K2 blackpearl supports Windows Server and SQL Server 2008

Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 Supported

K2 blackpearl 4.8210.3.0 has now been released. The importance of this release is that Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 is now officially supported!!!

Here is a link to see other new features and functionality of this release - http://kb.k2workflow.com/ArticleAttach/K2%20blackpearl%200807%20Feature%20and%20Functionality%20Changes.pdf.

Specifically some notice changes for 4.8210.3.0 are:

• Out of Office has been cleaned up.
  
• No more InfoPath Temporary files. What used to happen is when you click on a worklist item that is for an InfoPath client event, it would generate an InfoPath form in the form library. If the user closed the InfoPath without taking action, the form would remain in the form library. Otherwise, the temporary InfoPath form would be deleted by in the succeeding rules of the activity where the InfoPath client resides. Apparently they did this to support the Out of Office functionality.
  
• Improvements for team development with TFS.
  
• Debugging issues have been resolved.
  
• String Tables and Environments been updated for K2.net 2003 migrations.
  
• Some performance improvements for Worklist web part.
  
• Plus a tons of other things discussed in the release notes…
  

Visual Studio 2008 is not supported just yet. I know it had been targeted for this release however it should be out soon.

There are two installers for this release. Basically there is:

• 4.8210.3.0 – Which will support the installation of K2 blackpearl on Windows Server 2008.
  
• 4.8210.2.450 – Is a release to upgrade existing 2.8210.2.X installations.
  

Both 4.8210.3.0 and 4.8210.2.450 are really the same from a bit perspective. You can only install 4.8210.3.0 on a machine if no K2 is installed or if the machine has K2 blackpearl version prior to 4.8210.2.X.

Both 4.8210.3.0 and 4.8210.2.450 support running on SQL Server 2008.

This past week I upgraded a client to 4.8210.2.450 and it went pretty smooth. They also had MOSS on Server 2008 in the farm but their SharePoint and SQL machines were on Server 2003. We were able to install of their Server 2003 machines to 4.8210.2.450 and then installed 4.8210.3.0 on the MOSS machine which had Sever 2008. We did not get time to fully test it but a configuration like that should work.

Release Issues

IMPORTANT - build 483 was released

K2 blackpearl and MetaStorm Comparison

There may be time where a company or organization will start looking for enterprise human workflow solution. A product like K2 blackpearl may be considered. There are other products out there like Adobe Forms Server, MetaStorm but specifically I will focus on MetaStorm and K2 blackpearl.

MetaStorm is a product that focuses on Business Process & Analysis (BPA) and Business Process Management (BPM), however K2 blackpearl focuses on BPM to build Process Driven Application. Hopefully by the end of this posting I will make this clear and what is the difference.

Note I did have the opportunity to sit in a MetaStorm demo, review some materials and was able to ask some questions. My knowledge of MetaStorm is no where near as deep as my knowledge of K2. This was the impressions that I walked away with and I will give both technologies a fair shake.

Both products have several similarities:

• Much of the vocabulary between the products is the same. For instance there are Actions, Dynamic Rules, Activities, Events, Processes, Rules, and the list just goes on.
• Both provide the ability to graphically model business workflows and to create execution models from them.
• Both provide the ability to handle medium and complex workflows.
• Both provide the ability to utilize line of business data across the enterprise.
• Both provide governance, metrics and business intelligence into the performance of the automated business process.
• Both provide monitoring and administrative tools to manage processes.
• Both provide the ability for strong Information Workers to author workflows.
• Both provide declarative models such that deployed business processes can be changed on the fly.
• Both provide the ability to access external data to make business decisions.
• Both provide the ability to manage content and documentation.

The degree by which K2 and MetaStorm supports these feature probably varies; one may do something better than the other but you get the point. Regardless, it is this sort of functionality that will drive you down a path for procuring a workflow product because you are tired of building this from scratch.

Great. After sitting through two great demos, and you will be asking what is the difference between these two technologies? There are some Gartner reports out there, and they go down to the level of trying to compare two. Not to say I do not agree with their analysis (some of the analysis, I am not sure is needed) but really get the impression the analysis was done by people without field experience.

Here are some differentiators for MetaStorm:

• Currently provides strong designer tools for a trained business user to author simple step approval processes.
• Provides a mature forms generation tool.
• Provides enterprise tools for doing enterprise planning and business process analysis and how they relate to automated business processes.
• Provides the ability to use either SQL Server or Oracle as its server database.
• Provides more native access to the Java Platform.

