OT - simple server based version control software

iflyforfun

iflyforfun

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Okay, seems that there are many tech gurus on this board and I see LOTS of good tech related advice. Please stick with me, this isn't easy functionality to explain.

I'm currently using an online service called GlassCubes. It is pretty good, but internet speed and reliability where I'm located is a bit sketchy and makes the service just slow enough to limit our use.

One feature of GlassCubes I absolutely LOVE is what I will call "version control" or "version tracking" with permissions control and master file names. Shared folders simply suck because everyone throws everything out there and you suddenly have a couple of thousand files to dig through all with odd ball naming conventions. You don't know who created the file, whether they updated a recent file or made their file based on an old version on their PC, etc. Heck, much of the time you don't even know which is the most current version and just guess from the last edit date or end up e-mailing/calling/texting to find out. So shared folder looks like:
financial_planV1.xls
FinPlanSLB 8Aug.xls
FinPlanSLC-WindyV2.xls
etc

With GlassCubes, I create a virtual file called "Financial Plan 2012". Only people with permission to the file can see / access it. The actual file name is completely irrelevant. I name my file FinPlan2012_8Augv3.xls. The Finance Manager downloads it, updates for Sept and uploads it. She has named the file FinPlan201210SeptWindy.xls. But she uploads it as an update to the "Financial Plan 2012" virtual file and GlassCubes saves it as the current version of "Financial Plan 2012", shows that Windy updated it on 10 Sept 2012.

This is beautiful because there is only one place to go for the master file. You know who updated it last and when. If you want to see the older versions, they are all there for easy review. I set up the master folders/files at the beginning of the year and people can't put anything in the folder other than updates to the master files (keeps everything clean and organized). I absolutely LOVE this functionality, but the delay makes it simply not usable on a daily basis.

So, can anyone recommend some reasonably priced server based software that would provide this within our firewall/intranet? I am all ears.
 

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Microsoft SharePoint can either be deployed as feature of Windows Server (Foundation Edition) or if you want cloud, it is offered as part of thier Office 365 cloud suite. It does versioning and checkout/checkin. Also content approval workflows.
 
ChrisK said:
Do you want cheap, good, or not cloud based? Pick two.
Click to expand...

Life seems to always be like that, huh? Needs and wants are always a bear.

I need:
1) not cloud based
2) good - my definition being:
- simple installation (internal tech support being somewhat limited)
- low maintenance / support (see above)
- stable
- good UI, easy/intuitive (NOT SharePoint)
- simple (NOT SharePoint - I saw one description of SP as "It is very hard to define exactly what Sharepoint is for one simple reason.. it is so many things!")

I want:
3) reasonable price
4) multiple language support
 
iflyforfun said:
Life seems to always be like that, huh? Needs and wants are always a bear.

I need:
1) not cloud based
2) good - my definition being:
- simple installation (internal tech support being somewhat limited)
- low maintenance / support (see above)
- stable
- good UI, easy/intuitive (NOT SharePoint)
- simple (NOT SharePoint - I saw one description of SP as "It is very hard to define exactly what Sharepoint is for one simple reason.. it is so many things!")

I want:
3) reasonable price
4) multiple language support
Click to expand...

SharePoint does a lot of things and is pretty good at document management and search. It your choice, but if you own Windows Server 2003 or above, you already own the solution.
 
John221us said:
SharePoint does a lot of things and is pretty good at document management and search. It your choice, but if you own Windows Server 2003 or above, you already own the solution.
Click to expand...

Problem is that I'm not an IT guy. I know what I want, but don't know what is out there. My local IT support is really weak and I need to lead them by the had. I had 2 experiences with SharePoint (granted, back in 2007) and neither was positive. It seemed to be a kludgy, do everything for everyone but do nothing well type of solution. I walked away with a really bad taste in my mouth.

I've seen that SharePoint is part of Server 2003, but I don't know how to steer my guys to an implementation that is simple, straight forward and that works. I guess it is "free" since we already have it, but I'm hesitant to push anything here where I don't KNOW what will work and what won't and I can't steer them where we need to go.
 
ChrisK said:
http://www.alfresco.com/ ?
Click to expand...

Have you actually tried Alfresco? What a pain in the ass to set up.

SharePoint is a beast, its overpriced and underfeatured.

Since you are limiting yourself to non-cloud based options, you're severely limiting your choices, but I would recommend looking at Xythos On Premise.

BTW - I am a huge proponent of FOSS, but Alfresco falls short of usefulness for business use, unless something has changed in the last year.
 
ChrisK said:
Had it recommended by an associate who has. I will go ridicule him.
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, once set up, its a FANTASTIC package. I loved it. But setting it up took me about a week of trial and error, and I'm no slough in the tech department.

Granted, I was using the community edition on Linux. It might be a lot easier running the paid-for version on Windows.
 
iflyforfun said:
Problem is that I'm not an IT guy. I know what I want, but don't know what is out there. My local IT support is really weak and I need to lead them by the had. I had 2 experiences with SharePoint (granted, back in 2007) and neither was positive. It seemed to be a kludgy, do everything for everyone but do nothing well type of solution. I walked away with a really bad taste in my mouth.

I've seen that SharePoint is part of Server 2003, but I don't know how to steer my guys to an implementation that is simple, straight forward and that works. I guess it is "free" since we already have it, but I'm hesitant to push anything here where I don't KNOW what will work and what won't and I can't steer them where we need to go.
Click to expand...

My company has a large SharePoint practice. It has definately improved, but the key is a little bit of governance planning up front and a specific, purpose built deployment. Do the work up front and ongoing support will be minimal and easy. Nothing is "free", but you probably do own what you need. PM me if you want more info.
 
Dropbox does file versioning. It's a different concept than what you started with, but imagine everyone having the exact same files on each of their computers...and when one person updates...everybody instantly has their changes on their computer.
 
jason said:
Dropbox does file versioning. It's a different concept than what you started with, but imagine everyone having the exact same files on each of their computers...and when one person updates...everybody instantly has their changes on their computer.
Click to expand...

Blocked in our location (along with Facebook, Wordpress, etc) ... some of the world is pretty restrictive on data exchange and communication.
 
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