MS SharePoint Review
May 19, 2014

MS SharePoint Review

Kia Packard | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

2010

Overall Satisfaction with MS SharePoint

SharePoint is used across our organization as the company's internal intranet. It is primarily used for communication and disseminating information, due to the large spread of our organization across 32 states. It is also used for collecting information via surveys, document libraries, etc.

Pros

  • SharePoint lists/surveys are extremely helpful for tracking purposes
  • Document libraries are useful, particularly in situations where organizations do not have a shared drive that all employees can access
  • Permissions in SharePoint make it very easy to restrict access to content as needed

Cons

  • SharePoint workflows perform well for the most part, but can be a bit temperamental
  • SharePoint does not offer full functionality in any other browser besides Internet Explorer
  • Vastly improved efficiency regarding the annual performance evaluation process (moved from manual completion and tracking of Word documents to web-based InfoPath forms via SharePoint)
  • Helped enable a feed from our HRIS to Active Directory to automatically update basic employee information (work location, job title, etc.)
I am not the decision-maker for my organization regarding enterprise technology, so I can't really answer this question very accurately, other than to say that I am happy to continue using SharePoint as long as my organization keeps it.
Particularly in larger organizations, it would be best to have at least one resource (person) dedicated specifically to supporting SharePoint. Our organization has been without such a resource for over a year, and it has been tough to get things done from an end user perspective. It is also important to provide training to users before they start accessing SharePoint. It is fairly intuitive for basic tasks, but for anyone who will be creating/administering subsites or other content on a regular basis, they should definitely be trained before being set loose in a live environment.

Using MS SharePoint

1400 - Everyone in our company uses SharePoint in one capacity or another. The heaviest users are IT and HR. HR in particular uses SharePoint for tracking purposes (surveys, lists, forms) and to provide employees with self-service tools to find the information they need.
3 - Our organization has a small number of SharePoint "experts" although there are others who provide very basic support as well. In order to support the full functionality of SharePoint, you would need to be familiar with SharePoint itself, SharePoint Designer, and InfoPath. Knowledge of (or at least familiarity with) HTML and basic coding are also useful. To clarify - these are really the end-user skills that would be needed once your SharePoint environment has been established. I am not familiar with what is required to build and deploy a SharePoint environment from scratch.
  • Central location to which all employees have access from day one with our organization
  • Ease of tracking (lists, surveys)
  • Permissions are very easy to administer and manage even for end users
  • Just last year, we started using InfoPath (via SharePoint) for our annual performance evaluation process/forms
  • HR uses SharePoint surveys to track completion of acknowledgement of our annual employee guidebook updates
  • We are in the process of migrating our clients to a new data/reporting platform that is built in SharePoint
  • Further reduction of the use of paper forms

Using MS SharePoint

SharePoint is easy to use for basic tasks. If you're trying to do something a bit more complicated, though, it can be difficult to figure it out on your own without going through a lot of trial and error. Most people will likely only be performing basic tasks, though, so I would rate the usability pretty high.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • Lists
  • Surveys
  • Webparts
  • Workflows
  • Text on pages is sometimes difficult to format

Comments

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