Microsoft BPOS Limitations – Be Careful.

Daily, we get customers who are learning the hard way that Microsoft’s Online Services BPOS (business productivity online service) does have significant limitations when it comes to SharePoint. To save you time, they are listed below. Go ahead and skip to the bottom if you like, you won’t hurt my feelings. I would also like to qualify this post by saying that BPOS is a solid offering for a small startup that also needs Exchange and Live Meeting. For a couple of users, it is a good value, however, for more than a few users with growing storage needs, maybe not; crunch the numbers and decide for yourself.

Another interesting note is that Microsoft is encouraging Fpweb.net to put forth a BPOS offering of our own incorporating fully functional SharePoint (WSS v3). I think you will see a fully functional SharePoint Hosting / BPOS on steroids offering in Q3 from the friendly folks at Fpweb.net.

So, before you get too far down the road, pause and add this list to your due diligence.
WARNING – failure to read and think through the following may cost you and your team hundreds of man-hours and lots of moola.

Features NOT Available in Microsoft BPOS:

1. Anonymous users supported
2. UI enhancements
3. Server control
4. Customization / Code Deployment
5. 3rd party web parts installation
6. Unlimited user account creation with no additional fees
7. Daily site backups
8. Custom domain names supported
9. Dedicated solution for any number of users

And yes, if you’ve just finished reading that list – those are all features that are supported by WSS and MOSS Hosting from SharePoint Hosting Provider Fpweb.net.