Here are some differentiators for K2 blackpearl:

• Augments the Microsoft application server stack: MOSS, BizTalk and SQL Server.
• Provides the ability to leverage the MOSS platform to deliver MOSS solutions.
• Provides ability for lower level of customizations as the K2 blackpearl platform is built upon frameworks by Microsoft (Windows Workflow Foundation).
• Provides better ability to do complex database integration out of the box.
• K2 blackpoint provides an Information Worker environment for building medium level complexity workflows hosted in SharePoint.

Reality is:

• Both these tools provide for better business user participation and tools for developers to create implementations quickly.
• There is no such thing as a simple workflow. Coders or engineers will always be required to build and manage the processes such that they can scale to the evolving business processes and technologies. I understand the market place is pushing towards this and this is where the battleground is. Forms generation can be done through various tools, but at the end of the day (given my experiences) there is some wiring up the forms and business users are not data architects. I really believe that with products like K2 blackpearl or MetaStorm are used, organizations can spend more time focusing on automating their business rules rather than trying to figure out how to manage transactions…

When it comes down to it:

• MetaStorm is a forms server; that is their roots. K2 blackpearl does not have a strong forms generation tool. Right now, K2 uses InfoPath as it forms tools that Information Workers can use. InfoPath is not that bad if you understand it limitations. However I had the impression that MetaStorm's form generation was proprietary. Both tools do provide the ability to use other platforms for forms. Both can use ASP.net, JSP, whatever for their forms.
• MetaStorm have made an investment in making their application server available through SharePoint. However the problem is that if you have a major investment in SharePoint or MOSS, MetaStorm does not help with the automation of content within SharePoint. All MetaStorm does is open their forms tool through SharePoint and they provide dashboard web parts. K2 blackpearl provides wizards to do everything a user can do to a list item, calendar, document item, etc. K2 blackpearl provides functionality to provision user permissions, site management, publishing pages, etc. All K2 blackpearl data can be exposed through SharePoint in the same manner. It is important to note that K2 blackpearl is NOT only good for SharePoint. We have used K2 to automate business processes that have nothing to do with SharePoint.
• Both K2 blackpearl and MetaStorm have data integration but in the presentation I saw of MetaStorm I was left believing K2 blackpearl has an advantage with its SmartObject framework. MetaStorm did provide the ability to call out to a web service, stored procedure, or custom code but that is what is expected. K2 SmartObjects really take it to the next level where you can look at business data holistically and define business objects that are not coupled to the business process implementation. Plus there is K2 Connect which can access SAP and they plan to use it framework to access other enterprise servers. MetaStorm does provide data adapters to access enterprise data however they needed to be purchase individually and I did not get the impression they were open to developers to customize.
• MetaStorm provides this entire business process analysis tool which I did not get to dive into. Basically from what I can glean from their web site and conversations I had, they provide tools where you can capture company initiatives, goals, objects, strategic information, etc. model that with your enterprise and then create executable business models from them. Pretty neat to discuss and K2 blackpearl does not provide this. However, I have not seen lots of demand for this either when working with many of my clients in the past (K2 or not).
• K2 blackpearl is accessible from a lower level and is a more customizable. MetaStorm's advantage, stated above, is that they do cater to the users who are less technical empowering them to create forms and simple workflows. With K2 blackpoint coming out, K2 has bridged that gap however K2 blackpearl requires a technical person because the best solutions are built in Visual Studio. I believe this to be the advantage of the K2 blackpearl platform – and why I would choose it each time. With K2 blackpearl, I have the ability to go in and do what I want to get the job done.
• I cannot discuss licensing (even though I got some insight into MetaStorm's in the discussion), however I can say both are different and scale differently from a licensing perspective. What I can say is K2 blackpoint, which is the K2's lighter weight workflow server, is only $10K for doing SharePoint workflow.

To boil this down to an elevator conversation:

• MetaStorm is a mature forms generation server product that provides the ability to create workflow for forms that reside in their server (and content that resides in external systems).
• K2 blackpearl provides a platform to build process driven applications regardless of the platform and has a deep integration into the Microsoft application server stack (especially SharePoint, BizTalk, ASP.net, InfoPath, SQL Server, etc.).

InfoPath and ASP.NET Development Considerations

This month at the K2 user group we did a presentation on understand the differences between InfoPath and ASP.net. This decision has been a pretty heavily debated thing in my company, even outside the scope of K2. InfoPath 2003 was pretty good but the licensing issues around it being installed on every client machine became challenging given it was part of MS Office Enterprise. Then with InfoPath 2007 they now allow for the forms to be web enabled however there are several limitations around them.

