Sharepoint - Providing data outside intranet

Question

Hi,

I know that using SharePoint internally is free, but what if I create an application that will provide some of the data stored in SharePoint externally? Is it legal way to do things or do I have to pay for full SP licence to do that?

Answer 1

Using SharePoint internally is not free. You need server licenses for each server copy you have and client access lincenses (CALs) for every client that uses it - internally. There is a separate model for licensing SharePoint hosted and published externally.

You should talk to your microsoft licensing provider about this, it's not really a programming question, it's a licensing question.

Answer 2

Only Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS 3.0) is free and included in Windows 2003 and 2008 and thus being licensed along with it. If users need to authenticate on the site (i.e. using forms auth), then you either need a Windows CAL for each user or an External Connector License. If you do not have user accounts ("Anonymous access"), then you should not need any additional licensing.

On the other hand, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007) is a commercial product that requires licenses for any use, internal or external.

IANAL, so check with MS Licensing for this.

Answer 3

There is a licensing fee for providing SharePoint connected to the intrenet. the situation where you have your own application reading data from SharePoint (e.g. webservices/rss) and exposing that to the internet is quite different and not likely to be considered for licensing.

Given that you are only exposing part of the data and none of the interface, you should be okay. If you are using CALs to access SharePoint, I believe the user running the application you access SharePoint with would use up one of those CALs.

You would really need to check with your SharePoint licensing guys to be 100%.

Answer 4

The cheapest option in your case may be to install WSS + Sql Server 2008 Express on Windows Server Web Edition (~£400) to avoid paying for CALs or External Connector.