SharePoint 2013 offers a quick and simple forms solution that provides basic data capture but isn’t dynamic (smart). What I mean by that is security trimming based on role/security and presenting fields based on context. Specifically, to add such functionality requires InfoPath and custom code. The SharePoint Team Blog has a great article that covers forms and the options available from Microsoft. For organizations that choose not to follow one of the options (and there are good reasons not to such as requiring developers and lead-time), companies such as KWizCom offer an off the shelf product you can install, learn and hit the ground running quickly.

If you are thinking about deploying CRM solution for your organization, there are many considerations - culture, processes, policies, people, and technology. If you read our latest review of SharePoint CRM by Lookout Software, you understand what it can do for you. SharePoint creates a great, flexible platform for deploying a fully-loaded CRM for your business users.

Here are some points to think about when developing your program:

After spending the first 15 or so years of my career largely in Project Management roles, I'm sort of a PM junkie when it comes to books and tools and methodologies of how to move something from ideation (PM wonk term for idea creation, or initiation phase) to delivery and, ultimately, support. When Arpan Shah moved from the SharePoint product team at Microsoft over to Project Server (he's now working on Office365), I shared some advice with him (which I'm sure he doesn't remember): don't try to solve too many problems at once, but simplify the tool.

In its simplest form, BrightWork is a product aimed at work, project and portfolio management on SharePoint. In its eleventh release, BrightWork has solidified itself as a strong player in the project management space on SharePoint. It’s packed with a bevy of features you’d expect to see in a PM tool that provide for many use cases when looking to simplify the complexities of managing projects on SharePoint. In this review, I will highlight some of the new features in this release that I think are worth investigating when deciding on what product to choose.

SharePoint has been sold as both an application and a platform.  One of the biggest challenges in SharePoint deployments is often finding the core scenarios.  It’s easy to say it’s a portal, search, or collaboration.  What should it really be used for?  Is it a collaboration platform? Is it a portal?  Is it an ECM publishing site?  With EPM Live there is no guessing.  The rich enterprise project and work management solutions plug right into your SharePoint environment and provide the key scenarios.  In the case of EPM Live, it’s not about widgets and web parts.  It’s about full end-to-end enterprise project and work management that beat the likes of expensive line-of-business systems, which require additional hardware and specialists.  Why not take advantage of your existing investment in SharePoint for your EPM needs?  That’s exactly what EPM Live is positioned to do.

I recently spent some time with the people from Sazneo. The first thing I really noticed was their emphasis on providing real time actionable communication. They are focused on decision making and the ability for teams and people to communicate real time in the context of their data without having to factor in time zones or distance. Rather than taking you out of SharePoint, this tight integration provides rich chat and communication right in the SharePoint interface. If you've got users on the go, there's an iPad, iPhone, Android or BlackBerry web app to keep you connected.