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Sharepoint Portal Server 2003 becomes a part of MS Office
October 21, 2003 | Author: Michael Stromann
Today, along with the release of new MS Office 2003, Microsoft has released the new version of its enterprise portal software SharePoint Portal Server. Yes, Sharepoint Portal - is now a part of the Microsoft Office suite and has an official name Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003. Interestingly, the lite free edition of this product Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS) has recently moved in the opposite direction - from MS Office to MS Windows Server. Microsoft reps explain that SharePoint Portal is a product and SharePoint Services is a technology. By the way, the new version of SharePoint Portal uses WSS as a platform (hence, it uses .Net Framework and MS SQL Server). As you may recall, the new version WSS 2.0, that was released this summer, added a lot of collaborative functions, so it's interesting what is the added value of SharePoint Portal.
The fact is that though WSS 2.0 provides advanced collaborative features, the use of these extensions can turn into a nightmare for IT administrators. Users will create uncontrolled websites on different servers without the possibility of centralized administration and global content search. That what SharePoint Portal is for. In addition, SharePoint Portal provides a single user base, integrated with Active Directory, and each user has own access rights and a personal page.
Besides, like WSS 2.0, SharePoint Portal 2003 has got close integration with other MS Office 2003 applications: Word, Excel, Outlook, MS Office Communications Server and MS Project.
Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 costs from $ 20 to $ 40 per user.
See also: Top 10 Enterprise Portals
