Facts about SharePoint 2016 Preview and What makes it Different from its Previous Version

Image Source: itunity.com

You might have read about the SharePoint 2016 updates in my previous blog, here I am back with some more important highlights and facts about the SharePoint 2016  such as its preview version, launch date, usage, advancement, applications, features as well as answers to some basic queries of the users.

As we know Microsoft has released SharePoint 2016 Preview on August 24, 2015 to test the features of original SharePoint 2016 which will become usually available in 2nd quarter of 2016. Let’s have brief look on SharePoint 2016 features and what makes it different from its previous version. SharePoint 2016 will focus more on better user experience, cloud hybrid infrastructure, compliance & monitoring and many others.

Better User Experience - SharePoint 2016 will be most likely  similar to  SharePoint 2013 but with more people centric feature. By improving the user experiences with the use of innovative technology such as, it will provide improved touch based experience across all the devices, mobiles, and tablets. While emphasising more on one drive for business, which means place where all the files you are working with are stored and accessible from anywhere. A personal online storage space just like “Dropbox”.

Cloud Hybrid Infrastructure - SharePoint server 2016 updates allow users to avail advantage of cloud hybrid capabilities. By providing all-in-one facility to all the users who are working in different environment. It means, with the help of a true hybrid index users can get search results from Office 365 and SharePoint 2016 as well as SQL Server together with cloud data commonly in a single index.

Compliance & Monitoring -With every new version, SharePoint provides better authentication and security features so that content can be shared securely and safely inside and outside of the organization. Same with the SharePoint Server 2016- It ensures better security and monitoring facility than the previous version and with investment in DLP (data loss prevention) information remains protected i.e. in earlier versions DLP was negotiable, schools and organization doesn’t pay much attention but now it’s compulsion for all to make sure that confidential information remains protected.

These are some SharePoint 2016 features, now let’s have a look on to solutions of some common questions of the users which arise in their minds before installation of SharePoint 2016 preview

Which  Browsers are Supported in SharePoint 2016?

SharePoint Server 2016 IT preview supports all the popular browsers like latest versions of Internet Explorer i.e. 11 & 10. All versions of Microsoft edge, latest versions of Google Chrome, previous to latest and most recent versions of Mozilla Firefox, latest released version of Apple Safari. But all the features do not work in all the above browsers and their different versions. 

What are the Minimum Specifications Required?

Hardware requirements are –

For single SQL server instance RAM 12 to 16 GB RAM, with 64-bit 4 Core processor, 80 GB space for drive and addition 100 GB for second drive.

Single farm server (separate server for the SQL DB) RAM 12 to 16 GB, 64-bit 4 Core processor, 80 GB for drive space.

Software Requirements are – 

You'll need to update some of the softwares like Server 2012 R2 at a minimum and .NET Framework 4.5.2. It can also run on Server 10 with only change in .Net Framework i.e. 4.5.6 instead of 4.5.2

Can SharePoint 2016 Preview  be Upgradable to RTM?

No, one cannot upgrade the SharePoint 2016 Preview to RTM.

Are Excel Services Removed from SharePoint 2016?

Following Excel Services in standalone SharePoint 2016 farm is deprecated-

View Excel Spreadsheet

Reliable data providers

Unattended service account 

Excel SOAP API & Webparts

But it is suggested to IT admins to use the Office Online Server to host Excel services.

What are the Extra new Features that are Coming in SharePoint 2016?

Speedily Site Creation – The site collection process became easy now, it will totally rely on copying collection of existing site which increases the speed.

Link Durability – Links whose file name changed and moved to different site collection still it will work properly.

Hybrid Result – Now in SharePoint 2016 search results are shown from cloud and on-premises farms i.e. hybrid results are shown, no matter from where you search.

Launch of SharePoint 2016 is still a year away but you may install its preview version. It will give you a closer view about its working, features, specifications and more.

Keep in tune I will keep on updating you with more facts about  SharePoint 2016  and its release date.

