Sharepoint 2010: Does free "Foundation" version is enough for document workflow tasks

Question

I wonder if Sharepoint-2010 Foundation version meets requirements of a company I work for:

• Free
• Proven extensible document workflow system for Windows
• Able to store gigabytes of document scans inside (Does Sql-Server Express appropriate for that, how does Sharepoint store images?)
• Allows to use electronic signatures
• Notification subsystem, filters (I guess Sharepoint is ok here)

Answer 1

1. SharePoint Foundation itself is free, but you still need the Windows and SQL Server CALs.

2. SharePoint Foundation ships with only one built-in workflow (the three-state one), so you'll need to develop even the basic ones like approval or collect feedback yourself.

3. SQL Server 2010 Express Edition limits the database size to 10 GB. By default, all data (including documents and images) is stored inside the database, but you can use Remote BLOB Storage to optimize database storage resources.

4. I guess that electronic signatures need to be supported rather by client applications (i.e. Word or Excel), not the SharePoint installation.

5. It depends on your needs, but there are alerts and views in document libraries.