This document provides an overview and agenda for a presentation on Microsoft Flow. It discusses the concept of Flow, how to create flows, limitations of flows, how flows can interact with on-premises systems, environments and data governance in Flow, ways Flow can communicate with external systems, pricing models for Flow, and concludes with advice and considerations for using Flow.

1. Microsoft
Flow
Tips, pitfalls, problems and warnings
to be known before starting a real
project
Serge Luca-Isabelle Van
campenhoudt

2. 2
Serge Luca
Managing Partner at ShareQL
About Serge
11 x SharePoint MVP,
BrusselsSharePoint since 2002
O365 Architect (Admin, Dev,
governance)
Worked for the MS workflow team
Blog:
http://sergeluca.wordpress.com/
sergeluca@shareql.com
@sergeluca
SharePoint
Flow
Dev
Architecture
Bullshit
Professional Skills

3. 3
Isabelle Van Campenhoudt
Managing Partner at ShareQL
About Isabelle
6X Data Platform MVP,
BrusselsConsultant, Speaker Trainer,
PASS Community Leader
SQL server since 1999
SharePoint BI & Power BI since it starts
Blog: theSQLGrrrl.wordpress.com
ivc@shareql.com
Twitter: @theSQLgrrrl
http://GUSS.pro
SQL
BI
Tuning
Architecture
Coffee
making
Professional Skills

4. Agenda
Agenda
Agenda
Agenda

5. 5
Agenda
Introduction
The concept
Creating Flows
Flows and
on premises
Environment +
Data Loss
prevention
Extensibility :
communication with
the outside world
Price &
roadmap

6. Agenda
Agenda
Agenda
The Concept

7. Personal
productivity Collaboration
Citizen
development
Bridge
between
Applications
4 main Benefits

8. The context-Business Apps
Empower power users
Connect data across apps
More efficient developers
App Services
Service Fabric
Azure Functions
…
Azure functions
Graph api
…
SQL Server BI
Data analytics
Internet of Things (IoT)
…
Build modern business app fast

9. Agenda
Creating Flow

10. Creating and managing Flows
Microsoft Account (free) or Office 365 or Dynamics 365 or Flow
(paid) or PowerApps (or free new PowerApps Community Plan)
Flow.microsoft.com
Powerapps.microsoft.com
A modern SharePoint Online list / document library
Mobile app (iOS-Android-Windows Mobile)

11. Flow templates

12. demo
EXPENSE REPORT

13. Approval escalation in Flow

14. Approval problems…
What do we do if the
item (to be approved)
is deleted ?
What if the flow is
cancelled ?
No approval
reassignment
(->roadmap)
Flow limitations :
flow duration = max 30
days
Approval duration =
max 30 days
->What if Approval 1 =
20 days & Approval 2
= 15 days ?

15. Limitations
• Create nested flows
250
actions/flow
• Max 5000 iterations in Do until
• Max 5.000 iterations in For each (100.000 in Plan 1)Loops
• Limitation when more than 5000 items in a SharePoint list?
• No OOB site level actions ->roadmap
• Cannot OOB change item security ->roadmap
• Lookup field pointing to another web (cross-site column lookup)
?
SharePoint

16. Limitations
No out of the box send for
review
•soon

17. Limitation : no state machines

18. Limitation : no custom approval form

19. Agenda
Microsoft Flow
and On
Premises

20. Flow and data on premises
• Install the « on Premises data gateway »
(shared between PowerBI, PowerApps and Azure Logic
Apps)
Not just databases, but
also Powershell scripts,
files and (recently) : REST
API web services

21. demo
FLOW & DATA ON PREM

22. Environments

23. Environments & compliance
Isolated spaces
where Flows/Data
are running/stored
Ex HR, Marketing,
Operations, Legal,
DEV, TEST, UAT,
PROD…
Different rules
(DLP)
Ex marketing can
use twitter, Legal
and Production
cannot
Different regions if
needed
[Plan 2 for
creating & using
several Env]

24. ENVIRONMENTSDEV
MARKETING
TEST
MARKETING
UAT
MARKETING
PROD
MARKETING
DEV
OPERATIONS
US TEST
OPERATIONS
US UAT
OPERATIONS
US PROD
OPERATIONS
US
U
S
DL
P
DEV
OPERATIONS
EUROPETEST
OPERATIONS
EUROPEUAT
OPERATIONS
EUROPE PROD
OPERATIONS
EUROPE
E
U
DL
P

25. Attention
We can export-import
Flows from Env1 to Env2
• We have to recreate the
connections (fixed in roadmap)
• SharePoint lists based on
GUID (! From SharePoint test
site to SharePoint prod site !)
On premise data gateway
:
• Gateways only in the default
environment

26. Extensibility &
Communication with the
outside world

27. Call – Flow - Called
 Action Request
 Action Http
 Custom Connector (REST API described in a Swagger/Open
API )
PowerApps calls Flow
A custom app calls Flow (« Flow as a service »)
PowerBI calls Flow (Data Alerts)
Flow calls the outside world

28. Power BI & Flow
FLOW
DATA ALERTS
DATA SOURCES
POWER B
I
SCHEDULED REFRESH
STREAMING DATA
LIVE

29. Pricing &
roadmap

31. Tarifs: Comparaison

32. Advices
• Keep your forms as simple as possible
• Manage the business logic in the workflow
• Use environments
• Define system accounts for your connections
• Limitations
• Learn the Logic Apps Workflow Definition Language
(WDL)
– Read my blog post
https://sergeluca.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/using-the-azure-
logic-apps-workflow-definition-language-in-microsoft-flow-
part-1/

33. Conclusions

34. Negative
Young, unknown
reliability
No state machines
(but we have loops
and tests)
Approval forms
cannot be
customized
SharePoint
integration still
weak
Flow duration : 30
days, Approval : 30
days
• Weak for long business
processes !

35. Positive
•Easy tool
Not just
SharePoint (it
replaces SPD)
Connections to
hundreds of
services
Including on
prem!
SharePoint
Integration is
getting better
PowerApps,
PowerBI
integration
Team Flow is very proactive & delivers

36. 37
Let’s get in touch
Send your message, advice, and suggestion at
Serge&Isa@ShareQL.com
Come visit us at
We speak all around the world, come and meet us!!
https://www.shareql.com/events
Read our Blogs
http://www.sergeluca.com
http://theSqlGrrrl.wordpress.com
Follow and like us
@sergeluca
@theSQLgrrrl
https://www.shareql.com/masterclassflow
Vote for > 30 days ! :
https://sergeluca.wordpress.com
/

37. THANK YOU
Thanks for your time

38. Appendix
SharePoint Designer Flow
Multiple connections to >150 data sources SQL, SP, ODBC & WSDL only ALWAYS
Out of box templates <5 100s
Workflow & approval history <365 days Perpetual
Approvals over mobile + mobile notifications NEVER iOS, Android, Windows Phone + in Outlook.
History coming imminently.
Loops, Do Until, Switch-case, parallels, variables Yes Yes
On-premises support Native Gateway support
Extended field types (people, choice, MMS, lookup) Yes People, choice, lookup – Yes new, MMS –
coming soon
Send email as user or system System only Yes
Attachments Yes Yes new

39. Appendix
SharePoint Designer Flow
Out-of-box send for review Limited Q4CY2017
Reassignment of approvals Yes Q4CY2017
Approval reminders Yes Q4CY2017
Custom input forms for approvers Yes Q4CY2017
Document library CI-CO, approve Yes Future
Approver impersonation Via permission elevation Future
Site level actions Yes Future
Set permissions on an item Yes Future