A Breakdown of SharePoint Application Development

From previous knowledge, we know that SharePoint is cloud-based software, to help keep your organization on track with every piece of information gathered, inquired, monitored, and reported on. SharePoint offers an endless amount of possibility and flexibility which is ideal for content management.

However, that is not all SharePoint is utilized for. SharePoint is also known for its application development programming.

But what is SharePoint Application Development?

Well, since we know that SharePoint is a web-based collaboration and document management program from the Microsoft hub, we know that it is a popular option for enterprises and organizations to develop apps.

This program offers several bonuses alongside the basics. Including, seamless incorporation to the Microsoft Office Suite and easy to learn reconfiguration features.

Here is a breakdown on how to develop an app using SharePoint, and the recognizable advantages of developing this way.

The first requirement is to onboard your developing applications onto a SharePoint server through SharePoint. The SharePoint server offers two editions:

1. Standard

2. Enterprise

There was a basic free version, but that was unfortunately discontinued in 2016. Despite that, users are able to install the Standard edition immediately. Whereas the Enterprise edition is built from the Standard edition and must be unlocked. By unlocked that means the entering of a license key on the standard edition.

The standard edition comes with access to many useful, intuitive tools and features – like workflow templates, a secure storage service, web analytics, governance tools, audience targeting abilities, enterprise wikis, search customization features, and more.

The enterprise edition comes with all of the features of standard, plus a few extras including:

• More accurate search results from rich web indexing

• Better search interface, with thumbnails and previews

• More in-depth integration of business intelligence, through the use of intuitive dashboards and business data surfacing

• Incorporation of PowerPivot, PerformancePoint, Microsoft Office, Visio, Excel, and more

Incorporating Microsoft Office onto the SharePoint server is ideal for the enterprise because it is viewed as an ordinary cloud server that delivers better control over SharePoint’s behavior or design.

The next requirement is to build a template and create a definition for a site. Establishing secure access to a server is a must because that starts your core site within Windows SharePoint services 3.0 or Office SharePoint Server 2007 for success.

Every site needs a great template to begin.

Once you’ve established if you’re developing a standard or enterprise application and defined a template for your application. Your next step is to make the necessary modifications.

To help ensure all the modifications are completed, here are four essential lists to go off of:

• Project Lists

• Project Tasks

• Project Issues

• Project Milestones

By creating the lists, they’ll display what exactly needs to get modified, so there’s no need for you to lose track of any important details.

Lastly, to aid the development process, even more, we have intuitive tools. Of which SharePoint offers a plethora of. Utilizing intuitive tools and resources help ease and speed up the development process.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 provides you with several new libraries and list types of intuitive tools.

Intuitive tools consist of content types, with a reusable collection of settings. Having access to these can help users increase the content types they manage and enable them to reuse the metadata and behaviors of a specific document or item type from the core.

How opting into SharePoint benefits helps the Enterprise:

By no means is SharePoint the only solution to developing an enterprise app. It does however make developing much easier than other programs.

With enterprises, you can deploy apps instantly, with complete functionality right after installation. The collaborative tools from SharePoint are also a huge bonus to developing with an Enterprise.

We hope you choose SharePoint Application Development as your next platform for development. If you have any questions or want to reach out to get started, contact our experts at ISU Corp!

The Ultimate Guide to the Role of a Solutions Architect

The technology community is rapidly evolving especially with the incorporation of new realms. With that organizations feel it is necessary to adjust their operating methods and techniques to stay current with the ever-changing business challenges.

In simpler terms, businesses are required to perform their core operations through digital transformation. This is what transfers the core processes to software solutions.

The digital transformation transition is complicated, to say the least, and requires close attention to every little detail. This then requires every company to acquire an expert with a particular skill set for balancing the business needs, especially when there are different nuances of technology involved.

We know these experts as ‘a solutions architect’. They are one of the most skilled client-based roles within the IT industry, and the importance is often overlooked or even completely ignored by the companies on either end.

In order for a software solution to operate effectively, scale, and reach the business needs, it is required to have a well-planned architecture that accounts for several technical and customer implications. In short, this means that the long-term success of any IT project is reliant on the input of a solutions architect, who needs to have:

• Wide-ranging technical expertise

• Business analysis skills

• Project management skills, etc.

Now, what does a Solutions Architect do for a company?

They are responsible for developing a comprehensive architecture for a software solution, while also providing a strategic direction for the development process.

The solutions architect also needs to ensure that the new solution works well with the existing enterprise architecture from the technical, business, user, and other perspectives.

To do this, they will work together with every team that is involved in the development process and understand how every product and service work in the architecture. A solutions architect requires the knowledge to oversee a successful delivery of a quality end product to the end-user.

But what does a Solutions Architect do in general?

Having a clear understanding of a client’s project and business needs, the role of a solutions architect is to map out the parts that will constitute the software solution and how they are going to work together.

In summary, a solutions architect’s job begins in the early stages of a project because they are laying out what is to come. Their tasks usually start with choosing the correct technology for the business problem and then taking charge of the architectural concerns to ensure there are more productive and effective outcomes.

They are also responsible for the translation of a project vision to the development team. This plays a pivotal part throughout the entire systems development lifecycle.

Every job title comes with its own set of responsibilities, as a solutions architect you are primarily focused on solution-level decisions and evaluation of their impact on a client’s overall business objectives and their outcomes.

