Despite the dominance of Microsoft Office, web-based solutions like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides have gained popularity. A free alternative (is it really free if you upload your data for nothing?) that you don’t have download and install in your computer? And you can export your documents in Microsoft Office format if needed? If you are not planning on working in something simple, it could be more than enough for your basic needs. I have played with the G-suite for infection prevention projects in the past (a mapping project using Google Maps and Google Fusion Tables), but I was not expecting this to be a solution for day-to-day operations, especially when your employer uses Microsoft products. So…for the last year, I’ve been playing a little bit with Office 365 for a non-infection prevention project, which has become a small experiment in real-time collaboration (I’m hoping to stop the back-and-forth email messages for shared projects), but oh my…so many apps to play with!
Given the number of tools available, I think taming this beast could be an interesting data management solution for infection prevention. Wouldn’t be nice to be able to create an audit tool for central line or hand hygiene monitoring by keeping your data in SharePoint, then querying and entering new observations with your own PowerApps solution from your smartphone? How about creating a nice dashboard by exporting your SharePoint data to Tableau or other data visualization software? I think that could make some third-party apps rather irrelevant! I just need a SharePoint guru, I guess…and yes, I’m aware this is not free and open source software, but you use the tools available to you, right?