Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, 01 Jun 2012
Stellenbosch University Library and Information Services approached bSOLVe to assist with migrating its Library Information System (LIS) site. The major concern the library had with its environment, was the enormous size of the site structure - it contained more than 2 500 pages.
Paired with that, the site had - over the years - seen development using a variety of formats (static HTML, ASP.net, PHP, etc) and had no standardised look and feel to it, which made it difficult to navigate.
bSOLVe assisted the library with planning a standardised master page design and a collection of page layouts, which can be used to provision new content within a controlled, structured format. By adhering to this information architecture platform, the library is assured of a consistent standard across the site, regardless of which owner created which sub-site. This is important, as different stakeholders from different areas now have control over the page creation process.
SharePoint is widely recognised for its sites-based intranet and extranet capabilities, which allow users to share almost any digital information with co-workers, partners, and others. Less well-known, however, is SharePoint's ability to manage and publish public-facing Internet sites. SharePoint for Internet Sites (FIS) extends the ease of use found in SharePoint 2010 to easily compile, publish and manage information, to the Web. It is for this reason that more companies are starting to use SharePoint to build their presence on the Web. The decision for Stellenbosch University Library to use SharePoint 2010 for its public facing site, therefore, was an easy one to make.
“SharePoint has seen impressive growth as a digital marketing platform. It's a powerful content management solution and suited the university's requirements to the T,” says Uriel Rootshain, Office Business Lead at Microsoft South Africa. “By supporting the use of social networking tools, SharePoint encourages students to connect with each other and create their own sense of community, encouraging them to engage fully in the learning process.”
In addition to delivering the SharePoint solution, bSOLVe provided assistance with solution architecture, formalisation of the content deployment process, permissions implementation, and planning of the physical topology of the environment. By applying only a few concepts from its market leading SharePoint Enterprise Framework to this project, bSOLVe successfully delivered the Stellenbosch University's Library and Information Service site in conjunction with the university.
Ina Smith from Stellenbosch University had this to say about the project: “From our side, a huge thank you for the work you've done in terms of our Web site, and your commitment to complete it on time. I am looking forward to working with you again sometime in future!”
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