Document and Data Sharing with Windows SharePoint Services

Document and data sharing in the Office System is built around Windows SharePoint Services (WSS), a Web site hosting and storage service that’s a free add-on to Windows Server 2003. WSS enables members of small teams to work together on documents, distribute announcements and news, and maintain shared data, such as to-do lists and schedules, more efficiently and with less IT support than they can today.

The Case for Windows SharePoint Services

Today, teams typically share documents and data through file shares-network-accessible folders on a file server. WSS team Web sites are similar to file shares in that team members can create new sites or subsites and update documents and data on the sites without calling in an administrator or a Webmaster. However, WSS sites have some advantages over file shares, including the following:

Better organization. With WSS, users can quickly create ad hoc Web sites to organize discussions and revisions of a team-produced document (such as a contract); to collect agendas, notes, and to-do lists from meetings; and to distribute news and announcements to team members. By helping set up and maintain well-organized repositories of information, WSS helps team members locate relevant data and documents more easily than a file share.