Many clients come to us, because they’re looking for an alternative to SharePoint. I am curious. Why is that?
SharePoint is the number one intranet software; about half of all intranets are built on it.
So why is it that so many organizations decide to look for something else?
To answer this question, I read a dozen articles to find out what’s wrong with SharePoint. For all its strengths, itis not the perfect fit for every organization. Here’s why:
1. Itis difficult and complicated to deploy and maintain.
Although itis a powerful platform that can be used to solve various business problems, getting it to do your bidding takes a lot of effort and, consequently, time and money.
Redmondmag concludes, “simple is one thing SharePoint definitely is not,” and “SharePoint can be just plain hard to use.”
To make matters even worse, Microsoft continues to make it more complicated with each upgrade.
Sean McDonough is quoted by Redmondmag as saying “It’s the rolling ball of junk that rolls downhill and gets bigger and bigger. It’s only going to get more complex as [Microsoft keeps] adding things into it.”
Strong words from a SharePoint evangelist!
If you’re looking for intranet software that’s fully functional right out of the box, if you want to deploy your intranet in a few days or weeks, instead of months or years. If you don’t have IT staff who can work exclusively on SharePoint deployment, then SharePoint is not for you.
2. Itis not optimized for the cloud.
From what I gather, it was originally a server application that only recently became available in the cloud. SharePoint experts (and by experts I mean people who build intranets using SharePoint) have said this move to the cloud is “riddled with issues.”
One issue, apparently, is that customizing it in the cloud is limited and expensive. “There is little scope for local customization,” says Computerworld.
If you’re looking for a cloud-hosted intranet, then SharePoint is probably not for you.
3. Itis expensive.
The software itself may not be too expensive, but the total cost of ownership “can be extremely high.”
In addition tothe initial cost of the software, you need to consider the following other costs:
- software prerequisites
- hardware prerequisites
- dedicated staff to operate and maintain it
- help desk staff to support users
- consultant to set up the architecture and environment, as well as implement branding and customization
If you have a limited budget for installing, running, and maintaining your intranet, then SharePoint is not for you.
After reading this, what do you think? Is SharePoint a good option for your company?
Do you agree that these are the weaknesses? Share your thoughts below.
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Looking for an alternative to Sharepoint? Noodle is an affordable and easy-to-use social intranet software, with20+ enterprise applications, including tools for document management, content creation, project management, workflows, calendars and more. With either cloud or on-premise hosting, your Noodle Site can be up and running in minutes with a dedicated account manager. If you’re considering making the switch contact us, and we will walk you through every step of the way.