I believe InfoPath is a very strong tool which when used for the right scenario is better than ASP.net. However ASP.net allows for full control and more complex applications. NOTE that I say "applications". InfoPath itself is a "forms" product that when used with product like K2 blackpearl "applications" can be built. Using InfoPath and K2 blackpearl (or K2 blackpoint) now make development of InfoPath bearable. Then next challenge is to understand the user interface requirements and business rules that need to be implemented. Typically if the application is going to require tons of CRUD operations, grids and dynamic user interfaces InfoPath will fall flat. However if the application is just presenting some information, with some light weight CRUD operations using K2 SmartObjects, using SharePoint/InfoPath can make really strong solutions.

Here are the bullets from the presentation.

Selection Criteria:

• Worker skill set
• System integration
• Time to production
• User interface requirements
• Need to integrate with SharePoint
• Business logic & code
• Deployment

InfoPath Pros:

• Improvements over 2003 (browser option, actions are handled outside of the form, multiple form templates & views can be used).
• Quick to develop and deploy, based on XML. When I say quick; we me quick. The level of effort to create InfoPath form is significantly smaller and a wider span of designers can now build them.
• Easy to hook into most Web services.
• Disconnected / Offline use.
• InfoPath does force developers to write pretty decoupled applications in that much of the user interface rules will be captured in InfoPath and all business logic will be pushed to a business/service layer.

K2 InfoPath Pros:

• K2 allows for true business processes to be built around InfoPath instead of embedding the logic in .Net managed code, script or SharePoint server events.
• XML captured becomes part of the process and is accessible through the K2 Object/Context browsers. There is no need to build up functionality to get data and use it within the K2 process. However almost all of that has been alleviated with K2 SmartObjects.
• K2 SmartObject integration with the InfoPath form itself.
• InfoPath forms become part of the K2 project.
• Can be used in server events for XML storage.

InfoPath Cons:

• If using the InfoPath client, it must be installed on every user's computer that will participate in the workflow.
• Browser-based forms, cannot use the full set of controls that are available in the InfoPath client application (InfoPath 2007 features that are unavailable in InfoPath Forms Services and Web browser compatibility in InfoPath Forms Services).
• Browser-based forms require MOSS enterprise licensing. Just trying to use Form Services with WSS is not any cheaper from a cost perspective.
• Browser-based forms are difficult to configure for non-AD authentication (FBA).
• Browser-based forms are hard to control number of postbacks browser-based forms make to server. Things like using AJAX and Flash are not supported.
• Fully-trusted forms, difficult barrier in some environments.
• Debugging and troubleshooting is limited, can be difficult for web enabled forms.
• Hard to control look and feel, and state of controls (enabled / disabled). This is even more challenging with web enabled forms. It is very hard to make it follow corporate branding requirements when published over a public internet site.
• Event model for InfoPath is based on the XML document, not the user interface. This requires a different way of thinking when using custom code.
• Controls bound to secondary data sources can't be easily validated (InfoPath limitation).
• Little support for handling multiple languages via resource files.
• Can only be used with an InfoPath Integrated process -- can't use with a SharePoint integrated process.
• Kerberos issue still not fixed with MOSS SP1 (MS hotfix reference: KB941470 - more detail information).

K2 InfoPath Cons:

• Highly complex browser-enabled forms (lots of data connections, code behind, larger in size) may fail to convert when deployed.
• File attachments can make the form huge and cause the size of the K2 database to grow significantly.
• If you have to go into code you probably should avoid InfoPath unless you're really comfortable – forms with code not officially supported in K2 (read this for help).
• Form file left in SharePoint library (can be changed in Advanced Mode but only for client forms -- browser-enabled forms will always remain in the library).

ASP.NET Pros:

• Flexibility.
• Standard ASP.Net + Workflow.Client and SmartObject.Client namespaces, typically.
• Better control of session state for large forms or attachments.
• No Licensing considerations other than Windows Server.
• Standard debugging.
• Outside of the K2 project.

ASP.NET Cons:

• Longer development cycles.
• Custom code means more complex maintenance and management of projects.
• Outside the scope of K2 project -- must be deployed separately and kept in synch with K2 project.
• Can't be used with SharePoint integrated workflows.

InfoPath Design Considerations

• Do you need managed code? If you have lots of it, use ASP.net.
• Use ASP.NET pages for wider audience and then use InfoPath form back office business processes. It is possible in K2 to have processes that using both InfoPath and ASP.net client events.
• How many views do you need?
• Having lots of fields in a view is not a problem unless every field has a validation and conditional logic rule.
• Store data in the InfoPath form?
• Do not pollute your main data source.
• Working with required fields across views?
• Chaining multiple InfoPath forms into a single process.
• Understand Destination Plans and how XML is managed by K2?

