Determining the True Cost of Microsoft SharePoint

: Even if your users are familiar with SharePoint, using it to solve a specific business problem (such as automating a contract management or accounts payable process) typically requires some training. Training can be performed by your staff or outside consultants. Since SharePoint's user interface is intuitive, the training effort for end-users is usually measured in hours rather than days or weeks while SharePoint administrators may need a few days of training.

: The SharePoint community is unlike any other ECM community. It is collegial, always on and continually expanding. On SharePoint Saturdays, for example, SharePoint experts volunteer their time to speak at Microsoft offices. There is no charge to attend one of these presentations, at which hundreds of people gather (a testament to the growing role of the SharePoint community.) SharePoint Saturdays are a great source of information, but should you elect to attend these events or the many SharePoint conferences taking place around the world, factor travel expenses into your SharePoint cost equation.

: When development takes place in SharePoint, it should be managed in a controlled and traceable manner. To that end, CIOs should invest in code management and plug-ins for Visual Studio or other integrated development environments that allow for the creation and management of SharePoint source code. The costs for such tools can range in the hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars.

SharePoint: Worth the Costs

After digesting all of this information, you may wonder if SharePoint is worth all of the expense.