Blended SharePoint 2010 Solutions Webinar Q & A

 

This webinar included several live demonstrations and discussed:

  • Blended Applications for Public Facing Sites & Corporate Intranets
  • SharePoint 2010 API's for Leveraging External Business Application Data
  • Working with the Client Object Model (.NET, AJAX/JavaScript & Silverlight)(BDC)
  • REST Services
  • Strategic Approaches to SharePoint 2010 Integration with ASP.NET
  • Best Practices for conversion of legacy ASP.NET applications
  • Architectural and Performance Considerations
  • Avoiding common pitfalls

This webinar demonstrated how to seamlessly blend line of business applications with SharePoint 2010 in accordance with best practices. Learn tips and shortcuts to create integrated SharePoint and .NET solutions.


  • Question: Will a recorded version of the webinar be made available?

Answer: Yes, it is available here
Note, if you experience issues with the low-res recording, please try the hi-res version for best viewing.

  • Question: Will the presentation slides and demos be made available?

Answer: The presentation is available here and the link to the recorded demos is provided above.

  • Question: How do I register for the next webinar?

Answer: Please follow the link to register for our next webinar entitled Building No-code SharePoint 2010 Solutions; Install to Implementation without writing ANY code!

  • Question: We are starting a new project and are using ASP.net. We have SharePoint 2007 and InfoPath 2007. Will that work well together or should we upgrade to SharePoint 2010 for the project?

Answer: To blend solutions with SharePoint we recommend using .NET Framework 3.5 ASP.NET web sites, and SharePoint 2010, including InfoPath. This combination will produce the best for potential success.

  • Question: What if the asp.net app is on a separate environment/servers than the moss farm servers? Do you need to copy the asp .net app locally to the moss farm?

Answer: This would depend on the integration approach you choose. If you choose a Low Touch Point approach, the ASP.NET app would not need to be moved. With a High Touch Point approach, it would need to be moved to your SharePoint farm. With a Medium Touch Point solution you potentially could leave the app where it is and build integration points between the two.

  • Question: When using Silverlight through SharePoint, can you take advantage of client credentials and claims?

Answer: Yes – the Silverlight Client Object Model can use ClientCredentials.

  • Question: Can you use SharePoint groups as the role provider for the ASP.Net application in a High Touch Point solution?

Answer: This would depend on how you have your SharePoint environment set up for authentication. To take advantage of the ASPNETDB role provider you could set up Claims Based Authentication and use that role provider. Then this integration could work.

  • Question: Low touch point - why not just use page viewer on the application you are moving into SharePoint?

Answer: .The page viewer Web Part implements an iFrame, and our experience is that the iFrame produces a confusing user interface with scroll bars, especially if the interface is to an extended ASP.NET application. However, it is a possible solution in some instances.

  • Question: Low Touch Point looks useful to slowly transition an existing Intranet to mostly SharePoint – thoughts?

Answer: Low Touch Point integration approaches absolutely could serve as a stop-gap solution to transition an existing Intranet from ASP.NET to SharePoint. Key points would be to plan the integration phases so as to be least confusing to the end user.

  • Question: How about changing internal xslt files, schema.xml from lists, WebParts Connections, etc... just to extend builtin features, like a blog...What kind of touch point is that?

Answer: These methods would be more aligned with straight SharePoint customizations as opposed to a blended solution, in that they don’t appear to have any interface to an external ASP.NET application.

  • Question: What would development look like on the SP side in a Low Touch Point integration? (Dev, STG, and Production and Web part development? or configured from front-end?)

Answer: With Low Touch Point integration you are unrestricted in performing any SharePoint customizations your situation requires. Remember, with Low Touch Point you can concurrently do ASP.NET development with one team, and SharePoint development with another team, independent of one another.

  • Question: Where can I download some nice looking SharePoint Web Site Templates to get started after I install my SharePoint Server?

Answer: We have not vetted all of the available 3rd party vendors that offer SharePoint 2010 templates for SharePoint 2010 Branding. ShareSquared does offer consulting services in the area of branding and customizations.

  • Question: Is it true that the MS Roadmap for public facing SharePoint sites is being retired

Answer: We do not have any direct released information from Microsoft or the SharePoint product team regarding future direction of support for public facing SharePoint sites. However, it should be noted that Microsoft expanded the licensing offerings for Internet facing web sites in SharePoint 2010. This would suggest that Microsoft views public facing websites as a market for SharePoint to expand in rather than retire from. Business Productivity Online Services Standard Suite (BPOS) is a multi-tenant public facing SharePoint site offering by Microsoft that also seems to be expanding in scope. In that sense it doesn’t seem they are reducing their footprint in the public facing site offering.