Check out this postby Lee Dallason why he thinks Microsoft has been so successful in redefining ECM around the capabilities of the SharePoint platform.  To put it simply, it's because of a brilliant marketing strategy and not because of SharePoint itself.

Dallas boils it down to three key points:

1. Microsoft focused on solving the most pervasive problem first: self-management of workgroup file sharing (off-loading the burden from IT).
2. Microsoft setoff a viral promotion campaign by letting end-users believe they could control their own data.
3. Microsoft marketed the product through IT operations channels.

Dallas observes that because SharePoint deployments are so pervasive and are expanding so rapidly, the entire ECM food chain has been thrown out of balance to the point that traditional ECM vendors must now justify their products against mundane collaboration features instead of the more specialized features they tend to promote.  But perhaps the most interesting observation is revealed by the following statement:

"There is no single department in any IT organization with greater potential reach than those that manage access and identity (i.e. Active Directory)."

Dallas argues that by marketing and promoting SharePoint through IT operations channels, Microsoft essentially achieved preferential status for SharePoint, even though the technical challenges in infrastructure and security were no less prevalent than with other products. In other words, the people evaluating SharePoint and who would ultimately bless its deployment had already invested their time and energy learning how to resolve the problems they would face after the product was put into production.  Brilliant!

All in all, a good read for anyone interested in ECM.

As we all know, the economy is still struggling, and although the IT sector is rebounding well, the developer job market has always been and continues to be somewhat finicky.  The key is to have a steady stream of opportunities.  This is one of the primary goals behind the SharePoint Developer Network- to make it easier for SharePoint developers to find jobs and other opportunities – not just through networking, but with a dedicated jobs board that is always up to date.

Admittedly, I’m relatively new to Twitter, but I recently saw the power of the Twitter platform at the recent SharePoint Conference in Las Vegas.  Simply by following @SPC09, people all around the world were able to receive up-to-the-minute accounts of nearly everything that was happening at the conference.

So I started thinking, “wouldn’t it be great if the SPDEVNET jobs board had job alerts that developers could subscribe to?”  After a bit of research, I found that I could setup the SharePoint Developer Network site so that when new SharePoint jobs appear in the index, they can be immediately sent to Twitter.  Now all you have to do is follow @SPDEVNET and new SharePoint job opportunities will magically appear on your favorite Twitter client as they come into the site.

Currently, the job tweets are sent for all jobs and are available to anyone with a Twitter account.  It’s not perfect yet, but it’s a start.  I’m now looking into ways to setup a more customizable subscription mechanism, so that members can filter their own personal alerts according to category, geographic region, etc.

Enjoy.

Mattias Wollnik from Microsoft has created a nifty PowerShell script that makes it much easier to move content from file shares into SharePoint 2007 and SharePoint 2010 beta sites.   The FCI SharePoint Uploadscript is based on the File Classification Infrastructure(FCI) provided by Windows Server 2008 R2.  The FCI allows administrators to setup policies that control the metadata associated with individual files.  Using Mattias’ script, you can upload files and it will automatically set any matching metadata properties that are present in the target document library.

This is similar to the way that properties are promoted for Office 2007 documents, except that the script works for any file type.  The File Classification Infrastructure provides a snap-in that lets you setup custom file management tasks.  To use the script, you setup a new task that invokes PowerShell with the appropriate parameters.

For example, to upload files to a document library called “Company Files” in the Litware demo portal, you would specify an action type of “Custom” with the executable set to “C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe” and the arguments set to the following:

-noninteractive –file c:\scripts\FciSharePointUpload.ps1 –file “[Source File Path]” –url “http://litwareinc.com” –libPath “Company Files” –sourceAction url –user litwareinc\administrator –password pass@word1

The “[Source File Path]” string tells FCI to substitute the actual file path when the source files are processed.  One cool feature is the ability to upload files directly to a SharePoint 2010 Records Center site, specifying the target content type on the command line.  Using this feature, if any Content Organizer rules exist for the specified content type, they will be applied and processed automatically.

To do this, simply include the –useOfficialFileWebService parameter and then specify the content type using the –contentType parameter instead of -libPath, as in the following example:

-noninteractive –file c:\scripts\FciSharePointUpload.ps1 –useOfficialFileWebService –file “[Source File Path]” –url “http://litwareinc.com” –contentType “My Content Type” –sourceAction url –user litwareinc\administrator –password pass@word1

To learn more about the script with examples and a complete source code listing, visit http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/ScriptCenter/en-us/f538c34c-4f74-4645-9649-fd25e49805d6.

One of the great things about Windows Workflow Foundation is the support for declarative no-code workflows that reference pre-compiled workflow activity libraries.  With enough of these activity libraries in place, you can use SharePoint Designer 2007 to build some pretty powerful applications without writing any additional code.  But it also presents a kind of chicken-and-egg problem.  You first need a bunch of quality activities you can stitch together using the declarative tool.

