Microsoft SharePoint

Although Microsoft SharePoint is not a requirement for K2, integration with K2 and Microsoft SharePoint provides a powerful platform to build applications that integrate tightly with the SharePoint family of products.

K2 for SharePoint is typically used to build applications that reside in SharePoint (such as SharePoint Workflow Applications and Business Applications that combine SharePoint Data with external data, along with customized User Interfaces (Forms), Workflows and Reports), or Applications outside of SharePoint that use K2 to integrate with SharePoint. When building these Applications with K2 for SharePoint, the difference is the design tools being used. For Applications that reside in SharePoint, K2 provides browser-based design tools that integrate seamlessly with SharePoint, which allows less technical users to build their own applications without necessarily leaving the familiar SharePoint "world". Applications that integrate with SharePoint is usually built by a more technical user who is familiar with K2's developer-focused design tools.

The K2 for SharePoint integration components use the SharePoint app architecture. This architecture allows 3rd party applications, like the K2 for SharePoint app, to be used with SharePoint on-premises, SharePoint Online, as well as hybrid environments. K2 for SharePoint is a provider-hosted App that is added to a SharePoint Site. The app itself is hosted in a K2-managed environment, and all interaction between SharePoint and the app happens over HTTP(S) communication using claims-based authentication and OAuth trust for security. All K2 application elements (e.g. Workflow, SmartForms, SmartObjects, Reports) execute in the K2 environment.

To prepare to integrate K2 with SharePoint Online, please see the Preparing SharePoint Online topic in the Integration Preparation topic. To prepare to integrate K2 with a SharePoint 2013 or later On-Premises environment, please see the Preparing SharePoint On-Premises topic in the Integration Preparation section.

It is increasingly common for organizations to have a mixture of SharePoint on-premises and SharePoint online. A single K2 server can support both of these environments at the same time, however there are some slight differences to the configuration if your on-premises SharePoint environment is setup in Hybrid mode. To prepare to integrate a hybrid SharePoint 2013 environment with K2, please see the Hybrid SharePoint 2013 Environment topic in the Integration Preparation section.