Windows SharePoint Services allows teams to create Web sites for information sharing and document collaboration, benefits that help increase individual and team productivity. Windows SharePoint Services is a component of the Windows Server 2003 information worker infrastructure and provides team services and sites to Microsoft Office System and other desktop programs. It also serves as a platform for application development. Including such IT resources as portals, team workspaces, e-mail, presence awareness, and Web-based conferencing, Windows SharePoint Services enables users to locate distributed information quickly and efficiently, as well as connect to and work with others more productively.

SharePoint sites provide places to capture and share ideas, information, communication, and documents. The sites facilitate team participation in discussions, shared document collaboration, and surveys. Site content is accessible from both a Web browser and through clients that support Web Services. The document collaboration features allow for easy check in, check out, and document version control.

Windows SharePoint Services sites take file storage to a new level, providing communities for team collaboration and making it easy for users to work together on documents, tasks, contacts, events, and other information. In addition, team and site managers can coordinate site content and user activity easily. The Windows SharePoint Services environment is designed for easy and flexible deployment, administration, and application development.

Thanks to the Web services provided by Windows SharePoint Services, programs in the Microsoft Office System—including Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Microsoft Office InfoPath, and Microsoft Office OneNote—can use information in SharePoint sites natively. Programs in the Microsoft Office System allow users to add members to sites, assign tasks, and communicate with members both by e-mail or in real time by using online presence, all while working on documents stored in SharePoint sites. With Microsoft Office Outlook, users can view calendars and contact lists stored on SharePoint sites.