Cloud may inhibit Sharepoint developers

Partners key to platform's success.

Microsoft's Sharepoint could be the iOS of the enterprise content management space if its own cloud (BPOS) doesn't get in the way, analysts said. 

Speaking at the Gartner ITxpo in Sydney this week, analyst Kenneth Chin discussed the "enterprise readiness" of Microsoft's collaboration, content management and portal tool.

Compared to Sharepoint 2007, the newest version was better able to capture and handle documents and forms, wikis, and the cloud, he said.

But there were limitations, he said, especially for organisations with high volume transaction requirements.

"Sharepoint is probably currently the most low cost solution for content management, collaboration and portal," Chin told attendees.

"By 2015, we expect Sharepoint to be as popular a platform for enterprise content applications as the iPad and iPhone are for consumer applications."

Microsoft's robust partner system was critical to Sharepoint's success, said the analyst, referring to certified vendors, integrators, resellers and independent software vendors.

He warned the product would be less successful if customers leaned too heavily towards procuring Sharepoint as a service through Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS).

The cloud platform may inhibit Sharepoint application developers, he noted, and the partner ecosystem may stall, or become too fragmented.