SharePoint Designer Workflows vs Microsoft Power Automate: All You Need to Know

What Are SharePoint Designer Workflows?

SharePoint workflows automate business operations through pre-programmed event sequences connecting SharePoint components. Common applications include contract approvals, signature collection, project status tracking, and customer feedback gathering.

Access this feature via SharePoint site Documents > Libraries > Workflow Settings > Create a Workflow. However, these steps may not be available if you get a new SharePoint Online site after November 2020.

If running on-premises SharePoint or having created a tenant before November 2020, you can still use the 2013 version, though Microsoft plans to discontinue support.

Built-in automation options include:

• Approval Workflow
• Notification Workflow
• Status Workflow
• Collect Feedback Workflow
• Collect Signatures Workflow
• Publishing Approval Workflow
• Three-state Workflow

What is Power Automate Flow?

Power Automate represents Microsoft’s modern automation tool within the Power Platform ecosystem, alongside Power Apps, Power BI, and Power Virtual Agents. It automates repetitive business tasks by recording keyboard inputs, mouse clicks, and copy-paste operations.

Key capabilities for business benefit:

• Automatically remind employees about overdue tasks
• Automate business processes like service ticket creation and content publishing
• Schedule file backups and migrations across workstations
• Connect to 500+ data sources and public APIs
• Integrate with Microsoft 365 solutions (SharePoint, Outlook, Power BI, OneNote)

Power Automate enables sophisticated automation unavailable in legacy workflows, such as:

• Processing Microsoft Forms data and emailing or storing results in SharePoint
• Converting Word documents to PDF in OneDrive
• Automatically moving documents between libraries based on metadata
• Initiating dynamic parallel approvals for contracts
• Parsing PDFs when uploaded to SharePoint portals

The platform operates as a low-code and no-code platform, allowing business users and IT professionals alike to develop functional processes.

SharePoint Workflow vs Microsoft Power Automate

Power Automate’s advantages over legacy systems include compatibility across Microsoft 365 applications and third-party connectors for external services (Google Docs, Salesforce, Zendesk, WordPress, Gmail, Google Drive, Webex).

Power Automate offers more intuitive and easier workflow authoring compared to 2010 or 2013 versions. Its no-code approach eliminates the need for dedicated IT staff managing automation development.

Why Migrate to Power Automate?

Microsoft is advancing toward a modern workplace of unified business app experiences with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams. The company has prioritized Power Automate while discontinuing legacy tools.

Key considerations:

• Timeline: SharePoint Workflows 2013 support ends November 2026
• Integration: Power Automate integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Azure
• Functionality: More actions and services than classic workflows
• Urgency: Acting now prevents operational downtime

Hurdles in the Path of Power Automate Transition

Several challenges exist during migration:

• Premium licensing required for extensive HTTP connector usage
• Flows limited to 30-day execution windows
• Flow history displays in unified dashboard rather than list-based tracking (requiring custom development)
• Impersonation steps unavailable without custom development

Conclusion

Transitioning from classic SharePoint Workflows to modern Power Automate flows is a challenging but necessary task. With SharePoint Designer workflows approaching end-of-life, organizations should plan their migration strategy now to avoid disruption and take advantage of Power Automate’s far richer automation capabilities.