The hidden gem of Workflow

At the Microsoft TechEd conference in Barcelona this week, business process management SourceCode demonstrated K2.net 'BlackPearl', the next version of their enterprise Workflow solution.

Built on the .NET Framework 3.0, including Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) [sic], 'BlackPearl' simultaneously simplifies and extends the workflow capabilities Microsoft provide in the Framework.

K2.net is a well established product but 'BlackPearl' extends its reach to encompass Office 2007 client and server applications including InfoPath, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and Visio. 'BlackPearl' provides tools for programmers in the form of a very slick looking Add-In to Visual Studio 2005 to allow them to design, model, configure, document and deploy workflows. They can also create custom tasks and Wizards which key knowledge workers can use to build workflows without requiring programming knowledge.

Simple web-based AJAX forms can be used to design and run workflows and, for the first time, users will be able to take existing Visio drawings and turn them into active workflows. There is also a web-based report designer which helps knowledge workers create good looking reports without them having to be expert data wranglers.

Tight integration with Office SharePoint Server includes the ability to run Workflows on data in the Business Data Catalog which renders data from back-end line-of-business systems into SharePoint lists.

K2.net 'BlackPearl' starts beta testing next week and should ship around March 2007.