Announcing the WSRP Toolkit for SharePoint and Two Screen Casts Demos

On December 15th, the SharePoint Team at Microsoft announced the release of the Web Services for Remote Portlets (WSRP) Toolkit for Office SharePoint Server 2007. The WSRP Toolkit for SharePoint provides sample code for producing WSRP conformant data from SharePoint lists and libraries. External portal platforms (e.g. BEA AquaLogic Portal, IBM WebSphere Portal, SAP NetWeaver Enterprise Portal etc.) can then render SharePoint data natively through their WSRP consumer portlets. The Toolkit is available now for download from the MSDN Code Gallery.

The WSRP Toolkit for SharePoint consists of the following assets:

1. Visual Studio sample projects that demonstrate two different approaches to producing WSRP conformant output from SharePoint lists and libraries
2. A whitepaper that provides details on the different architectural approaches of the two WSRP producer samples
3. Screen casts showing the two WSRP producer samples in action

The Toolkit demonstrates possible methods of exposing SharePoint data through the WSRP interface. The announcement also includes two screen casts to show the configuration of the two WSRP samples.

Document management with Sharepoint

Daan De Brouckere posted a great article on how to use SharePoint as a document management system. He discussed the basics of

• Document management
• Version control
• Metadata
• Security
• Workflow
  

A very useful article to get you started in that direction. You can read the article here.

Developer Ramp up Kit for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Microsoft has introduced a kit for .NET based developers who want to ramp up and build on top of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 uses familiar components such as Web Service endpoints, Windows Workflow Foundation, SSRS reporting, and more; making it a general purpose platform for any line-of-business applications. Developers can use their existing .NET skills to take advantage of various features of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform. This kit drills into the details of such development and explains how developers can connect, extend, and embed with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform. It includes presentations, hands-on labs and a VPC environment for practicing.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc720132.aspx

Microsoft Introduces The Certified Master and Certified Architect for SharePoint M

Microsoft announced a new certification for Share point, the Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) for Office SharePoint Server 2007 and the Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) for Office SharePoint Server 2007.

The Master program is designed to be the top-tier technical certification for SharePoint Products and Technologies for years to come. While the MCA is designed for professionals who possess an additional skill set focused on the larger business strategies and technical architecture as a whole. In order to receive the MCA for SharePoint, students must first graduate from the MCM for SharePoint program and will then have the option of sitting for a comprehensive Review Board interview conducted by Microsoft experts and MCA’s.

To read more, visit the MCM homepage for additional detail and prerequisites for the program.