Successful SharePoint Adoption: The Same Old Advice? update from July 2015

Aptera has published a nice infog that provides recommendations for things organizations can do to ensure successful SharePoint adoption.

The list is a good one, filled with sensible advice, but it reminded me of a tech analyst I used to work with. Whenever he saw a list of recommendations for advice on how to boost security, he would marvel at the fact that the lists changed but the recommendations never did. "When will people ever learn?!" he would lament. I felt the same way when I read Aptera's list: When will organizations ever learn?!

With that said, Aptera includes some advice that some organizations may not have heard before, including the recommendation to market the new SharePoint implementation before it's rolled out and once users can go in and actually use the platform's features. I'd go one further and suggest that companies should plan to market the SharePoint platform continually over time. Without some internal cheerleading and incentivizing, it can be all too easy for a collaboration platform like SharePoint to become stagnant.

Aptera also recommends eliciting end user feedback. I think it's pretty safe to say that an enterprise platform as big as SharePoint is not going to be all things to all people from the get-go. Maybe it can never be, but organizations can only benefit by figuring out what isn't right and what will make things better. But that means listening--really listening--and providing users with feedback on their feedback. Don't make empty promises or ignore tough questions; users will appreciate honesty and sincerity, and will be more likely to work with you to make SharePoint the best it can be--and to use it.

Check out Aptera's six other recommendations, and let us know your advice for ensuring successful SharePoint adoption in the comments section below.