This post will be short and sweet today. If you are considering a hosted solution of one of these Microsoft products, think again. As these products were not designed 'out of the box' to behave like web-based or SaaS applications, there are some hiccups that cause them to fall short of expectations.
For example, we demonstrate Project Insight, web-based project management software, with a SharePoint integration. Our SharePoint is hosted offsite, just to show off the 'poor man's integration' feature which allows a layperson to create shortcuts to outside software systems. My SharePoint site has been running merrily for months with my username and password 'remembered.' For some reason though, it is now prompting me to enter my password again. Ok, no problem, I think. Guess again! There is no login reminder anywhere in sight.
After trying everything I can think of, I finally initiate a chat with the hosting provider of my SharePoint site. Can he, please, point me to the login reminder, since I can't find it? (I'm thinking this is probably the stupidest questino this guy has heard all day....and I'm embarrassed to ask it.) Well, it turns out he can't show me where the login reminder is, because there isn't one!! I challenge you to find another web-based or SaaS application without some mechanism for retrieving either your username or password.
If I want to get a new password, I need my SharePoint administrator to provide to him our customer ID and password. Huh?
When I asked my technical administrator about this, he said that the Microsoft solutions are used to using Windows logins. As they are not designed to be web-based, no one has thought to create a login reminder. So, what should have been a 30 second interaction has turned into a big deal....(you might say #%%$@@!!).
Cynthia West
Vice President, Project Insight