5 Great Tools for SharePoint Administration

One of the major benefits of SharePoint is that it remains compatible with dozens of other professional tools, including both free and premium options. Many of these tools make the lives of SharePoint administrators far easier. You can only take advantage of the tools you are aware of, however. As such, this article will walk you through some of the best SharePoint-compatible tools that are especially helpful for administrators.

1. CardioLog Analytics [Free Edition]

IntLock is an analytics company that has developed some powerful tools for SharePoint. The best news is that, as long as your pages have fewer than 250,000 views each month, the free edition will be able to meet all of your needs. Full-featured releases of CardioLog are available for SharePoint 2010 and 2013.

2. Microsoft Administration Toolkit

This tool is especially important if you're using a version earlier than SharePoint 2013; as of the 2013 release, many of the features of this toolkit are built directly into the interface. The toolkit includes features like adjustable test loads for deployment testing; an advanced security configuration wizard; an improve diagnostics and statistics utility; and improved reporting.

3. McAfee's Network Discovery for Microsoft SharePoint

While Microsoft has done a good job with its built-in security (especially if you keep your version up to date), there are elements of network security that are better handled by an outside service. The best part of this McAfee utility is that it has an inventory and tool-set built specifically for SharePoint. You will be able to easily find SharePoint environments and get detailed reports on the network.

4. Microsoft's SharePoint Designer

For those looking to improve the aesthetics and functionality of their SharePoint pages, there's no better tool than Microsoft SharePoint Designer. Simple WYSIWYG ("What You See Is What You Get") modifications combine with workflow integration and other administrative features. If you're working with SharePoint, it's vital that you get comfortable with this tool.

5. SharePoint SUSHI

For fans of open source projects, the most impressive offering is SharePoint SUSHI. This "Swiss army knife for SharePoint" combines intelligent, customizable automation and reporting for a variety of common SharePoint tasks. Permision management, profile management, group management, and backup/restoration are all simplified by this tool.

Are you looking to magnify your productivity in SharePoint? These tools, and many others, are well worth looking into.

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