K2 blackpoint on Channel 9

Channel 9 (MSDN) has some great videos and articles – there’s a new one featuring some of the lads from K2, describing K2 blackpoint – hosted by Kirk Evans.

No-code SharePoint Workflows with K2 blackpoint

…is a tool built upon Windows Workflow Foundation and Windows Presentation Foundation that allows users to build workflows and process-driven applications quickly with no code. 

In this interview, you will see how K2 blackpoint makes it simple to create a workflow using an InfoPath form, route tasks to a user or group, send an email message, and send an SMS message, all with no code, and done in a very short period of time. 

Click here to see the video (16:52) :

Looking at Blackpoint with Shaun and Sebastian from K2

Some of the topics covered :

• What’s the difference between K2 blackpearl and K2 blackpoint ?
• Straight into demo – using InfoPath form – travel request
• Publish to SharePoint form library
• Create workflow using K2 Studio – Office-style designer with wizards
• Process helper – forms library + InfoPath templates + views
• Drag-drop form template to process – “that’s impressive” from Kirk Evans
• Approve + Decline actions / outcomes -> InfoPath form – big WOW from Kirk Evans
• Add user to approve/decline – roles, specific user, or to direct manager (using AD)
• Originator + manager – another WOW from Kirk Evans (!)
• Design canvas – for inking – a new use for the tablet
• Send email + web service endpoint

Amazing to see what can be achieved in only 15-20 minutes – you could have a LOT implemented in a day or two – not weeks, months, etc…

K2 and BlueThread sign bundling agreement

Some more about BlueThread, from the recent K2 Networker newsletter (July 08) : 

BlueThread Technologies has always used K2 software as the workflow engine of its enterprise content management (ECM) solutions.

As a result of a new bundling agreement, BlueThread will now directly integrate K2 blackpearl into its SmartDesk software.

“In addition to users realizing productivity improvements, the K2/SmartDesk bundle offers clients a simple and cost-effective means to upgrade to K2 blackpearl.

Clients can quickly configure process- and content-enabled business applications without writing code.

IT can now focus on ECM application rollout and the development of unique, client-specific functions and not be burdened with the overhead of supporting custom, one-off business applications.”

Mark Brazeau, BlueThread president and senior principal

And – there’s a further reading also (case study + press release) :

• Case study – how Integrated Behavioural Health used K2 and BlueThread software to speed claims processing, improve customer service and increase efficiency.
• Press release – how Bridge Finance Group used K2 and BlueThread software to automate its loan processing business and meet critical, 24-hour service-level agreements.

Bluethread – K2 + SharePoint

Was passed a few videos from a buddy at Microsoft, covering the new solution application stack from Blue Thread.

They’ve taken SharePoint – and K2 blackpearl – and created a full-blown enterprise solution for customers.  

SmartDesk is a highly optimized and dynamic ECM end-user interface leveraging Microsoft’s technology stack.

Through configuration, it’s designed to aggregate work and required content in an optimized paradigm so users can make better and faster decisions.

Interesting to see a partner taking K2 and creating a solution / product – rather than a customer using K2 within their organisation.

Just have a look at the architecture involved – amazing !    … and K2 is only a small part of the overall solution :

You have to really see it in operation – there’s a few videos from Micheal Gannotti.

Microsoft Partners BlueThread and K2 have come together to in partnership to offer clients one of the most compelling solutions around application delivery on the SharePoint platform to date.

While I was in Tampa I had the opportunity to see a number of applications they have delivered and it got me very excited. Here was a powerful solution that is exactly what so many of my own customers have called for.

In this 3 part video series you will get an overview from some of the folks from Bluethread and K2 as well as see two demo videos around actual application implementations of their solutions (more of these on the way).

• BlueThread and K2 for SharePoint Video 1
• BlueThread and K2 for SharePoint Video 2
• BlueThread and K2 for SharePoint Video 3

Also – don’t forget to check out the new “Geier At Large” video – featuring Jeremy Ragan from Blue Thread Inc – they even offer TIME TRAVEL !!

