While about 100 million people have access to SharePoint globally, a recent study on the perception of SharePoint’s search capabilities leaves 62 percent of the 500 people surveyed unhappy with the ROI writes David Roe in a recent CMSWire recap of the survey.
We believe that with the implementation of FAST Search Server, a focus on information architecture to integrate document management, collaboration and social enterprise features, and the variety of third-party extensions that are available, there is hope for the future of SharePoint 2013 on the next survey.
Let’s consider how these items will differ in a year or so:
- The FAST feature: SharePoint 2013 is completely different compared to SharePoint 2010 because it includes the FAST Search Server. FAST provides additional technical capabilities for managing search results, highlighting certain terms and creating better result sets. It also provides a much more enticing graphical user interface. In previous versions of SharePoint, organizations might have glossed over the search function, but now it’s much more powerful and integrated within the product.
- Information architecture: Organizations are working more on the implementation of information design and taxonomy, which is making it easier to search. Many SharePoint implementations are organically grown and they’re reaching a point where they need to be tamed. Therefore, an information governance strategy is now a bigger priority.As it relates to the content itself, people are learning the value of adding descriptors and attributes to documents and information stored throughout SharePoint. That improves findability and will save users time. When organizations train employees to follow the governance structure, they’re better able to use the system.
- Third-party extensions: There’s a rise in the number of third-party search applications to add features. That’s exciting because they allow users to automatically classify the documentation.There have been some great implementations of wonderful taxonomies and amazing meta data structures, but people are reluctant to fill them out. It’s partially a training issue, partially a culture issue and also a result of the fact that it’s simply difficult to do. These third-party systems can be managed by a small group of people who can automate some of the attributes being provided. And on top of that they can either replace or enhance the SharePoint search engine to provide more accurate results.
While these three items may provide for a sunny future for survey results, they cannot be properly utilized without a sound strategy and an ongoing support plan to review statistics, interview users and adapt to constant changes that occur in any organization.
Source: CMSWire, July 2013
