The Salem Process is a unique business consulting methodology for SharePoint (all versions), that uses a specially constructed framework for leveraging SharePoint services quickly. The Salem Process was developed by Ian McNeice due to the fact that repeatedly, Ian saw that no partner or author could clearly and easily place SharePoint within the context of a set of desired business services. The Salem Process was developed to solve the problem of where to start with SharePoint and what services naturally follow on to ensure the optimum business buy-in and user adoption. Salem is a modular framework that flexes and allows different clients to take different routes whilst remaining within the Salem framework.
If you want to capture the essence of the problem with approaching SharePoint watch Steve Ballmer on YouTube explaining SharePoint 2010 during the Fall of 2009 - The Salem Process solves the difficulty of explaining SharePoint to IT and business stakeholders.
Also worth referring to is the excellent AIIM report from summer 2010 which points out the following survey results: "..where 49% of the wider sample indicated that the did not have a formal plan or strategy of where they will utilize their SharePoint investments.."
There are many unique aspects to The Salem Process. It is a fully scalable and flexible approach to leveraging SharePoint information and collaboration services.
Any client, irrespective of business vertical, can quickly adopt a logical and sequential service SharePoint roadmap and avoid the 'developer trap', therefore allowing budget control. At the same time busines stakeholders can quickly identify with the services offered, understand the logic of releasing sequenced services and prepare for effective user adoption, The vast majority of Microsoft partners today still take a 'development platform' approach to SharePoint, meaning that they will ask a client what they wish to achieve and then developing a specific solution, often at unnecessary expense. Similarly, many partners offer no long term logical roadmap to clients which leads to the chaos of 'organic growth'. The key to SharePoint success is in leveraging as many of the rich out-of-the-box SharePoint features as possible whilst keeping bespoke development costs low, at the same time understanding the importance of the underpinning requirements for governance and policy. To do this you need to harness the unique benefits of the Salem Process framework.
Today, the Salem Process remains the only truly effective framework methodology for SharePoint and is agnostic of any specific software version. The Salem Process and its contents are fully protected worldwide and can only be found through The Salem Consulting Group and elite Approved Global Salem Partners.