Ryan Miller has published a set of Workflow Activities that you can install on a SharePoint server and then use them from SharePoint Designer to manipulate sites and site collections in ways that go beyond what the out-of-the-box activities allow you to do.  He presents them in a codeplex projectthat contains two categories of activities: site management and list item management activities.

The site management activities include things like creating sites and site collections, setting the site title and theme, activating features and manipulating site groups.  At the item level, there are a couple of unique activities for copying, updating and removing list items.

Check them out.

The SharePoint Developer Network(SPDEVNET) jobs board is now available online at http://jobs.sharepointdeveloper.org, and you can subscribe to the RSS feed directly from the site.  The goal of this exercise is to make it easier for SharePoint professionals to find work, and also to provide a community resource for SharePoint developers to share business opportunities, get training, and basically connect with each other.

You will notice that there are two job listing areas - jobs that are posted directly to the SPDEVNET site, and jobs that are posted elsewhere on the Internet.   The Internet listings are fairly extensive.  Like other job boards, you can filter by category or job type.  I’m using a third-party service to aggregate the jobs, so I have to work with the API they have provided.  I’m working on a way to enable filtering by geographic region, but it’s not there quite yet.

The Internet listings are obviously free.  Premium listings can be posted for $1 per day.  I don’t expect this to be a big money maker, but I needed a way to distinguish the premium listings from other listings, and to encourage recruiting professionals and human resources folks to participate.  If we don’t get a lot of premium listings, then I’ll try to talk the vendor into removing it.

Look for steady evolution of the SPDEVNET site over the coming weeks.  It is currently hosted on Community Server, and there have been a few challenges in getting everything configured properly.  The biggest problem has been membership spamming and interfacing with the social networking sites.  My original intent was to provide full integration with all of the popular social networking sites like Facebook and Linked-In, but the FB platform APIs keep changing, and Linked-In is currently a closed system.  There is, however, a companion Linked-In group which you can join at SharePoint Developer Network on Linked-In.

Anyway, check it out and I look forward to your feedback.

Microsoft today released a set of videos on Channel 9that showcase the new features of SharePoint 2010 from a developer perspective.  Here are some of the topics that caught my eye:

• SharePoint 2010 Developer Roadmap
• Visual Studio 2010 Tools for SharePoint 2010
• Services Architecture
• Enterprise Content Management
• Accessing External Data
• SharePoint 2010 Security

There are 15 units so far.  Each one consists of a series of videos, so there’s a lot of material already available for viewing.  I expect there will be much more coming in the weeks and months ahead.  Microsoft appears to be determined to avoid the problem we experienced with SharePoint 2007 where there was so much technology, but too little documentation for developers.

Now to find the time to go through them all.

Exciting times, eh?

It's kind of surreal, but the day has finally arrived when I can say "it's done"! My new book, Professional SharePoint 2007 Records Management Development:
Managing Official Records with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is on its way to store shelves and is available directly from Wiley.com, Amazon.com and other online retailers.

  This book is for developers who need to build records management solutions, and who need to understand the ins and outs of the records management framework that is built into the SharePoint platform.  For a more complete synopsis and to review the TOC, just click the image to the left to visit the Wiley information page.

One thing you'll notice is that Wrox is now using a new cover format.  If you expected to see my face on the cover, you won't.  Those shrewd marketing folks at Wiley decided to give the entire Wrox line a "makeover".  I have to say I was a little disappointed at first, but I actually like the new cover design.  Who am I to argue with the marketing guys, right?

Once you get the book, you’ll also notice that I took a slightly different approach than some of the other development books out there, in that I tried to structure the chapters so that the code in later chapters builds on and extends the code presented early in the book.  On the one hand, it adds consistency because you end up with a set of reusable components that can be applied to many different types of solutions.  On the other hand, it means that in order to understand and use some of the later examples, you have to dig into the earlier ones.  I know this may be a bit frustrating for some readers, but I’m hoping that the end result justifies the approach.  I’d be very interested in getting your feedback, so don’t be shy.

On the up side, there is a LOT of code included with the book, and the kicker is it’s ALL available online NOW.  That’s right, you can download the HUGE set of code examples directly from Wrox RIGHT NOW by just clicking on the “downloads” tab on the book’s information page on the Wiley site.

As always, I'm here to serve, and I'm especially eager to hear what you think.  Wiley has setup a forum just for this book at the Wrox Programmer to Programmer site.  Just log in to the P2P site and search on my name and you’ll find the forum.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this book a reality, especially Eli Robillard, Dan Attis, Aaron Cutlip, Todd Meister, Stacy Draper and all the folks at Wiley.  It was a long and arduous road, but it was also a wonderfully enlightening and strengthening experience thanks to everyone involved.

