Capabilities of SharePoint are normally depicted in the SharePoint wheel with six pillars. The 6 pillars of SharePoint have changed quite a bit between the 2007 and 2010 versions. The difference between 2007 pillars and 2010 pillars clearly indicates that the focus has changed from technical capabilities to business capabilities. This also shows that SharePoint 2010 has evolved into a solution platform rather than portal and collaboration enabler.
Sites
SharePoint 2010 allows creation of any type of site in just a few clicks. The sites can range from a simple team site to a partner extranet or even a public facing website.
Communities
SharePoint 2010 provides great teamwork tools that allow users to share ideas, find information, and locate people from within a managed environment.
Content
Enterprise Content Management features of SharePoint allows users to create and manage content with relative ease. SharePoint’s integration with Microsoft Office provides a well-known user experience for creating content. Web content management features of SharePoint 2010 facilities creation of content rich internet sites.
Search
SharePoint 2010 provides a personalized, well-organized and useful search capability that enables users to find information they require easily.
Insights
SharePoint 2010 has powerful business intelligence features such as interactive dashboards, score cards, and KPIs that provide access to business information and tools for better decision making.
Composites
SharePoint 2010 provides building blocks that enable non-technical users to create interesting business solutions. The new Business Connectivity Services feature simplifies data integration from disparate enterprise systems.