SharePoint Fundamentals

Source: Microsoft Learning - Inside Look at Building and Developing Solutions with Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 can be used to build four main types of applications:
1. Portal solutions,
2. Business intelligence solutions,
3. Web content management solutions, and
4. Records management solutions.

Office SharePoint Server 2007 provides many configurable features that can be included in these types of solutions.
You can adopt an assemble-and-configure approach to incorporate specific features that your organization requires when you start to build Office SharePoint Server 2007 solutions.

Building portal solutions typically includes configuring Windows SharePoint Services lists and libraries, Office SharePoint Server 2007 search capabilities, user profiles, and other shared services. Business data catalog features are also often included in portal solutions to provide business process functionality and access to line-of-business data.

Building business intelligence solutions typically includes configuring Excel Services and SQL Server Analysis and Reporting Services to provide insight into business information. In addition, many organizations require business intelligence dashboards to be incorporated into portal solutions, to provide a user interface that enables information workers to make well-founded business decisions.

Building Web content management solutions typically involves configuring the content management features of Office SharePoint Server 2007. These features include a content-authoring environment, content templates, publishing and approval processes, and content deployment features.

Building a records management solution, you will typically incorporate many of the features of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, such as lists and document libraries. This type of solution also incorporates specific Office SharePoint Server 2007 features, such as policies, official file sites, and rights management functionality.

You can include any combination of the features from the four main application areas to build applications that are specifically tailored for the requirements of your organization.
When you have assembled and configured the features for your solution, you can extend its functionality by developing additional custom features and components.