To say that the arrival of Microsoft's SharePoint 2010 is eagerly anticipated is to understate the obvious. This really shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given the phenomenal adoption of SharePoint among businesses of all sizes, and the increasing awareness that SharePoint implementations have become an integral part of running those businesses. To a far greater extent than most recent major technology product releases, SharePoint 2010 is creating a good deal of buzz: speculation about what's in it as information is piecemealed out; questions about the due date; and debate about migration strategies and tactics. What we do know about the new capabilities is exciting - social computing breakthroughs, tremendous ease of use gains, seamless data integration, and many new tools for IT and SharePoint developers.
While there are some things that, as of this writing (October 2009) are still not clear about SharePoint 2010, what is clear is that those responsible for SharePoint in their organization will be facing the decision on when and how to migrate.
In this white paper, we'll explore the issues you'll be facing and the things you'll need to take into consideration as we move from SharePoint 2010 being grist for the buzz mill, to SharePoint as a reality.
There are two points that need to be stressed here.
One is that there's no one-size-fits-all "right answer" on when to upgrade to Microsoft SharePoint 2010. Just as each SharePoint environment is unique, so is the decision on when and how to migrate to the new version for each individual organization. In this white paper, we'll be providing you some food for thought, laying out the things you need to take into consideration as you determine your migration strategy. (A note here on the use of terminology: While some people reserve the use of the word migration to refer to a move to a different platform, and use upgrade for a move to a new version, here we're using the terms more or less interchangeably.)
A second key point is the importance of preparedness when you're upgrading to SharePoint 2010. Even for small, not particularly complex environments, migration is non-trivial, and being well prepared is essential. Whether you intend to be a first mover, take a more gradual approach, or opt for wait and see, the steps and thinking outlined here are relevant - and important - and help ensure that, whatever your SharePoint platform, you're in good shape. And for those who are considering their first, or new, SharePoint implementations, and are trying to decide whether to hold off until the next release, there's really no reason to wait. The steps outlined here will help ensure that your transition to SharePoint 2010 is as smooth as possible.
One final note before we start in. In preparing this white paper, Axceler tapped the insights of a number of experienced SharePoint insiders. The overall viewpoint, however, is that of Axceler. We did offer our insiders the opportunity to sound off on whatever came to mind with respect to SharePoint 2010. Mauro Cardarelli, Andrew Gelina, and Shane Young took us up on our offer, and their brief opinion pieces are included here.
With that, we'll start with a brief, high-level summary of what's coming in SharePoint 2010, and see what some of the buzz is all about.