in.
From the site: “With over 100 million licenses of SharePoint sold worldwide no wonder why SharePoint is the fastest-growing product in the history of Microsoft. On top of this amazing record, SharePoint is listed by Forrester Research as the number one portal product. The latest version of SharePoint, SharePoint 2007, delivers not only great Intranet/extranet platforms but also great platforms for building robust and reliable Internet facing web sites.”
The site explains the values that SharePoint offers companies. Leading, of course, is its integration with the full suite of Microsoft’s other products -- particularly Office and Exchange -- which simplifies life and boosts productivity. It can also be used to meet regulatory requirements and to manage and repurpose content.
When Microsoft launched the new versions of Excel, it created a server version with audit trails and access controls, but it stuck the version in SharePoint and called it Excel Services. Investment banks use it to present complex calculation tools to clients without revealing the proprietary formulas behind the calculations.
Moving away from finance, take a 60-second tour of Hamilton Island at the edge of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, which is currently the third-most popular site on Topsharepoint. New Holland Agriculture, number five, might leave you wondering how that big tractor with the muscular treaded tires managed to make its way into the middle of a snowy landscape without leaving any tracks.
The most-popular SharePoint site, recovery.gov, tracks spending on the Recovery Act, which President Obama signed into law Feb. 17, 2009.
“Given its primary mandate -- to allow taxpayers to see precisely what entities receive Recovery money in addition to how and where the money is spent -- the site displays easy-to-understand, user-friendly graphs, charts, and maps,” says Topsharepoint. “These tools, which the site continues to enhance and refine, offer both telescopic and microscopic views of Recovery spending and projects across the country, from a larger national overview down to details of individual projects in specific ZIP codes. The site also provides an online way for reporting any suspected fraud, waste or abuse related to Recovery funding and projects.”
For a little more fun, check out the Ferrari site and dream a little. Ferrari was voted the top site in 2009 on Topsharepoint. Number two for 2009 was Kijken Kiezen & Kleuren, a Dutch home furnishings store. Travel sites were popular in 2009 -- P&O Cruises was fourth, the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau five and Hawaiian Airlines seventh. The Library of Congress ranked ninth..
I had to agree with one comment that it would be helpful to see information on how some of the top sites were created. One user wrote that the Recovery.gov site cost $18 million to develop. How much of that was graphic design and how much the infrastructure to handle all the information and comments from citizens?
The site does have a good video on SharePoint Designer 2010 Video, which is also available on the Microsoft site and on YouTube.
The site is more inspirational than educational. It would be great to have some videos or explanations of how SharePoint sites were created, what value they generated, how they were modified or redesigned, why, and to what effect.
The site does offer a link to a free SharePoint eMagazine from the Dutch Information Worker User Group that offers how-to guides and more technical information.
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