Contact here for your SharePoint application development services. Our expertise on Microsoft SharePoint will help you

Facts about SharePoint 2016 Preview and What makes it Different from its Previous Version

Posted by Sophina Dillard No comments

Image Source: itunity.com

You might have read about the SharePoint 2016 updates in my previous blog, here I am back with some more important highlights and facts about the SharePoint 2016  such as its preview version, launch date, usage, advancement, applications, features as well as answers to some basic queries of the users.

As we know Microsoft has released SharePoint 2016 Preview on August 24, 2015 to test the features of original SharePoint 2016 which will become usually available in 2nd quarter of 2016. Let’s have brief look on SharePoint 2016 features and what makes it different from its previous version. SharePoint 2016 will focus more on better user experience, cloud hybrid infrastructure, compliance & monitoring and many others.

Better User Experience - SharePoint 2016 will be most likely  similar to  SharePoint 2013 but with more people centric feature. By improving the user experiences with the use of innovative technology such as, it will provide improved touch based experience across all the devices, mobiles, and tablets. While emphasising more on one drive for business, which means place where all the files you are working with are stored and accessible from anywhere. A personal online storage space just like “Dropbox”.

Cloud Hybrid Infrastructure - SharePoint server 2016 updates allow users to avail advantage of cloud hybrid capabilities. By providing all-in-one facility to all the users who are working in different environment. It means, with the help of a true hybrid index users can get search results from Office 365 and SharePoint 2016 as well as SQL Server together with cloud data commonly in a single index.

Compliance & Monitoring -With every new version, SharePoint provides better authentication and security features so that content can be shared securely and safely inside and outside of the organization. Same with the SharePoint Server 2016- It ensures better security and monitoring facility than the previous version and with investment in DLP (data loss prevention) information remains protected i.e. in earlier versions DLP was negotiable, schools and organization doesn’t pay much attention but now it’s compulsion for all to make sure that confidential information remains protected.

These are some SharePoint 2016 features, now let’s have a look on to solutions of some common questions of the users which arise in their minds before installation of SharePoint 2016 preview

Which  Browsers are Supported in SharePoint 2016?

SharePoint Server 2016 IT preview supports all the popular browsers like latest versions of Internet Explorer i.e. 11 & 10. All versions of Microsoft edge, latest versions of Google Chrome, previous to latest and most recent versions of Mozilla Firefox, latest released version of Apple Safari. But all the features do not work in all the above browsers and their different versions. 

What are the Minimum Specifications Required?

Hardware requirements are –

For single SQL server instance RAM 12 to 16 GB RAM, with 64-bit 4 Core processor, 80 GB space for drive and addition 100 GB for second drive.

Single farm server (separate server for the SQL DB) RAM 12 to 16 GB, 64-bit 4 Core processor, 80 GB for drive space.

Software Requirements are – 

You'll need to update some of the softwares like Server 2012 R2 at a minimum and .NET Framework 4.5.2. It can also run on Server 10 with only change in .Net Framework i.e. 4.5.6 instead of 4.5.2

Can SharePoint 2016 Preview  be Upgradable to RTM?

No, one cannot upgrade the SharePoint 2016 Preview to RTM.

Are Excel Services Removed from SharePoint 2016?

Following Excel Services in standalone SharePoint 2016 farm is deprecated-

View Excel Spreadsheet

Reliable data providers

Unattended service account 

Excel SOAP API & Webparts

But it is suggested to IT admins to use the Office Online Server to host Excel services.

What are the Extra new Features that are Coming in SharePoint 2016?

Speedily Site Creation – The site collection process became easy now, it will totally rely on copying collection of existing site which increases the speed.

Link Durability – Links whose file name changed and moved to different site collection still it will work properly.

Hybrid Result – Now in SharePoint 2016 search results are shown from cloud and on-premises farms i.e. hybrid results are shown, no matter from where you search.

Launch of SharePoint 2016 is still a year away but you may install its preview version. It will give you a closer view about its working, features, specifications and more.

Keep in tune I will keep on updating you with more facts about  SharePoint 2016  and its release date.

Contact here for your SharePoint application development services. Our expertise on Microsoft SharePoint will help you

Do you Know About: SharePoint 2013 is on Cloud?

