Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint® Hosting Services 3.0 is available as a free add-on for Windows Server 2008. SharePoint is a web-based application that helps take Microsoft Office® beyond the desktop application, bringing it online to allow more effective sharing or collaboration within your company.
SharePoint contains various web-parts as well as lists and libraries that allow you share, sort and filter documents and information in various ways. It could be as simple as a shared contact list, or as complex as a project management dashboard.
Users in your organization can connect to the SharePoint site through the web interface, or through the Microsoft Office tools that they use every day. Your SharePoint site can be easily customized through the web interface, as well as with the Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 application. Developers can use the familiar .NET Framework to develop and integrate custom web-parts and applications which can be used within their SharePoint Sites.
And with your own SharePoint installation not only will you have access to all the features and tools provided by the SharePoint framework, but you will have full access, full control, and full customization abilities provided through the administrative back-end of the application.