Posted: October 28th, 2009    By: Devin Walker   

deployCompanies considering a deployment of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server should review a number of key factors to cost-effectively engage their organization with the product. The following post will familiarize you with some of the typical deployment strategies in a high level overview.

There are many methods to consider when deploying a SharePoint solution within any organization. The options include considering and outsourced hosted solution or an in-house IT setup.

Purchase and Deploy

Organizations with existing IT staff may have the option to use this resource as a means to deploy, test, and manage a MOSS solution. Once deployed, the IT department may have a varying amount of involvement managing each web application. Basic staff training may be conducted by an IT employee or an outside consultant depending on budget.

Benefits:

  • Increased security control
  • In-house
  • Cost-effective
  • Faster access

Considerations:

  • Infrastructure may need upgrade: Hardware and Software
  • Training IT staff for deployment
  • IT department maintains and administers
  • May distract IT staff from potential revenue generating projects

Purchase and Outsource

There are a number of hosting and consulting companies that can provide your organization with a reliable MOSS deployment strategy. This option may be ideal for an organization with limited IT staff, but be prepared to pay for additional costs.

Benefits:

  • Reliable Data Access
  • System uptime guarantees
  • No need for IT training

Considerations:

  • Server Maintenance Fees
  • Site Maintenance Costs
  • Security control customization
  • Look and Feel Customization
  • Consulting Fees
  • Staff Training Fees

Rent from Application Service Provider

An application service provider (ASP) can provide your organization with all the pre-configured built in features of SharePoint for a monthly fee. Typically the setup is free and plan rates vary by number factors (users, storage amount, email accounts, bandwidth, etc).

Benefits:

  • Rapid deployment
  • No internal hardware fees
  • No internal software fees
  • Reduced IT staff needs

Considerations:

  • Per-user monthly costs
  • Expandability
  • Variable speed of access
  • Potential network access upgrade requirements
  • Host reliability
  • Future cost implementations

Useful Resources for SharePoint deployment (no matter your strategy)

Mart Muller’s SharePoint Checklist for System Administrators when Implementing SharePoint

Server Topology Design Checklist

WSS Get Started Checklist

Heather Solomon’s Checklist for Site Provisioning

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