Important information
- Effective 13 September 2019 (the “End of Support Date”), Nintex will officially stop supporting Nintex Mobile deployed on Windows Tablet and Windows Phone. Nintex functionality that relies solely on a specific underlying operating system operated by a third party reflects the lifecycle of that underlying OS. Accordingly, as this Nintex Mobile functionality targets the Windows 8 platform that is currently in the end of its Microsoft lifecycle. Between the date of this notice and the End of Support Date, only applicable critical patches will be implemented.
For additional detail, see Windows Tablet and Windows Phone End-of-Support Notice.
Summary
Nintex makes it easy to automate your workflow, so you can keep projects and processes moving, but without all the manual work. It connects to any system you use to manage content, so you can tackle everything from a specific task in a single department to complex, company-wide procedures. In addition, because you can quickly and easily turn time-consuming, manual steps into automated, efficient workflows, you will see an immediate impact on corporate productivity. You will also give your team time to focus on what matters most.
Today’s workforce is also mobile, and if you want to get the best work out of your people, you need to give them every tool it takes to be productive on the go.
Nintex Mobile extends digital workflows, enabling employees to keep critical processes moving, no matter where they are. Built for smartphones and tablets, Nintex Mobile is for people on the go, wherever they are. With Nintex Mobile, you can check your tasks as easily as checking your texts. The mobile apps allow you to capture data, submit requests, start processes, complete tasks, and approve documents.
Nintex Mobile lets the mobile worker do their job wherever work takes them - around the corner, in the field, or even underground. The offline capabilities of Nintex Mobile allow all forms to be stored on devices, safely holding them until the user is back online. Mobile forms allow mobile workers to gather data like marketing and field surveys, safety and quality checks, food and hygiene checks, geological and property inspections, maintenance reports, hospital admittance forms and many more.
Everyday mobile device features like image and video attachments, barcode and QR code scanning; geolocation tagging, signature capture can be used within Nintex Mobile for a rich mobile experience.
In addition to Nintex Mobile, Nintex App Studio, allows organizations to put powerful, purposeful workflow apps in the hands of their workforce without a single line of code. Design and deliver specific workflow apps for iOS and Android devices using Nintex workflows and forms. These apps can be tailored to each department or process, including the look and feel of each application.
We are confident that the Nintex Mobile capabilities will be able to solve the immediate needs of any organization’s Mobile Forms requirements, and the Nintex Platform can be utilized across the organization to automate both simple to complex business processes. Nintex prides itself on making process automation quick and easy…for everyone.
Clients who currently us Nintex Mobile and Nintex App Studio
Mitchell’s and Butler - Video and Case Study
BGC Engineering – Video and Case Study
Description
The Mobile experience in the Nintex Platform is divided into 3 distinct components the Form Designer (Nintex Forms), the Standard Nintex Mobile Application (Nintex Mobile) and custom Mobile experience builder (Nintex AppBuilder). Here is a quick over view of each of those three components.
Nintex Forms – Nintex Forms is a powerful yet easy to use Form Designer that allows users to create and manage the user experience of the processes they automate leveraging a similar ‘drag and drop’ interface to Nintex Workflow. Nintex Forms allows the designer to quickly create Forms that can be rendered across a multitude of devices from desktop to mobile (both mobile browser and the Nintex Mobile App).
Nintex Mobile – The Nintex Mobile Application is a free download from any of the three modern app stores (Google and iTunes). Users can download the application and authenticate to either their On-Premise SharePoint Environment, SharePoint/O365 tenant of the Nintex Workflow cloud and once authenticated will have access to any mobile forms for which they have access and that were built with the Nintex Forms Designer. Accessing Nintex Forms via Nintex Mobile has some notable advantages over traditional browser based forms, particularly offline capabilities.
Nintex AppStudio - Supported by Nintex Mobile features, Nintex App Studio allows you to build custom branded workflow apps tailored to a specific department, process, or piece of process - without writing a single line of code. Enjoy a native mobile app experience with features like image and video attachments, barcode and QR scanning, or geolocation tagging and deploy quickly over the air or via your preferred MDM solution.
