Collab-a-lytics - The Sweet Spot for SharePoint

I was chatting with my friend Mack Sigman of FEDSPUG and Avanade today and we got to talking about SharePoint, Collaboration and Data Analytics.

These are two of the sweet spots for SharePoint.

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Well, with me being me, I had to create a portmanteau from that and I came up with Collab-a-Lytics

Collabalytics –
The conflagration of two of the best features of Microsoft SharePoint --- Collaboration and Data Analytics

SharePoint is a Lot of Things

For those that have been watching SharePoint has been around for about 15 years. The current incarnation is effectively Version 5. Or, more accurately, with Microsoft’s changes related to more rapid shipping schedules and with the rise of SharePoint Online (aka SPO) as part of the Office 365 suite it’s more like it’s version 5 Plus. 

The Growth of a Dynasty
What started with SharePoint Team Services back in the 2000 time frame has morphed through 2003, 2007, 2010 and is currently on the 2013 version.

The SharePoint Wheel

Many people are familiar with the “Workloads” SharePoint 2003 and beyond morphed into. These have been slightly updated, but they have effectively stayed the same. Where the core capabilities are driven around Sharing / Collaboration.

SharePoint is a great place to collect, gather and collate information. SharePoint hasn’t always made it easy to build solutions, but partners (and Microsoft) continue to improve upon this effort and the capabilities and the markets SharePoint can impact is effectively limitless now.

This is what got Mack and I talking earlier --- How partners can continue to extend and enhance the SharePoint Ecosystem

Data Priests, SharePoint and the Big Data Conundrum

SharePoint has become a great place to Surface Data. There are still silos of information in every business. Everything from ERP, CRM, SCM, and every other Three Letter Acronym (TLA) application and service out there. In fact, there are countless other streams of information being created everyday --- from User Generated Content (UGC) to Social Networking generated content to data that is offered up for fee or for free by governments. There is a lot of data out there.

Big Data is a Big Buzzword

Big Data goes well beyond Microsoft and SharePoint. However, SharePoint can and will play a big role in Big Data. As those disparate silos of information are tapped for their riches we can expect SharePoint solutions will be built to be the gathering spot to highlight and showcase the gems that are extracted.

As I wrote in Big Data --- From Priests to Data Scientists and Back there are jobs to be had in the Big Data space. Many of these jobs will likely be created by partners and individuals that will leverage the Microsoft SharePoint platform.

Will they call it Collabalytics?
I doubt it. (but, if they do I’m sure they’ll credit me)

SharePoint is a ubiquitous platform for gathering, collating, analyzing, synthesizing and outputting information that matters to the business and to the individual. There is a lot more headroom to grow … both for Microsoft and for the partner ecosystem.

As I wrote a few years ago …

The Future of SharePoint is here and it’s all about Data!

Updating this slightly for 2014 …

Collab-a-lytics  - The Sweet Spot for SharePoint

Jeff is an expert in the Enterprise Content Management industry. He brings over 20 years of Channel Sales, Partner Marketing and Alliance expertise to audiences around the world in speaking engagements and via his writing. He has worked for Microsoft, Kodak, K2 and Gimmal. Tweet him @jshuey or connect on LinkedIn,Facebook, or Google+

He is a contributing author to Entrepreneur, Elite Daily, Yahoo, US News and to the Personal Branding Blog.