Microsoft Plans Scalable, Enterprise SharePoint 2.0 Upgrade in Mid 2003

The next version of the portal server will integrate enterprise-level group collaboration features by integrating Team Services 2.0 and new document management capabilities such as check-in and check-out, version control, single click document editing and digital rights management, said sources who attended a Fusion 2002 session. Release to manufacturing is scheduled for the Teched 2003 timeframe in June of 2003, sources said.

As the key component of Microsoft's Intranet and Portal Go To Market initiative, one of 18 Go To Markets developed for customers and partners, Microsoft plans a partner airlift for SharePoint 2.0 this fall and co-marketing opportunities for partners.

SharePoint 2.0, which will be announced and released into beta testing in early September at Microsoft's Windows.Net Server Developer's Conference, is designed from the ground up for large enterprise use and is based on a highly scalable, load balanced architecture. Version 2.0 is an 'order of magnitude" more scalable than the current version, sources said. .

It will offer built-in clustering and will employ both the web store of the current SharePoint portal server and an SQL repository. While it is aimed at enterprise-level customers, the same version will be packaged and priced appropriately for solution providers serving midmarket customers, sources said.

It will be tightly integrated with Microsoft's forthcoming Office 11 and Windows.NET server and will enable solution providers to employ .NET web parts to build solutions. Windows.NET server, which will ship during first quarter of 2003, for example, will be the first portal-enabled application server. The portal and team collaboration server will be extensible with .NET and XML web services.

Solution providers said the integration of Team Services 2.0 with the portal server will provide tight integration with corporate e-mail and instant messaging and will offer team-focused notifications and rules-based subscriptions. The software will enable the creation of an enterprise group workspace and the creation of virtual teams across enterprises, dubbed connected team collaboration. They will be able to access, archive and retire team sites and include customized templates for specific verticals right out of the box. Additionally, SharePoint 2.0 will allow users to capture information such as dynamic lists and create flexible views.

On the portal side, SharePoint 2.0 will feature mainstream application integration via exposure to line-of-business applications and personalization, customization features as well as built-in MyPages for each user.

The portal server will also offer an administration tool to set quotas and create automated archiving of team sites as well as create personalized, customized views for individuals, groups, divisions and enterprises. The upgrade's enhanced information retrieval capabilities will enable intelligent grouping of data and the ability to target specific information and applications to select groups.

Solution providers and corporate developers will use .NET Web Parts as well as Visual Studio.Net and FrontPage to create solutions. Microsoft will ship a SharePoint 2.0 SDK and will develop a new Microsoft Solution Offerings based on the version 2.0 code, sources said. The company current ships an MSO called Microsoft Solution for Intranets based on the current release.

Finally, Microsoft is also working on a new "forms" technology for its .NET servers that will apply to SharePoint development. Beta 2 will ship later this year and the software is scheduled to be released into manufacturing in 2003, sources said.