I presented this at IndyTechFest two years ago. Found it in my archives while preparing for DevLINK 2010. I changed some of it to make it applicable to SharePoint 2010, but much of it remains as it was in 2008. It's a little corny at places, but there is useful info in it as well. Enjoy!

1. SharePoint: When to Develop on a Platform Rob Wilson, MCTS SharePoint & Project 2007 rwilson@kellerschroeder.com http://sharepointblog.kellerschroeder.com twitter.com/theRobManDotNet

2. Agenda Evolution of a platform The SharePoint Proposition When to develop on SharePoint

3. Ode to Young Coder There once was an eager lad coder A small planet perched on his shoulders No build versus buy It was build every time A practice that left a foul odor <-Young developer <-Big Head <-Only his code would do <-That really stunk!

4. Those Were the Days Watch me code!

5. How They Stack Up Platform Business Apps Much Other Stuff RAD Custom Code MVC Framework SEO Friendly Business Apps Business Apps Standards-Based Search RAD Separation of Roles Error Handling SEO Friendly Uniformity Standards-Based Search Content Management Separation of Roles Administration Area Content Management Administration Area Uniformity Error Handling Error Handling Menus Menus Menus (Menu Control) Authorization Authorization Authorization Authentication Authentication Authentication

6. Toughest Jobs Defining SharePoint in a single sentence Comparing SharePoint tocompetitive platforms

7. When the requirements call for it Not a brochure site Authentication and search required Does not have to be a large-scale project

8. When you need self-service Web Parts (re-usability) Alerts RSS Recycle Bin My Site Connecting with peers Publishing

9. When you need personalization From a webmaster’s perspective Targeted content From a visitor’s perspective Ability to customize look and feel

10. When you need workflow Based on Workflow Foundation Additional features SharePoint front-end Document libraries and task lists Workflow history lists

11. When you want flexible development options Web Parts Object model Web services Separation of development roles GUI expert, workflow developer, reports and queries, event handlers Varying levels of experience on a project team

12. When you want to focus on the business requirements instead of the framework Do not worry about how someone will find your application or how it integrates with the security model Eliminate the headache of external content repositories

13. When you want consistency in your organization or client-base Common user interface Vocabulary Standardized code base

14. When you want to take advantage of the inherent features of that platform Collaboration Portal Content Management Search Business Intelligence Forms and Business Processes

15. When you want to offset the cost of development More time spent in the planning and design stages should surface more out-of-the-box features [that should save time later] Out-of-the-box features should reduce the cost of custom software development Developer focus should shift immediately to the business needs and extending the out-of-the-box features

16. When you need SOA Web services expose SharePoint content SharePoint as a SOA consumer provides the user interface via XML and page viewer web parts – IntranetJournal.com, March 2006, Rob Bogue

17. When you need composite applications Dashboards, Mash-ups Business Data Catalog All levels of your organization

18. When you need composite applications ERP Before SharePoint CRM Legacy Systems Middleware

19. When you need composite applications ERP SharePoint CRM Legacy Systems

20. When you need Single Sign On Multiple built-in authentication options Support for third-party authentication providers Built-in SSO provider Manages credentials for other apps on your intranet

21. When you need off-line support of your data Office Integration Importing/exporting lists from/to excel Linked tables with Access Calendar/Task List integration with Outlook Groove/SharePoint Workspace

22. When you need auditing and retention policies Log just the events you need for what lists are of interest to you Develop auditing reports using SSRS Develop/customize workflows for content retention and disposal

23. When you need to equip your power users SharePoint Designer Custom queries with Data View Web Part Simple workflows InfoPath Simple forms – really!

24. When your culture allows for it User acceptance is key Large implementations are going to take a team of both IT and line of business users May require a paradigm shift Small, quick wins where possible

25. When a development community is important to you Blogs and forums Community video tutorials User Groups CodePlex Commercial/Open Source Features and Web Parts

26. When you are ready to stop dating around and marry the right platform Up to 92% satisfaction rating in the categories of functionality, end user experience, total cost of ownership and end user acceptance Up to 59% of all companies are projected to have SharePoint or an equivalent platform by the end of this year and that number is projected to increase 19% between 2009 and 2011

27. When you want to build your resume Dice.com: 2,800 jobs (JUL 2010) Monster.com: 1,000+ jobs (JUL 2010) HotJobs.com: ~500 jobs (JUL 2010)

28. Alternatives Free Bulletin Board Free Blog Host JavaScript Menu Builder Embedded Google Calendar Spam-friendly form submission scripts Coffee Cup Editor for CMS

29. Ode to Wise Coder There once was an eager lad coder Who grew wiser as he grew older The greyer his hair The more he did Share And now this presentation is over