Tuesday, March 18, 2014

If Your Job Posting Contains "SharePoint Online"

If you are an employer and your job description contains the phrase "SharePoint Online", like any of these, you can expect that candidates seeking a 100% telecommute position are going to come knocking your door down, even if you do not advertise the position as a telecommute position - and rightfully so. If SharePoint Online offerings (part of Microsoft Office 365) can be accessed from any location via an Internet connection, those who are applying for positions to support this platform should be able to perform that support from any location, including their homes. Onsite support can be replaced by Lync video conferencing (if you subscribe to a plan that includes Lync) and possibly a phone call. Isn't mobility and location independence one of the core drivers of Office 365? Microsoft certainly thinks so, and I would have to agree with them.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Recent Announcement from Microsoft Could Affect Your Skillset Recruitment Efforts

So, Microsoft has officially announced that InfoPath 2013 will be the final version of InfoPath, but will support its use in its existing forms until 2023. Okay... so now what?

At SPCON2014, Microsoft has stated, in more detail, that it will shift its forms development platform from InfoPath back to Access 2013 and Excel, and that future versions of Microsoft Word will be enhanced to include additional forms capability to replace InfoPath.

In fact, Microsoft has made HEAVY investments into Access 2013 and subsequent releases as the new SharePoint 2013 Web Apps are also SharePoint Apps that can be packaged and monetized in the Office 365 SharePoint Store and in an enterprise's corporate App Catalog. Microsoft is actively polling for insights on how to beef up / improve future releases of Access even more.

As a recruiter, it will probably be in your best interest to, for now, still consider candidates that have expertise in InfoPath. However, you should probably give equal consideration to those users who have past experience in Microsoft Access for SharePoint Business Analyst / Power User openings.

As I have recommended before, obtaining an E3 subscription of Office 365 ensures that you will have access to the LATEST that Microsoft has to offer in terms of power user / citizen developer tools. Give Office 365 a free trial today!