Datasheet

Chapter 1: Microsoft Offi ce SharePoint Services 2007 (MOSS)
19
Presence Management
When you see a colleague s name in SharePoint, you may also notice a smart tag, which can be used to
communicate instantly with them. For example, voice or video communication is possible if Microsoft
Live Communications Server is also being used, but even without this you can use the smart tag to add
the colleague to your outlook contacts, instant chat using MSN messenger, or send an email using
Microsoft Outlook 2007. The smart tag itself serves as a status indicator, changing color depending on
whether the user is currently online, busy, or free. If you are not using Live Communications Server, then
only those contacts you have in your MSN Messenger will appear, with their presence indicated in
SharePoint. In a large geographically dispersed organization, presence information can be a great tool,
allowing you to instantly communicate with colleagues anywhere in the world. Many people are already
familiar with instant messaging technology and can pick up and use it with ease.
Reporting
MOSS also contains a Report Center, which is used to display commonly needed reports for you. Reports
can be created using SQL Server Reporting Services and displayed in specific Reporting Service Web
Parts. The Reports Center provides a single point of information to colleagues looking for corporate
reporting. A sample dashboard is supplied with SharePoint, which can give you an idea of how reports
can be displayed.
The Report Center can also be used to display key performance indicators (KPIs) and progress against
them. This area is covered in Chapter 10 when you will create and display some KPIs.
Document Center
Just like the Reporting Center, a Document Center can provide colleagues with access to corporate
information in the form of documents, again as a single point of reference for an entire organization.
The Document Center also contains a default Web Part that displays documents that you have been
involved with. The Document Center is designed to store large numbers of documents well in excess of a
standard document library. The center can be a good target location for users to send documents to when
they need to make them available across the organization while maintaining the security of their
individual sites.
Security
Security in SharePoint follows one of two common paths: either using a company s Active Directory or
using forms - based authentication. (It is also possible to use both.) Both systems rely on you entering a
username and password before being granted access to the system. Once you have been granted access,
what you do in terms of MOSS web sites is governed by security features inside the software. You will
usually be associated with a SharePoint security group and that group will have certain permissions
associated with it. SharePoint sites usually contain three default groups: Site Owners, Site Members, and
Site Visitors. Each group will have a default set of permissions, which can be customized by system
administrators to meet individual requirements. Permissions are usually grouped into permissions on
lists, permissions on the site itself, and permissions to personalize items within the site. At a higher level,
there are also permissions associated with Site Collection administrators and of course the SharePoint
Server administrators. This section only discusses permissions as they will affect you. You can be granted
permissions directly or placed into a group to which permissions have been given. Using group - based
c01.indd 19c01.indd 19 3/31/09 9:21:03 AM3/31/09 9:21:03 AM