Interface Blogs

I know, I know.  It's been a bit of time.  Not to say that I haven't been busy.  On the contrary, I'm finishing up a custom SharePoint course for SI (Solution or System Integrators, for you that don't speak MS) Microsoft Certified Partners for getting them rapidly certified on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS).  I'm also adding some Enterprise Content Management (ECM) basics, as this is what most are asking for.  It's a bootcamp type of course extending the MOC (Microsoft Official Curriculum, sheesh; and you thought military or government acronyms were bad) ILT course 5061.  Of course, the assumption is that the attendees are already very strong in WSS 2.0, SPS 2003, and know the new features in WSS 3.0.

The current exams are geared toward the TS (again the translation is Technical Specialist) certification level on installing and configuring Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (WSS) and MOSS.

70-630: TS: Office SharePoint Server 2007, Configuring

70-631: TS: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Configuring

(And, no, I don't know why they have the WSS 3.0 exam number higher than the MOSS exam number.)

Funny, I found the MOSS exam easier.  Granted, I didn't really 'study' for the exams, as I did for the .NET 2.0 or SQL 2005 exams.  I'm assuming that this is because I seem to be in that space with clients most often.  The basics from WSS are there, just not concentrated, kind of like assumptions to get to the MOSS level.

Oh, and the developer exams are on their way.  Speaking of which, my next post will be on what I believe to be the major building block of all SharePoint applications and extensibility, SharePoint content types.

Until then, Rock On!!

My favorite author on SharePoint, Scot P. Hillier, (author of Microsoft SharePoint: Building Office 2003 Solutions, 2nd Edition and Advanced SharePoint Services Solutions) has just recently released his new book on SharePoint 2007, Microsoft SharePoint: Building Office 2007 Solutions in C# 2005 (the Visual Basic version of the book is coming soon).

His books are definitely geared toward a developer audience, but the first couple of chapters are a good overview for anyone in a SharePoint supporting role.

Of course, adminstrators should have a copy of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Administrator's Companion.

(Yes, I am a fan of Bookpool.  They have the best prices for new and upcoming books IMHO.  And, no, I don't get kickbacks.  ;)

Many people ask me for resources on SharePoint.  Unfortunately, because of the 'newness' of SharePoint 2007, information can at times be difficult to find.  Obviously Microsoft SharePoint team and individual blogs are a great source of information.  Recently, on a post in the SharePoint Products and Technologies Team blog, 3 aggregated feeds of SharePoint blogs was announced.  As I already have so many feed subscriptions, I found this very beneficial to stay on top of all the MS SharePoint team, individual and English MVP blogs rather than having many, many feeds.

• SharePoint MS team blogs aggregated feed
• Includes the SharePoint Team Blog, ECM Team Blog, RecMan Team Blog, KN Team Blog, and SharePoint Design Team Blog
• SharePoint MS individual blogs aggregated feed
• Includes SharePoint Product Group personnel, SharePoint Insiders, and SharePoint Rangers
• SharePoint MVP blogs (English) aggregated feed
• Includes all current SharePoint MVPs, who have blogs in the English language

Not only is SharePoint 2007 alive and kicking, but so is this blog!

Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Miguel Wood and I am responsible for all things SharePoint here at Interface.  As for my background, I've been working professionally with computer systems since 1984, with a small hiatus during my time with the U.S. Army eating snakes and jumping out of flying vehicles (planes and helicopters) around the world.  My background is primarily consulting, having worked for Sapient Corporation, as well as starting and running my own successful companies.  I attended Louisiana State University (LSU) majoring in both Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering and minoring in Math and Computer Science. 

My SharePoint experience began in Beta 1 and Beta 2 of the 2003 release (WSS 2.0 and SPS 2003) of SharePoint Products and Technologies.  I architected and implemented deployments of SharePoint in support of Project Server 2003 for several large clients.  In June 2004, Microsoft Global Learning Services (GLS) (now called SMSG) interviewed me to be the primary instructor internally for Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies for Microsoft Consuling Services (MCS) and Product Support (PSS).  For the next 16 months, 75% of my time was spent training Microsoft internally from Taiwan to Brazil to all over Europe on SharePoint with the remaining time assisting clients with enterprise implementations of SharePoint Products and Technologies.  I also had the privilege of creating the Microsoft SharePoint Roadshow that was delivered as a Roadshow event.  And, finally, in working with Jason Helmick and Simon Allardice, helped to create the successful SharePoint 2003 (SP200, SP550, and SP650) content used here at Interface.

Along those same lines, we're already fielding questions as to new courseware on the 2007 version of the SharePoint Products and Technologies (Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) v3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007).  The new SharePoint 2007 Products and Technologies for Advanced Users course (SP330) course is on the schedule.  For IT Administrators dealing with the planning, implementation and management of SharePoint 2007, courses 5060 (WSS 3.0) and 5061 (MOSS 2007) are also on the schedule.  Finally, we are hard at work on our SharePoint 2007 Developer course.

Having said all of this, what can you expect from this blog?  Obviously, the majority of content found within this blog will relate to SharePoint 2007 and related technologies.  However, I have many other interests, including, but not limited to,  .NET programming, Office System Development, and SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence.

SharePoint 2007 is ALIVE and so is this blog!!!