1.1. What Is SharePoint?
SharePoint helps you gather information together, regardless of what type it is. It may be MS Word documents or any other type of file, but it may also be information that you usually store in other types of applications, such as contact lists, team calendars, product databases, project planning, or news lists. SharePoint also helps you find information, even when you don't know where it is stored, and SharePoint helps you keep track of updated information. In other words, SharePoint does not invent any new information type; instead, it helps you get the right information when you need it without spending lots of time looking for it. Even more importantly, all this information is easily shared among users, such as project teams, departments, or even entire organizations.
Microsoft has performed a thorough analysis of how people use their computers in most types of organizations. Microsoft has a very good understanding of what types of problems these users have and what things that need to be changed or removed in order to help the users work more effectively. One of Microsoft's findings indicates that people tend to become frustrated when they need help from the administrator or Help desk to do even simple things, such as creating a place in the network for sharing information within a team or adding a new team member. Users want to have more power to do what they want, when they want, and exactly how they want. This concept is sometimes referred to as ...