Nintex AppStudio allows you to specify which forms and/or workflow tasks to be included in the app, providing the ability to build and deploy departmental or process-specific applications. You can also create line-of-business apps using the tools you are already familiar with (Nintex Workflow and Nintex Forms), and empower business users with a targeted, efficient, and relevant app on their device. Apps are immediately recognizable by the use of an organization’s existing branding and promotional images. Upload existing branding materials and preview in real time as the app is built.
User Interface/User Experience
Figure 1 Nintex App Studio Configuration - Authentication Options
Figure 2 - Nintex App Studio Home Page
Figure 3 - App Platform Configuration
Figure 4 - Nintex App Studio Custom Branding and Theme
Figure 5 - Nintex App Studio Distribution Options
Figure 6 - Nintex AppStudio Customized Theme Options
Figure 7 - Nintex AppStudio Use Cases
Database Server and Web Server Requirements, Location, and Access Methods
Nintex is an easy install in the either SharePoint environment and leverages a Microsoft SQL database for its Workflow/Forms configurations, typically the same server as the SharePoint Environment.
Scalability and Sustainability of the Solution
Scalability:
Building a business solution on top of the Nintex Platform will be highly scalable due to Nintex’ s inherently coupled nature to SharePoint itself. As SharePoint scales (additional web or application servers are added) so will Nintex. Additionally, as Nintex offers a complete stack in the cloud there is virtually limitless scale.
Nintex was engineered to work hand in hand with SharePoint’s suite of services and add very little in the way of overhead to a SharePoint environment. Nintex Workflow scales almost in direct proportion with SharePoint and we have customers running Nintex on the largest SharePoint environments in the world support over 100,000 users and over 10,000 published workflows.
Automated Builds of apps are made easy, and triggered whenever a new version of Nintex Mobile is released. When each build (or set of builds) is complete, an email notification is sent to the primary account email address on record for the account.
Intellectual Property Details
All data is owned by your organization and stored inside of your organization’s SharePoint infrastructure.
All process automation artifacts (e.g. defined algorithms, dashboards, reports, etc…) are owned by you and stored inside of your SharePoint infrastructure.
Nintex uses mobile analytics software to allow us to better understand the functionality of our Mobile Software on your phone. This software may record information such as how often you use the application, the events that occur within the application, aggregated usage, performance data, and from where the application was downloaded. We do not link the information we store within the analytics software to any personally identifiable information you submit within the mobile application.
Geo-Location: Nintex does not ask for, access, or track any location-based information from your mobile device at any time while downloading or using our Mobile Apps or Services.
What happens if a license expires?
If one or more licenses expire for an account and the number of existing apps exceeds the number of licensed apps available, then you are prompted to select apps for licensing when you sign in and select the account. Nintex App Studio cannot be accessed until apps are selected for licensing. If all licenses expire, then Nintex App Studio can no longer be accessed, and all apps become unlicensed.
What happens when an app becomes unlicensed?
An unlicensed app can no longer be accessed using Nintex App Studio or downloaded by users. Users who downloaded the app while it was licensed may continue to use it; however, the app can no longer be edited or built.
Users
Enable individual users of the Nintex Mobile App to connect to forms and tasks though the Nintex Live framework or disable individual users from connecting.
Manage Live Mobile Access
Enable or disable users of the Nintex Mobile App to connect to forms and tasks through the Nintex Live framework.
The page is displayed as follows:
Live relay service: This lists all the servers in the farm and indicates the status of the live relay service on each. For Nintex Mobile Apps to work via live the relay service, it must be running on at least one server.
Farm Source Name: This is the name of the Farm using the relay service. Nintex Mobile will use this to identify where a form comes form and provide additional capabilities based on this name. The name is not validated to be unique; it should be specific to your organization to avoid confusion by users of the Nintex Mobile App.
Enable Live Mobile Access: Set whether users of the Nintex Mobile App will be able to connect using Nintex Live. This can only be set to Enabled when at least one instance of the relay is running. Click OK to confirm your changes.
System Performance Reporting (Uptime, Responsiveness Metrics, etc.)
As the solution built using Nintex will reside inside of Microsoft SharePoint, performance reporting (uptime, responsiveness metrics, etc.) can be collected and analyzed via whichever means (OOTB, SCOM, Metalogix, etc.) have been adopted by you.
User Training
Certification Exam
The Certification Exam is a great way to test your current knowledge. You are given 60-minutes to complete the 30-question multiple choice exam and must score 80% to earn the certification. After completing the exam and meeting the minimum score, you can navigate to 'My Activities' to access a copy of your certificate.