• Geier At Large in Dallas (w/ Jeremy Ragan)

Will be great to have a deeper look at the new Blue Thread SmartDesk product, looks like it’s going to be a huge hit.  

I wonder if they have a reseller or partner located in Australia – and if not – why not !!?!  

The other K2’s

When doing a search for K2 blackpoint, or K2 blackpearl, there are sometimes some links to the brand of snowboards, manufactured by a company called K2.

There is no affiliation, but I’m sure the K2 blackpearl guys may use K2 snowboards. 

They also make skis, and other sports gear, and there’s one called “telemark/alpine touring” – whatever that means.  Don’t forget their website for bikes (PDF), and skates/roller-blades.  And there is a website dedicated to the memory of extreme skiier Doug Coombs (wikipedia).

And, don’t forget that K2 is also the second-highest mountain on Earth – which is 28,850 feet above sea level !   There was a film in 1991 about climbing the K2 summit (1 2).

In fact, there are numerous companies named K2, a building in Leeds (UK), a brand of door-knobs, a state highway in Kansas – SIX rock bands, a machine gun assault rifle – and even a battle tank for the South Korean Army ! 

Click here for the list (wikipedia).

Of course, the reason you’re HERE is because of the best workflow tool for SharePoint – aka K2 blackpoint.

The new K2 blackpoint beta has been released – so will have to skip out on the snow & ski adventures for now – it’s getting pretty damn cold in Australia, but doesn’t snow !

Will be good to be indoors, doing some K2 blackpoint, workflows, and SharePoint – while listening to K2.

Click here to download the beta version.

Recommended Third Party Products for SharePoint Server 2007

Yet another recommendation for K2, when dealing with SharePoint workflow. 

This time from a trusted source – Bill English @ mindsharp.com :

Bill English (MCSE, MCSA, MVP, MCT) is an industry leader, author, and educator specializing in the exciting SharePoint Products and Technologies product set from Microsoft.

In this role as Mindsharp’s CEO, Bill focuses on emerging technical changes in SharePoint to ensure Mindsharp continues to provide cutting-edge training and business solutions.

Bill draws on his expertise in knowledge management and collaboration technologies to teach and consult worldwide about powerful customized solutions based on the SharePoint platform.

OK – so what has he said about K2 ?!?

When it comes to SharePoint Server 2007, there is no shortage of third-party products that can help enhance your SharePoint Server 2007 experience and increase the ROI on your product.

In this blog post, I’ll highlight many of the third-party products that I recommend to customers, depending on their needs.

Not everyone needs every product here, but many running SharePoint Server 2007 will need at least some of the products.

Workflows

K2. Need I say more? Simply the best in the field for workflows.

Source : Bill English (MindSharp)

The blog post also covers the following :

• Collaboration
• Security, User Account Management and Permissions Management
• Search and Relevance
• Document Administration
• Upgrade and Moving Content

Worth a read-thru for any SharePoint implementations out there.

Click here to read the full article.

K2 blackpearl wins best of Tech.Ed 2008

The Windows IT Pro magazine runs a competition at each Tech.Ed conference, with the best software and solution vendors awarded in a number of categories :

• Breakthrough Product
• Database Development
• SharePoint Development
• Developer Tools
• SharePoint Development
• Software Components & Middleware

K2 was up against PointFire, and Office Canvas in the SharePoint category.

In the SharePoint Development category, our winner is K2 blackpearl.

Enterprise adoption of Microsoft SharePoint has exploded over the last few years, leading to a host of new products for SharePoint developers.

K2 blackpearl is a prime example of a new breed of applications that helps developers get the most out of their SharePoint investment.

Using a collection of easy to use tools and features, K2 blackpearl allows developers to quickly create applications that pull together disparate systems, information, and business processes.

