How to migrate SharePoint Designer 2010 workflow to Power Automate FLOW (Microsoft Office 365)

⚠️IMPORTANT - SharePoint 2010 workflows are going away, retiring in November 01 2020 - Read more here (how to stop SharePoint 2010 workflow retirement and request for extension ?).

You will see a reminder banner like this one on the workflow pages. With the classic SharePoint 2010 workflows retiring soon, everyone is talking about the possibility to migrate them to Power Automate Flows.

With so many questions - how to migrate ? can I use a tool ? timelines ? man power ? cost ? budget ?

Just one answer - There is no direct migration available and possible.
Microsoft (or any tool like ShareGate, Metalogix, SharePoint Migration Tool) does not provide any easy way to move or copy classic workflows from SharePoint 2010/2013 to latest SharePoint on-premise versions or SharePoint Online. It has to be fully manual approch.

Select a way forward

1. Migrate (Re design) using Power Automate Flow (preferred)
2. Migrate to SharePoint 2016 workflows in SharePoint Online(available till year 2026)
3. Migrate to latest SharePoint on-prem versions (support available)
4. Migrate (Re design) to Azure Logic Apps
5. Use a tool which can (partially) help in migration

If you are migrating to Office 365 SharePoint Online, the SharePoint 2010 workflows can get migrated as-is with tools like ShareGate, but they will not work beyond Nov 2020. If you are a new customer, 2010 workflows will be disabled and not allowed.

Why use Power Automate (FLOW) ?

Microsoft (and SharePoint) have evolved to provide better and flexible modern experiences to it's customers. SharePoint modern experiences integrates very well with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem services and works flawlessly with other Office 365 and Azure Services. It also takes care of security, productivity and collaboration.

Power Automate helps users and businesses to create automated workflows between your favorite apps (SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, Yammer, OneNote, Azure and more) and services to get notifications, collect data, automate business policies and much more.

Power Automate is the way forward and will eventually replace SharePoint Designer workflows. Leave SharePoint Designer workflows and move ahead!

Why I should not upgrade to 2013 workflow ?

Though you can move to 2013, these workflows will also retire at some point in future. It's better to invest time and money only once.
Opt for Power Automate as its here to stay forever.

What I need to know for migrating ?

Most important, you need to be aware of the functional logic of your classic workflows. A consultant or developer can help you redesign the workflows in FLOW, but you should be familiar with the process flow.

How to check how many SharePoint 2010 workflow are in my Tenant environment ?

Use SharePoint Modernization Scanner to run an inventory for your Tenant and get report in excel which can be analyzed - refer here.

Limitations of Power Automate compared to classic workflows

Can be overcome with workarounds

1. Flow can run only till 30 days - SharePoint Designer workflow can run endlessly.
2. Workflow history storage - History preserved in FLOW context for 28 days. You need to add logs to list for tracking.
3. HTTP Connector - Premium paid connector for REST API calls.
4. Reusable Flows - This is a great feature with designer workflows.
5. Impersonation - Not readily available in FLOW. Designer workflows allowed executing an action based on admin/system account.

You can use combination of triggers and actions in Power Automate to setup workflows, approvals, scheduled jobs.

Read more on Microsoft site.

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