Instead of just dumping files into directories, Windows SharePoint Services supplies Web sites with document storage and retrieval with check-in and check-out functionality, version history, custom metadata, and flexible, customizable views. Users can find and share data, with the added assurance that data will not be lost.
 

SharePoint sites store event calendars, contacts, Web links, discussions, issues lists, announcements, and much more. By using Windows SharePoint Services, you can create smart places that help your users share information and get work done, not just a place to save files.
 

You can grant users the ability to create sites, allow them to control site membership, monitor site usage directly, and moderate content submissions. Users can even create site templates and share them with one another, reusing customized, proven site solutions.

Despite the authority delegated to users, Windows SharePoint Services also enables you to track which sites are created, who owns them, how long a site has gone unused, and so on. You can enforce quotas for sites, users, and storage; block users from adding specific file types to sites; and automatically delete sites that are unused for long periods of time.
 

You can deploy Windows SharePoint Services in server farms that support tens of thousands of sites and can handle the typical load of hundreds of thousands of users. Windows SharePoint Services supports load balancing for Web servers and server clustering technology for all data—including configuration, documents, and list data.
 

Site owners and users can add the Web Parts you provide to their site pages, adding new features to the sites they already use. ASP.NET developers can write Web Parts to provide data access, Web services, and many other applications and content to SharePoint sites.
 

You can manage and configure Windows SharePoint Services right out of the box by using a Web browser or command-line utilities. You can also manage server farms, servers, and sites by using the Microsoft .NET Framework–based object model and Web services, making possible a great many custom and third-party administration solution offerings.
 

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 and can create and manage sites devoted to editing documents and organizing meetings.
 

Windows SharePoint Services provides large numbers of individually productive places. SharePoint Portal Server connects these places to people, teams, knowledge, and applications to create smart organizations. It adds site organization and navigation, content topics, targeted news, personalized sites, content search, organization-wide alerts, enterprise application integration, and more to a Windows SharePoint Services deployment.