During a recent SharePoint migration, Entrance software consultants decided to try out a new tool that might help speed up the process of installation, called AutoSPInstaller. The description on the tool’s website is, “automated SharePoint 2010/2013 PowerShell-based installation script.”
We are always trying out new technology and tools that can make our process more efficient and save our clients time, but in this case, the lesson learned from the Installer is to vet tools before you commit to them. As we began to install SharePoint, we ran into many bugs with this tool, and in each case the bug had to be fixed. By the time we finished de-bugging, most of the time savings from using a more stream-lined tool were lost.
While we might be able to use our de-bugged version of AutoSPInstaller for future SharePoint projects, but every install is different, and many of the bugs that we fixed might not apply in another situation.
The best advice that we can share for avoiding a gotcha like this one is to properly vet any tool before committing to it full-scale for a project. For more on SharePoint installs, check out our case study on one we did after a merger for an E&P company…