5 Reasons to Learn Microsoft SharePoint
Why is there such a big buzz about SharePoint, and why is everyone raving about this Microsoft application? Everyone is constantly talking about how powerful SharePoint is and how it has streamlined collaboration within their organization and how it has helped them become more productive. SharePoint has revolutionized corporate collaboration and communication by minimizing email messaging and providing instant messaging capabilities. Let's touch on just five reasons you need to learn SharePoint.
1. Ease of Use: SharePoint has similar functionality to other Microsoft products that we are already using like Microsoft Office. For instance, the popular Microsoft Office Ribbon is used to organize and maintain content within SharePoint. This familiar functionality makes it easy for users to begin using the robust functionality in SharePoint after learning the features and functionality available in SharePoint.
2. Product Integration: SharePoint plays nicely with several other Microsoft products. If you are familiar with Microsoft Office; including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and OneNote, as well as Project Server and Lync, learning SharePoint is like tying a ribbon around them to integrate them so they all play nicely together and it allows you to take advantage of your current Microsoft knowledge by using shortcuts and performing standard actions you are familiar with in the Microsoft world.
3. Improved Productivity: Nowadays there just don't seem to be enough hours in the work day to get everything completed. SharePoint allows you to be more productive by providing a centralized repository of popular documents and common tasks that you perform regularly.
With a department, or company-wide, portal it is one-stop shopping for all the information you need to complete your daily tasks. If you can't remember exactly where the information is stored in SharePoint, it is easy enough to find documents or individuals using the very powerful search functionality available in SharePoint.
4. Popularity: In polls taken after the release of SharePoint 2010 it was already being used by 78% of the Fortune 500 companies and had over 100 million users. With SharePoint being so popular, people moving between departments within large organizations, or even between companies, have the skills necessary to hit the ground running when they begin a new job.
5. Community Support: SharePoint has world- wide community groups that provide in-depth support on SharePoint for Developers, IT Pros, and End Users. These support options include monthly user groups, SharePoint Saturdays, and SharePoint conferences that provide tips and tricks, best practices, and real-world experiences from carefully chosen experts as speakers.
The financial investment for these, range from free to moderately priced to costly. You can check out some of these community support options using the following links:
SharePoint Saturdays
SPTechCon
With so many companies using SharePoint it is important for you to become knowledgeable with it, being it provides you a popular skill that a lot of companies are seeking and it improves both personal and professional productivity.
To check out the conferences I have spoken at or I am currently scheduled to speak at in the future, you can visit: Brian's Speaking Events.
Editor's Note: Ready to jump into the world of SharePoint? View our entire SharePoint training library.
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