Microsoft has made tremendous progress with their SharePoint collaboration suite during the last 5 years, making it the cornerstone of productive teams. However the expensive price tag kept this software out of reach of all but midsize-very large companies. There are new less costly options that provide enterprise level features at small business prices. Read on to find out how they stack up…
Get a Free Trial of Central Desktop, the best Small Business SharePoint Alternative
SharePoint was once the ugly step child application that didn’t have a clear spot alongside MS Project or the favorite Project Shared Folder, it has become a mainstay of some very effective teams. Those teams that figured out how to get the most from SharePoint (a different article thread entirely) are often able to dramatically increase their efficiency on projects. I have personal examples as both a Project Manager and a Team Lead that also have shown there is a right way and wrong way to get the most out of any tool, including web-based collaboration suites. Some of the main benefits my team saw by using SharePoint included:
- Centralized location for project information
- Less time searching for documents
- Fewer mistaken edits to the “wrong version” of important team documents
- Improved searching
- Greater management visibility to work output
- Improved customer / client satisfaction
- Easily created forms and surveys
Until just recently, there were not a ton of other choice on the market if you wanted SharePoint features. Sure, there were some companies that offered shared MS SharePoint hosting (and there still are), but SharePoint often proved a bit unwieldy for the small to mid size business sector. Now, there are a plethora of solutions that are perfect for small companies looking to get their business process in order. Let u s review the best:
| Central Desktop | BaseCampHQ | MS SharePoint | |
| Price | Free to $99 a month, all inclusive
Try CentralDesktop |
Free to $149 a month, all inclusive
Try BaseCampHQ |
About $40,000, not including servers, rack space, or tech support |
| Core Features | Document Storage, Search, Workflow, Task lists, Chat, Web Conferencing, Databases, Forms | Document Storage, Search, Task lists | Document Storage, Search, SharePoint Workflow, Task lists, Forms |
| Unique Features | As many or as few features as you need. Built in web-conferencing | Clean and super simple while still powerful | Easy integration with other MS products |
| Ideal Company Size | 1 person to enterprise level | 1 person to midsize company | Midsize to Large company |
| Customizable? | Yes, most customizations can be made an easy to use interface. Some customizations include company “templates”, databases, and workflows | No, can only add company logo | Yes, very customizable if you hire programmers |
| Free Trial? | Yes, No credit card required 30 days | Yes (credit card required) – 30 days | No |
