Quest Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:QSFT):
IT managers are keenly aware of the investment their organizations have
made in SharePoint®, and for good reason. SharePoint helps businesses
improve content collaboration and increase access to business
intelligence, while ensuring that strong data security, compliance and
auditing processes are in place.
Unfortunately, many organizations struggle to drive SharePoint usage,
and thus miss the inherent benefits of the platform. Organizations
cannot assume that once they’ve deployed SharePoint, users will
immediately embrace the change in work habits needed to leverage all the
benefits SharePoint has to offer. As the real owner of SharePoint, IT
must make a concerted effort to drive SharePoint adoption to ensure the
company’s investment is a strategic advantage, and does not become an
unused digital wasteland.
To help change the issue of SharePoint adoption, Quest Software launched
AttachThis, a new tool that enables Outlook® users to take advantage of
SharePoint without changing their desktop context. In addition to the
new tool, SharePoint experts at Quest identified three reasons why IT
needs to take the reins to help drive SharePoint adoption.
Tweet This: New @Quest AttachThis Helps IT Drive #SharePoint
Adoption (via @QuestSharePoint) http://bit.ly/NDPGZ9
Collaborative Tools Can Speed SharePoint Adoption:
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Available today, Quest® AttachThis is an easy-to-use Outlook add-in
that enables end users to adopt SharePoint for content collaboration
without changing the way they work. With AttachThis, users can:
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Automatically upload attachments to SharePoint and replace the
attachment with a link that is then sent to recipients from within
Outlook
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Simplify collaboration by using SharePoint to automatically
consolidate edits from various team members into a single document
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Reduce time spent searching for the right email attachment
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Eliminate out-of-space email alerts
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For administrators, the new Quest AttachThis Pro increases SharePoint
adoption by streamlining the use of SharePoint for users, and
centralizing the experience for busy administrators. Using AttachThis
Pro, administrators can:
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Control where end users store their email attachments in
SharePoint with easily identifiable smart tags
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Improve security by granting document access to email recipients
only
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Perform statistical analysis of organizational usage of AttachThis
Supporting Quote:
Chris McNulty, strategic product manager, Quest Software
“Two of the biggest reasons users don’t adopt SharePoint is because
they’re asked to shift away from behavior they already know, as well as
a tool, Outlook, they’re already comfortable with. Quest’s new
AttachThis and AttachThis Pro provide solutions that enable IT and
SharePoint administrators to remove roadblocks. Organizations using
these products will see users adopt SharePoint more readily, as they
don’t have to change the context of how they work. These same users also
can be confident that they’re storing information in an easy-to-use,
collaborative platform that’s secure and fully supported by IT.”
Three Reasons Why IT Must Drive SharePoint Adoption:
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Governance and Adoption are a Partnership – The
perception within the business is that IT owns and is responsible for
SharePoint – even if that is not entirely the case. Therefore, IT can
no longer push out this solution and expect users to pull themselves
into it. Disconnects between IT and the business can lead to the
“Field of Dreams” problem. “If you build it they will come”
only works if you stop to ask what “they” need. Uneducated guesses
about user requirements turn SharePoint rollouts into social
experiments instead of nimble business tools. IT must take a more
active role in SharePoint governance and adoption, creating a
partnership with the business to ensure they are attracting enough
users to sustain a network effect of increased productivity.
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Compliance and Security – When users don’t embrace SharePoint
as their primary content collaboration and social enterprise network,
they turn to unauthorized collaboration tools that are not supported
by IT. The proliferation of these unsanctioned tools means IT quickly
loses control over business-critical data, making the organization
vulnerable to a security breach.
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IT defines the technology experience – Innovative IT
departments know that they are uniquely positioned to shape how users
experience technology – and SharePoint, as a social platform, is a key
part of this process. As businesses look for ways to drive social
collaboration, SharePoint will continue to play a significant role. To
enable social business, IT needs to seek out and deploy solutions,
like AttachThis, that make SharePoint adoption and usage simple and
efficient.
Supporting Resources:
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Quest Software, Inc.: http://www.quest.com/
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SharePoint tools: http://www.quest.com/sharepoint
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Quest AttachThis: http://communities.quest.com/community/sharepointforall/management/attachthis
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More Quest news: http://www.quest.com/newsroom/
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/quest
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Facebook: http://www.quest.com/facebook
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LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/
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Quest TV: http://www.quest.com/tv/
About Quest:
Established in 1987, Quest Software (Nasdaq: QSFT) provides simple and
innovative IT management solutions that enable more than 100,000 global
customers to save time and money across physical and virtual
environments. Quest products solve complex IT challenges ranging from database
management, data
protection, identity
and access management, monitoring,
user workspace
management to Windows
management.
RSS Feeds:
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Quest news releases: http://www.quest.com/rss/news-releases.aspx
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Quest, Quest Software and the Quest logo are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Quest Software in the United States and certain other
countries. Outlook and SharePoint are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries. All other names mentioned herein may be
trademarks of their respective owners.
