tell me about SharePoint...

SharePoint can do many things for many people. it's a platform made up of many different elements, all designed to streamline collaboration between people by allowing them to create their own intranets, extranets, internet sites or bespoke applications.

it simplifies how people find and share information and integrates seamlessly other production tools within the Microsoft Office Suite.

anyone who has worked in a large organization knows that it can often take an age to get anything done. any kind of project seems to generate hundreds of documents, emails, meetings and other data that needs to be managed, version controlled and prevented from overwhelming those who are working on the project. SharePoint aims to improve on this by providing a central point to store, collaborate and manage everything to do with the project.

there are three main elements to SharePoint, WSS, MOSS and MSS.

WSS

Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) is the foundation of the product. it provides the document workspace, collaboration tools, discussion boards, storage and management functions essential to the overall usefulness of the platform. it allows version control, check in/out, shared calendars, email alerts and many other features. it forms the basis for SharePoint and provides everything needed to create and manage basic collaboration.

MSS

Microsoft Search Server is an auxiliary element that provides easy access to all that data a project will produce. it indexes, catalogues and searches the data stored in WSS and MOSS. this allows users to quickly and easily search and access the information they need.

MOSS

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server sits on WSS and adds more functionality to the system. MOSS coordinates WWS, office and provides the web services necessary to create the intranet pages, wikis, and other web-based content. it's a comprehensive CMS, (content management system), that can manage, distribute, control and store data in almost any digital form and allow varying levels of access to users depending on their approval level.

SharePoint as a platform includes all three applications, yet can work with just WSS or WSS and MOSS.