Systems and Technology

Microsoft Sharepoint (grobmanschwarz.de/sharepoint) is a collection of digital products and services that include a wide and constantly growing selection of different programs. SharePoint is a server side technology that has been designed to host intranet based webpages, including the sharing of MS Office documents between users. The full name of SharePoint is Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies, which gives an insight as to the range and ambition of the SharePoint program. Some of the different applications and services that are offered include process management modules, web browser based functions, search modules, and a document management platform. SharePoint is a good example of a social computing platform, and one of many such platforms that are leading the way in terms of interactive group-based publication and information sharing.

Microsoft SharePoint can be used to host community focused websites that access shared workspace environments. As a service, it is similar in many ways to other technologies that utilise a ‘cloud’ based paradigm of social and group-focused technologies. Within SharePoint, users are able to control individual ‘web parts’, interact with lists, document libraries, and host defined applications such as wikis and blogs. The rising popularity of Microsoft SharePoint is a good example of the increasing focus on social computing technologies around the world, and the intersection between social behaviour and computer based technological systems. Specific cloud-based services, and regular server-client technologies like email, blogs, and social networking are all helping to fulfill the promises of a social and interactive computing experience.

The user interface of Microsoft SharePoint is accessed through a regular Internet browser, which makes it accessible to the vast majority of computer users around the world. SharePoint applications themselves are ASP.NET 2.0 applications, served using IIS and SQL server databases at the back end. As digital technology becomes more tightly integrated into our lives all the time, applications and environments such as Microsoft SharePoint are likely to become more popular and user friendly. As the focus slowly changes from desktop applications to Internet-based services, SharePoint and other similar programs are likely to become more popular with computer users around the world.