Nintex Workflow Pro Certificate
The Nintex Workflow Pro Certificate is for skilled Nintex platform users and proves that you are skilled at designing, creating, and debugging Nintex workflows and forms. This certificate does not require IT professional or developer skills, or administrator access to a SharePoint system.
Nintex Workflow Admin Certificate
The Nintex Workflow Admin Certificate proves that you are skilled at the deployment, integration and management of Nintex workflows and forms. This test covers content that requires IT professional skills and administrator access to a SharePoint or Office 365 site.
Nintex Drawloop Document Generation Certificate
The Nintex Drawloop Document Generation Certificate exam proves that you have the range of skills and knowledge needed to successfully install, configure and manage Nintex Drawloop Document Generation. This test covers content that requires IT professional skills and administrator access to a Salesforce installation.
General Information
Productivity accelerator
Save time, reduce transcription errors and data loss or omission; collect more data, faster technology leveraging build and deploy custom mobile applications across Nintex Workflow Cloud™, SharePoint on premises, and SharePoint online without writing a single line of code with Nintex App Studio. Deliver the apps to your business users within minutes over the air or with Mobile Device Management (MDM) software.
In addition to text, photos, barcodes, signatures, user/device info, timestamp, location data offline capable
| Potential Requirements | Response | Comments/Notes |
| System shall consist of a centralized Server, and one or more Web Clients and Offline Mobile Clients: |
| See below. |
| Server – Central database Server and web Server on one or more physical machines, or in a virtual Server environment. Windows SQL Server database and the IIS web Server are preferred. | The Nintex Solution will reside within SharePoint with the backend being SQL server. |
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| Vendor to indicate if the servers are included as a privately hosted service, or if they must be provided by your organization on a physical or virtual network. The system must allow for programmatically access database records and retain record history for up to 5 years. | The Nintex solution leverages the existing SharePoint infrastructure and EVT has access to the databases, etc. |
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| Web Client – Cross-browser support for IE, Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome is required. | The Nintex Forms Designer supports:
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| All application configurations, including but not limited to user management, form, task and report configuration must be executable via browser connection to the central server. | Nintex/SharePoint supports this. |
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| Offline Mobile Client – System will include software capable of being installed “over the air” to a tablet and smartphone. | Nintex Mobile Supports this. |
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| System is device hardware agnostic supporting iOS or Android operating systems. | Nintex Mobile Supports: Apple iOS (7 and above), Android 4 and above. |
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| Offline Client can operate in offline mode without a persistent connection to the Server. | Nintex Mobile Supports this. |
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| Multiple data synchronization methods between the Offline Client and the Server shall be supported, including Wi-Fi, and GSM/CDMA cellular data networks. | Nintex Mobile Supports this.
Controls use of cellular data connections for retrieval and submission of items. Available settings:
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| Answer history shall be available for the Offline Mobile Client for trending historical data. |
| Requirement is not clear. |
| Data Security Measures – Communication between Server and Offline Clients shall be protected through login name/password authentication and 128-bit SSL data encryption. Passwords shall be able to configured to expire on a regular basis and require Users to create new passwords when they do expire. | Nintex communication security is dedicated by the web application settings defined in Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) as part of the Microsoft SharePoint farm configuration. This stated, as long as the web application is configured to use secure 128-bit (or higher) SSL/TLS data encryption, Nintex will use that encryption scheme when communicating with the SharePoint infrastructure. Passwords are not handled via Nintex. Nintex will pass through your organizations SharePoint authentication method (e.g. AD, ADFS, FBA, etc.). |
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| Active Directory Integration – System shall allow integration to Microsoft Active Directory to support centralized user verification and application access management. | Nintex fully integrates with Active Directory via Microsoft SharePoint for centralized user verification and application access management. |
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| System shall be able to notify users when their Active Directory password is close to expiration. | This is not specific Nintex Mobile Feature but can be handled by Nintex Workflow and a Task/Notification. |
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| User and Group Hierarchy – System user accounts, forms, assets, tasks/rounds, reports and charts shall be able to be placed in a hierarchical group structure ensuring that users in different departments or facilities can only access system tools and data relevant to them. | Nintex Mobile leverages the SharePoint security infrastructure and security trimming ensuring users only see Forms for which they have access. |
