Deployment costs: Whether it’s an initial deployment or an upgrade, there will be an impact on the budget. The budget impact of deploying a hosted or dedicated solution versus standing it all up onsite is dramatic whether considering an initial deployment or upgrading onsite. A hosted or managed SharePoint option moves the cost of software licenses, hardware upgrades and related tasks to a trusted provider with the infrastructure and expertise to handle the technical details. The cost and headache of deployment are removed, leaving the team able to focus on how to best integrate SharePoint for maximum benefit.

In most organizations, deploying SharePoint also means decommissioning other applications like project management systems; report generation and data aggregation tools; and file servers. The consolidation of resources improves performance, saves server capacity and relives the burden on IT to support more applications by delivering multiple services on a single, familiar platform.

Productivity gains: By consolidating tasks into one system, businesses can save precious minutes that turn into hours of productivity. For example, by using Proposal Manager in SharePoint, an enterprise sales team shaved 42 minutes from the quote preparation process. The value of that time varies between organizations. In a company where multiple quotes go out each day, you can easily multiply those 42 minutes by your average hourly salary to come up with a number. However, that time could be spent chasing the next lead, participating in training to improve skills or just reducing stress by giving workers more breathing room. Those benefits are as important as the simple hourly wage savings and should be presented alongside the hard numbers.

Hidden savings: The complaint may simply be that there is no centralized file storage. SharePoint can provide centralized file storage and a whole lot more. Present SharePoint as the answer to the stated complaint then build excitement with the bonuses of version control, permission settings and file check in/check out. There are other incidental savings, for example, the reduced need to buy and service printers, printer ink and printer paper because all documents are immediately available, editable and shareable in SharePoint. Look for the less obvious ways that SharePoint can streamline business processes and reap even more savings.

Though you’re familiar with the potential SharePoint has, the inability to deliver firm numbers can stop the deployment plan in its tracks. When we consult with a customer, our goal is to help not only with the technical aspects of implementation, but also the human aspects of developing a compelling business case, training and user adoption. Get more advice on organizational buy-in and answers to your other SharePoint questions from the Rackspace team of SharePoint experts and other SharePoint users on our LinkedIn group.

Pro #1: “Creating something that will help our clients work better as an organization.”
SharePoint helps teams and individuals securely share files for frictionless collaboration. Using SharePoint as a central document repository means users no longer have to search multiple systems for critical files and are able to discuss, edit and publish new content with a few clicks.

Pro #2: “With SharePoint, you get a lot of things included.”
Businesses can cut through the challenges of implementation that normally require developer intervention and go live sooner. The standard platform options work hand-in-hand with the ease of implementation to give you the freedom to shape and rapidly deploy the business solutions you need.

Pro #3: “Make it look like anything you want.”
The level of customization available in SharePoint gives you the ease of using pre-built templates or the freedom to completely design a custom, customer-facing site. Additionally, SharePoint is an extensible platform that lets you build in additional functionality and further mold SharePoint to your organizational needs.

Pro #4: “You think you need an expert, but you don’t.”
You might think that adopting SharePoint means finding an expert to configure, deploy and maintain it. In reality, SharePoint is made to allow those with varying degrees of technical expertise to click around and create the business solution needed to get the job done.

Pro #5: “Too many people focus on something specific and they miss out on other opportunities.”
SharePoint can serve many purposes for an organization; however, many businesses implement it for a singular, narrow purpose. For example, though most businesses use SharePoint for document management, a high growth area of SharePoint usage is creating public facing websites that can rival the look of any modern day website.

Pro #6: “Using SharePoint makes it easier, faster and more integrated.”
Maintaining separate systems for document storage, collaboration and project management can waste time and resources. SharePoint brings it all together in one application. That’s one application for the IT team to manage and one application for users access files and business processes.

Making SharePoint fit into the needs of your business is key to success. Rackspace maintains an expert staff, six of which have been honored with the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for their community leadership & expertise in SharePoint, and one staff member has achieved the level of Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) for SharePoint. These employees focus on providing service for our SharePoint customers. Our experienced team can show you how SharePoint can help you achieve your stated goals and tackle goals you might not have thought of SharePoint for.