Sharepoint and Exchange 2007

Where did those Public Folders go?! The answer is they are still there; just not as visible as they used to be. Exchange 2007 has been designed in such a way that Public Folders, although still available, require command-line like administration – a little bit clunky. But why use dated technology to store your files, emails, contacts and calendar items? The reported reason behind the slow demise of Public Folders is so that newer more efficient and functional technologies can prevail.

Enter SharePoint either in WSS 3.0(Windows SharePoint Services) or MOSS (Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, formerly SharePoint Portal Server) 2007 flavor. SharePoint provides an easily extensible platform for the sharing of information (something Public Folders didn’t offer). It allows administrators and users to create themed ‘sites’ and ‘lists’ that contain the same information, but on a rich platform that allows for version control (not available on PFs), check-in/check-out document control (not available on PFs), customizable views (not that easy to do on PFs) that can include multiple ‘webparts’ to display relevant information to viewers like work group calendars, link lists, key contacts etc. Other functionality like the quick creation of blog and wiki sites and configurable event driven email alerts further extend capabilities that were never even conceived in public folders.

Integration through Exchange 2007 comes at the client level (spare email routing requirements). SharePoint lists and objects can be added directly to the Outlook 2007 for direct access via the folder tree. OWA also integrates with SharePoint through the ‘Document Access’ feature (on a read-only basis) which allows remote users to open up local documents either via SharePoint URLs or UNC File Shares. And of course, if you want to provide direct access to your SharePoint Site collections, SharePoint can be placed on public facing systems and accessed via standard web browser and can even allow anonymous access to specific sections (no one has an excuse to NOT have a blog space now!)

So I say, out with the old (Public Folders) and in with the new (easily extensible rich featured SharePoint)!

For more information on SharePoint:

Microsoft Office SharePoint Official Site
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointserver/FX100492001033.aspx

Microsoft Feature-by-Feature WSS 3.0 and MOSS 2007 Comparison http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/d/c/1dc632e8-71e1-466f-8a2f-c940f1438e0a/SharePointProductsComparison.xls

A great collaboration of SharePoint professionals and enthusiasts
http://www.sharepointblogs.com

A quick description of SharePoint from our Favorite Wiki Resource
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SharePoint