Microsoft SharePoint 2010, is it a true Document Management System?
微软SharePoint 2010，它是真正的文档管理系统吗？
Although this seems a fairly fundamental question, we will first need to agree on a definition of a “true” document management system before answering it. When Microsoft gave us Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 back in 2006, they claimed it could be used as a document management system. In the pure sense of the word, it could of course. It would handle (manage) large amounts of documents and metadata. With the Record Center Site Template and features such as Information Policies it provided functionality enterprises were looking for.
尽管这看起来像一个非常基础的问题，我们将首先需要在回答之前，统一对真正的文档管理系统的定义。当微软给我们SharePoint Server 2007时，他们声称它可以作为文档管理系统使用。单纯从字面来说，它是可以的。它能处理（管理）大量文档和元数据。使用记录中心网站模板和诸如信息策略的功能，它提供了企业正在寻找的功能。
But did it really compare with what I thought a true DMS should be? To be honest? No, it didn’t. Coming from products that at the time were considered market leaders (OpenText, Hummingbird, Documentum) SharePoint always fell short. Now with the release of SharePoint 2010, Microsoft again tries to enter the market for enterprise document management. Being fully aware that the SharePoint product is much more than just a DMS, I’d like to focus on just that part.
但是它真的可以和我认为的真正DMS相比吗？要说实话吗？不，它不能。和市场领导者(OpenText, Hummingbird, Documentum) 相比，SharePoint总是感觉功能不足。现在使用2010版本，微软又尝试着进入企业文档管理的市场。意识到SharePoint产品不只是一个DMS，我想关注（DMS）那个部分。
Many discussions about document management products tend to grind to a halt when we encounter disagreement about the features of such a system. So, let me start by compiling a small list of features, what I believe should be the foundation of any true DMS. I know there are other definitions, some of them thorough and scientific, but I’d like to keep this simple.
当我们对这样的系统功能发生分歧时，许多关于文档管理产品的讨论都归于停止。所以，让我们从列出一系列功能开始，我认为是任何真正DMS的基础。我知道有其他定义，一些更彻底、科学，但我想保持简单。
- In its unique form, a document can only exist in the system as a single object。文档可以在系统中以唯一的格式，作为单一对象存在。
- A document should be retrievable without knowing its location。文档需要能在不知道其位置情况下被提取。
- A DMS provides ways for adding metadata to objects。提供添加元数据到对象的方法。
- A DMS provides ways for object versioning。提供对象版本控制。
- Share metadata and versioning by grouping or linking documents together。通过分组和链接文档，分享元数据和版本。
- A DMS provides ways for applying workflows to documents。提供应用工作流到文档的方法。
- A DMS provides Basic Records Management。提供基本记录管理。
- A DMS provides powerful Search。提供强大搜索。
- A DMS enables collaboration on documents。允许在文档上合作协同。
- A DMS integrates with directly with other applications。直接与其他应用程序集成。
In other words, a single unique document can have no duplicates. It can have (read-only) copies and multiple versions though. SharePoint 2007 already made this possible to comply with, although not so straightforward. Every Site (Collection) could have numerous document libraries and there was no easy way to retrieve a document without knowing its location. If a document needed to be “present” in more than one location, the only option we originally had was through “Managed Copies”. The way it was implemented made it hard to work with and most users would upload the document to more than one location instead.
换句话说，单个唯一的文档不能有副本。但是可以有（只读）拷贝和多个版本。SharePoint 2007已经做到了，尽管不够直接。每个网站（集）可以有多个文档库，并且在不知道位置情况下很难抽取文档。如果文档需要呈现在多个位置，唯一的选项是通过”托管拷贝“。这种应用方式使得它很难使用，并且大多用户将上传文档到多个地址。
There was also no way of enforcing uniqueness by title or contents. The same is still true for SharePoint 2010, although some of the new features enable better handling.也没有办法通过标题或内容强制唯一性。SharePoint 2010中还是这样，尽管一些新功能让管理更容易。
2. A document should be retrievable without knowing its location.文档需要能在不知道其位置情况下被提取。
In SharePoint 2007 a document had no unique document number. Every discussion I had about DMS products always seemed to end prematurely because of this. To me, this has always been one of the biggest omissions. SharePoint 2010 gives us the Document ID Service! This unique document identifier enables us to trace a document throughout its complete lifecycle. It even retains this ID across sites, site collections and web applications. Best part of it: it can be custom formatted or even leveraged programmatically!
