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SharePoint: InfoPath Upgrade Paths and Options

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Introduction

This posting consolidates notes associated with researching InfoPath upgrade paths for organizational resource planning and management briefing.  Current as of 05/05/19.

Summary

  • InfoPath 2010 forms can be migrated to InfoPath 2013, but testing would be needed to ensure upgradability.
  • SharePoint Server 2016 will support InfoPath 2013 for the entire SharePoint Server 2016 lifecycle, which is currently through 2026.
  • InfoPath 2013 is available as a stand-alone download and installer, and InfoPath 2013 is compatible with Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus.
  • PowerApps is a cloud-based service only, and it is available only online. It can be made available to onprem if a special data-gateway is locally deployed (and I suspect that firewalls will also need to be configured to allow PowerApps communication pass-through, but have not found any discussion on this yet).
  • There are several Microsoft alternatives to InfoPath, but all of these have limitations and none of them are direct replacements or provide all of the functionality and capability of InfoPath
  • There are many third-party WYSIWYG forms builders for SharePoint. NINTEX seems to be a major one. many others are also available that seem to provide some or all of InfoPath's capabilities.

Research Findings

Microsoft InfoPath Product Lifecycle Support

  • InfoPath 2010 mainstream support ended 10/13/15; extended support will end 10/13/20.
  • InfoPath 2013 mainstream support will end 07/13/21; and extended support will end 07/14/26.
  • "Support for Microsoft InfoPath 2013 is extended as shown in order to ensure compatibility with SharePoint Server 2016."
  • Reference: Product Lifecycle: InfoPath.

SharePoint Server 2016 Support for InfoPath

  • SharePoint Server 2016 will include an ongoing capability to host InfoPath Forms Services. InfoPath Forms Services on SharePoint 2016 will be supported for the duration of SharePoint 2016’s support lifecycle.
  • InfoPath 2013 and SharePoint Designer 2013 will be the last versions of those products. SharePoint Designer is not being re-released with SharePoint Server 2016, although we will continue to support custom workflows built with SharePoint Designer and hosted on SharePoint Server 2016 and Office 365. Support for InfoPath 2013 and SharePoint Designer 2013 will match the support lifecycle for SharePoint Server 2016, running until 2026.
  • Reference: SharePoint Server 2016 and Project Server 2016 Release Candidate available.

SharePoint Server 2019 Support for InfoPath

  • InfoPath Services will remain supported, but deprecated, for the SharePoint Server 2019 release.
  • Microsoft will ensure that the InfoPath 2013 client will work with SharePoint Server 2019 for the remainder of the client support lifecycle (2026). InfoPath 2013 client will not be supported beyond that timeframe.
  • Reference: What's deprecated or removed from SharePoint Server 2019.

SharePoint Online Support for InfoPath Forms Services

  • Available for SharePoint Online Plan 2 and Office 365 Enterprise E3 Office 365 Enterprise E5. Reference: SharePoint Online Service Description.
  • InfoPath Forms Services on Office 365 will continue to be supported. Reference: SharePoint Server 2016 and Project Server 2016 Release Candidate available.
  • "There is DIFFERENT governance for service removals in Office 365. The strict guidance is that Microsoft will give at least 30 days notice when we've indiciated a replacement product; 365 days notice if there is no replacement; and that undocumented, unsupported features or risks which are found to compromise the security or platform integrity could be turned off immediately."
  • "The 2026 date has no relationship to a "date" for Office 365, because we consciciously haven't published a timeline for taking that out of service. That said, as we (me) also discussed at Ignite last year, we couldn't consider taking IPFS out of service in Office 365 without significant lead time. By precendent , even though we identified a replacement tech for Access Web Apps (PowerApps) we communicated that service removal 15 months in advance." Reference: InfoPath support in SharePoint Online: Chris McNulty.

InfoPath 2013 on Windows 10 and Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus

Microsoft Alternatives to InfoPath

Non-Microsoft Alternatives to InfoPath

  • Nintex forms: Origin: US. Online and onprem. Appears to be #1 third party alternative. Seems to be already used widely in US government and commerce. Fully WYSIWYG form developer. Compatible with all SharePoint versions, onprem and online. Reference: Evolve your eForms beyond InfoPath with Nintex.
  • Kintivo Forms for SharePoint: Origin: US. Online and onprem. Design user friendly SharePoint forms using a simple drag-in-drop interface. Build SharePoint forms that show/hide fields based on previous answers. Kintivo Forms for SharePoint often replaces InfoPath. Reference: Easily Design SharePoint Forms with Kintivo Forms for SharePoint.
  • Plumsail Forms for SharePoint: Origin: Russia. Online and Onprem. Onprem for SharePoint Server 2019 only. Reference: SharePoint forms for Modern UI.
  • SPARK SharePoint Forms Builder. Online and onprem. WYSIWYG form builder. Reference: SPARK SharePoint Forms Builder.
  • Many others found.

Notes

  • tbd