SharePoint Solutions, a national leader in Microsoft SharePoint training, consulting and add-on software, has released Site Provisioning Assistant (SPA) for SharePoint 2007, a product that improves an organization's process for handling new SharePoint 2007 site requests.

SPA eliminates bottlenecks by enabling organizations to automate the process of handling requests for new WSS v3.0 and MOSS 2007 sites.

"Many organizations that have successfully implemented SharePoint 2007 want to manage the growth of their SharePoint 2007 implementation so it doesn't end up a mess like the 'old intranet.' The problem is, their users are requesting new SharePoint sites faster than they can manage them," said Jeff Cate, founder and president of SharePoint Solutions.

According to Cate, SPA provides a solution to these key questions:

How can I enable our users to have the SharePoint sites they need in a timely manner, but maintain the integrity of our organization's taxonomy?

How can I give our users an easy to use, consistent interface for requesting new SharePoint sites?

How can I automate my organization's approval process for requesting new SharePoint sites?

SPA allows users to submit a request when they would like to have a new SharePoint 2007 site provisioned.

Administrators can easily associate custom workflows with the new site requests, asking for approval prior to site creation.

Once a site request is approved, SPA will automatically provision the site, using any SharePoint 2007 site definition that has been specified.

Administrators can create a new provisioning profile (a collection of settings which determine how and where a new SharePoint site gets created) and define the settings that are made available for users requesting new sites. Provisioning profiles allow an administrator to create common scenarios and gather custom data from their users when they request new sites.

"The advantage of using a provisioning profile over SharePoint's out-of-the-box Create Site page is that a provisioning administrator is able to gather custom data from site requestors, set a designated location for specific types of sites and assign a formal review process for new site requests," Cate said.

For more information contact Tony Bierman at 615.944.1544 or at tony(at)sharepointsolutions.com.

To download a free trial of SPA, visit http://software.sharepointsolutions.com.