Sharepoint 2010 web application development suitability evaluation/assessment

Question

I would like to know what kind of applications are suitable to be developed on top of Sharepoint 2010 and which should not be built on to of it. So when to embrace/avoid Sharepoint 2010 as a development platform for new web applications.

I'm an Asp.net MVC (former web forms) developer and would like to know if usual multi-page semi complex web applications (intra/extra-net) should be built on top of Sharepoint 2010 and why (if yes or if no).

Additional explanation

I would like to determine whether Sharepoint 2010 is suitable for an enterprise-level application with complex functionality, lots of input/manage data screens, processor intensive business processes etc. I see Sharepoint more of a platform as is with minor part-sized extensions. And not as a complete complex application platform. I just don't know whether I'm right or not...

Answer 1

SharePoint 2010 is definitely suitable for enterprise level applications, but with some caveats.

To achieve your complex functionality, you will have to build custom webparts which could actually take more effort than your traditional ASP.NET application.

However the benefit of doing this is to leverage SharePoint's access control. (which is pretty good)

If access control is not a huge concern, and you do not require integration with any other SharePoint feature then I would be inclined to go back to ASP.NET.

In terms of data entry, consider the 'Forms Server' facility of SharePoint:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc197394(office.12).aspx

Finally some organizations I have seen like the idea of a 'single' platform. This is usually a good business driver for just using SharePoint, regardless of the technical advantages/disadvantages.