There are many aspects to SharePoint: collaboration, document storage and retrieval, workflow, business intelligence, search, security, governance, and so much more. Along with that, there is literally a ton of documentation and technical information for using the software.
The problem for many SharePoint users is, where is it all, and where do I find it? You see folks on Twitter longing for a unified site where all the SharePoint information can be stored, sorted and retrieved, kind of a SharePoint for SharePoint information! Since that doesn’t exist, the question remains: Where do I go for solid technical information on SharePoint?
If you’re like me, you want to get your information from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. That’s not to say other sources aren’t reliable or informative; it’s just that if I buy, say, a toaster, I’d rather read the company’s manual than notes from Ed the repairman.
Nina Ruchirat is a Microsoft senior content project manager, and she has provided to SPTechReport a large amount of technical information, sorted by role, and other SharePoint resources (see this week’s Linkapalooza). She indicated that all canonical documentation from Microsoft has been written, edited and technology reviewed through the SharePoint product team, and that the content group is placing a greater emphasis on social media and community content, with an eye toward best practices and case studies.
Microsoft’s Ruchirat will be presenting a session at SPTechCon 2012 February in San Francisco on navigating through these sites to find the exact information you’re looking for. She also asks the community to give her feedback at @MSNinaR on Twitter for the types of content people most desire.
“We’re focused on discoverability, and programming instant answers via search,” she said. “We want to get this content out and into people’s hands.”
We hope you find this as helpful as we have.
— David
