The meeting that I had scheduled today with Microsoft was postponed, I'll work with them to set up another meeting but in the interim I'd like to re-state my opinion of Sharepoint and offer an open invitation to Microsoft...
Sharepoint bashing?
Let me be perfectly clear about my attitude towards Sharepoint. I have nothing against it as a product, in fact it is very compelling. My concerns are about how it is being deployed by companies today. Just because I work for a company that competes in some areas with Microsoft does not automatically mean that I am taking a competitive position. Let me explain:
- Why not just let people use Sharepoint and then worry about compliance later? I've just spent the better part of 12 months writing a book that focuses on how to take a holistic view of implementing compliance solutions, how it pays to think about compliance up front and throughout all of your systems. This is a passion of mine and I cannot in good faith watch quietly while companies implement a technology without thinking about compliance. If you don't care then have at it and implement Sharepoint throughout the organization, let's face it, it is a hugely compelling solution.
- Why are you picking on Sharepoint and not talking about other collaborative environments? Simply because it is so successful. If no one used it then I would not care, if it was a point solution for a single industry then I would not care as much but it isn't...that said, my comments stand for ANY system in your company not just Sharepoint. My advice is as always "Consider compliance considerations now or pay the price later", it is your choice but do not doubt that I will say, "I told you so" if you ignore me.
- If Sharepoint is just a collaboration tool then why worry about compliance? Ah Padawans...what are people collaborating on? If it is the office fantasy football league then you are fine but what if you are using Sharepoint to collaborate around business documents. These document could be formal records and they are almost certainly discoverable[1]. If they are records or get included in a discovery response then you'll have to be able to protect them. What if the documents are confidential, you might need to encrypt them. What if they contain private health information, you might need to protect or redact them...you get the idea.
- Would you rather people didn't use Sharepoint? Not really. For example, from a compliance perspective Sharepoint, if used correctly, is a much better location for content than a network file share - it allows you to create context around your content, you can store attributes, create relationships and use a more formal structured approach to storing your content. This context allows you to identify content that needs to be protected for compliance reasons. Would I rather you used Documentum? Of course I would, I have stock in EMC but that's not my point here; my message isn't "don't use Sharepoint" my message is "if you are using Sharepoint then take these issues in to consideration". Think holistically today or pay the fines and remedial work costs later.
- You're on a bit of a downer, would anything make you happy? I'm naturally a bit manic but I'm also passionate, this combination might look negative but truthfully I just give a dam. I'm actually not down on Microsoft per se but I do think that when you release a product like Sharepoint hoping that it will pervade the entire commercial market globally then you have a onus - world domination has its responsibilities too you know. What would make me happy? I'd love Microsoft to start to take compliance more seriously, bake it in to the core product rather than relying on partners to retrofit it as an afterthought. I'd love to have an open debate about the best practices around managing compliant data in Sharepoint. I'd love to have this conversation with Microsoft partners as well as Microsoft - if you are looking for a business opportunity then set up a practice applying compliance controls to Sharepoint content, (to make lots of money focus on remedial work and just sit back and wait). I'd love Microsoft to ask my advice, I would not be shy in putting my opinions forward in person...in fact I'd like to formally make that offer:
An open invitation to Microsoft.
I think that it would benefit everyone, including Microsoft, if this discussion was two-sided. I think that everyone would love to hear what Microsoft have planned to help enterprises to make best use of Sharepoint. You name the format and the location and I'll do my best to accommodate. In fact, I'll be at ARMA in Baltimore next week - I'd love to meet and talk about this issue, I'll even give you a free copy of my book to read!
Seriously, I'm not trying to bate Microsoft, I am trying to represent the best interests of their customers and their partners.
An open invitation to the rest of you.
I'll be at ARMA next week, if you'd like to chat then either find me at the booth, at the OmniRIM launch party in the aquarium, come along to my session or email me ahead of time to arrange a meeting. My work email address is chapman_andrew(at)emc.com if you want to pre-arrange something. My session is Monday, October 8th, 2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m., it is entitled "The Truth About Federated Records Management – Be Careful What You Ask For!".
[1] A discovery is the action you take
Mr. Chapman seems to take a very common sense approach here, and unquestionably it would behoove MSFT to align itself to the needs of compliance users as opposed to trying to redefine what compliance means to these same users. If MSFT is going to try and branch out from Office and Windows by tying these same two staples to more business solutions they really have to take two steps back and see what they will be affecting in the larger scope of things. This is an excellent example of how Microsoft's Office System is truly in its infancy, a great idea in terms of making it easier for all, but still has so much to understand before it can stand on its own two feet.
Posted by: Dave | 10/03/2007 at 03:00 AM