Accelapps K2 Universal SharePoint Broker

Accelapps K2 Universal SharePoint Broker is a solution that greatly simplifies the integration of K2 servers and Microsoft365 tenants and their respective services, in this case SharePoint Online.

Accelapps K2 Universal SharePoint Broker, further referred to as Broker, will completely relieve you from very complex and in practice often difficult to meet requirements for K2 - SharePoint integration, which K2 has by default, such as the requirement to register K2 to Microsoft365 under the context of an account with global admin rights, etc., while maintaining almost the same functionality provided by the standard K2 integration, in addition to new unique features and options.

Do you want to know more?

Using Accelapps K2 Universal SharePoint Broker you get:

01

Easy integration

You can integrate all your K2 servers with one Microsoft365 tenant! So you get rid of the need to have multiple Microsoft365 tenants connected to your individual K2 servers such as DEV, TEST and PROD.

02

Everything needed for development

With the help of 21 methods such as "Create Folder", "Upload Document", "Get Document", "Update Document Metadata", etc. to fully create and work with K2 applications using SharePoint repositories.

03

Advanced permission management

You can now use the "Set Folder Permission" method to control permissions at the folder level of SharePoint document libraries and lists, which the standard K2 integration does not offer at all! Managing permissions at the SharePoint list and library level has never been easier.
 

04

No complex requirements for operation

Completely get rid of the technical difficulties related to with K2 updates and SharePoint integration. No more registering K2 apps to SharePoint application catalogs, no more version issues and the need to manage them, and no more high permissions for K2 service accounts in your SharePoint environment!

Questions and Answers

How does the Broker and SharePoint integration work?

Broker uses an application context, a principle also known as SharePoint App-Only Principal, to access SharePoint content. At the SharePoint level, you register a so-called App Principal, made up of Client Id and Client Secret, and then assign permission levels to this App Principal, e.g. Read, Edit, Full Control, etc., depending on what operations you need to perform from a K2 application perspective against SharePoint elements. The permission level can be granted for a list, a library, a site, or even an entire site collection.

Detailed technical documentation for SharePoint App-Only is here.

The broker connects to the SharePoint resources from the K2 server using the Client Id and Client Secret and performs the necessary operations under the App Principal context. Therefore, creating an App Principal is all you need to do within the SharePoint Online environment.

And you can do it yourself, we don't need admin access to your SharePoint Online environment.

You can create a virtually unlimited number of App Principals. For example, a separate one for each document library, for each website where you work with K2 applications data, or for each site collection, e.g. DEV and PROD. Each App Principal can have its own assigned permissions to SharePoint content. This gives you a high level of granularity in controlling access to your SharePoint content by K2 servers.

The created App Principal has a validity of 1 year, after which it must be renewed. However, it is possible, using Azure AD application, to create an App Principal with unlimited lifetime.

Is Broker limited to a specific version or edition of K2?

No, it is not. This solution will work regardless of the version or edition of K2 you have. We support all currently available K2 Five versions and editions.

How difficult is the process of installation?

The broker is represented at the level of your K2 server by a DLL library and an IIS web service. The installation time is about 2 hours and requires restarting the K2 service and IIS. App Principals are then created at the SharePoint Online level to access the content. Here the work time counts in units of minutes.

How does the use of Broker affect our existing K2 applications?

Your existing K2 applications that use the standard K2 - SharePoint integration will need to be modified to use Broker. When you use Broker, new smartobjects will be available to you with the corresponding methods of this broker. So for developers, Broker does not change their development style, they use well-known practices. We will of course pass on all the necessary knowledge and teach you how to use it in detail. We will be happy to help you with the customization of your K2 applications.

What are all the methods Broker supports?

The following methods are now supported:
Library:
Create Folder, Get Folder, Update Folder, Delete Folder, Get Folders, Rename Folder, Reset Folder Role Inheritance, Set Folder Permission, Remove Folder Permission, Upload Document, Get Document, Get Document By ID, Update Document Metadata, Delete Document, Delete Document By ID, Get Documents, Rename Document, Reset Document Role Inheritance, Set Document Permission, Remove Document Permission, Reset Role Inheritance, Set Permission, Remove Permission
List:
Create Item, Update Item, Get Items, Get Item By ID, Remove Item
Site:
Create Library, Delete Library

Is Broker available for SharePoint Server?

Not currently, but we are working on SharePoint Server support (2016 and 2019). Support for SharePoint Servers will be available in Broker in a future release later this year.

What licensing model is available for Broker?

The rights to use Broker consist of a perpetual Organization License, hereafter referred to as License, and a Software Assurance subscription, hereafter referred to as Subscription.

We license Broker for your organization, regardless of the number of K2 or SharePoint servers you run. The license therefore entitles you to run the solution on an unlimited number of your K2 servers and use it to connect to an unlimited number of SharePoint environments (Online and OnPremises) and SharePoint sites.

The price of the License includes an annual Subscription, i.e. support and the right to access new versions of this solution.

After the first year, you can get additional support and access to new versions by purchasing a Subscription at 20% of the license price per year.

What is the price of the License and Subscription for Accelapps "Universal SharePoint Broker"?

The price of the License is 3600 EUR excluding VAT.
The price of the Subscription is 720 EUR excluding VAT per year.