Adding external data from another forest?

Question

Hello Community
    The following 2 scenarios are how data is entered and stored in a non-Sharepoint environment: 
    Scenario a) C# ASP.Net or C# Windows applications are used to enter data that gets stored
into SQL Server databases on a network.
    Scenario b) Users create Word applications, Excel Spreadsheets, PDF's, etc and the data is
stored in folders on servers on a network.
    In the future a Sharepoint 2013 Server farm is created in a domain in a separate forest.
    The question(s) is:
        #1) How do you add those servers that contain the data in the pre-existing
             SQL Server databased to the Sharepoint 2013 farm?
        #2) How do you add those servers that contain the data in the pre-existing
             Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDF's, etc into the Sharepoint 2013 farm?
        #3) If it exists, what 3rd party software stated in either #1 and/or #2 above can
             add those servers or import that data on those servers into the Sharepoint 2013 farm?
    Note: If BCS can be used does each client need to have Microsoft Office 2013 installed
          on each client computer?
    Thank you
    Shabeaut

Answer 1

SharePoint won't be able to manage documents in those custom/3rd party databases. If this is a 3rd party database, there may be a solution to migrate the information into SharePoint. If it is custom/in-house, then you'll need to build migration utilities
yourself.
Ideally, those documents should reside within Document Libraries in SharePoint to have full management over those documents.
As for BCS, it is meant more for display List-style data, not documents. But clients do not have to have any components installed to leverage BCS, as BCS is a service on SharePoint.
Trevor Seward
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This post is my own opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion or view of Microsoft, its employees, or other MVPs.