SharePoint 2010 Improves Tools, APIs

Like earlier versions, SharePoint 2010 enables extensive customization by developers. Customization can range from altering SharePoint’s built-in workflows and Web Parts to building entire custom applications on SharePoint’s Web platform using the product’s APIs. In the middle of the spectrum, developers can integrate SharePoint with external data from applications such as an organization’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, enabling SharePoint to serve as a single, common access point for the organization’s data. SharePoint 2010 delivers enhancements for all of these tasks, including a significantly better access to external data, substantially improved tools for development in the popular Visual Studio development environment, and numerous improvements to the product’s APIs and application platform to simplify development and reduce downtime from errors in custom code.

SharePoint 2010 Works Better with External Data

SharePoint and Office 2010 deliver Business Connectivity Services (BCS), a new interface that enables users to view, update, and search selected data in sources external to SharePoint, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and ERP systems. This can make important business systems accessible to more workers on a “self-service” basis, reducing their reliance on back-office specialists to complete day-to-day tasks. BCS replaces the SharePoint Server 2007 Business Data Catalog (BDC) and delivers substantial improvements, such as the capability to write to external data sources and better development tools. However, Office 2010 is required to access the capabilities from within Office applications.