It is a frequent question – can I skip a SharePoint version when upgrading? For example can I do a direct upgrade from SharePoint Server 2007 to 2013? The answer is no, you can't without having to use a migration product – which isn't really “upgrading.” The path to upgrade SharePoint 2007 to 2013 includes an upgrade to SharePoint 2010 first. In March of 2015, Bill Baer, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft, asked if there was any demand for skipping ahead when doing a SharePoint upgrade (a.k.a. N-2 upgrade). #SharePoint question…if you could N-2 upgrade would you? I.e. 2010 > 2016 without stopping at 2013 first… — Bill Baer (@williambaer) March…
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Change Your Ways – Stop Using Folders in SharePoint Libraries
[This is a quick post that will be updated with more information later] One indicator of how how mature an organization is with their SharePoint management and usage is if folders are often/always used in document libraries. This is a practice learned when using file shares and then migrated into SharePoint sites either by simply copying data straight from those shares or by users not knowing of a better way. Thankfully, there is a better way! Using SharePoint columns, we can offer the same document organization but with added benefits of filtering, grouping, and sorting all documents in a library. Let's look at an example of how this can be a benefit for you…
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Organizing a SharePoint Saturday – Promotional materials
All the posts in the Organizing a SharePoint Saturday series: Organizing a SharePoint Saturday – My Experience Picking a Venue and Date Picking Speakers Managing Sponsors Getting Help and Communication Methods Event Week After Event Follow-up Website After picking a date, my next step is to request a site be created on the SPS Events website. This is the main hub of communication. I put all information for the event on the website and then all subsequent communication for the event will point back to this site. To make it easy for me to include the URL of the site in promotional materials, I purchased a custom domain name for…
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IT Pro Con NY 2016
On March 25th 2016, I will be speaking at IT Pro Con NY (formally known as “New York City Techstravaganza”) and I'm thrilled to be a part of the event! The content tracks include Azure, Exchange, PowerShell, Windows, and SharePoint. My session will cover best practices for SQL Server when it is used for SharePoint and will include a live SharePoint Server 2016 Release Candidate install! If you will be in NYC and would like to get some awesome free training, then this is the event for you! Hope to see you there! [UPDATE] As it turns out, I presented two sessions at ITProConNY! Building SharePoint Solutions with Out of…
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Organizing a SharePoint Saturday – Picking a Venue and Date
All the posts in the Organizing a SharePoint Saturday series: Organizing a SharePoint Saturday – My Experience Promotional materials Picking Speakers Managing Sponsors Getting Help and Communication Methods Event Week After Event Follow-up In my experience, picking the “right” venue and event date is of utmost importance. There really isn't a one size fits all rule for when and where a city's SPS event should take place. Being a part of the local community and knowing the area is a key ingredient to setting yourself up for success. Venue Selecting a venue can be a tough decision and this year was no exception. Choosing a place with convenient access and…
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Organizing a SharePoint Saturday – My Experience
This year I am organizing my third SharePoint Saturday (SPS) event for Nashville. SPS events are a FREE one-day conference held in different cities around the world, featuring sessions from influential and respected SharePoint and Office 365 professionals. This is the first in a series of posts about planning a technology event based on my past experiences. This series is not intended as a “one size fits all” guide, but rather some helpful information for other organizers to use when planning their own events. My journey to becoming an SPS organizer started in 2008 when I learned of a meeting being organized by the local Microsoft office. The purpose of…
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Keys to Successful SharePoint Administration for the DBA – SQL Saturday Nashville 2016
It is an honor and I am excited to be speaking at the January 16th, 2016 installment of SQL Saturday Nashville (#SQLSatNash). I will be doing a ‘spotlight' 90-minute session covering the keys to being a successful SharePoint administrator, with a focus on database administrators who might have inherited a SharePoint farm or have been tasked with implementing it. We will cover common SharePoint misconceptions & use live demos to show frequently performed tasks. Lastly we will cover the training options and other resources available to make your job easier and more automated. With the extended time I plan on diving a little deeper than I could with a regular…
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Building Business Intelligence Dashboards with SharePoint Data – December 1st 2015
I will be co-presenting at the Nashville Business Intelligence User Group meeting this month. We will be walking attendees through creating dashboards using Power BI and I will be focusing on using SharePoint data. I will show how to use Excel to create dashboards within SharePoint web part pages – first with an export of a SharePoint list and then an import of a SharePoint list into Excel. We will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each method. I will then show linking to the same SharePoint list data using the Power BI Desktop application and then publishing it to Power BI. [UPDATE] The meeting went really well – Tammy…
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SharePoint Users Group – December 8th 2015
This coming December 8th I will be presenting to the Nashville SharePoint Users Group (nashvillesug.com) with the topic “Building SharePoint Solutions with Out of the Box Features and No Code”. I will highlight the features within SharePoint that I use often to create beneficial solutions for companies around the country. With heavy emphasis on not using any code, I will demo solutions built using a SharePoint Online site. [UPDATE] Last night's meeting was a lot of fun – we have a great turnout and I know I had a good time hanging out with my Nashville SharePoint friends. We started off by talking about the Microsoft office move – the…
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SQL User Group – November 20th 2015
[UPDATE] Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting. I hope you enjoyed your time and learned something! The slides can be found here: Nashville SQL Server User Group 11/20/2015 Congrats to Nick for winning the swag! @DanielGlenn @nashsql SQL config for Sharepoint. pic.twitter.com/6vKa2b48gs — Nick Koch (@KochaKola) November 20, 2015 ———————————————————————————————————————- I am honored to be asked to speak at the November 20th Nashville SQL Server User Group. The meeting starts at 12 noon and I will be presenting “Tuning SQL Server for SharePoint”. I will covering the best practices for SQL Server when it is used for SharePoint as well as doing a live SharePoint Server 2016 Technical…
