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SharePoint Composites Handbook

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Without using code, SharePoint Composites can help you create effective business solutions rapidly by assembling, connecting, and configuring the basic functionality available in SharePoint and Office 2013. Download the SharePoint Composites Handbook, Version 2.0 (approximately 90 pages) for in-depth guidance.

What is a SharePoint Composite?

A SharePoint Composite combines data, documents, and business process in a "do-it-yourself" business solution. A SharePoint Composite could be as simple as a custom webpage that uses a site list and several connected web parts to track mileage in a small business. Or, a SharePoint Composite could be as sophisticated as a corporate-wide absence reporting system connected to a Human Resource database by using Business Connectivity Services. A SharePoint Composite bears close resemblance to a mashup, a quick Web application that incorporates data into a simple, visual, and interactive solution. However, the term "composite" emphasizes the breadth and depth of solutions you can build on the SharePoint platform.

Leverage existing software investments Just using out-of-the-box SharePoint saves you time, money, and resources. These are the tangible benefits for which you can readily see the cost savings to your business. But creating a SharePoint composite can make you and your workforce more productive. Those are the intangible benefits that affect your bottom line and success every day.

Eliminate content and data silos SharePoint is all about connection, collaboration, and helping to create a "shared brain" within your organization. The more you work in a cross-functional way, the more you use the resources you already have, the more you realize the benefits of synergy and unification.

Unlock the value of line-of-business (LOB) data With a SharePoint Composite based on Business Connectivity Services (BCS), you can work with data from other business systems as if the data lived within your SharePoint sites. Create, read, update, delete, and search the data using external content types and external lists. Surface enterprise data in Excel 2013 and Word 2013. Search across all your valuable business information. Work offline and synchronize your changes when you reconnect by using Outlook 2013.

Create a business solution without programming You don't need to code to assemble these building blocks. Without code, you can create highly customized sites and solutions, share data-driven Visio diagrams, and publish Access 2013 apps. Use SharePoint Designer 2013 and InfoPath 2013 to design and build declarative solutions based on workflows and forms. You'll be surprised by how many of your business challenges can be resolved with a code-free solution.

Power users can create SharePoint Composites Sometimes called citizen developers, power users see colleagues struggling to do their work, think to themselves, "There has to be a better way", and see a problem that requires a solution they can create by using SharePoint Composites. Advances in software, usability, and standards have made this a growing trend.

IT friendly Ease the struggle between trying to be responsive to users without affecting IT control and governance. SharePoint Composites help you create business solutions that are visible and integrated into your organization's information infrastructure. These no-code solutions are easier to deploy, manage, and maintain.

Developer friendly Starting an application from scratch is expensive, time-consuming, and risky. Enhancing a familiar, working solution is often preferred. For a developer, a SharePoint Composite can be a working prototype that lays the foundation for an application, and that now needs to scale up to potentially thousands of users or millions of rows. Perhaps, you only need to add a custom web part. Or you decide to revise part of the SharePoint Composite solution with custom, managed code. Either way, you improve your productivity.

Get the SharePoint Composites Handbook

This handbook is intended for:

  • Information workers, who want to create simple-to-develop, no-code solutions so they can rapidly respond to business needs.

  • Developers, who want to develop solutions and working prototypes with no code, so they can quickly respond to pressing problems and clarify proposed project designs.

  • Decision makers, who want to understand the benefits of SharePoint Composites for their businesses.

The SharePoint Composites Handbook provides:

  • A detailed overview of all pertinent SharePoint and Office 2013 features, products, and components.

  • Guidance on how to design a practical solution with no code.

  • A comprehensive description of approximately twenty basic design patterns for your no-code business solution.

Download the SharePoint Composites Handbook

The download provides the handbook in both.docx and .pdf file formats.

SharePoint Composites Handbook, Version 2.0

See also

Other resources

No code solutions using SharePoint Composites