I just wrote about Alfresco, so I figured I should do the same for SharePoint, since Alfresco and SharePoint are considered direct competitors. SharePoint is also mentioned in a hust list of Press Releases from Alfresco.
Company Growth
Microsoft has always been a strong company, no matter how much you look at it or hate it. Since the very beginning, most things have always gone right for the company - either that or there is just so much going on between hardware and software, that things typically don’t get noticed (except Vista, right?). With that said, Microsoft is still a strong company. Hiring is still strong and they’re even taking back employees that have left Google to return or start at Microsoft. Needless to say, Microsoft isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.
Application News
While I should have mentioned the current version of Alfresco in my last story, I just forgot (they’re on 2.2). So, to make it quick and simple, Microsoft is currently pushing Sharepoint 2007, otherwise known as Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server (MOSS). Unless you’ve been hiding under the proverbial ECM rock, you’ve heard of Sharepoint. Currently, they’re working on the next version rumored to be a 2009 release.
Sharepoint was recently placed in the in the Leader’s quadrant with IBM, ECM, Open Text and Oracle for Enterprise Content Management (ECM). This is interesting because I truly expected a larger share of the ECM market for Sharepoint. Alfresco is mentioned around mid-niche grade as well. Oddly, OnBase is the only Niche provider listed as a challenger - it’s the first time I’ve heard of them… Again - another story for another time. Anyway, this is a pretty decent news item because it literally plots Sharepoint on where it stands on the map - especially considered next to Alfresco.
On other news items, Sharepoint adoption in Europe is “exploding“. While I wish I could vouch for this, I only see the US side of things. While I know that certain parts of the US Government use it, covet it and all that touchy-feely stuff, there are other parts that downright refuse to look at it or use it because 1 person (who happens to make the decisions) “doesn’t like it”. Oddly, that sounds like an OSS excuse as well doesn’t it?
While there is no specific GSA award for Sharepoint (lots of training GSA contracts, however), Sharepoint is in use by multitudes of Governments and does price with a standard Government scheme. They also allow for educational usage, etc. Licensing costs can be harsh, depending on what you want though.
Open Source, Right?
Those of you that know anything about Sharepoint know that the only “open source” like files are the templates and a few odds and ends, here and there. No core files are sourced, nor do you want to look in some of the files that do have the source - they’ll give you a headache (research CAML if you really want to go cross eyed).
Well, Microsoft is Microsoft and you won’t see the Sharepoint code…ever. While it would be interesting to make some sections of Sharepoint OSS, coming from an Enterprise angle, I’m not sure if I’d want that. Customizing an Enterprise application is something a lot of companies do. When you do this, it makes updating the application a worse situation every time you touch a file. By the time you’ve got it the way you like, more likely than naught, you won’t be able to update the application without breaking nearly everything about it.
Sales
Sales for Sharepoint have risen up and up over the last few years. Now, in 2008 (it is 2008, right?), Sharepoint sales are expected to top $1 Billion. I would say that Sharepoint sales have been steady at this point ;-)
What is interesting is that Microsoft is making that much money, yet has barely touched the leader quadrant of the Gartner survey…
Wrap-Up
While I’d love to provide a quote, it’s really un-needed due to the link above. Sharepoint is a decent product, as long as you use it right. The features added in the 2007 release make Sharepoint an even nicer product for the corporate environment due to the Blog and Wiki features.
Other than that, I’ll try to have part 3 of the Alfresco vs Sharepoint story out here soon. I’m finishing installing my Dev environment on my Mac (VMWare Fusion) as I type this. Once that gets all setup, it’ll be so much easier for me to take screenshots and compare everything. I’ll use the actual server I have for performance comparisons so I know that the Mac environment isn’t causing problems.
Preview of the Next Blog Post: The Best CMS For “Me”:
Recently, I talked to a friend about CMS engines and how he felt about them. He gave me some insight as to how he decides what to download, what to install and what to trash. It’s a little interesting to get into the mind of someone that knows just enough to be dangerous on the web side of things.
