MSM Software Blog

SharePoint is an integral tool for collaborative working but if it isn't fully adopted across the whole business its capabilities cannot be fully exploited. Even with a user friendly, content rich and fully tested SharePoint application you cannot expect users to embrace the solution with open arms. The system will inevitably change the way people go about their work and as human beings...

As of today, 7^th May 2013, Sinead O'Brien, MSM's existing Operations Director has assumed the role of Managing Director. Thomas Coles who previously held this position, has assumed the role of Chief Executive.

If you do not have the in-house resource to effectively support your SharePoint application you will need to procure an external support partner. These top tips will help you ensure you select a supplier which meets your business needs.

Statistics show that 40% of IT managers do not have sufficient resource to support existing systems and 46% think the required skill sets for staff have changed. In this video Sinead O'Brien shares her opinion of today's IT pressures and provides recommendations for tackling these challenges.

From October 2010 the Equality Act replaced most of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). The Act states that employers have a duty to make reasonable changes for disabled employees; these are known as 'reasonable adjustments' and should be made so as not to disadvantage a disabled employee in comparison to a non-disabled employee.

A recent study commissioned by MSM revealed that 27% of IT managers have seen an increase in offshore outsourcing, while half (14%) have outsourced onshore. The research spoke to 100 IT managers in large UK-based organisations and the increase in outsourcing is backed up by the fact that 40% said...

The waterfall vs agile debate has been raging for a while. On the face of it waterfall is seen as the old fashioned 'slow but sure' methodology while agile is very of the moment, reacting to the volatile and competitive markets we all operate in. However the waterfall method has been successfully implemented for many years so perhaps it isn't dead just yet? In this blog we take a simplistic look at the pros and cons...

In many cases software acts as the backbone to an organisation. Its performance directly correlates to the performance of the business, and this is no different for SharePoint. However due to the breadth of SharePoint's functionality, it can be difficult to identify the consequences of any problems or downtime and this in turn poses its own risks.

During a recent survey of IT managers, 28% said they were faced with the challenge of using out-of-the-box software packages which do not meet business needs. The nature of packaged solutions will almost always mean an organisation will need to readjust existing processes to get the best out of the software, so it isn't necessarily a surprise that off-the-shelf software isn't meeting all business needs. But more concerning...

Inevitably every SharePoint application will pose risks if it encounters problems, so it is important to have a support plan in place. The intricacies of this plan will depend on how business critical your SharePoint application is. For example, if downtime could pose significant financial, reputational or operational...