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| Users within the group and user hierarchy shall be able to be assigned roles to control their ability within the hierarchy to create data collection form, reports and administer other users. | This is handle through SharePoint security/permissions. |
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| Shall be able to copy/reuse work done at one location to support multiple locations/plants. | It is very easy to reuse and share Nintex Forms across sites and even farms using Export/Import. |
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| Form design – System shall allow non-technical authorized users to easily design, configure, and publish data collection forms using a Web Client. | This is core benefit of the Nintex Platform. | |
| Data collection forms shall be able to be designed to accept a variety of answer data types including Boolean, text, custom list, custom combo list, integer, yes/no, decimal number, show document, scan QR code or barcode, take picture, calculation (operations: + - * / exp log), signature capture, pop-up message, free form instruction, mobile device location and date/time (entered or edited). | Nintex Mobile Supports thee (see Table 1 below). |
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| The System shall be able to store up to 60 previous answers available to the mobile Users to trend and/or view answer history on the handheld device while both online and offline. | Nintex Mobile Supports Sent Items. |
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| Ability to set and change Hi/Lo alarm limits. Hi/Lo limits should be visible while taking the reading. | This can be handled with the rules engine in Nintex Forms/Mobile. |
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| Forms shall have the ability to provide logic for custom workflow and validate data input. | This can be handled with the rules engine in Nintex Forms/Mobile and workflow is handle within Nintex Workflow. |
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| System forms shall support real-time answer logic to drive immediate feedback to Users notifying them of out-of-specification observations and readings, and drive further data gathering and/or lead them through immediate corrective action. | This can be handled with the rules engine in Nintex Forms/Mobile. |
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| Invalid or out-of-spec data can be identified and errors corrected prior to submitting the form. | This can be handled with the rules engine in Nintex Forms/Mobile. |
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| System shall support conditional triggers within data collection forms to issue email/text message alerts to designated recipients when the data is synched to the Server. | This can be handle by Nintex workflow and the send notification action. |
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| Alerts shall be configurable for a variety of triggering event details including, but not limited to: Date/Time, response trigger, user, link to the form, user defined text, and alert severity. | Triggering and launching a workflow can be handle via Nintex Workflow and a task pushed to the Mobile Device. |
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| Data collection form management interface shall provide version tracking. | Nintex Forms uses major and minor versions within SharePoint. |
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| System shall allow authorized users to test data collection forms prior to publishing for general use. | Nintex Forms has a ‘Preview’ feature for testing a form prior to publishing. |
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| Asset database – System shall allow authorized users to define or import an Asset database. |
| See below. |
| Asset attributes should include, at a minimum: Asset name, barcode value, Asset description, Asset image, associated forms, and up to four other text based user-definable attributes. | As Nintex integrates into SharePoint infrastructure, all solution artifacts (e.g. asset database, asset metadata, etc.) will be stored inside of SharePoint content databases with full support for a wide range of metadata attributes (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262787.aspx#Column) and can be imported and exported as per Microsoft SharePoint best practices. |
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| System should be capable of uploading operational schematics and/or documentation for display on the mobile device, to improve effectiveness of operators working with assets. | Nintex Mobile App supports forwarding of additional documents via Task Notification capabilities. Additional capabilities to embed custom content (documents, pictures, HTML, etc.) is available via custom Nintex apps developed in the Nintex App Studio. |
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| Defined assets shall have an Asset Status attribute flag that can be changed by User or by defined conditions triggered within Forms associated with the Asset. | Defined assets can have an Asset Status attribute flag that can be changed by User or by conditions in Form/Workflow. |
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| System shall auto-generate and associate a barcode value when a new Asset is created. | Nintex cannot auto-generate a barcode, but can be linked to a barcode, or QR code generator. |
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| System support the use of barcodes to confirm that users are at specific locations or Assets before allowing them to proceed with collecting information for the area/asset. | Nintex supports barcode scanning. The following barcode formats are supported.
