Did you know that Sharepoint is a one billion dollar business? I bet that you didn’t. Microsoft has found its newest endless cash generator, and its name is Sharepoint. Do not think that this is yet another market that open source will soon steal from the big Redmond Giant, this time they learned something. Guess who gets a free copy of basic Sharepoint? Anyone running Microsoft Server that is who.
Well, damn.
Turns out the old fashioned freemium upsell works for both the Linux and Windows community. The New York Times makes their opinon plain: Sharepoint is going to be a focus for Microsoft over the next decade. It adds a third steady, rock solid cash flow past Windows and Office to the Empire. After all the Zunes are not yet paying the light bill.
As Sharepoint grows and adds more and more features, it might just become a defacto install for any new Windows server. If Microsoft can pull that off, pull out your checkbook and buy some MSFT, pronto. In fact, according to the times the Sharpoint ecosystem has grown into a cottage industry of its own, with small companies consulting in the area to help people work with Sharepoint.
I have not used Sharepoint since 2007, but I recall not being bowled over by its power. That was several years ago, things have changed. What will be the open source response>
