Three Must Have Activities for Successful SharePoint 2013 Deployments

SharePoint is a well distributed tool that has added value to many businesses. The value your business will derive from deploying SharePoint services is going to be partially determined by the activities you engage in. In this article we will discuss three core activities to focus on when deploying SharePoint to derive the most value you can from it.

1. Know how you will derive value from SharePoint

With all the options that IT has to offer, it can be easy to lose sight of the key areas you want to derive value from your deployment. SharePoint offers numerous advantages to your business such as:
managing your content, increasing collaboration, increasing connectedness, automating and systematizing process flow, within your organization.

With these benefits in mind you should focus on what will create the biggest impact for your organization. A piece of software is useless if it is not used to attain the benefits you want. Clarity and focus about your objectives will help you stay on track to derive the maximum benefit.

At its heart SharePoint is about working in a better way. There is a concept known as synergy where the net sum of something is greater than its parts. The individual parts of a vehicle are not nearly as useful as all the parts put together. The same is true with SharePoint, it aligns all the important parts of your business together to create something more valuable.

What often happens is that IT will deploy a powerful tool like SharePoint however users do not maximize the advantages it has to offer. The typical result is that many people in the organization use the tool for rudimentary tasks like file sharing and completely forget about the powerful advantages it has to offer. One of the key reasons SharePoint is not used to the fullest in many organizations is because most users are not aware of what is possible.

SharePoint serves as a means to greater disseminate information across the organization. If the information age has taught us anything it’s that knowledge is power. Through greater collaboration and communication of vitally important information, your organization can accelerate towards its goals faster than ever before. What is important to remember is that a tool like SharePoint is only useful if your organization is fully maximizing what it has to offer. It’s the same as having a check for $1000 and never cashing it, if you don’t cash it, the check might as well not exist.

Try to prioritize what benefits are most critical to your organization. Consider the potential obstacles you might face in fully maximizing those objectives given the deployment. Finally write down the activities your firm will engage in to ensure that the deployment delivers those critical benefits.

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2. Create a great team with experienced SharePoint experts

You’ll need to have an implementation group who is going to take charge of SharePoint deployment to ensure the maximum benefits are obtained from your investment. The best way to do this is by hiring SharePoint consulting services to assist your organization with its deployment.

This means assembling a team of SharePoint consultants who are knowledgeable and can encourage adoption throughout the organization. Having a strong group of people who can get everyone on board and enjoying all the benefits the software offers means you’re going to maximize its value potential.
You require experts who can: > Troubleshoot problems before they occur> Answer any questions or concerns> Show users how to fully take advantage of the software> Build excitement within the organization about the deployment

3. Train support personnel who will act as support systems for the organization

Ultimately after your SharePoint deployment is complete you need to maintain the support to perpetuate the advantages it offers. This involves training key personnel to support your staff’s needs. SharePoint consulting services are a great way to get your team trained for full utilization of the software. Think of your support personnel as “hubs” and the rest of your staff as “spokes.” The hubs act as a conduit for any support issues for the “spokes.” This allows you to maintain a high level of productivity using the software without training every single person in the organization about all the minute details. Simply having a person who is easy to access with that support capability will keep your SharePoint distribution at maximum derived value.

In summary you want to clarify and focus upon the key benefits you want to derive from your SharePoint deployment. Second, ensure you have a great team of highly experienced SharePoint gurus during and after your deployment. Finally train key staff who can disseminate SharePoint expertise in a “hub-and-spoke” fashion to maintain those key benefits.

Have questions and want to learn more?  Please contact us (@AgilineSP) and we will be happy to show you how SharePoint Support Services, SharePoint Consulting & SharePoint Services can work for you.

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