8:00 to 9:00 am
Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 to 9:45 am
What is SharePoint 2007 — what is it not?

SharePoint is a collection of services and technologies under one brand name. This introduction will level-set your understanding of what's included — and what's not — under various SharePoint configurations and licensing schemes.

9:45 am to 10:15 am
Introduction to SharePoint Architecture for business managers

SharePoint is simple to use out of the box for collaboration, but quickly gets complicated once you scratch beneath the surface. Business and technology managers who understand how the various pieces work together can better assess how and where to make strategic investments in the SharePoint platform.

10:15 am to 10:30 am
Coffee Break

10:30 am to 11:45 am
Evaluating SharePoint's core "Six Pillars"

Microsoft touts SharePoint's "six pillars" as the six core business services in the platform: collaboration, content management, business intelligence, portal, search, and business forms. However, the nature and quality of these different services vary significantly among them. This segment of the symposium will help you carefully evaluate SharePoint's suitability for your particular needs.

11:45 am to 12:15 pm
Evaluating SharePoint for social computing scenarios

As the boundaries between collaboration and social networking increasingly blur, enterprises are interested to explore how SharePoint can be extended as an "enterprise 2.0" platform. Learn what SharePoint can provide here, and whether, where, and how you'll have to look elsewhere to meet your needs.

12:15 pm to 1:30 pm
Lunch

1:30 pm to 2:00 pm
Assessing SharePoint as an application development platform

While presented to enterprises as an out-of-the-box information management product, Redmond has pitched SharePoint to consultants and developers as an application development platform. Learn the pro's and con's of whether and how to extend SharePoint through custom application development.

2:00 pm to 2:45 pm
SharePoint in the enterprise: leveraging the ecosystem

As a portal platform, SharePoint can leverage 3rd-party modules and products to enhance its native capabilities, and enterprises are increasingly turning to the SharePoint "ecosystem" for custom solutions. Learn who the key players are and how to evaluate their offerings.

2:45 pm to 3:00 pm
Coffee Break

3:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Enterprise Governance and Control

In many enterprises SharePoint just happens -- it spreads virally with little centralized control. Short-term gains can present long-term information management problems. Fortunately different models and methods have emerged for properly governing SharePoint at an enterprise level.

3:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Advice: Business and Technology Do's and Don'ts

Come away with two-dozen specific lessons learned to apply in your enterprise.

4:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Future of SharePoint

What is Redmond's strategy? What's coming in the next few years? How should you prepare and respond? We'll wrap up with a look into the future.