What are the uses of Hosted SharePoint?

Hosted SharePoint as a Web site

Although SharePoint was built to do much more than Web site hosting, numerous organizations use hosted SharePoint WSS 3.0 to host their Web sites and allowing anonymous users to their SharePoint site. The organizations have the option to add sub-sites with different functionality at a later stage.

You can use your own domain for a hosted SharePoint Web site, and if you do not have a domain name, you can purchase one from us or use an Apps4Rent sub-domain. A SharePoint Web site can be made more secure by using an SSL certificate for an additional monthly charge.

The layout, CSS, and functionality of SharePoint sites can be modified using SharePoint Designer software, a free download from Microsoft. SharePoint sites and sub-sites can be customized by importing or changing the SharePoint themes or Master Pages. The underlying code for WSS 3.0 is ASP.Net 2.0 and little applications called Web Parts can be developed for SharePoint web sites using ASP.Net 2.0; however, custom Web parts are best added for dedicated SharePoint server plans.

Hosted SharePoint for File Sharing

Site visitors can access documents which are stored centrally on the hosted SharePoint WSS; granular item level permissions can be granted for access to folders and documents. One of the tasks that SharePoint is specifically designed to handle is managing document libraries and version control. The last thing you want is a document with inaccurate data because two people were editing it at once. SharePoint handles this with comprehensive version control and a check in/out system to maintain document integrity. Other features include custom metadata, customized views, and enhanced recycle bin functionality for easier recovery of content and improved backup and restoration.

Hosted SharePoint as an Intranet, Extranet or Portal

Hosted Windows SharePoint Services software is easy to manage and easy to scale, enabling IT departments to deploy a collaborative environment with minimal effort. The collaboration may be exclusively within an organization as in an intranet, or may involve a mix of internal and external resources (extranet).

Hosted Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 connects people with the information and resources they need. Users can create team workspaces; share contacts, lists, tasks, and calendars; organize documents, and receive important notifications and updates through communication features including announcements, alerts, and RSS feeds. Borrowing concepts from the open source movement, SharePoint includes templates for creating blogs and wikis. Mobile users can take advantage of synchronization capabilities of SharePoint with mobile phones.

Hosted SharePoint for Business Process Automation

While standard workspaces in hosted Windows SharePoint Services are easy to implement, organizations seeking a more customized deployment can get started quickly with application templates. SharePoint application templates give users the flexibility to accomplish fast paced and effective collaboration on documents, meetings, events, projects, discussions, and ideas. SharePoint application templates provide out-of-the-box custom scenarios. SharePoint templates available through your SharePoint web site can be applied to common business tasks like tracking a sales campaign or managing helpdesks. There are forty free SharePoint hosting templates included with Apps4Rent’s SharePoint hosting plans.