SharePoint Server 2007 is a new server application that is part of the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Your organization can use it to facilitate collaboration, provide content management features, implement business processes, and provide access to information that is essential to organizational goals and processes.
By using site templates and other features in Office SharePoint Server 2007, you can can quickly and efficiently create sites that support specific content publishing, content management, records management, or business intelligence needs your organization may have. For example, it is possible to create enterprise-level sites, such as organizational portal sites or Internet presence sites, or specialized sites, such as content repositories or meeting workspaces. These sites enable you to collaborate and share information with others, whether they are inside or outside of your organization. In addition, you can use Office SharePoint Server 2007 to conduct effective searches for people, documents, and data, to design and participate in forms-driven business processes, and to access and analyze large amounts of business data.
Among other things, you can use Office SharePoint Server 2007 to:
Collaborate effectively with others in your organization. For example, you can use calendars to see when team events are occurring, or use document libraries to store team, divisional, or organizational documents. You can also discuss issues by using blogs or capture and retain information in Wikis, which are user-managed knowledge bases.
Create personal sites, where you can manage and share information with other users. For example, you can create your own My Site portal, where you can view and manage all of your documents, tasks, links, Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 calendar, colleagues, and other personal information from a central location.
Find people, expertise, and data in business applications. For example, by searching the My Sites on your intranet, you can find someone who has a specific skill or interest, even if you don't know their name. You may also be able to find data in a corporate database or enterprise business application, such as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application.
Manage documents, records, and Web content. For example, your organization may develop a process for retiring or expiring documents after a certain amount of time has elapsed.
Host XML-based business forms that integrate with databases or other business applications. For example, if you work for a local government agency, you might design permit applications forms inMicrosoft Office InfoPath 2007 and host them Office SharePoint Server 2007 so that users can then fill out forms directly in a browser. The data entered into the form can be submitted to a database in the government's network.
Easily publish reports, lists, and key performance indicators (KPIs) by linking to business applications, such as SAP, Siebel, and Microsoft SQL Server 2005.