-John

Ok, I know it’s been pretty darn quiet around here for awhile.  Well, you know life has a way of grabbin’ you by the whatzits and turnin’ you every which way but loose.  It certainly has been a wild ride for yours truly these past few months.  But fear not SharePoint junkies!  I’m heading to Vegas!  Twice! 

First for the Microsoft SharePoint Conference 2009 in October (can you say SharePoint 2010?) and then again for the SharePoint Connections 2009 Conference in November.

I’ll be giving four presentations at SharePoint Connections the week of November 9th.

HDV309: Build Better Records Management Solutions Using Dynamic File Plans
HDV310: Building Custom Routers for SharePoint Records Management
HDV311: Building Information Policy Features in SharePoint Server 2007
HDV312: Office Document Assembly Made Easy with OpenXML and XSLT

Luckily, I’m just an observer for the SPC 2009 conference that starts in a couple of weeks, and you can believe I’ll be soaking it all in.  I’ll also be joining a bunch of other SharePoint bloggers and twitterers in the Live Blogging event setup by Mark Miller at EndUserSharePoint.com.  He already has about 150 people signed up to send little tidbits from the conference to a live stream on his site.  This should make for lots of interesting reading for those who can’t make it to Sin City themselves.

This is going to be a fun couple of months, and I hope to see you there!

Ever try to rename a server with Exchange 2007 installed?  Don't even think about it!

After spending the good part of a day setting up a nice clean MOSS development VM (W2K3x64/VS2008/Office), I decided to add Exchange Server 2007 to the mix just to play with managed folders and the most excellent Messaging Records Management (MRM) support layer.  

Got everything installed and configured.  So far so good. Then got around to configuring email in MOSS and decided the server name needed to be changed because of a conflict with another server that I'll typically have running all the time.  Shouldn't be so bad, right? 

• WRONG!  Renaming the server breaks Exchange monkey-bad.  Ok, so I should've seen that one coming.  No problem, I'll just uninstall and reinstall Exchange, right?
  
  
• WRONG! Exchange can't be uninstalled after a rename because the setup program is also dependent on the name that was used when it was first installed.  Arrrrrgh!  Ok, no problem. I'll just rename the server back to the original name, uninstall and reinstall Exchange, then rename it again, right?
  
  
• WRONG!  The temporary rename hosed the setup PREREQUISITES configuration, which the setup program uses during the uninstallation process.  If the prerequisites fail for any reason, then it CANCELS the uninstall of any remaining components, including the Mailbox Server Role, which is the main one that has to be removed!  

Like I said - monkey bad! Can't recover.  Can't uninstall.  Can't rename even to the original name.  Can't use MOSS, because it's now hosed as well.  

Nothing good can come of this, so I'm starting over again from scratch. This time, with Exchange Server 2007 in its own private cage since it can't seem to play nice with the other primates.

Call me silly, but was this really necessary?  

Fool me once, shame on me, right?  

Wrong!  It shouldn't be this hard.

You've probably heard by now that the next version of SharePoint will drop the "Office" moniker in favor of the more direct and easily understandable "Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010"  (read the Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog Post).  I agree with my colleague Bil Simser that it sounds like something from a science fiction novel (2010 The Year We Make Contact).  On the other hand, I see the logic.  It's just like all the other software titles from Microsoft that continually evolve to meet the changing needs of users.  Office 2003.  Exchange Server 2007.  SharePoint Server 2010.  Join the club, eh?

Sure there's the implied shift away from the whole "Office Business Applications" (OBA) theme, where the line between client and server components was blurred in favor of the more holistic "Office System" approach.  I can live with that.  I'm not sure it's taking hold anyway - at least not for the developers I've talked to.  Most of the SharePoint developers I know who come from an ASP.NET background seem to have trouble thinking of themselves as Office developers.

And sure, there's the potential confusion between Windows SharePoint Services (now "Microsoft SharePoint 2010") and the new server version of the product.  But maybe that's a good thing.  According to Tom Rizzo, we should just refer to it as "SharePoint" and stop stressing over the licensing model anyway.

And what about the "12 Hive"?  Will there be a "2010" folder to contend with now?  Will it change to "14" maybe?  And how about the namespaces, like "Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.InformationPolicy"?  Will they change?  I doubt it.  Something to think about, though, as you plan your next SharePoint project.

I dunno.  I'm with Rizzo.  I don't think the name really matters that much.  After all, we are in the middle of a content explosion.  The paradigm IS continually shifting.  Maybe we need a more generic name so we can focus more on the solutions we build and less on the particular features of a particular product version.

Oh, wait!  "Feature".  My bad.  We were talking about SharePoint features, not SharePoint Features.

This is soooo much fun!