This article was published on March 15, 2012

Say hello to SharePoint Online 2013


Say hello to SharePoint Online 2013

Oh me, Oh my, Oh SharePoint! Look, if you are the sort of person that loves SharePoint, please look around you. If the walls are short, and gray, you can keep reading. If you have a window view, close this tab.

Right, now that the pikers have left, here’s what’s cracking: SharePoint 15, to be known as SharePoint Online 2013 (the cloud version, of course) is in the hands of testers who are under oath to be quiet about it. Happily, the ever inimitable Mary Jo Foley manged to score some inside dope for us all to enjoy.

In the shell of a nut, here’s what we can expect the software to include:

  • Support for viewing business intelligence content on the iPad, an indication of that device’s enterprise adoption.
  • Metro. You knew this was coming in your gut, and now you know it in your head. Get ready for Metro, and get ready now.
  • ‘Improved Web Apps’ that will run on a new ‘Office Web Apps Server.’
  • A cloud serivce/component for Visio.
  • The integration of RMS solutions into the Online version.
  • Heavy Azure dependence.

Then again, what else would you expect from the Online version of SharePoint? It’s a good list, and shows, again, that Microsoft’s bets on the ‘cloud’ remains as heavy as always; the company is going to move you there, whether you like it or not.

For more on Office 15, check our previous coverage of what the interface will look like. Hint: Metro.

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