SharePoint implementation – Some key issues to consider#1 – Estimating and keeping track of storage

We at Talman just recently (almost) finished implementing our first phase of SharePoint implementation, which was largely related to collaboration (specially documentation and other knowledge base related information) across various divisions at Talman. Being the Project manager and implementer for the whole project (which lasted more than 8 months…and still going on), I would want to share some of the key issues which would need good thinking and planning while doing similar project.

With documents and information forming the key elements in divisional collaboration, estimating and planning for the storage needs was very critical. We initially failed to estimate the storage needs as we lacked awareness / information on how much documents / information existed on various servers, desktops and other filing systems. We ran out of storage space twice within first 6 months. Even with storage costs no longer at the premiums of the past, storage is still not free. It can, in fact, get quite expensive. And in this age of videos, pod-casts and meeting / training recordings, it’s exceedingly easy to fill every gigabyte of free space. As sites proliferate – and SharePoint sites have a strong tendency to do just that – demands for more storage can become a concern (key issues being administration and cost).

Some of the key issues to manage as a SharePoint administrator:

  • Be able to monitor storage use
  • Set quotas for individual users, sites, and sites collections
  • Have the ability to automatically warn users when they are reaching their limits
  • Ability to quickly allocate additional storage space when it is truly required

Being able to track storage is essential to being able to adequately and sensibly plan for current and future needs.

During the two instance (where in we ran out of storage capacity without any warning from SharePoint), our inability to estimate and plan as above resulted in:

  • A immediate scare when SharePoint sites failed to respond (What happened to our doco? Will we have to do everything all over again? Can’t access this and that? and……)
  • Team members getting frustrated for not being able to store documents and create newer versions of their existing documents
  • Team members loosing faith in the SharePoint collaboration system
  • Disruption in the system and processes we had agreed to follow to keep the collaboration going

All the above would immediately raise question why not to plan what goes on SharePoint and what gets left out???? That is the second issue to consider… in my next post..

 

July 25, 2008 · Rahul Desai · No Comments
Posted in: SharePoint, Talman news

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