SharePoint 2013 and the Windows 8 environment can have a symbiotic experience.
Pretty heavy comment right. Well the truth is it does take a lot, and I mean a lot of work to achieve Collaboration Nirvana. In the news and on other blogs and articles folks have either come at Windows 8 as being the next BIG, or an Epic Fail….I am not going to get into that argument….as it usually is a comparison of Mac vs. PC vs. Android and really that is like comparing supercars. Get over it we all have favorites.
What I like to address is the fact that below…is some great examples of Windows 8 in action, on the desktop, tablet, and phone.
Why is this such a huge advantage for SharePoint, because we can now extend SharePoint 2013 into the tiles right on your Start Page of Windows 8. So we are going to take a design point of view in this article…I am not going to code it up or explain the MetroJS or Rest API..keeping this 200 level for now.
SharePoint 2013 – great design
So I am going to start with a great site design in SharePoint. This is a great example of Information Architecture, and clean design. I also love the use of Variations and Multiple Language support that was key in the success of this public facing portal. Now we have all seen a well implemented portal, and it works great from the browser.
However, we have to open the browser to get to the information. How about the concept of at the login….yes. What if at the time you or any of your employees log into the desktop, tablet of phone they get the portal as part of an integrated Start screen.
SharePoint 2013 – Tiles in Action
So leveraging the SharePoint you can develop a killer Start experience. The below is the end example of when you extend the SharePoint API, use the Windows 8 styling, provide a creative innovative approach….
This really gets the juices flowing right. Now take this the next step and consider your Windows phone, kiosks, interactive walls in your locations…now you transcend the desktop.
Conclusion
OK, so now you are getting the true power, or an idea of where Mr.Gates has been taking us. The idea of innovation does not end at the application, it does not start a the browser, it does not tie to a specific device. I have had so many folks on discussion boards fighting about do I go to Windows 8? Do I need to go to SharePoint 2013? The real question is how is my business innovating and how can these technologies that are at your fingertips going to revolutionize my business and its interactions with humanity.
Shout out:
Joel Olsen for these great images. Thanks for sharing
MAKER ~ DESIGNER ~ CREATIVE 