Phonetic Search

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 builds on the already strong foundations of MOSS 2007. The capabilities and value of 2007 are carried forwards, but with additional functionality and value added on top. If I were to explain all the things you can do with SharePoint out of the box, I would probably be spending my entire waking life writing blog posts and still be typing this time next year.

So, instead, I’m going to highlight some of the new features that are available in SharePoint 2010 that make it a little different from the previous version. These features are chosen because I think they’re useful, cool, valuable, interesting or all of the above.

The first feature I’d like to highlight is phonetic search. How many times has someone introduced themselves to you and you’ve got the spelling of their name completely wrong? The English language is notoriously bad for having different collections of letters potentially spelling the same sound. (If you don’t believe this, look up the joke about fish being spelt ghoti).

You can now do people search in SharePoint based on the sound of someone’s name, not just the spelling. Gone are the days of typing in half a dozen spelling variations to try and find one person.

If you buy MOSS 2007 with Software Assurance now, you’ll get the upgrade rights to 2010 when it’s released. There’s no better time to buy!