Evaluate social computing for business needs in SharePoint Server 2013

SharePoint Server 2013 offers social computing features to facilitate discovery, coordination, collaboration, knowledge sharing, and discussion among employees in an enterprise. At the core, social computing is the technological framework for personal networking and collaboration. Social computing revolves around the people in an organization, and it provides a way for those people to connect, engage, and collaborate. These features help the business be more agile, break down silos, and foster innovation. For more information about the business value and importance of enterprise social computing, see the Rise of Enterprise Social Networks and the Yammer social journey.
While all of the SharePoint Server features together provide a strong, integrated social solution, you should evaluate each of the features individually to determine which of them you need and when to implement them in your organization. Though it might be tempting to implement everything at once, you might find that your business requires only some of the social features, or that you would benefit from phasing in parts of the solution over a period of time.
This article discusses the social features available in SharePoint Server 2013 from the perspective of business needs and their potential value to help you build your social solution. Once you determine which features you need for your organization, use the additional overview and planning articles in the user profile and identities section and the social computing and collaboration section on Microsoft TechNet to delve further into each area and plan accordingly for their implementation.

Supported Operating Systems

Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012

Microsoft Word or Adobe Reader