To create this contextual search, Colliers integrated its CRM system, its invoice system and its deal tracking system into SharePoint 2010 to provide rich data about deals and clients.

"You can type in a client name like Proctor & Gamble and get contextual search results on everything we know about that client and what people have worked with them," says Sita.

"Then you can contact the right person directly through SharePoint and Lync and say, 'Hey I noticed you've worked with this client. Can you help me?'"

In a relationship-based industry like commercial real estate, how much access do you give clients to private SharePoint sites?