“Microsoft is all in on the cloud” – said by Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. Well at the end of November, trial version of this software was launched on the company's official website and it is valid for 60-days. It includes the following apps i.e. SharePoint, Lync, Access, Publisher, Exchange, Office, Outlook, Excel, OneNote, and PowerPoint which makes it perfect for Enterprise Platform.

Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO) speaks at the launch of the company's Microsoft 365 cloud service in New York

At the moment people are discussing over this “cloud-thing” a lot i.e. whether to go for it or not!  Let’s understand what SharePoint Cloud 2013 Office 365 is first.

The SharePoint 2013 "Cloud” model follows that Microsoft's has promise that they will deliver infrastructure software and applications as a cloud service first or at the same time with the release of the premises-based version of its key products. That came to life with last year's Dynamics CRM/Dynamics CRM Online duo. Now Microsoft is employing the same approach with the latest version of SharePoint Online in the Office 365 service and SharePoint 2013.

One of many unique new features in SharePoint 2013 and SharePoint Online is the new SkyDrive Pro, an advancement of the SharePoint Workspace. It raises the bar in synchronizing the content between SharePoint Sites and employees of various devices. SkyDrive Pro is demonstrated after the consumer-based SkyDrive service i.e. when Windows 8 and Office 2013 Bring SkyDrive to the Forefront, except it's developed into SharePoint and customers and partners can manage it.

If I talk about its features, they are en-numerous  Let’s talk over 10 Burning Features of this SharePoint 2013 at the moment. 

1. Easy Share content– In this, it shares a document with someone by simply clicking the share link.
2. Easy Add – This is useful for Content management. With drag and drop feature easily add content straight into any browser window.
3. Easy Access - access content from any browser or smartphone and even from iOS devices. You can sync content on to a device to and work on it offline.
4. My Task list – In this, users can view all tasks on project sites and can easily edit them in the browser window itself. These are later rolled up into “MySite” to show users a unified list of tasks including personal ones that have been added in SharePoint and in Exchange 2013.
5. Email integration – It means all team based communication is easily accessible from a single site. These emails live in an Exchange mailbox so are also fully functional from within the mail client.
6. Advance searching – You can search for people, content, chats, videos and reports and drilldowns via both i.e. via text and visual contents. Users can preview the documents comprising drilling down into the detailed one. Users can also takeout information based on past search behavior.
7. Cloud/Hybrid – Office 365 has the almost same functionality when compared to an on-premise in features areas. It means for greater workloads, e.g. an Intranet, users can choose to run it in on-cloud without loss of any functionality or speed. When it’s running on Office 365, Microsoft is responsible for management and maintenance of the service.
8. Collaboration with others contents – This is useful for items such as meetings notes via OneNote and placing the large documents or PPTS together where different users can own part of the content. This creates more rapid content amalgamation.
9. Achieved Application store – An organization can have an internal app store in it. It basically allows a control and security over which applications can be installed by the site owners and includes a user interface for requesting and managing the licenses. These can be internal applications or the purchased ones that can be run externally to the organization.
10. Customization possibilities – It offers for a customized content that can be exported outside of the SharePoint environment. It means the SharePoint environment is easier to manage and maintain. It can also be reused for existing application skills via the portal interface. It also provides Branding to the system. 

Furthermore, if I talk about the migration from the older version to the cloud one, it is again smooth and easy migration. They offers a serial approach to this migration i.e. if you are SharePoint 2007 users, firstly you have to migrate to 2010 version before moving to 2013. Plan and strategize accordingly before moving towards the new one. Currently, they are offering SharePoint at cost of –

• Office 365 Home Premium - $99.99/year
• Office 365 Small Business Premium - $149.99/year 
• Office Home & Student 2013 - $139.99
• Office Home & Business 2013 - $219.99
• Office Professional 2013 - $399.99 
• Office Small Business Premium offers its suite - $12.50/month (it can be used by up to 25 employees)
• Office 365 University - $79.99 for a four-year subscription, or $1.67/month

Do you Know About: SharePoint 2013 is on Cloud?

