You know you need new software when...

...you start leaving out-of-office replies like this one that I saw today:

Wow. This guy has serious job security. It sounds like SharePoint problems are a matter of "when," not "if." Whatever the system, if you're creating out-of-office notes like this one, it's time to start searching for alternatives.

Anyone else seen similar out-of-office replies? Your answers can include problem open-source products, too. I want to see one that says something like, "[Insert product name] is about to self-destruct. While I'm away, first take a Valium. Then call my mobile."

Disclosure: I work for Alfresco, an open-source alternative to SharePoint.

[softwaredesignengineer]

Get over your blind hate towards anything Microsoft. Sounds like you don't know a thing about IT support. I've seen these kinds of out-of-office mails from almost everyone who has some form of support with respect to software that caters to hundreds and thousands of users with so many dependancies.

Suppose a guy called up to give him rights to a particular site group, or reset a password, or the need for a particular report. It's generally referred to as a "problem" by any of the stake holders involved. You should have known this if you ever had some role in support. But you don't. Just like you went out of your way to demonize .Net development that doesn't target Vista without even knowing the basics of what .Net development means on a Windows platform.

This looks more like an indirect plug-in for some unpopular enterprise CMS product that Alfresco sells and which is desperately trying to compete with MOSS. I kind'a forgot the name of that particular CMS product and don't know anyone who uses it either.

[Matt Asay]

I could give you a few names. Five of the world's largest investment banks. Half of the US' largest federal organizations. Every large US media company. Etc.

There's no doubt that SharePoint has found a following and is a good product. There's also no doubt that it's a bear to administer at scale, because it doesn't happen to scale very well. Just ask a few of its customers. It's not very easy to manage on an enterprise level, which is why Forrester recently suggested to enterprises to hold off on SharePoint adoption.

[rafleyb]

Here's a tip: Don't follow John McCain, Scott McNealy, and Larry Ellison down the negative ads leadership trail. Focus your energy on telling us why Alfresco or any other application will provide better solutions. Little tiny Macromedia did it and they beat Microsoft with Dreamweaver and Flash every time.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Sounds like a logical OOF message to me. If the person is not available, here are some escalation paths to take. Would you prefer no message at all ? Would you prefer to have customers be clueless and left without any sort of support options?

This is the entire point of an OOF message. The answering machine has been around now for more than 50 years. Perhaps you may want to join the rest of the world in this century.

[softwaredesignengineer]

Ah yes! That Forrester report on SharePoint - the alter for every anti-Microsoft guy these days picked up and beaten to death by the press on 2 pages of what to be careful of against 22 others.

A total over kill if you ask me.