Services

The first concept we will introduce is that of a service. In this context, a service is a set of features that the portal provides to the community of end users. In SharePoint, these services might include discrete subsystems like Excel Services or PerformancePoint Services, but they also include more general services like authentication and secure (SSL) site access. A service is the basic unit of functionality to consider when planning the governance of your portal.

A service has a lifecycle that starts with installation and configuration of the service, also known as provisioning the service. Once the service is provisioned, it must be monitored and evaluated to see how well it is meeting user needs. When improvements are needed, the service may need to be reconfigured or upgraded to meet new or refined requirements. At some point, it may be decided to remove a service because it is no longer needed. When a service is decommissioned, it is often necessary to migrate its associated data to another service or system.