Michael Sampson on Collaboration

The Team Collaboration Possibilities of Microsoft Surface

A review of the new Microsoft Surface announcement, along with insights on how the Surface technology could be used to enhance team collaboration.

 

"Microsoft today tooks the wraps off Microsoft Surface, a new touch-sensitive, gesture-recognizing interface / display / surface. The idea is to take everyday analog objects--tables, mirrors, maybe even doors--and replace them with a digital version. In the initial positioning of Microsoft Surface, ideas are presented for a Surface-enabled coffee table for sharing photos among friends, for an itinery-planning system for visitors to a hotel, and comparative shopping for new mobile devices. All good. Given my interest in enhancing team collaboration, I'm going to dream in text about the possibilities that Microsoft Surface will open for better team communication and collaboration. I haven't been so excited about the possibilities of a Microsoft product for a long time."

Read the article online, at Michael's blog.

 

Business Reasons for Migrating from Notes/Domino to SharePoint

There is a lot of market interest in Microsoft SharePoint, and even long standing Lotus Notes shops are considering changing platforms. What are the business drivers for doing so?

 

 

"My analysis is that there is a constellation of drivers that may--depending on the organizational context--accumulate into an overall decision to shift from Notes/Domino to SharePoint. Some of them are trends that are starting to play out, some of them are frustrations that have not had a suitable place for airing for a long time, and some of them are linked to strategic decisions at a high-level in the organization.

 

Regardless, the mere availability of a potentially strong replacement for a Notes/Domino infrastructure is causing many organizations to re-think their collaboration infrastructure strategy. The questioning and considerations aren't new--every organization should periodically review its collaboration infrastructure decision to see whether (a) the assumptions on which the original decisions were made still hold true, and (b) whether there are newer and better technologies available to meet their current definition of those needs and wants--but what's different this time is that SharePoint is increasingly up to the game."

Read the article online, at Michael's blog.

 

Microsoft Project Server 2007: Where's the Business Value?

Where and how does Microsoft Project Server 2007 offer value to organizations? This article looks at the three main points of value in Project Server. For example:

 

 

"Project Plans can be Shared with the Project Team ... In addition to all of the planning, forecasting and resource allocation work that a project manager carries out, there needs to be some way of highlighting aspects of a project to those involved. Historically, the project manager would have to email around a copy, and keep doing so whenever the project plan was updated. With Project Server and Web access, project team members can get a real-time reading on what they are supposed to do, and how the project as a whole is going. According to Pillar 1: Shared Access to Team Data within my 7 Pillars of IT-Enabled Team Productivity model, this is a good thing. It stops people from working on outdated plans, and keeps everyone moving toward the same goal."

 

Read the article online, at Michael's blog.