SharePoint Resources on the web

by Asif Rehmani | Oct 25, 2012 | SharePoint

Over time, I have been gathering links to various SharePoint resources on the web. I usually share it my students. I’m listing them below. Hope it helps some people out there.

SharePoint explained very nicely and simply in this video

SharePoint in plain English

Microsoft’s main SharePoint related beginner sites

Check out the main SharePoint Website from Microsoft.

Then check out some success stories shared by Microsoft at Discover SharePoint.

Ramp up on SharePoint

To get started on SharePoint, you might want to take some formal SharePoint training. There is really no substitute for hands on training if you can afford the time and expense. I would recommend looking at the available classes here: http://www.criticalpathtraining.com

Can’t travel or need on-demand training? I would recommended to start with this jump start page and watch some beginner video tutorials:

https://www.visualsp.com/sharepoint-easy-start/

Check out the EndUserSharePoint site for Lots of great articles produced by the SharePoint community:

https://www.nothingbutsharepoint.com/Pages/default.aspx

SharePoint environment for practice

To try out scenarios, create prototypes and demos, use the completely pre-built SharePoint environment created using CloudShare:

http://tinyurl.com/asifcloudshare. Here are some visuals on exactly what’s in this cloud-based virtual machine: https://www.visualsp.com/pre-built-sharepoint-2010-demos-in-cloudshare/

OR

Deploy the whole virtual machine in your own environment (if you have the hardware available). These are independently created by individuals in the SharePoint community and not officially supported by Microsoft:

http://gauravmahajan.net/2014/08/17/sharepoint-server-2013-sp1-virtual-machine-download/

http://www.sayed-ali.com/Blog/Post/7/Download-SharePoint-2013-RTM-Trial-Virtual-Machine-
 

SharePoint on-demand support

When working with SharePoint, you will have questions that you just want to go and ask someone. The best place to ask those questions is the SharePoint Forums: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en/category/sharepoint/. Microsoft employees and MVPs are often in the forums answering questions.

You can also find on-demand video tutorials on SharePoint-Videos.com for quick show-and-tell. Also, additional tutorials available on Microsoft’s Channel 9 site: http://channel9.msdn.com/search?term=sharepoint

If you need immediate help with a project, look into hourly SharePoint remote consulting/mentoring: https://www.visualsp.com/remote-consulting/

Become part of the Bamboo Solutions community: http://community.bamboosolutions.com/

Consider picking up some SharePoint books as well:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=sharepoint+2010&x=0&y=0

SharePoint Certifications

There are a few certifications that exist for SharePoint as well. These will give you the credibility you need in your role. You can find them here: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/cert-sharepoint-server.aspx

Customer Reviews for SharePoint Vendors

It’s hard to decide which SharePoint vendor to go with when it comes to SharePoint consulting, training, products and other services. Check out the SharePoint Reviews site: http://www.sharepointreviews.com/

SharePoint Conferences

Attending a SharePoint conference is a great way to really dive into it all. Check out this blog entry for info on regularly held SharePoint related conferences:

http://blog.visualsp.com/the-sharepoint-conferences-you-should-attend/ (more have popped up since this blog entry)