To understand what SharePoint does for businesses, it is important to understand collaboration. To collaborate by definition, is to work jointly together with others especially in an intellectual endeavor. SharePoint allows companies to have a common interface allowing companies to function together in teams which can be made up of internal employees, customers, vendors, and other business partners. It allows these teams to communicate and share information securely with one another.

Some of the key features include document management, advanced index and search capabilities, project tracking, dashboards and business intelligence, integration with other applications and data sources, connections to Word, Excel, Outlook to share documents, email, calendars, task-lists and much more. Workflows can be used to automate processes and simplify tasks.

It grows as the organization grows, allowing businesses to start simple and develop more advanced uses as they become familiar. Out of the box, it provides benefit almost instantly and provides a framework which can be leveraged to build sophisticated applications.

Below is a video produced by Microsoft which explains in more detail.
 

The history of technology has continually taken that which absurd one day and made it practical or necessary the next. No doubt, you may have your own stories of embarrassment where you tried to predict the future of technology.

Not to worry, you are in good company. Here are a few famous (or infamous) quotes that may salve your pride, or at least make you crack a smile.

"Who in their right mind would ever need more than 640K of ram!?"
   --Bill Gates, 1981

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
   --Popular Mechanics, 1949

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
   --Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM 1943

"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."
   --Editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
   --Ken Olson, president of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

"This 'telephone' has to many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communications. The device is inherently of no value to us."
   --Western Union internal memo, 1876

A report by McAfee security researchers on August 3, 2011 revealed the United States government, multiple foreign governments and other large organizations were targeted by a five-year cyber-spying campaign called Operation Shady Rat.

Specific people within organizations who had the right level of access were sent a phishing email containing a link to malware  which automatically installed itself when the email was opened.

Organizations need to apply security in layers. It is important to protect email systems at the gateway and servers, apply updates in a timely manner, install protection on the workstation, and educate users. The last is often overlooked and can be the most important aspect, as no email security product can ensure 100% protection.

The use of email to attack computers makes it necessary to treat every email with a reasonable amount suspicion. Simply opening an email can cause your system to be accessed by hackers granting them full access to your information. The attacker can access contents of the drive, activate the cameras to spy on user, record key strokes and other items that can send shivers down your spine.

Ngenious can help you protect your systems and assist in training users. We can evaluate current configuration and make suggestions to reduce threats.