Comparing Virto SharePoint Workflow Activities Kit to Built‑in Workflow ActionsIntroduction
Workflows are central to automating processes in SharePoint — routing approvals, updating lists, sending notifications, integrating with external systems, and enforcing business rules. Microsoft provides built‑in workflow actions (via SharePoint Designer, Power Automate/Flow, and older SharePoint workflow engines) that cover many common needs. Third‑party extensions such as the Virto SharePoint Workflow Activities Kit (hereafter “Virto kit”) expand that capability set with specialized actions, easier integrations, and performance or usability enhancements.
This article compares the Virto kit against SharePoint’s built‑in workflow actions across functionality, ease of use, extensibility, security & compliance, performance and scalability, maintenance and support, licensing and cost, and recommended use cases — helping you decide which approach best fits your environment.
Summary comparison (high level)
| Area | Built‑in Workflow Actions | Virto SharePoint Workflow Activities Kit |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage of common tasks | Excellent for typical list/library automation, approvals, notifications | Broader with many prebuilt enterprise actions (file operations, AD, CRM, email templates, etc.) |
| Complexity for advanced tasks | Can become complex or require custom code (e.g., custom activities in Visual Studio or Azure) | Simplifies many advanced scenarios out of the box |
| Integration with external systems | Supported via custom connectors, HTTP actions, or Power Automate connectors | Many ready connectors/actions for external systems; reduces development effort |
| Deployment & maintenance | Native, included in platform; no extra licensing | Requires installation, licensing, and periodic updates |
| Governance & security | Aligned with SharePoint/Azure AD security model | Integrates with platform security; needs review for additional permissions |
| Support & updates | Microsoft support and community ecosystem | Vendor support from Virto; faster feature additions for specialized actions |
| Cost | Included with SharePoint/Power Platform licensing | Additional license cost for Virto kit |
| Best fit | Standard workflows, cloud modern flows, lower cost | Complex enterprise scenarios needing specialized actions and faster delivery |
1. Functionality and feature set
Built‑in actions
- Cover core workflow tasks: creating/updating list items, setting field values, sending emails, starting other workflows, conditionals, loops (in newer platforms), and approval steps.
- Power Automate provides a huge library of connectors (Microsoft 365, Azure, third‑party SaaS) and actions; SharePoint Designer/legacy engines offer fewer built‑ins.
- Extending requires custom connectors, Azure Logic Apps, or developing custom workflow activities (Visual Studio workflows or SPFx components) which require developer skills.
Virto kit
- Ships with dozens of prebuilt actions specifically for SharePoint scenarios: advanced document operations (copy/move with metadata), bulk item operations, advanced email templating, Active Directory (user/group) actions, calendar/recurrence helpers, item versioning controls, and often simpler integration with external systems like CRM or file shares.
- Many actions encapsulate common patterns that would otherwise require significant custom code or multiple built‑in actions chained together.
- Designed to work with both classic SharePoint workflows and some modern workflow platforms depending on product versions — check current compatibility for your SharePoint/Power Automate version.
Concrete example
- Sending a templated email with dynamic content and attachments: built‑in actions may require multiple steps to compose HTML, resolve users and attachments; Virto kit often provides a single “send templated email” action that accepts placeholders and attachment sources.
2. Ease of use and authoring experience
Built‑in actions
- Authoring tools like Power Automate provide modern, browser‑based flow designers, templates, and a large connector catalog.
- SharePoint Designer is dated; Visual Studio workflows require developer experience.
- Debugging and testing benefit from platform tooling (Flow run history, built‑in logging).
Virto kit
- Adds new actions to the same designer environment so authors can drag/drop or configure them like native actions.
- Reduces complexity for power users by encapsulating multiple steps into single actions, improving readability and maintainability of workflow definitions.
- Learning curve exists to understand Virto’s action options and licensing/contextual behaviors.
3. Extensibility and customization
Built‑in actions
- Highly extensible through Power Automate connectors, custom connectors, Azure functions, and APIs.
- For on‑premises or classic workflow engines, extensibility often requires Visual Studio custom activity development and farm or server deployment.
Virto kit
- Provides many plug‑and‑play actions that cover common extensions without coding.
- For custom needs, Virto may expose configuration options or APIs; however, truly custom behavior sometimes still needs development outside the kit.
- Using the kit can reduce total custom code required.
