1 End-of-Support2 Depreciation
Microsoft started discussing the removal of the traditional SharePoint Workflows last August. Of course, for SharePoint 2010 Online users, end-of-support means no new security patches, fixes, or anything else. If you’re unfamiliar with Workflows, it is a component of SharePoint that offers prebuilt applications in the form of templates. Customers can use these apps to automate processes across their organization. In removing Workflows, Microsoft is making a more concerted effort to drive users to its Power Automate (Microsoft Flow) tool. This is a service that allows users to create automated workflows across applications. It can be described as an enterprise-oriented IFTTT competitor. By creating automated chains, users can get data collection, file synchronization, and notifications. Importantly, Microsoft’s deadlines for Workflows only relate to SharePoint customers using the Online version of the platform. Redmond wanted to make this clear in its confirmation blog post: “SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013-based workflows will continue to be supported for on-premises SharePoint 2016 and SharePoint 2019 Server platforms until 2026.”
End-of-Support
Microsoft points to the following dates for end-of-support for SharePoint Workflows in SharePoint 2010 Online:
Starting August 1st, 2020, SharePoint 2010 workflows will be turned off for newly created tenants. Starting November 1st, 2020, Microsoft will begin to remove the ability to run or create SharePoint 2010 workflows from existing tenants.
Depreciation
As for SharePoint 2013 Online, Workflows will be deprecated with no further development of the tool. However, Microsoft will continue to roll out security patches and other fixes to the service in the future. Expect that to eventually change and for Workflows to reach end-of-support on SharePoint 2013 Online too.