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| Authorized users shall be able to configure the System to permit the user to select an Asset without barcode scanning. | Nintex supports user input text capture as an alternative to barcode scanning. |
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| System shall record the time that the Asset barcode is scanned and allow reporting on the time of the scan and selection method (Scanned, manually selected, or skipped.) | Collection of time and date metadata can be configured on the input form that also captures the barcode. |
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| Task Management – System shall allow authorized users to assign one-time as well as recurring tasks associated with one or more forms or assets. Each task assignment shall have a start line and a deadline. | Nintex leverages the Workflow Task Infrastructure for Workflow Task Management and the Forms for those tasks are sent to Nintex Mobile. |
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| Task assignees should be able to be notified on their Offline Client, their Web dashboard and/or by e-mail or text messages when tasks become active. | Task can be viewed both within the Nintex Mobile App and the SharePoint Web Interface. |
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| System shall be able to assign Tasks to a group of Users, for any or all in the group to complete. | This is core Nintex Workflow Flexi-Task functionality. |
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| System shall be able to generate automated deadline reminders and overdue notices to field users. | This is core Nintex Workflow Flexi-Task functionality. |
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| System shall provide task compliance reporting to monitor the progress of task completion, as well as provide authorized users to create reports and charts to display the collected data results. | Nintex provides out of the box reports as well as constructs for custom reports using modern BI tools either connecting via SQL or ODATA. |
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| Rounds Management – System shall allow authorized users to create unassigned Rounds consisting of both Assets and Forms. Unassigned Rounds shall act as a container for Assets and Forms without a defined start line or deadline. A set of rounds shall be configurable to have up to four definable Variants. |
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| Drafts – Offline Client software shall include functionality that allows users to save incomplete data collection forms on their handheld. | Nintex Mobile Supports this. |
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| Drafts shall be capable of being opened and saved multiple times until data collection completion. | Nintex Mobile Supports this. |
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| If the Offline Client that any Draft resides on is synched to the Server, all drafts shall synchronize to the Server as well. These incomplete forms shall be able to be launched from any other authorized connected offline or Web Client at a later date for further data gathering and completion. | This is NOT a capability of Nintex Mobile. |
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| System shall record the user that entered each answer in a Form. | Nintex Mobile Supports this. |
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| Reporting – System allows authorized users to export data and create/publish tabular reports & charts. | This can be accomplished using Nintex Hawkeye (Process Analytics) or via exporting data from SharePoint Lists. |
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| Reporting tools will be accessible to authorized system users via Web Clients. | Nintex Workflow and Nintex Hawkeye support this. |
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| Shall be able to export data to other plant historians or enterprise systems and as PDF and CSV files. | This can be accomplished in the Nintex Workflow or via an export from within SharePoint. |
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| Reports and Charts shall be exportable to PDF and CSV format from the user Web Client interface. | Nintex Workflow and Nintex Hawkeye support this. | Nintex provides base reporting and capabilities for creating custom/solution specific reports which would be handled via EVT or a Nintex Partner |
| System shall allow printing of completed Forms. | This is a Feature of Nintex Forms Enterprise or can be handled via Document Generation capabilities within Nintex Workflow. |
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Mobile Capabilities
| Requirement | Nintex Mobile Version | Comments/Notes |
| Released on version 3.4 |
| |
| Released on version 3.9 | Support for Signature Capture: Ability to configure a multi-line text box control to capture a signature | |
| Released on version 3.1 |
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| Released on version 1.0 | The apps work offline, allowing data entry also when not connected not a network. | |
| Released on Version 1.0 |
| |
| Nintex Forms controls are supported when designing mobile forms:
| Released on version 3.8 | Support for Range Validation: validation of range parameters on Single Line Textbox and DateTime controls |
| Released on version 2.0 | Added support for the following Nintex Forms controls: Geolocation Repeating Section People | |
| Released on version 4.0 | Introduction of User Profile |
Security
Nintex Mobile currently supports the following methods for communicating to the corporate SharePoint farm, using corporate credentials.
Direct connectivity (if the SP farm is available through the Internet)
Exposing the Ports 80/443 through your firewall, with a rule that is specific to a url
http://[sharepointurl]/_vti_bin/NintexFormsServices/NfMobileAppService.svc. This would mean the rest of the farm is safe behind the firewall.
Configuring proxy software allows these connections, but in this case, the proxy server will also need to be configured to pass through authentication.
VPN in this case, the mobile device would need to be configured to connect to a VPN. Then, the Nintex Mobile app will be able to authenticate and talk to the SP environment.
