Forget SharePoint Adoption; Focus on Utilization!

SharePoint Adoption

    Many SharePoint deployments stall or are never implemented throughout an organization.  These less than desired results are often use the excuse of a lack of SharePoint "adoption".

Problems with "Adoption"

     The whole idea of SharePoint "Adoption" implies a passive approach to rolling out a SharePoint deployment and a style of "build it and they will come" philosophy.  Generally, users, especially non-technical users, continue to do what they've always done out of habit or previous training.  Users will ONLY change their day-to-day tasks or tools if they are told to do so by their boss or if they're convinced a new tool or method can save them time or solve some obvious problem, such as daily tasks.

Active Approach to drive Utilization

     Any successful SharePoint deployment has to be proactively driven on a based on providing real and current solutions.  SharePoint deployments should have a larger focus on on-going training and platform evangelism.  SharePoint admins need to actively seek out new internal customers and encourage current successful customers as "champions" to help promote the use of SharePoint.
     In general, people will continue to do the same actions out of habit and there are always tasks that can be further optimized.  The real success of SharePoint is not merely a collaborative platform, but it forces businesses to re-evaluate how they actual handle common administrative tasks, such as file management or workflow processes.

Win over the "emotional" leaders of the organization

     Many SharePoint deployments likely have "buy in" from IT and maybe from senior management, but often top C-level executives don't understand nor care about the actual application or platform to provide real business solutions.  Internally within an organization, project and team managers often depend on upper management to provide support for application platforms, while overlooking the "actual" decision-makers, the office admins.
     SharePoint admins should consider office staff, such as the office admin as the central customer.  Most executives feel they are the "leaders" of their organization, when in reality, they are in position, while in actual practice, the office admin is the one deciding how tasks should be processed.  They are often the central touch point for all work-streams and whatever they request, most likely, gets fulfilled.  By winning over the office admin to use SharePoint implicitly forces other staff to use SharePoint as well.  This approach is a more effective and organic growth of SharePoint utilization.  Quickly, the concern of SharePoint "adoption" wanes while the power of SharePoint because more obvious to the office worker.