I spent the last week in Seattle at an internal Microsoft technology conference called TechReady.  Picture 5000 plus Microsoft field technical staff attending internal sessions on a WIDE variety of topics. The content was amazing, the people were great and I was able to meet and network with product team members and international co-workers. I will have a lot of interesting material to blog about, once I clarify what is able to be discussed publicly and what still needs to be kept under wraps.

One thing that I am able to write about NOW is some very useful sample applications that were released on Monday for Windows Sharepoint Services… In case you didn’t know, WSS is FREE (provided you have a Windows Server CAL and your clients are licensed) and it is a very easy to use solution that allows YOU the IT Professional to deploy a rich collaborative infrastructure.  In case you have missed the WSS boat and want to learn more about it – here is the main jumping page for information on WSS (including free download).
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2003/technologies/sharepoint/default.mspx

It comes with some simple examples on the types of applications you can run as web-parts, but as I previously mentioned – on Monday we released 30 additional sample applications.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sppt/wssapps/default.mspx

I admit - I am one of those IT Pros that missed the WSS boat. Come on – stand up, don’t be ashamed.  Personally - I have only recently started to work more with WSS both internally with my Canadian IT Pro Team and externally with a couple of friends and their companies I still help out with in my spare time. WSS is awesome - it ROCKS! You can do so much (even with my limited developer skills) it’s incredible!

In a previous life, like other IT Pros from the mid 90s, I supported a number of “mission critical” Notes and Notes Domino servers with collaborative applications.  By “mission critical”, I mean it was an application (form) that was written by the HR clerk that included some workflow. That was then, this is now.  These 30 Windows Sharepoint Services applications are ready to run, full featured (including workflow) and include links to walkthroughs and information on how to take them to a whole new customized level if you so fancy.

I’m curious – Are you still running and supporting Notes in your shop? Have you thought about implementing WSS as an alternative to some of those “mission critical” apps?  I’m not recommending that you rip out your Notes application that runs your business without serous planning, but WSS and office 2003 can bring your productivity up to a whole new level.  These 30 applications have been created as a starting point to show you what WSS and Office can do for you. You can download and use them today or customize them to your hearts content.

Oh yeah - did I mention these were FREE? 

I’d love to hear from you – Notes or otherwise. ;)  Post me a comment on your notes plans or experiences with WSS in your shop by clicking on the comments link below.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress of implementing selected applications at my friends companies.