Posted by Sophina Dillard No comments

“Microsoft is all in on the cloud” – said by Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. Well at the end of November, trial version of this software was launched on the company's official website and it is valid for 60-days. It includes the following apps i.e. SharePoint, Lync, Access, Publisher, Exchange, Office, Outlook, Excel, OneNote, and PowerPoint which makes it perfect for Enterprise Platform.

Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO) speaks at the launch of the company's Microsoft 365 cloud service in New York

At the moment people are discussing over this “cloud-thing” a lot i.e. whether to go for it or not!  Let’s understand what SharePoint Cloud 2013 Office 365 is first.

The SharePoint 2013 "Cloud” model follows that Microsoft's has promise that they will deliver infrastructure software and applications as a cloud service first or at the same time with the release of the premises-based version of its key products. That came to life with last year's Dynamics CRM/Dynamics CRM Online duo. Now Microsoft is employing the same approach with the latest version of SharePoint Online in the Office 365 service and SharePoint 2013.

One of many unique new features in SharePoint 2013 and SharePoint Online is the new SkyDrive Pro, an advancement of the SharePoint Workspace. It raises the bar in synchronizing the content between SharePoint Sites and employees of various devices. SkyDrive Pro is demonstrated after the consumer-based SkyDrive service i.e. when Windows 8 and Office 2013 Bring SkyDrive to the Forefront, except it's developed into SharePoint and customers and partners can manage it.

If I talk about its features, they are en-numerous  Let’s talk over 10 Burning Features of this SharePoint 2013 at the moment. 

1. Easy Share content– In this, it shares a document with someone by simply clicking the share link.
2. Easy Add – This is useful for Content management. With drag and drop feature easily add content straight into any browser window.
3. Easy Access - access content from any browser or smartphone and even from iOS devices. You can sync content on to a device to and work on it offline.
4. My Task list – In this, users can view all tasks on project sites and can easily edit them in the browser window itself. These are later rolled up into “MySite” to show users a unified list of tasks including personal ones that have been added in SharePoint and in Exchange 2013.
5. Email integration – It means all team based communication is easily accessible from a single site. These emails live in an Exchange mailbox so are also fully functional from within the mail client.
6. Advance searching – You can search for people, content, chats, videos and reports and drilldowns via both i.e. via text and visual contents. Users can preview the documents comprising drilling down into the detailed one. Users can also takeout information based on past search behavior.
7. Cloud/Hybrid – Office 365 has the almost same functionality when compared to an on-premise in features areas. It means for greater workloads, e.g. an Intranet, users can choose to run it in on-cloud without loss of any functionality or speed. When it’s running on Office 365, Microsoft is responsible for management and maintenance of the service.
8. Collaboration with others contents – This is useful for items such as meetings notes via OneNote and placing the large documents or PPTS together where different users can own part of the content. This creates more rapid content amalgamation.
9. Achieved Application store – An organization can have an internal app store in it. It basically allows a control and security over which applications can be installed by the site owners and includes a user interface for requesting and managing the licenses. These can be internal applications or the purchased ones that can be run externally to the organization.
10. Customization possibilities – It offers for a customized content that can be exported outside of the SharePoint environment. It means the SharePoint environment is easier to manage and maintain. It can also be reused for existing application skills via the portal interface. It also provides Branding to the system. 

Furthermore, if I talk about the migration from the older version to the cloud one, it is again smooth and easy migration. They offers a serial approach to this migration i.e. if you are SharePoint 2007 users, firstly you have to migrate to 2010 version before moving to 2013. Plan and strategize accordingly before moving towards the new one. Currently, they are offering SharePoint at cost of –

• Office 365 Home Premium - $99.99/year
• Office 365 Small Business Premium - $149.99/year 
• Office Home & Student 2013 - $139.99
• Office Home & Business 2013 - $219.99
• Office Professional 2013 - $399.99 
• Office Small Business Premium offers its suite - $12.50/month (it can be used by up to 25 employees)
• Office 365 University - $79.99 for a four-year subscription, or $1.67/month