Microsoft Power Automate Cookbook

Chapter 4. Power Automate and SharePoint

In this chapter, I’ll go through a little bit of Microsoft SharePoint’s history, what SharePoint is, and how it became a central collaboration workspace for organizations. Then, I’ll go through SharePoint’s correlation with automation and how Power Automate and SharePoint became best buddies. Finally, I’ll go through common automation scenarios that are based on using SharePoint.

The History of SharePoint

SharePoint has evolved significantly since its inception in the early 2000s. Its journey began with the Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2001 release, which marked Microsoft’s entry into the enterprise collaboration and content management space. This initial version laid the foundation for document sharing and management within organizations. It allowed users to create web-based portals to store, organize, and share documents and other information.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 followed, offering improved collaboration features, enhanced search capabilities, and tighter integration with Microsoft Office applications. The platform underwent a significant transformation with the release of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007), marking a key milestone in SharePoint’s evolution. This version introduced features such as document versioning, workflows, and custom web applications, making it a more versatile tool for businesses to manage content and streamline processes.

A major enhancement in MOSS 2007 was ...