About SharePoint Solutions

SharePoint Solutions is a training, consulting and software firm specializing in the application of Microsoft’s SharePoint Products and Technologies. We are based in Nashville, Tennessee and work with clients throughout the U.S.

We have expertise in all aspects of applying SharePoint Products and Technologies including requirements definition, project planning, portal design, custom development using .NET technologies, implementation and training.

We work hard to provide outstanding instructor-led, classroom-style training on SharePoint Products and Technologies.  As early adopters of SharePoint and Beta participants, we know firsthand how difficult it can be to get a grasp on these technologies without adequate training and supporting resources.  Our goal is to make the transition to SharePoint easier for those who choose to take our courses and utilize our consulting services.

Since late 2003 we have custom developed over 10 courses on SharePoint , conducted over 125 classes around the U.S. and trained over 1,500 professionals on SharePoint Products and Technologies.

Somewhat unique in the training industry, we back all of our courses with a Full Tuition Money-Back Guarantee.  We want each of our students to be completely satisfied with the quality of our training.  If for any reason, you are dissatisfied with the quality of one of our courses, we will refund your full tuition at your request.

The founders of the company are Jeff Cate and Kevin Pine. Mr. Cate and Mr. Pine are veterans of the Information Technology industry with over 40 years of combined experience in planning, designing and implementing mission-critical business applications in a variety of industries. Brief bios of the SharePoint Solutions team of professionals are presented below:

Team Bios

Jeff Cate, CCP, MCP - President and Instructor

Specialization:  SharePoint strategy and planning, portal organization and taxonomy, business process design

Jeff began his career in 1981 as a consultant with Accenture. He worked there for nine years on a variety of consulting engagements for clients such as Sara Lee Corporation, State of Tennessee, Phillips Consumer Electronics and Holiday Inns Corporation.

From 1990 to 1995, Jeff served as a software designer at a vertical market software company and then in IT management at a medium-sized financial services company.

In 1996 he founded a consulting practice in Nashville and began focusing primarily on the application of Microsoft Server and Enterprise technologies for businesses. In 1998 Jeff was honored by Microsoft by being selected to the Microsoft Value-Added Provider Roundtable that met quarterly in Redmond to provide input on the real-world needs of businesses in the U.S. He was one of approximately 40 representatives selected and the only representative from Tennessee.

Jeff is a frequent lecturer on SharePoint Products and Technologies.   He was one of the speakers at the inaugural SharePoint Advisor Conference in 2005 and spoke at the conferences again in 2006. 

Jeff has authored eight courses on SharePoint 2003 and 2007 and written several articles for industry publications including the only print magazine devoted entirely to SharePoint, the Advisor Guide to Microsoft SharePoint.  He is also a member of the Editorial Council for the magazine.

Kevin Pine - V.P., Visual Design and Instructor

Specialization:  SharePoint customization, branding, site definitions & templates

Kevin brings over twenty years of entrepreneurial business development experience to the SharePoint Solutions team.  His most recent business has revolved around web site design and usability.  Clients range from ad agencies and PR firms to healthcare corporations and professional athletes.

In the 80's Kevin was a founding partner of Net Solutions, Inc., a California-based technology firm specializing in sales, management and maintenance of computer networks.  He is currently an advisor to the board of directors.

Kevin's love of photography, including portrait & wedding work helped in honing his creative and artistic talents.

Kevin graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a degree in Business Administration, Management Information Systems.

Asif Rehmani - SharePoint Server MVP, MCT - Solutions Architect and Instructor

Specialization: SharePoint Architecture and Development

Asif is an experienced Solution Architecture Consultant and Trainer.  He teaches the public and private training courses in Chicago exclusively.  He holds the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) credential in MOSS 2007 and specializes in teaching and building solutions based on SharePoint Products and Technologies.

Asif also runs a website providing free SharePoint screencasts (video tutorials).

To see Asif's Bio and the student testimonials, click here. 

Tony Bierman, WSS MVP – Managing Director, Commercial Software Division

Specialization:  SharePoint development - including custom Web Parts using Visual Studio .NET, SharePoint Object Model and SharePoint data architecture.

Tony is a Windows SharePoint Services™ MVP and Managing Director of SharePoint Solutions' Commercial Software Division with over twenty years experience in the field of Information Technologies. Prior to working with SharePoint Solutions, he was a Technical Project Manager, E-Commerce Development Team Leader, and Enterprise Architect for HNI Corporation (HNI), a Midwestern United States based office furniture manufacturer. Over his career, Tony has developed and managed implementation of value-added business solutions for Customer Relationship Management, Sales Funnel Analysis, Contact Center Operations, Enterprise Job Scheduling and Product Data Management.

