A: After you have defined your SharePoint strategy (covered in Chapter 1, Defining a SharePoint IT Strategy) you may have decided to work with a Microsoft partner to deploy the SharePoint technology for an initial project. This is something that we recommend, because there is a certain predictability that the installed outcome will be correct on the first installation.
Note
The fake it till you make it (after many attempts you will get it right) approach on an installation is expensive both in time and productivity and ultimately hard earned trust from the business users who may question why there are technical issues causing delays with a project.
We recommend the following steps in choosing a business and technical partner:
Check out their website: If their website is built with SharePoint, the probability is that they have in-house SharePoint expertise. They are practicing what they preach, so to speak. If their website is really slick, you...