For SharePoint Workflows, the Clock is Ticking

There’s a lot of buzz out there about SharePoint end of life. Mainstream support of 2016 ended in July of 2021 and January 2024 is looming on the horizon for those who decided to stay on prem by upgrading to 2019. But the date everyone is targeting is July 2026. That’s when Microsoft will no longer support any on-prem servers. And so, I think that people who are fatigued by the chicken little warnings still think they have time, and I can’t blame anyone for trying to kick the budget can down the road in this post-pandemic climate. But the reason I think IT Executives still THINK they have time is because they’re only talking to their Infrastructure folks.

I am the one talking to the business, and they are running out of time. Because you know what else is hitting end of life in July 2026? InfoPath.

Don’t get me wrong, InfoPath was dead to me a long time ago, but business users who work with IT decision makers that are led by their Infrastructure teams are only thinking about Servers. They aren’t thinking about the arduous (and lengthy) task of rewriting all their workflows and creating new forms in Power Platform. I do a lot of these projects and there’s no other way for me to say it - this shit takes time. And that means you need to get started right now if you’re going to make the deadline.

If you’re not able to make or influence decisions, here are three things you can do right now to be ready for what will be an impossible task if your organization waits much longer to start their journey to SharePoint Online.

1.??????Skill up – Get training on Power Platform. It would be ideal if you had an environment to practice in so reach out to your IT Department and put your name on the list of the first people who should be granted an E5 license in your new environment. In the meantime, you can take advantage of Microsoft’s free resources to skill up. There is also an exhaustive list of resources available at powerapps.microsoft.com for all skill levels.

2.??????Analyze your current usage – Microsoft has a free tool called SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool (SMAT ). If you have Sharegate, they have two workflow reports you can run with that tool too. If you’re on Nintex, they have a “Know Your Workflow” analysis tool, but you’ll need to reach out to your Nintex rep to get it. You’ll need a little help from someone in IT who can run PowerShell scripts and install software on your servers, but if you can get these tools run, then you can use these free resources to get the raw data you need to analyze your current environment.

This is definitely a job for someone who loves to slice and dice numbers in Excel and it will take a couple of VLOOKUPs to see the total picture (the raw data takes time to learn how to read), but use the time you have right now so you can communicate your needs clearly when the time comes. These are the numbers a partner will need to quote your IT leaders a price on how much it will cost to re-platform your environment and the more you know, the cheaper that price will be. Put a presentation of your findings together and present it to your IT leadership this year before they start planning for budgets next year. ??

If you know your company isn’t going to hire someone to help you, then here are some of my observations as to how long these activities will take an experienced developer. The range reflects the complexity of the workflow or form (from low to high) and assumes you are only using SharePoint lists for your source data (not a custom connector or Dataverse):

·??????Time to rewrite a simple workflow – 2-40 hours

·??????Time to create a new form (Power App) – 1-16 hours

These numbers don’t include testing or break fixes or the time you’ll probably take to enhance the workflow. So, let’s just say a minimum of 24 hours to recreate a simple workflow with a simple form. Multiply that number by the total number of workflows you need to re-platform and you’ll have a good idea of how long it will take you to do it yourself. So, if you have 40 workflows, it will take you 24 weeks (full time) to do it yourself. That’s about six months. Tick tock.

That’s why you need to get this information and give it to your IT leadership NOW with your request to get into the new environment as soon as it’s online.

3.??????Slash and burn – Group your workflows into types like notifications and approvals. You can create workflow templates in Power Automate so if you have 100 approval workflows across the organization then you may be able to write one “master” workflow and reuse it across multiple lists. If your InfoPath form was only being used to capture metadata for your list, then consider using the out-of-box modern experience instead. One less form to create is a time saver. ?

?The analysis tools can help you see the last time the workflow was run. Maybe you don’t need anything that hasn’t been run in the past year. I’m thinking of workflows that may only run once a year for audits, but if you can cut deeper (6 months?) then do it. ?You want to get the number as low as it can go and then train people on how to develop new workflows themselves.

I know what it’s like to be the only BA resource for an entire organization. Just know that you are not alone. The Power Platform community is vast and active and they’re just waiting for you to join them. Look for them at #FlowFam or #PowerAddicts on Twitter or go to powerusers.microsoft.com .

If you’re a member of that community, please comment on this post with your best advice for someone who is still waiting for SharePoint Online.

#powerplatform #powerapps #powerautomate #sharepoint ?