From Nintex to skybow: Your Guide for Successful Replacement

Still running workflows with Nintex Workflow for Office 365?
Then you’ve probably already heard the news: retirement and end of support are approaching.‍

‍

That raises some uncomfortable questions.

• What happens to your existing workflows?
• How much effort will migration require?
• Will you have to rebuild everything from scratch?

‍

Many organizations hesitate because they assume the switch will be complicated. New platform. New tools. New way of building processes.

‍

But here’s the good news: With skybow Studio, you can rebuild your Nintex workflows using the same types of actions and automation logic you already know. The real change isn’t the capabilities. It’s the mindset.

‍

Once you understand how processes are structured in skybow, migrating your workflows becomes far more straightforward than most teams expect. 🚀

‍

‍

Different Approaches: Nintex vs. skybow

Before we look at how Nintex workflows can be replaced with skybow, we should take a closer look at the different approaches of the two platforms.

‍

This will immediately highlight the differences between them. You'll then understand the mindset shift required when building workflows and forms in order to successfully migrate Nintex for on-premises or Office365 to skybow Studio.

‍

‍

The Nintex Approach: Workflows at the Center

In Nintex Workflow for Office 365 or on-premises, processes are typically built using a visual workflow designer.

‍

Users drag and drop actions onto a workflow canvas. You can connect these actions and define the process logic step by step. Workflows are commonly triggered by events such as:

• A list item being created or changed
• A workflow started manually by a user
• A workflow triggered by another workflow
• Scheduled site workflows

‍

Once the workflow is finished, it's published and executed by the background workflow engine.

‍

The central concept in Nintex is therefore:Processes run as workflows triggered by events. The workflow itself becomes the core of the process logic.

‍

‍

The skybow Approach: The Form as the Process Hub

When building processes with skybow Studio for SharePoint online, SharePoint SE or SharePoint 2019, the starting point is usually different: Instead of beginning with the workflow, you start with the SharePoint form.

‍

The form represents the user interface of the process. It's the place where users view data, enter information, and interact with the process in SharePoint.

‍

Once the form is designed, you can add automation around it. For example:

• Action buttons can trigger automation when clicked
• Status changes can start background actions
• Scheduled automations can run processes automatically

‍

The actual process logic is created in the Action Builder, where automation steps are defined using skybow’s preconfigured actions.

‍

Instead of designing one long background workflows, you combine different workflows. And the automation becomes closely connected to the form, the data, and the user interaction

‍

The central concept in skybow Studio in short: The form is the center of the process and automation runs around it.

‍

‍

Your Key Mindset Shift from Nintex to skybow

This leads to the most important change when moving from Nintex to skybow.

‍

In Nintex, you typically think like this:

“The workflow runs somewhere in the background.”

‍

In skybow, the thinking shifts to:

“What action does the user take, and what automation should happen next?”

‍

Instead of a workflow engine being the central element, the user interaction within the form becomes the starting point.

‍

This change has several benefits:

• Processes become more transparent for end users
• Automation becomes easier to understand
• The process logic is closer to the actual user experience

‍

For many organizations, this leads to solutions that feel more natural to their end users within SharePoint (online or Server) and Microsoft 365.

‍

‍

How to rebuild Nintex Workflows in skybow

A common concern when migrating from Nintex is whether existing workflows can actually be recreated: The answer is yes.

‍

With the automation capabilities in skybow Studio, Nintex workflows can be rebuilt using mostly the same types of logic and actions.

‍

The first step is analyzing the existing workflow:

1. What triggers the workflow?
2. What actions happen inside the workflow?
3. How does the workflow read or update SharePoint data?

‍

Once this Nintex workflow structure is clear, it can be translated into the skybow model.

‍

‍

Step 1: Design the SharePoint Form in skybow

The form becomes the foundation of the process. That's why this should always be your starting point when replacing Nintex with skybow.

‍

What you should consider when building the SharePoint Form with the skybow:

• Which fields represent the process state
• What information users need to enter or review
• Which roles interact with the process
• When users should be able to trigger actions

‍

The form layout is built using the drag & drop skybow Forms Designer.

‍

‍

Step 2: Translate Workflow Triggers

Next, you need to map the workflow triggers from Nintex to the different skybow automation possibilities.

‍

Here are a few examples:

• Item created → Automation after the first save
• Manual workflow start → Action button on the form
• Background process → Scheduled or triggered background action

‍

As you can see, you can map the various Nintex workflow triggers in skybow. They're just structured slightly differently.

‍

‍

Step 3: Rebuild the Nintex Logic in sykbow

Finally, you need to recreate the actual process logic in the Action Builder. Here, you're able to define the automation using preconfigured actions such as:

• Conditions
• Loops
• Data operations
• A lot of other automation actions

‍

Instead of one large background workflow, the result is a combination ofform interactions and background (triggered & scheduled) actions.

‍

Here you can find a full list of all available automation actions in skybow Studio.

‍

‍

Operational Advantages Over Nintex

Beyond the different process model, skybow Studio also introduces operational improvements compared to Nintex.

‍

In Nintex, workflows are typically published directly in SharePoint. skybow provides a more structured solution lifecycle with features such as:

• Built-in version control
• Rollback capabilities
• Package-based deployment

‍

This allows teams to move solutions through environments such as:

Development → Test → Production

‍

When updating an existing solution, the Selective Deployment feature allows you to decide exactly which parts should be published to production.

‍

This provides greater control and stability when managing solutions.

‍

‍

skybow Is Your #1 Nintex Replacement

For organizations currently evaluating alternatives to Nintex, skybow Studio offers several advantages.

‍

The drag-and-drop Form Builder enables the creation of advanced SharePoint forms that provide a strong user interface for end users.

‍

The automation actions allow organizations to recreate their existing Nintex workflows. While the architecture works differently, the automation capabilities are just as powerful.

‍

skybow also offers important flexibility for modern SharePoint environments:

• Solutions run on SharePoint online, SharePoint Server SE and SharePoint 2019
• The same solution can run on-premises, online, or hybrid
• Moving workflows from server to the cloud becomes significantly easier

This makes skybow solutions highly future-proof.

‍

‍

Now is the right time to start planning the next step

‍

At skybow, we've helped many organizations analyze, redesign, and rebuild their Nintex processes using skybow Studio.

‍

If you’d like to learn how this could work in your environment, book a free call with our experts and start planning your migration today.

‍

‍