Conclusions

Most of my K2 implementation to date has been successful InfoPath solutions. This all comes down to understanding the scope of the implementation and selecting the right tool. I know I am betraying my app dev roots when I say InfoPath is great because it is hard to get the level of control and customization you want with ASP.NET. The value proposition with InfoPath (with K2 blackpearl) is that it allows for very rapid application development and deployment with a large base of developers. Developers with a good MIS background can do this and do not require a CS background. InfoPath applications require less engineering and have a greater maintainability potential. However InfoPath forms just cannot handle complex business rules or multiple screen CRUD interfaces.

We do not that Microsoft is making a significant investment into InfoPath Forms Server in the next generation of SharePoint and MS Office. Like Excel Services, it is their first release of the technology. I am pretty confident the gap will be closed.

K2 blackpoint Questions and Answers

Here are some common questions that you may ask about K2 blackpoint.

Q: We already have blackpearl does blackpoint fit into the picture?

A: All the functionality in blackpoint will be rolled into blackpearl. Blackpoint is targeted toward organizations that want workflow beyond what SharePoint workflow can provide but may not need all the capabilities, such as Visual Studio and SmartObjects that blackpearl includes.

Q: Can I use blackpoint with WSS, Microsoft Forms Server and MOSS?

A: K2 blackpoint can be used with either Windows SharePoint Services v3 or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. Microsoft Office Forms Server to provided for web-enabled InfoPath forms.

Q: Can I use SharePoint 2003?

A: SharePoint 2003 is not supported.

Q: Can I use blackpoint on a load balanced SharePoint farm?

A: Yes, K2 blackpoint can be used to provide workflow capabilities for any number of SharePoint web front-ends in a SharePoint farm.

Q: What servers in my SharePoint farm do I have to install this on?

A: The K2 blackpoint server components can be installed on a non-SharePoint server or on any of the SharePoint servers depending on how the farm is being scaled. On each SharePoint server, a set of web services is installed to facilitate communication between the SharePoint server and the K2 blackpoint server.

Q: Will I need administrative rights to install?

A: Yes, the install requires a user with local administrator rights on the server.

Q: Will this install anything on my SharePoint central administration site?

A: Yes, the K2 blackpoint install adds a tab to the Central administration site that provides access to administrative pages and tasks for managing the integration between K2 and SharePoint.

Q: Do you do solution or feature deployment?

A: Components such as our K2 web parts are deployed via solution deployment. Other components, such as our SmartObject creation capability are deployed as features and can be activated on a per site collection basis. K2 blackpoint processes are deployed to the K2 blackpoint server and do not reside directly on the SharePoint server.

Q: Can I extend the templates in K2 Studio?

A: No, existing templates in K2 Studio cannot be extended, but custom templates can be built and surfaced within the K2 Studio environment.

Q: Can I get to the code in K2 Studio?

A: No, code-level access is not available in K2 Studio.

Q: Do I have to use a process portal to manage my process?

A: Yes, K2 blackpoint makes use of Process Portals to provide access to all administrative and management tasks related to processes

Q: Microsoft says SharePoint has workflow, what does this do that it does not?

A: K2 blackpoint extends on the out-of-the-box SharePoint workflow capabilities by including a drag-and-drop Office-style process designer, functionality to manage all aspects of your SharePoint environment including lists, libraries and sites, a more in-depth set of reporting capabilities and improved task management capabilities such as delegation and redirection.

Q: Why wouldn't I just want to use built-in workflow in SharePoint?

A: SharePoint workflow provides basic process capabilities for managing documents and list items in SharePoint. However, more complex tasks, such as complex routing rules, escalations or managing lists, libraries and sites in SharePoint can be very difficult and in most cases requires a developer to write code to provide the functionality. K2 blackpoint provides all of these capabilities and more out of the box, without the need to write any code.

Q: Can't I do all this in SharePoint Designer?

A: No, many more complex tasks require a developer to write code to provide the same functionality that is included out of the box in K2 blackpoint. The K2 blackpoint comparison document compares features that are available in SharePoint Designer compared to K2 blackpoint.

Q: How does K2 blackpoint scale?

A: K2 blackpoint can be scaled to support multiple SharePoint servers. K2 blackpoint does not have to be installed no every SharePoint web front end of the farm, it is server unto itself. They can be clustered on their own dedicated resources, load-balanced, and be a highly available workflow environment.

