Extending InfoPath outside of Sharepoint

Question

Our business unit is currently trying to implement change management application for SOX reason. I thought to piggyback on the existing Sharepoint in use and utilize its workflow and InfPath instead manually develope the application from scratch.

The only problem is that some of the users are not in our department who won't have access to the Sharepoint. In that case, how can I extend the InfoPath functionality outside the Sharepoint environment? I really don't want to create the app from ground zero.

Update:

After giving some thoughts, I understand that I can duplicate the InfoPath form in ASP.NET Webform, and then submit webform through Sharepoint web service.

However, is that the best approach? The bigger question is, if there are workflow involved, can the workflow be handled through web services outside of Sharepoint as well?

Hopefully I'm not making it overcomplicated. Or perhaps I should be looking at a custom change management application created in ASP.NET?

Answer 1

SharePoint workflows will respond to the same events regardless of whether they are triggered by creating/updating an item through web services or a local form. The bigger question is how involved the external users are in the workflow process and how much build out are you going to need to create in order to support their interaction with SharePoint. We've created numerous solutions that roughly fit your requirements; however, the external users typically had small roles like filling out one form.