In 2009, Alfresco executive Matt Asay said of SharePoint: “It is simultaneously the most interesting and dangerous Microsoft technology, and has caught its competitors napping.” While competition has intensified since, SharePoint remains incredibly popular. Companies like Telus, MillerCoors, Citibank, and (surprise) Microsoft, use SharePoint for training; others, like Procter and Gamble, Kroger, and Dell, use it to create websites to interact with the public; still others use the platform for project management. What benefits does it offer as a PM tool?

SharePoint is massive; it is a very rich solution, potentially, for businesses. Knowing what it can do and how to make it do what you want is essential. Microsoft senior VP Chris Capossela says, “If we do 50 percent of the functions that these other companies do, but they’re the ones customers really want, that’s fine. The magic is that end users actually like to use the software.” In contrast to specialized solutions, SharePoint offers a more generalized, broad approach.

SharePoint can facilitate project management by acting as:

• A productivity tool. Multiple people can see and share information, and with different clearance levels, they see what they need to see.
• A repository. Here is a central location for all documents related to the project. They are easy to find and SharePoint makes it easy to pull relevant data for reporting. This also eliminates the problem that we see sometimes when one person hoards information on a hard drive, and no one else has access to it or when you have to ask five different people for documents.
• A bridge for team members. Not every team works in the same country, much less the same office. They can share information, communicate, access information anytime, and take advantage of other features that facilitate work among widely dispersed teams.

The power behind SharePoint is the ability of teams to collaborate. But it’s also important to remember that it’s only a tool. It’s a great one, yes, but it’s not a replacement for a great PM, nor does it make an ineffective manager a good one. It needs to be managed, and initially, that takes time. If you get that experience with SharePoint and use it effectively and efficiently, you have one more tool that can help projects come together successfully.