In our experience, the most effective way to deploy a solution such as SharePoint is via our Assisted Pilot methodology which would involve your own staff from the very beginning and would allow the functionality of the new SharePoint solution to be captured within a workshop environment. As a Microsoft Software Assurance Customer you may qualify for free consultancy via SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS).
Good examples of how this methodology and approach has worked with SharePoint are ATG Training (Intranet & HR Workflows with MOSS Enterprise), Swanswell (Intranet & Project Management with WSS) and Nuvia (Project Management with WSS).
The Assisted Pilot would contain the following phases:
- Analysis of the IT environment and identify project risks / issues.
- Deploy a base SharePoint environment.
- SharePoint workshops facilitated by adepteq consultants to build the solution functionality live and in collaboration with your own project managers and IT staff.
- Use the output of the workshops and environment analysis to define the final functional specification for the team sites. This will allow a fixed cost pilot to be delivered but also identify other areas that you may wish to refine at a later date.
- Configuration and development of the portal solution to the functional specification in stage 3.
- Final technical handover and training.
Throughout the duration of the project, our SharePoint Consultants will ensure that your project team play a very active part in the solution development and deployment. This ensures they are self sufficient at the end of the pilot project and are able to scale the solution out to other departments within the organisation as a 2nd phase. During any future expansion of the solution across the organisation, adepteq can act as 2nd line support for technical escalations, ensuring that the Portal is deployed across your organisation in the most cost effective way.
During the Pilot, our SharePoint Consultants will make your staff aware of the extra functionality available in the full Portal Solution which would enhance the areas being developed during the Pilot.
Typically, this type of deployment is a far more cost effective way of deploying a solution such as SharePoint as many users simply don't know what's available in the product. Feedback from our existing clients has been very positive - not surprising; as many have saved tens of thousands of pounds.
Even after the project is complete and your IT team is capable of delivering most of what your organisation needs, they will find that the relationship which grew with our SharePoint Consultants during the pilot gives them a great comfort when moving into new territory.