SharePoint - standard version enough for simple forms? [closed]

Question

I'm trying to figure out wich version of Sharepoint (and CAL) I need. I haven't even used SharePoint yet - so please bear with me here :)

From what I've read - the price jumps substantially from Standard to Enterprise CAL's, while the server license is nearly the same.

What I need to accomplish (or well, what the CEO wants me to accomplish) is:

• Overtime form
• Sick leave form
• Any future form we might need

We're also going to host all employee-handbooks (rules, instructions, etc) on Sharepoint, and need to force users to recieve an email when the documents get updated

Do I get these features with Sharepoint Standard? How do I get the forms designed? From what I've read I'll need an enterprise CAL and server to be able to upload forms from InfoPath to Sharepoint. Can I buy externally designed forms from someone and use them on Standard edition?

Answer 1

InfoPath Forms hosting is an Enterprise feature so you'd need that edition if you're set in using InfoPath.

Depending on exactly what you want to do within these forms could it not be an option to just use simple Word based forms wrapped up with some kind of workflow to manage the process?

Alerts on document library changes are available in Standard edition (& maybe Foundation services) although I think you may need to do some PowerShell to subscribe people to it automatically if you don't want to leave them to do it manually.

Answer 2

The easiest implementation of complex forms is with InfoPath. To use InfoPath forms with SharePoint Server, you need InfoPath Forms Services. This service is only available in the Enterprise version.

Here's a feature comparison: http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/en-us/buy/Pages/Editions-Comparison.aspx

I'm not familiar with using external forms. You can have a document library with any sort of file you want, but I don't think you'll get integration with external forms. SharePoint is mostly focused on integrating Microsoft Office products into a website.