As one of the Product Specialists here at Intranet Connections, I have seen many examples of organizations who implemented a SharePoint platform with high hopes, only to wind up frustrated when confronted with its many unanticipated costs and challenges. When I ask “why did you decide to go with SharePoint in the first place?” The answer I often get is “because everyone else uses it” or “because the initial costs were quite low.”
SharePoint can be a high functioning, beneficial platform for your organization. However, if you jump in with both feet uninformed of the potential challenges, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise down the road. Here are a few ways to tell if SharePoint is not for you:
You are Looking for a Low-cost Solution
SharePoint is free, right? Not so. While Client Access Licenses are often included in Enterprise Agreements, you’ve also got to take into consideration SharePoint Server licenses, SQL Server Licenses and Internet Server Licenses if you’re looking to use SharePoint externally. What can make SharePoint extremely expensive are the consulting fees required for implementation and management – if you do not have the resources in-house to set up and manage your SharePoint platform you may be looking at thousands of dollars per month on SharePoint Architect and Developer fees.
At Intranet Connections we don’t believe in complex fees and we won’t penalize you for company growth. We find that charging a one-time purchase cost with annual maintenance fees is much simpler, and you get an out-of-the-box solution packed neck-deep with solutions to business problems our team has witnessed and encountered over the past 14 years. As your organization evolves, with an average of two major releases per year and a stellar support team we ensure that your intranet evolves as well, and you will never be charged more for extra user licenses or additional applications. Simply put, everything is included, as it should be.
Your IT Team Doesn’t Want to Spend Hours Managing Content
During my time here at Intranet Connections, I have worked with IT teams in organizations across all industries and one thing is very clear: IT teams tend to be understaffed, overworked and manage a to-do list longer than they can probably handle. The last thing an IT team needs is a new platform to implement and manage.
This is by far the number one complaint I hear about SharePoint: It requires a LOT of time, a whole lot of consultants and a ton of custom development to truly leverage its potential as an intranet platform. If you have the in-house capabilities to manage this workload, then SharePoint is a great resource. However, if you are like most organizations and IT resources are thin, you may want to start looking for an alternative solution.
Our Intranet Connections software is geared towards intranet administrators with little to no technical knowledge. The IT team will literally need to provision a server, install the solution using our one-click installer and provide the URL for the application to those who are looking to take care of the implementation. Once given the URL, your users are set to start populating and implementing the intranet solution through the use of their favorite web browser, with no coding required.
You are looking for Quick and Easy Implementation
Again, SharePoint is a very IT-heavy platform. Even on teams with knowledgeable SharePoint users, intranet deployment can take months or even years depending on the size of the project. This leads to the “well we’ve already put this much time into this thing, we may as well see it through” mentality, resulting in the eventual hiring of SharePoint consultants which increases your intranet costs substantially.
Depending on the up-front requirements, implementation of any intranet can vary. However, due to our focus on Smart Delegation and non-IT intranet management, most Intranet Connections implementations are done extremely quickly – I’ve seen implementations of Intranet Connections rolled out in less than two weeks, with extremely positive results.
Not sure if SharePoint is right for your organization? I would be happy to answer any further questions you may have and arrange for a personal demo of our intranet software if you decide that SharePoint is not a great fit. I can be reached at 604-924-9770 ext. 106 or by email at [email protected].