Tony has been working with Microsoft SharePoint Technologies since the release of SharePoint Portal Server 2001, and is an active participant in community forums and newsgroups supporting SharePoint development. In addition to providing instruction and guidance to students of SharePoint Technologies, his contributions to the SharePoint community include both commercial and public domain applications which augment Microsoft SharePoint Technologies based products.

Jeremy Luerkens – Manager, Software Production

Specialization:  SharePoint development - including custom Web Parts using Visual Studio .NET, SharePoint Object Model and SharePoint data architecture.

Jeremy Manages Software Production at SharePoint Solutions and has over eleven years of educational and professional software development experience.

He has architected, developed and managed implementations of value-added business solutions in the areas of Enterprise Collaboration, Extranet Content Management, Corporate E-Commerce and Sales Funnel Analysis. To realize these solutions Jeremy has worked with a wide range of enterprise software products such as SharePoint, Plumtree, Content Management Server, SQL Server, Oracle and SAP.

Ricky Spears - Senior Web Developer and Instructor

Specialization: Portals, Web Content Management, Branding and Usability Design

Ricky is an instructor, curriculum author and web application developer for SharePoint Solutions.  Prior to joining SharePoint Solutions, he worked as the Senior Webmaster for Allegacy Federal Credit Union in Winston-Salem, NC.  At Allegacy, Ricky designed and built the organization's first intranet and later migrated it to the SharePoint platform.

Ricky's focus in business has always been on process improvement and automation for both the employees and customers of an organization.  His hands-on experience in the financial industry has taught him the importance that portal and collaboration technologies play in a successful, information-centric business.

Paul Vaughn, MCSE - Senior BI Application Developer and Instructor

Specialization: Business Intelligence Application Development, SQL Server Analysis Services, Excel Services, SQL Server Reporting Services

Paul has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry working for companies such as Texas Instruments, Acer Computer, IBM and Nortel Networks.  Paul has held a variety of positions such as OLAP Developer, Executive Business Analyst and Training Manager.  He has worked with systems as varied as Siebel Field Service, Lawson Procurement Suite and multiple custom built applications.

Paul is based in Nashville, TN and spent the last four years developing a multi-terabyte data warehouse for a major healthcare company in Nashville.

Scott Mayo – Senior SharePoint Consultant

Specialization:  SharePoint Design and Implementation - including requirements analysis and definition, functional and technical design, implementation planning, rollout and project management.

Scott has over 10 years of consulting experience on enterprise applications.  His clients include Cox Communications, Beazer Homes, Kaplan Educational Services and Central Michigan University.  He has had primary responsibility for long-term consulting engagements at each of these clients and many more.

Prior to specializing in SharePoint, Scott was heavily involved in Microsoft Content Management Server design and implementation projects and has been able to transfer his considerable skills in developing database-driven web sites to his SharePoint consulting engagements.

Brooke Hyde – MCTS, SharePoint Consultant

Brooke Hyde is a consultant and Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist with SharePoint Solutions. Prior to joining SharePoint Solutions, Brooke worked as the Information Technology Manager for Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI) in Nashville, TN. While working at SCRI, Brooke was responsible for all the day to day operations and system administration of the Information Technology department. While at SCRI, She spearheaded the implementation of a SharePoint extranet that allowed collaboration between the institute and their business partners.

Brooke has always placed a great emphasis on finding solutions to common place business problems and helping improve communication through knowledge sharing. Her hands on experience implementing an extranet allowed her to gain real world problem solving skills and enlightened her to many of the obstacles to effective communication in business environments.

Brooke graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a degree in Business Management , Information Systems and from Middle Tennessee State University with a Masters in Business Administration. She currently resides in Huntsville, AL.

Janice Thorne – SharePoint Instructor and Consultant

Janice Thorne is a SharePoint instructor and consultant. She is currently responsible for conducting public training classes in the Seattle office of SharePoint Solutions.

Janice was previously a SharePoint Administrator and Trainer for Chart Industries in Cleveland, OH. Chart Industries is a global manufacturer of products that are used with industrial gases. She was heavily involved in the company’s rollout of SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and subsequently the upgrade to MOSS 2007.

Janice has deep knowledge of MOSS 2007 and is gifted at providing professional education. In addition to MOSS technologies, she also has expertise in Windows Rights Management, Microsoft CRM and various business intelligence technologies.