K2 blackpearl can leverage your existing infrastructure investment—including SharePoint, but also BizTalk and Forms Server—to surface the application mashups you create.

CONGRATULATIONS !    See, it’s not just me who thinks K2 is da bomb.

Win something cool – thx to K2 blackpoint

Looks like the hunt for points has begun.   To celebrate the launch of the K2 blackpoint product (BETA), there is a competition, with some awesome prizes :

 

• Grand Prize – Dell 30” Flat Panel Monitor.
• 2nd Place – Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS 8.0MP Digital Camera
• 3rd place – Nintendo Wii

T-shirts will be given away to the TOP 20 participants.

Follow clues to find redemption cards, or “points.” Collect the most to win.
Points can be earned in several ways, and there will be many well-hidden, high-value cards.

Clues to the cards will only be given at www.k2underground.com.

HOWEVER: You may find points anywhere, on any site or on any page, on collateral at an event, or buried within a webcast.

For official entry, you must join the game by registering at blackpoint.k2.com

Click here to see more details. 

Here’s some of the fine print :

Game Duration: There will be between 35 and 60 point postings to find. The harder they are to find the more points they may be worth. Do not look for a point redemption card until we announce that it exists.

Each time a new point card is hidden/posted, we will announce the Clue(s) of its location via game blog.

The game will end July 14, 2008. At which point all point totals will be final and winners announced.

There is a Get To The Points Blog @ K2Underground that lists some of the clues :

• Are you at Tech Ed – point yourself to booth 1245
• Its not wise to upset a WOOKIE (oooh !  I wonder what THAT could mean ?!!)

If you win, please send me a postcard !!     As I can’t enter, being located in Australia.

More on K2 blackpoint

Seems like there’s a fair amount of buzz about K2 blackpoint, here’s a few other posts/links from out on the interweb:

Some information & details from K2 Insider Edgardo Vega :

• What is it?
• What can you do?
• What do you get?
• How much is it?

Source : Announcing K2 blackpoint

Here’s a few more links with some good information about K2 blackpoint :

• Dan Siders (K2 Insider) : K2 blackpoint Announcement
• Holly Anderson @ K2 (K2 Underground) : Announcing K2 blackpoint

And a few “announcement” posts :

• CodeJedi (Microsoft) : K2 blackpoint released in Beta
• Jey Srinkantha (K2) : Starting small just got a lot easier with K2 blackpoint
• Microsoft People Ready Processes (BPM blog) : K2 Announces blackpoint™ For Building Process-Driven Applications with Microsoft SharePoint
• Microsoft Office Server Special Interest Group (MOSSIG) : K2 Blackpoint has launched 

The ‘point’ of origin – K2 blackpoint

Well, it’s a great day when someone asks you “so, what’s happening with that BlackPoint” thingo from K2 ?” – and I can reply “It’s out !”

SharePoint workflow.  More features.  No code.

Click here to view the home page : blackpoint.k2.com

For those who haven’t heard about the K2 blackpoint, the easiest way to describe it is that it’s a cut-down version of the flagship K2 blackpearl product :

K2 blackpoint, a subset of K2 blackpearl features and tools, is for SharePoint users that want the ability to build workflows and process-driven applications quickly — without code, without complexity.

As was shown at a recent SharePoint user group meeting, there are a number of workflow solutions out there, with Nintex, Skelta, and the Microsoft offering of SharePoint Designer and WIndows Workflow Foundation (WF).

The K2 blackpearl product stood out as the better choice for an enterprise scale workflow & BPM tool, with Nintex looking rather appealing for SharePoint-based workflow.

That’s all changed now, with the introduction of K2 blackpoint – using the word ‘point’ as it’s a SharePoint-only workflow product.

