Shameless Self-Promotion

It is always a difficult exercise to get interviewed for a job. It becomes even more difficult if it concerns an internal interview aiming to promote your company. Anyway, who I am and what I do is now available on YouTube: My work at Aliaxis

Sure Step Template for SharePoint 2010

Last year, I wrote an article explaining how to deploy the Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step template in SharePoint 2007. This year, I had to figure out how to deploy the Sure Step template in a SharePoint 2010 environment. So here are a few tricks.

I used the Microsoft Sure Step client platform version 3.2.3.0, Content 3.2.5.0.

The first step is to retrieve the Sure Step Project Site Template.wsp file from C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics\Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step\SharePoint Templates. Note that the .stp file is useless for SharePoint 2010. Once you have that .wsp file, upload it to the Solutions center of the site collection where you need your Sure Step template.

Once the file is uploaded, you need to activate it. In order to activate it, you must ensure that you have the necessary rights and also that the Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Sandboxed Code Service is started. If not, simply start it from the Central Administration -> System Settings -> Manage services on server page.

As soon as the Sure Step template solution is activated, you can create a sub-site using that template in your site collection.

Lego Digital Designer: An Amazing Tool

Today in order to provide additional basic Lego building instructions to my son, I decided to download, install, and test the Lego Digital Designer. Within 30 minutes, I had everything set up and designed a first model (copied from Lego Box 5898).

I have been positively surprised by the ease of use of the LDD. Being a big fan of Lego, I foresee many hours to be spent with it.

64-Bit Connector from Linked-in Released Jan 6, 2011

On January 6,2011 LinkedIn finally released the much awaited 64-Bit Connector for Outlook 2010 64-bit.

Download the 64-Bit Connector from Linked-in for Outlook 2010.

SharePoint or Google Apps, which is best for you?

I have come accross this very intuitive post by Clare from Pentalogic Technology and had to forward it, particularly as SharePoint is a hot topic at the moment.


SharePoint or Google Apps, which is best for you?: "

With both Google and Microsoft offering collaboration solutions in the form of Apps and SharePoint it’s only natural that organisations should look at comparing the two. We think it’s worth looking at this debate for ourselves.

So which is better – Google Apps or SharePoint? As ever, the answer really depends on what your business needs to operate and evolve. The key point to remember is that while they offer some similar features, both solutions are very different beasts.

Google Apps has come a fair way over the past few years and one of the main advantages it has over SharePoint is its lower cost. The standard edition is free, but most organizations tend to upgrade to its premier edition option that includes intranet with Postini, a high-end email security solution. You could outsource your entire “Office” for $50 per user per year, which represents a huge cost saving over any in-house IT solution.

The main features that Google Apps has are its messaging facility, including Gmail, Google Calendar and Groups, and its collaboration offering, with Google Docs, Sites and Video. Being a cloud-based service, Google strongly emphasize their security, support and reliability features. On the face of it, Google Apps may be a perfect entry-level alternative to SharePoint if you have a small business or are a one-person operation.

Of course cost savings come at a price. Google Apps doesn’t come close to the range of collaboration features that you get with. With powerful workflows, reliable secondary functions like Information Rights Management and an application development platform. If you factor in how easily SharePoint integrates with an existing Office suite then it’s easy to see how Microsoft can waggle accusatory fingers at Google Apps for not being enterprise-ready.

For many organizations though the rich array of features offered by SharePoint will simply be overwhelming and what Google has to offer will be enough. Particularly for smaller organizations and those who are more “outward facing” – have more interaction with people outside, rather than inside, of the organization, the sheer intuitive simplicity of the Google Aps solution, plus the ease of collaboration with the “outside world” may give Apps the edge over SharePoint.

There are limits to some functionality if you opt for SharePoint Online (see our post on SharePoint In House Vs Cloud for more on this), but even if you choose Microsoft’s cloud offering, the range of features outweighs Google Apps and costs start at $120 per user per year for a minimum of five users. However, Google Apps does have open API’s for developers which allows for some customization if you need it.

Google Apps is a great solution for a small enterprise and it can easily work alongside other more powerful software. Sure cloud based solutions lack the power of SharePoint, but if you’re in a small company, you probably don’t need these advanced capabilities anyway. When it comes to collaboration, Google Apps can also compete in terms of cost, speed and the ability to engage users. However, with no integration with Microsoft Office applications, a limited development platform and limited collaboration features, Google Apps often struggles to be a comprehensive business solution when compared to SharePoint.

Are you using Google Apps and SharePoint? How do you think the two solutions measure up?

Further reading:

1. SharePoint 2010 and Office 2010 web apps better than Google Apps?

http://www.cmswire.com/cms/document-management/sharepoint-2010-and-office-2010-web-apps-better-than-google-apps-007049.php

2. Google Vs SharePoint can be apples vs oranges

http://www.realstorygroup.com/Blog/1773-Google-vs.-SharePoint-can-be-Apples-vs.-Oranges

3. The Big Switch: From SharePoint to Google Apps

http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/01/29/the-big-switch-from-sharepoint-to-google-apps/

4. Review: Microsoft Office Web Apps vs Google Apps

http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/reviews/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225200312

5. SharePoint and Office Web Apps

http://www.joiningdots.com/blog/2010/07/sharepoint-and-office-web-apps/

Related posts:

1. SharePoint in the Cloud – Pie in the Sky? This article looks at what SharePoint in the cloud has...


2. How Much Does SharePoint Cost? How much does SharePoint cost? It can be difficult to...


3. SharePoint Versions through the ages – Confused? This post gives a brief overview of the different versions...

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Evolution of the Social Networking Map

In February 2008, in my What is Web 2.0 blog post I showed the following map about Social Networks, which came from xkcd.

Today, I saw on Le Journal du Geek the 2010 version and it speaks by itself. Notice the rise of FaceBook, YouTube, and Google for example but also the decline of MySpace and some others.


Only two years and an half between the two pictures. Changes are fast on the internet.

Import Calendar data from Outlook to Lotus

Importing calendar data from Outlook to Lotus is not the most usual operation. On the Internet, there are rather plenty of examples and instructions describing how to make the exact opposite. The easiest operation is maybe this one.

In Outlook (2007 or 2010), go to your calendar view and perform a save as ... and select the ICS format. Use the date range option to limit the scope to future events only because later on during the import process, Lotus will impose a limit to maximum 500 events.

Once you have your ICS file, go to Lotus Notes (8.5 in my case) and open the Calendar. Select then file -> import and choose the ICS file type. Click OK and that's it.

Easier than expected.