Businesses large and small have adopted SharePoint so they can easily access the information they need to get their jobs done. However, more and more companies are opting for 3rd party add-ons to enhance functionality and reap the most business benefit.
AIIM, a global, non-profit organization that provides independent research, education and certification programs to information professionals, recently conducted a survey of its community members. In July 2012, AIIM presented the findings of its survey, "The SharePoint Puzzle - adding the missing pieces."
Additional findings of the research include:
In the report AIIM states that "nearly half of (their) respondents feel that compared to out-of-the-box SharePoint, they could be 50% more productive with enhanced workflow, search, information reporting, and automated document creation tools. Scanning and capture, case management and social system add-ons would all produce significant productivity improvements of 25% or more. Over half are using or planning to use third-party add-on products to enhance these functional areas."
Third-party products
- Over half (54%) are using or planning to use 3rd party add-on products in order to enhance functionality. Only a third thinks they will stick with the vanilla product. Tweet This
- Security and rights management, workflow design and management, and document approvals are the most popular add-ons in place. Followed by project management, advanced search and case management.
- Mobile extensions, social feeds, automated document creation/rendition, and document sharing/white-boarding are set to be high growth. Followed by records management, classification governance, and digital signatures.
- Over half feel they would be 50% more productive with enhanced workflow, search, information reporting, and automated document creation tools. Scanning and capture, case management and social system add-ons would produce productivity improvements of 25% or more.
- Read about more of AIIM’s findings
Users looking to get more out of their SharePoint implementation and maximize their investment should consider a pre-configured, high-end document viewer designed to work with SharePoint. Prizm Content Connect SharePoint Edition is a document viewer that integrates with SharePoint and allows users to convert any of the over 300 supported formats, including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, to PDF and SWF on the server. This enables your organization to standardize on PDF, for example, regardless of the varied file formats coming into the system, making it easier to share and secure information internally, and with external partners and customers as well.
What are you looking for in a 3rd party product for SharePoint integration? What have you used that works for your organization? Share below in the comments!
