Microsoft Office SharePoint Server was driven by the need to have a way for users to centrally share documents, applications and websites within a network. Before SharePoint, several Microsoft services such as Frontpage and Site Server catered to end users and IT administrators to share information.
Pre-Sharepoint
SharePoint was developed from the need to have a centralized repository of web applications, documents, videos and other information within a network. The precursor of SharePoint was the Site Server, which allowed administrators to manage websites within the network. Before SharePoint, end users have the Microsoft Frontpage that allowed them to develop their own websites. Both services, however, do not integrate different information such as videos, files, applications and documents.
Earliest Versions Of Sharepoint
Two versions of SharePoint came out in 2001. The SharePoint Team Services (STS) was developed from the Microsoft Frontpage, while the SharePoint Portal Server (SPS) was developed from the Site Server. The STS, like Frontpage, was considered a bottoms-up technology, meaning creating websites were still left to end users. SPS was for the administrators, which can index and search for files and databases. There was still clearly a disconnect between the two and the move to integrate their functionality drove the development of SharePoint technology.
Sharepoint 2003
SharePoint 2003 was considered the first integrated and comprehensive solution for sharing information, files, applications and websites in the network. It integrated the capabilities of the STS and SPS. It removed the tedious coding to develop websites and included a dashboard for easy user interface. Adding, uploading, removing or editing files became easier to create using the Designer. Users can contribute or add new data to the SharePoint site, while administrators can easily manage SharePoint.
Later Versions
SharePoint 2007 and later versions of SharePoint improved on the SharePoint 2003 version. New features were added that makes it possible to add or streamline videos, and work offline then synchronize files when going online.