4. Security, compliance, and governance
Built‑in actions
- Operate within SharePoint’s native security model and Microsoft’s compliance ecosystem (data residency, audit logs, retention).
- Power Platform adds governance tools (data loss prevention policies, environment controls) and enterprise security controls.
Virto kit
- Runs actions within the context of installed components and configured credentials — requires careful review of what permissions the kit’s services require.
- Verify how Virto stores or transmits credentials, whether it uses service accounts, and how it logs activity for auditing.
- For regulated environments, confirm Virto’s compliance statements and data handling policies before deployment.
5. Performance and scalability
Built‑in actions
- Scales with Microsoft 365 or your SharePoint farm; performance characteristics are well‑understood and supported by platform SLAs.
- Power Automate flows can run subject to connector limits, concurrency controls, and throttling.
Virto kit
- Adds processing inside workflows that may introduce additional load depending on action complexity (bulk operations, external system calls).
- Proper testing is required to validate throughput and concurrency; vendor documentation should list known limits and recommendations for large scale scenarios.
6. Deployment, maintenance, and support
Built‑in actions
- No third‑party installation; platform updates handled by Microsoft (for SharePoint Online/Power Automate).
- For on‑premises, SharePoint updates and custom activity deployments are managed by your IT team.
- Support from Microsoft and large community documentation.
Virto kit
- Requires installation (farm solution/app package or add‑in depending on SharePoint version), updates, and license management.
- Vendor provides support and updates; evaluate SLAs and responsiveness.
- Extra operational overhead: patching to remain compatible with SharePoint updates and platform changes.
7. Licensing and cost
Built‑in actions
- Included with SharePoint and Power Platform licensing; additional connector or premium actions in Power Automate may require higher tier licenses.
Virto kit
- Requires purchasing licenses from Virto (per‑server, per‑user, or per‑tenant models depending on their offering).
- Factor in license cost, implementation time savings (reduced development), and maintenance when calculating ROI.
8. When to choose built‑in actions
- Your workflows are standard: approvals, simple notifications, item updates, and integrations already supported by Power Automate connectors.
- You prioritize minimal extra licensing and tight alignment with Microsoft support.
- You prefer to use native Microsoft tooling, governance, and compliance features out of the box.
- You have developer resources and prefer building custom connectors or Azure functions rather than third‑party products.
9. When to choose Virto SharePoint Workflow Activities Kit
- You need many specialized SharePoint actions (bulk document operations, advanced email templating, AD/Office 365 user/group utilities, prebuilt integrations) that would be time‑consuming to build.
- You want faster time‑to‑value with less custom development effort and clearer workflow definitions.
- Your organization accepts third‑party software and licensing, and you’ve validated Virto’s security/compliance posture.
- You maintain on‑premises SharePoint or hybrid environments where Virto’s packaged activities simplify deployment vs. building custom server‑side activities.
10. Migration and hybrid considerations
- For cloud migrations, review whether the Virto kit version you rely on has a SharePoint Online/Power Automate compatible offering; some vendor activities that work on‑premises may not be available or allowed in SharePoint Online.
- If moving from classic workflows to Power Automate, plan to replace Virto actions with either native connectors or confirm Virto provides modern equivalents.
- Design migration test plans for critical workflows to validate behavior, permissions, and performance before cutover.
11. Practical evaluation checklist
Before adopting Virto kit, run this checklist:
- Inventory current workflows and identify gaps built‑ins cannot fill.
- Prototype representative workflows using Virto actions and measure development time saved.
- Assess security: what accounts/permissions are required, how credentials are stored, audit capabilities.
- Verify compatibility with your SharePoint version (Online, 2019, 2016, etc.) and Power Automate if used.
- Calculate total cost of ownership: licensing + maintenance vs. time/cost to develop custom solutions.
- Request SLAs and support terms from Virto; run a short pilot with vendor support.
Conclusion
Built‑in SharePoint workflow actions and Power Automate provide robust, supported, and widely adopted tools sufficient for many automation needs, with the advantage of native platform governance and often lower incremental cost. The Virto SharePoint Workflow Activities Kit fills gaps by offering a broad set of specialized, ready‑made actions that reduce development effort and speed delivery for complex or SharePoint‑specific scenarios. Choose built‑ins when you prefer native tooling and low extra cost; choose Virto when you need the specialized capabilities it bundles, and you’ve validated security, compatibility, and licensing against your organization’s requirements.
Leave a Reply