Q: Can I upgrade to K2 blackpearl later?

A: Yes, when your workflow needs become more complex over time K2 provides the ability to easily upgrade to K2 blackpearl.

June K2 blackpoint Community Webcasts

K2 is providing some community web casts on K2 blackpoint. It is open to anyone. If you want to see it in action and ask some questions here is a place you can do it in. No upfront information needs to be provided. Just attend and check it out!

Tuesday June 17, 2008 11:00am-12:00PM CST (GMT-06)

Subject: blackpoint Webcast
Start Time: Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008 9:00 AM PDT
End Time: Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008 10:00 AM PDT
Attendee URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/scna1/join?id=7CND7W&role=attend&pw=w%3B26H9%26Pd
Meeting ID: 7CND7W
Attendee Entry Code: w;26H9&Pd
Location: Live Meeting
Toll free: +1 (888) 233-7876
Toll: +1 (719) 234-7876
Participant code: 733479

June 19th meeting from 6pm – 7pm Central Time. (GMT -06)

Subject: blackpoint Webcast
Start Time: Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 4:00 PM PDT
End Time: Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 5:00 PM PDT
Attendee URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/scna1/join?id=CK67B6&role=attend&pw=w%3B26H9%26Pd
Meeting ID: CK67B6
Attendee Entry Code: w;26H9&Pd
Location: Live Meeting
Toll free: +1 (888) 233-4650
Toll: +1 (719) 234-7876
Participant code: 733479

K2 blackpoint Released for SharePoint Workflow

K2 blackpoint has now been released. I have known about it but was told to keep quiet about it. Now it is out and I am extremely excited. I will make time soon to try out the beta bits that I have access to and get some information out there.

So what is K2 blackpoint? It is K2 response to providing workflow environment that power business and technical users can author workflows. It is skinned in a MS office look and feel environment. Check out the blackpoint website to get some more information. K2 blackpoint provides this perfect middle ground between K2 blackpearl and SharePoint Designer/WF workflows (comparing blackpearl to WF).

The deal is this. Building workflow in SharePoint Designer is flat out limited in scope and scalability. Building in WF requires a significant effort. Building in K2 blackpearl gets you past many of the challenges of WF however it still requires some effort and knowledge with Visual Studio. K2 blackpoint provides SharePoint users the ability to build workflows that can pretty much do anything with MOSS.

The cost of K2 blackpoint is awesome.

• $5,000 for 200 users
• $10,000 for 500 users
• $15,000 for unlimited
  

Pretty much a no brainer. I am so excited about this!

So what is the real difference between K2 blackpoint and blackpearl? I equate it to the difference between WSS 3.0 and MOSS. The comparison worksheet on blackpoint website spells it all out.

So what's in K2 blackpoint?

• A studio environment.
• Deployable on WSS 3.0 and MOSS.
• Many usability enhancements not available in Visual Studio.
• ALL of their SharePoint events (way more than what WF or SharePoint designer provide)
• InfoPath client events
• ASP.net client events
• Mail events
• Web Service events
• Process Portals (totally awesome)
• User specific task list
• Escalations, delegations
• SharePoint and workflow only SmartObjects (Workflow SmartObjects are all of the SmartObjects you get for free as part of the process definition. SharePoint SmartObjects allow you to get access to much of the data stored in SharePoint).
• New SharePoint Service Object with server side filtering and dynamic features
• ADO.net data provider for custom reports and ASP.net pages.
• Out of Office
• Extendibility
• Create custom event wizards
• Create your own reports
• Out of the box reports

So what's not in K2 blackpoint?

• Visual Studio integration (ok – had to say it)
• SmartObject Designer (You cannot create your own SmartObjects. You will have to build up or utilize existing services. The web services template or custom event wizards can be written to satisfy that. If you have data integration requirements, I would not discount want SmartObject bring to the table from the ability to create workflows in a rapid fashion.).
• K2 Workspace (this is a valuable tool and some of the functionality it provides is available by blackpoint)
• Custom report design tool that is in the K2 Workspace
• SmartForms
• SmartFunctions
• Simulation
• Code editing (Reality as workflows get complicated it is very hard to avoid writing custom code. With K2 blackpoint you are forced to create custom event wizards to implement custom code. I would not cheat and implement custom code in a web service just so you can call it from a blackpoint. As well, there are times you need to have custom code events that work with process and activity instance data. Now there is more effort to do custom code and the this should be a consideration of the scalability of the process.).
• K2 connect

I will be working up some things soon on K2 blackpoint…