SharePoint's current foothold in the legal market is undeniable. For many firms, SharePoint has become the default extranet tool, due in large part to the ease of creating new extranets through the application's custom list of templates. While implementing extranets for larger clients often involves special development, firms are finding that most case needs can be met with sites attorneys create simply by choosing from a menu of templates.
Microsoft's Office Sharepoint Server (MOSS) has become more of a development platform allowing .net programmers to exercise control over a broad range of functionality in the products, and to develop interfaces and functions that give their firms a competitive edge in client service through improved collaboration. While some firms are creating SharePoint portals as a hub for the daily work of professionals, many are choosing instead to use SharePoint to supplement functionality or provide a unified presentation layer.
Firms using SharePoint as a central hub of information and functionality tend to view their portal as a strategic component of their knowledge management strategy. The implementation of the Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF) coupled with the integrated search capability has made Sharepoint a powerful solution for providing attorneys with a single view of their firm's myriad data sources. By integrating enterprise search products that provide connectors to SharePoint, the IT team can begin to streamline the number of applications that attorneys must learn to navigate. Tighter integration of MOSS with Microsoft Outlook takes advantage of attorneys' natural propensity to work within their e-mail applications.
The much improved document management features and coupling with Office 2007 has sparked debate about whether MOSS is a viable alternative to the established document management systems (DMS) in the market today. The short answer, at least for law firms, is "not yet." For example, scale is an important factor to consider, especially since the volume of documents in many firm libraries can run into the multimillions. However, with features such as: the ability to synchronize with calendars, tasks and document libraries in offline mode; activate and respond to forms from within Office applications; check-in/check-out files; create versions, etc., it may only be a matter of time before some firms begin considering MOSS (or its successor) as a partial or full alternative to an existing DMS.
Firms using SharePoint to supplement functionality or simplify presentation tend to focus on simplifying access to information and on using the collaboration features and the efficient development platform. Regardless of a firm's view on the technology, SharePoint projects help make it a priority to identify business benefits and meet firm and user goals. Vendors continue to include variations of SharePoint integration in their product roadmaps as they vie for mindshare and, in some cases, to remain relevant as SharePoint continues to evolve and gain ground in law firms.
With MOSS, Microsoft has released a gem that is getting more polished with each enhancement. As more third-party vendors rush to write tools and connectors for the product and Microsoft continues to invest its research and development dollars in MOSS, law firm IT departments can look forward to an exciting array of choices for their portal and enterprise content management needs.
About our author . . .
Nestor Holynskyj is Director of Consulting with eSentio Technologies. He has over 25 years of information technology and strategy consulting experience. He started his career at Booz Allen & Hamilton and most recently worked for Bowne & Co. as an independent contractor where he developed and implemented strategic market plans. Nestor is a frequent presenter at many legal technology industry events. He can be reached at Nestor.Holynskyj@esentio.com.