6. January 14, 2013 01:28 PM

William makes valid points that apply equally well to the selection of any technology. At the risk of over-simplifying; it boils down to performing a cost/benefit analysis when considering whether to adopt or keep any solution, and this applies as much to SharePoint as to multi-function printers, conferencing services, tablet computers, or any other IT-provided tool.

In my opinion SharePoint's wide adoption reflects a collective cost/benefit calculation of many CIOs and other IT decision-makers over the past decade. This level of adoption cannot simply be dismissed as accidental or wholly misguided.

I do agree that as Microsoft has raised the licensing costs for SharePoint it's imperative to ask whether its use is cost justified for any specific set of applications. It also appears to me that the latest release of SharePoint is primarily a UI update, and does not represent the significant architectural advance of its predecessor.

— Mark Gerow

7. January 14, 2013 11:52 AM

In a few sentences, casually I might add, you discount the SharePoint web parts that many of the large legal vertical software vendors have created. There are *no* other web portals that have the ability to do this. That is why SharePoint is the standard and will be for the foreseeable future. Those web parts are invaluable for many firms.

As far as users storing documents in SharePoint, perhaps you should be asking yourself why? I know the answer. Many of the traditional legal vertical DMS offerings are not very user friendly. SharePoint growth happens for a reason, SharePoint empowers the people who make money for the firm to work in the way they want. IT has to realize that the top down world of dictating how people work is no longer going to be accepted.

You also discount the free version of SharePoint that many firms could use, if they chose to.

SharePoint isn't going away any time soon.

— Beau Mersereau