By Dan Holme
Office & SharePoint Pro
Community Manager
Sleepless in Seattle
This week, Microsoft hosts hundreds of Microsoft Valued Professionals (MVPs) from around the world at the annual MVP Summit in Redmond. The summit is a great opportunity for us to meet other community leaders in our technologies, to share and to learn, and to gain insight into Microsoft's direction for the future. I was lucky enough to be awarded MVP status in Windows Server Directory Services last year, and in Office SharePoint Server this year, so I'll be able to peek into Microsoft's collective brain to see a glimpse of the future of both Windows and SharePoint. I'm really looking forward to the chance to interact with the product teams and with several dozen incredible SharePoint and Directory Services MVPs--many of whom I've worked with "virtually" but have never been able to put a face with the name. I look forward to sharing some of what I've learned with you next week! SharePoint Report Card: Search
While I'll be searching for answers in Redmond, I hope you've been looking at, testing, planning for, and rolling out Microsoft search technologies. In a recent newsletter, I began the process of looking at each of the scenarios that SharePoint is designed to address, and evaluating whether SharePoint delivers everything it promises, implies, or tries to get us to believe. This week, I'll say a few words about search. Users spend a lot of time looking for information--files on their local and network stores, information contained in those files or in email messages and attachments, data contained in databases. There's a huge ‘low hanging fruit' there--time wasted by users in less-than-productive search activities. SharePoint's search story is a good one. Companies that have invested the time and resources into implementing Office SharePoint Server's search capabilities have found that the investment pays off in big ways. Although there are certainly other enterprise search solutions--some of which may be the best on the Internet--there's a lot to be said for leveraging Microsoft's technologies to index and search business data, the vast majority of which originates in Microsoft desktop applications in the Microsoft Office suite. There's also a lot to be said for the tight integration of Microsoft search into the UIs of Windows and applications that users work with every day. I know from first-hand experience that Windows Desktop Search, which I've configured to search my Outlook and network data stores, has increased my productivity significantly. The tools work, the indexing is efficient and highly configurable, the results are security-trimmed (meaning you don't see results you don't have permission to view), and the client experience is highly manageable. As a customer of Microsoft enterprise search, you will also be the beneficiary of the investments Microsoft is making in search as it tries to gain Internet search market share against Google. The technologies it's creating in that effort trickle down to make enterprise search the most rapidly developing platform coming out of Microsoft. The search functionality provided by Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) is limited to the site collection--you cannot search across site collections. Therefore, one year ago, I would have told you that even a small SharePoint shop really needed Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS), or at least Office SharePoint Server for Search, to search across WSS or MOSS sites. Luckily, that story has changed. Did I just mention that search is rapidly developing? Last month, Microsoft released Search Server 2008 Express, which provides very rich search capabilities that include indexing across file shares and WSS sites. This is the ideal solution, in my opinion, for many small- to mid-sized businesses. And it's free. Yep, you read that right: free. The major restriction is that it can run on only one server, so you'll want to read up on how that might affect your design or even the choice of product. The next step up is Search Server 2008 or MOSS itself. The search functionality of MOSS is now “one step behind” Search Server 2008, but will be brought up to speed soon with an update. So if you have not yet implemented a search solution in your enterprise, don't wait any longer: go out and grab Search Server 2008 Express, at a bare minimum, or step up to Search Server 2008 or MOSS Search. The report card is in, and SharePoint gets a gold star for Search. SharePoint – o – Rama
The SharePoint Pro Live! roadshow continues, this week in Minneapolis and Chicago. Next week, SharePoint Connections takes the stage in Orlando, Florida, with dozens of amazing IT Pro and developer sessions from Microsoft and some of the nation's top experts. The week after that is Windows Connections, also in Orlando, which features a track of WSS and MOSS sessions for IT Pros--you'll find me there! And, that same last week of April, the road show wraps up with events in Seattle and Denver. If we haven't hit your city yet, we will--you can run but you can't hide :). Till next time, happy searching! Until next week, all the best! Dan Holme danh at intelliem dot (top level commercial domain) | | 
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Events and Resources
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Combat SQL Server Sprawl--Case Study Web Seminar, April 30
The success and growth of SQL Server has led to a phenomenon commonly called "SQL Server sprawl”--the rampant, often uncontrolled proliferation of SQL Server databases. Join this Web seminar on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 (12:00 PM EDT) to learn an approach to successfully combating SQL Server sprawl and improving application availability and response time. Register now, before space fills up!
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Fax Server Fundamentals eBook
At its simplest, a fax server is a software application that provides a central network resource for sending and receiving faxes from anywhere on the LAN/WAN network or from a Web browser over the Internet. From the perspective of the IT department, implementing a fax server solution brings benefits to users as well as to those charged with supporting them and the business. Find out how you can completely serve your customers while implementing a solution that's easy to support, secure, and integrate.
http://ct.email.officesharepointpro.com/rd/cts?d=33-5694-982-443-3598-555837-0-0-0-1-2-196 Case Study--Oracle Database on Windows
Read about the core integration capabilities available to users who deploy an Oracle database and use its tools in Windows environments.
http://ct.email.officesharepointpro.com/rd/cts?d=33-5694-982-443-3598-555838-0-0-0-1-2-196 EXCHANGE 2007 Mastery Series--May 29, 2008
3 information-packed eLearning seminars for only $99!
Hosted by Windows IT Pro
Join Mark Arnold, MCSE+M and Microsoft MVP, as he coaches you through server management in Exchange 2007:
- Learn the Pros and Cons of Your Mailbox High-Availability Options
- See Real-World Examples of Transport Rules You Can Implement in Your Environment
- Windows PowerShell: Get Started with Basic Commands
For more information and to register, go to http://ct.email.officesharepointpro.com/rd/cts?d=33-5694-982-443-3598-555839-0-0-0-1-2-196 SQL Server Magazine Master CD: Take the Experts with You!
Find the solutions you need within the thousands of searchable articles, helpful bonus content, and loads of expert advice on the SQL Server Magazine Master CD. A Master CD subscription buys you portable access to the entire SQL Server Magazine article database plus exclusive access to the new articles we publish on SQLMag.com every day. It's like having a team of SQL Server consultants in your pocket! Get real-world solutions fast--order the SQL Server Magazine Master CD today.
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