Here are the main responsibilities of a Solutions Architect:

• Create and run the process of integrating IT systems for them to meet an organization’s requirements

• Conducts a system architecture evaluation and collaborate with project management

• Evaluate the project constraints for new alternatives to alleviate risks and perform process re-engineering if required

• Update stakeholders on the status of product development and budgets

• Notify stakeholders about any issues that may have occurred

• Repair technical issues as they arise

• Analyze the business impact that certain technical choices may have on a client’s business process

• Monitor and guide the development teams

• Consistently research new technologies and propose changes to the existing architecture

In order to successfully design, create, and lead the development of a software solution, solutions architects not only need to pursue the above responsibilities, but they need to have a specific set of skills to help them do the job best.

The most important skills needed for a Solutions Architect include:

Excellent Communication

Having the ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders, project managers, developers, and software vendors involved with the development process is an extremely important asset for a solutions architect because you’ll be able to listen and understand all the problems and suggestions that may come up.

Project and Resource Management

A solutions architect is not directly related to the project development, it is still important they need to ensure that the resources are being utilized responsibly.

In-depth analysis

Software architecture and systems have the ability to have several details integrated for them to work together. With that, a solutions architect needs to pay close attention to those details, because anything overlooked could be a recipe for disaster and may hinder the development process.

Risk identification and management

A solutions architect must be able to analyze and identify potential short and long-term risks, that may cause technical issues and impede business operations for future projects.

Technical skills

A solutions architect must have a good technical education with hands-on experience in all major areas of the software development process, as well as hardware engineering expertise, for any software projects that rely on hardware.

Overall, a solutions architect is responsible for building and implementing IT systems architecture for a set business requirement. Their role works closely with the project specifics and the pre-existing systems.

We hope this gave you a better insight into the role of a solutions architect, and if you want more information on the topic, reach out to one of our experts at ISU Corp today!

The Ultimate Guide to Logistics Management

Technology is consistently growing and changing. While most of the changes are for the better, they do tend to be disruptive for the logistics and overall supply chain processes. However, logistics have become more efficient, which has adjusted the way materials, goods, freight, sales orders, inventory, and production are monitored.

Efficiency and speed quickly became the deciding factor for logistics to introduce a new approach to deal with the increased demand and complex processes. An applicable solution that manages the flow of the processes so that the correct product reaches the customer in a timely manner.

When incorporating the Logistics Software, the whole core of the logistical operations is shortened, which takes away from the headaches that may arise in the process. Organizations that research logistics management software statistically has seen better end results than organizations that have not. They have also noticed incredible improvements in process, operations, and delivery.

A Summary of Logistics Software

To be able to understand how the logistics software works, it is crucial to be knowledgeable about logistics management as well.

Logistics is the inclusion of the flow of things from the point of origin to the point of consumption, usually general customers or businesses. The choice of vendors, transportation, routes, and delivery methods reflect an important component of logistical operations.

Logistics Management takes part in the supply chain that is used for planning and implementation to store and delivering goods and services to the customer. It arranges many key components of the supply chain ranging from the development of products to being commercialized.

The Logistics Management System Consists Of:

• Inbound and outbound transportation management

• Warehouse management

• Fleet management

• Processing orders

• Inventory control

• Managing third-party logistics service providers

• Planning supply and demand

In short, Logistics Management is a complementing set of functions including production planning, sourcing, procurement, packaging, and dispatching.

It also includes searching for the correct way to deliver goods and services to the end customer. Inbound and outbound traffic is also crucial for logistics management. Inbound controls the overall flow of raw materials from each supplier to the warehouse and then eventually production. When products are transferred from the warehouse to production that is outbound logistics.

Negatives of Logistics Management

While there are many positives about logistics, however logistics is susceptible to several issues. Ironically most of the issues that occur are due to simple human errors or other factors, like weak decisions that could result in delayed delivery or transport of goods which then leads to dissatisfied customers.

On top of that, an additional negative that logistics usually face is safety in the transport of goods. This is because the goods can become damaged or faulty if they are not handled properly while in transit. The increase in fuel charges is also a big issue when it comes to logistics.

Now what are the positives of Logistics Software?

Refined transportation

Relying on logistics software will help control the various transportation means and leverage data. This allows for simpler analysis for a company to utilize while making relative decisions for maximum efficiency.

Quicker delivery

Logistics software will interfere with the production cycle of a product by choosing the correct shipping service mid-process, which will shorten any delays to a large extent.

Minimized chance for human errors

With logistics software, data can be processed easier without errors in less time. This is an easy push forward for the operations because there is zero chance for a delay.

Automated functions

Automation reduces excess paperwork, which assists in dealing with processes more efficiently.

Lower costs

Saving is a big part of logistics software. With the software, you are able to compare various shipping services, delivery agents, and transportation methods to find the one with the lowest cost. Logistics also helps with lowering the cost of expedited shipments.

With every logistics management software, there are crucial components that are a requirement for the best software configuration.

1. Compatible with Multi-Client Architecture

2. Forecasting

3. Finance integration

4. Inventory tracking

5. Customizable interface

6. CRM

7. Bill of Lading Creation

Logistics are being enforced to be at the beginning of business operations, which means that utilizing the correct technology is important. While also making your business compatible with the ever-changing environment.

Outsourcing to a software development vendor will assist with the deployment of scalable software for logistics management for your whole supply chain operation. A global software solution provider like ISU Corp can give you an advantage of custom logistics solutions tailored to your exact requirements.

Reach out to one of our experts at ISU to get started, or if you have any questions!