在2007中，文档没有唯一文档号。我关于DMS产品的讨论总是因为这个就结束了。对我来说，这总是最大的遗漏之一。2010给了我们文档ID服务！是我们可以跟踪文档贯穿整个生命周期。它甚至在网站、网站集和Web应用程序间保留这个ID。最好的部分是：它可以自定义格式或者通过程序使用。
3. A DMS provides ways for adding metadata to objects.提供添加元数据到对象的方法。
SharePoint 2007 enabled the use of metadata with the help of Site Columns and Content Types and SharePoint 2010 basically builds on the same principles. By adding the Managed Metadata Service SharePoint now also supports the use of structured taxonomies. Companies will able to create consistent metadata repositories throughout the enterprise. Microsoft also made it easy for end users to apply metadata through the use of tags. These tags can then be used for navigation and filtering.
2007版本在网站列和内容类型帮助下启用了元数据使用。2010也基本使用相同原则。通过添加托管元数据服务，SharePoint现在支持真正的结构化分类。公司将能够在整个企业中创建一致的元数据仓库。微软也使终端用户使用标签应用元数据变得简单。这些标签可以用来导航和筛选。
4. A DMS provides ways for object versioning.提供对象版本控制。
Versioning in SharePoint 2007 was up to its task. We could have minor, major, draft and published versions. We had some degree of control on how the versioning was done and this usually covered our requirements. Sadly, we could not control versioning on folders. SharePoint 2010 tries to solve this issue with Document Sets (see item 5).5. Share metadata and versioning by grouping or linking documents together.通过分组和链接文档，分享元数据和版本。
The only way we had to group documents in SharePoint 2007 was either:
By Document Library or By Folder
Both options didn’t give us shared metadata or shared versioning though. SharePoint 2010 introduces Document Sets and simply put: now we can. Document Sets can have custom metadata properties, versioning and permissions and get a unique Document ID. The documents as a set can also be used in workflows, which is a big feature! Biggest drawback: Document Sets cannot contain other Document Sets.
6. A DMS provides ways for applying workflows to documents.提供应用工作流到文档的方法。
Both user-initiated and business rules workflows were already part of SharePoint 2007. Out of the box, SharePoint featured feedback and approval workflows as well as ways for creating custom ones. In SharePoint 2010 this has matured in so many ways, turning it into an extremely powerful platform. Custom workflows can now be designed with Microsoft Visio 2010, authored in SharePoint Designer 2010 and further customized with Visual Studio 2010. The high level of integration between the Office applications allows a power user to design a workflow without ever needing development or even SharePoint skills. The development of a workflow really becomes a team effort!
7. A DMS provides Basic Records Management.
Although Records Management is usually seen as an entirely separate concept, a good DMS provides ways for managing the entire document lifecycle: from creation to destruction. SharePoint 2007 provided the Record Center Site template which made it possible to route documents and apply retention policies. All documents however needed to be routed to this records center to have the policies applied to them. With SharePoint 2010 a pretty new approach is introduced: In Place Records management. This way, documents stay in the document library and can still be classified as records. The Document ID feature and Document Sets mentioned earlier complement this approach to form true Record Management.
8. A DMS provides powerful Search.
Search is one of the areas where SharePoint never really excelled in. It was fast and reliable, but not very scalable or configurable. And it natively omitted wildcard search! A good DMS should provide the following search features: 搜索
- Solid metadata search
- Wildcard search
- Full text search
- Taxonomy based search
9. A DMS enables collaboration on documents.
Collaboration features have been the heart and soul of SharePoint from the very beginning. A DMS cannot do without fundamentals as document versioning, access control and information sharing. SharePoint 2010 adds a compelling number of features to this list: among them are social tools like Blogs and Wikis, managed metadata and multi user editing.
10. A DMS integrates with directly with other applications.
All document management solutions need to integrate with applications at some level. By choosing the internet browser as the primary client, Microsoft clearly embraced the low impact approach. End users only need a browser for interacting with documents and metadata. Of course, the Office applications provided a rich integration set, but they were never required.
With the addition of integration with Office Web Apps, Microsoft further focuses on the internet browser (now even supporting Apple Safari, Opera and Firefox).
On the server side, the ways of interacting with SharePoint 2010 are heavily extended compared to SharePoint 2007. A solid object model API accompanied by very rich Web Services should provide developers with everything they need to create impressive applications.
Concluding:结语
SharePoint 2007 never was a real enterprise document management system. It just lacked too many fundamental features. SharePoint 2010 tries to fill the gap and in many ways does. Although there are still probably lots of specific areas where other products outperform SharePoint 2010, it has its place among them. The flexibility and extensibility of the platform, combined with the rich Office integration make it a serious candidate for any DMS requirement.
2007从来都不是真正的企业文档管理系统。它缺乏太多基础功能。2010试着填充这个缺陷，在很多方面它做到了。尽管可能仍有很多产品在特定方面优于SharePoint 2010，它也有一席之地了。平台的灵活性和拓展性，结合富Office应用程序使得它成为DMS需求的候选产品。