Let’s have a look at the features that are included “out of the box” :

• K2 studio – new Microsoft Office style workflow designer tool.  Had posted about this earlier, click here to read.
• K2 process portals – SharePoint portals to manage processes, instead of the K2 workspace (as with K2 blackpearl)
• Out of the box reporting
• Works with Windows SharePoint Services (free) as well as Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS)
• Works with SharePoint Forms Server – or without, by coding ASP.NET pages

So – K2 blackpoint does what it says – SharePoint workflow, no code.  

There’s some buzz on the interwebs regarding the differences and advantages/disadvantages when compared with Nintex Workflow. 

Here’s a few that are relevant (IMHO) – not the official cross-reference from K2 or anything like that :

Server – K2 blackpoint runs using a dedicated workflow server. Nintex is fully integrated into SharePoint, which means it’s processes are hosted by SharePoint, as with SharePoint Designer workflows.

Licensing – being a separate server, a single K2 blackpoint server can support multiple SharePoint servers, rather than requiring a separate license (costs)

Upgrade – if workflow requirements increase over time, there will be an easy upgrade path to the K2 blackpearl product, including the K2 Visual Studio designer and Visio, as well as K2 connect for SAP, and K2 SmartObjects designers.  If using Nintex, and workflow needs/requirements are greater, then it maybe end up (unfortunately) as a “start-over” task, with an enterprise scale product (K2 blackpoint or K2 blackpearl)

Functionality – K2 blackpoint has out-of-the-box reporting capabilities, and assign-to-Content-Type features.   For users familiar with the new Word-2007 environment, the K2 studio tool will be easy to create & configure workflows, as well as the K2 designer within SharePoint (like the designer for Nintex). 

Extensibility – can easily code webpages and web services using the K2 API, and SourceCode.Workflow.Client namespaces.   And, can use ADO.NET to interact with SmartObjects created by the K2 blackpoint, or within SharePoint.

Integration - being fully integrated to SharePoint means that Nintex resides within the content database.  This can be GOOD, with regard to disaster recovery.  K2 blackpoint has it’s own server, and SQL Server databases, which would require (additional) backup & disaster recovery plans, etc

Click here to view a PDF with the complete comparison document – between K2 blackpoint and K2 blackpearl.

One of the comments that is usually directed at K2 is that “it’s too expensive”.   Well, how’s this for an answer :

TRY IT FREE. BUY IT FOR LESS THAN YOU THINK.

K2 blackpoint will be priced on a per-server model — $5,000 (U.S.) for up to 200 users, $10,000 (U.S.) for up to 500 users and $15,000 (U.S.) for unlimited users.

So – the K2 blackpoint product may be cheaper for a lot of implementations, has more functionality, and scalability, and is a true BPM solution – and is easily upgradeable (to K2 blackpearl) when/if you need to.

Seems like a no-brainer, to me.  But – hey, that’s just me !   

In case you’re wondering, here is a list of what’s NOT included in K2 blackpoint, and requires the K2 blackpearl version :

• Visual Studio designer
• K2 SmartObjects designer
• K2 Workspace
• Custom report designer (within workspace)
• Process simulation (coming soon for K2 blackpearl)
• Code editing, within the workflow designer (would require K2 for Visual Studio)
• K2 connect for SAP, etc
• Business Data Catalog, within SharePoint

Click here to view the home page for K2 blackpoint, including :

• Details on training
• Video clip showing main features
• Sign-up for a free trial of K2 blackpoint BETA

And – there’s even a competition to celebrate the launch. 

The prizes are pretty good, just need to do some some searching for “clues”, and enter codes on the website :

• 1st prize : DELL 30 inch Flat Panel monitor
• 2nd prize : Canon PowerShot S5 digital camera
• 3rd prize : Nintendo Wii

Click the following link to see details about the K2 blackpoint Game – get the point(s), win something cool.

Can’t wait to start playing around with K2 blackpoint – looks like it’s going to be great !

Process-driven applications – fast.

Some very exciting news from K2 on the horizon.

Highlight the following text to see :

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K2 blackpoint.

SharePoint workflow.

More features. No code.

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