Girish Kumar. - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at Botmantra
MSP
Cost-effective with good support, but lacks the support to include coding
Pros and Cons
  • "The technical support is good."
  • "There is a limitation in setting up loops, where it does not support multiple conditions."

What is our primary use case?

We are a solution provider and this is one of the tools that we implement for our clients.

We have been automating several tasks using this product. They include things like comparing Excel worksheets with the contents of databases, automation in database security, and we have internal logs that can be used to help developers pinpoint errors.

What is most valuable?

This is a cost-effective RPA solution.

What needs improvement?

WinAutomation is missing a lot of options that are available in UiPath. One limitation is that for logs, the only option is a CSV file. There is no option, for example, to work with an Excel file.

There is a limitation in setting up loops, where it does not support multiple conditions.

We would like to be able to write code, the way you can inside of UiPath.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using WinAutomation for the past two months.

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April 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is a scalable product, although it is best for mid-sized industries.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is good. We had an issue and they were able to resolve it.

How was the initial setup?

The installation and initial configuration were straightforward, taking not more than 10 minutes.

What about the implementation team?

I deployed the product myself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

WinAutomation is cheaper than competing tools.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Our choice for using WinAutomation depends largely on the client. We will continue to use it, although if our client does not agree then we would have to use another tool.

What other advice do I have?

This is definitely a product that I can recommend. The price is cheaper than other tools and it has a lot of features.

I would rate this solution a six out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Senior. Engg. Manager at a construction company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Useful connectors, stable, and initial setup simple
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of Microsoft Power Automate are the connectors, such as loops, which make things easier."
  • "I rate the technical support from Microsoft Power Automate a four out of five."

What is our primary use case?

We use Microsoft Power Automate to automate everything, such as mailing, gathering data from a web scraping, and scheduling time.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of Microsoft Power Automate are the connectors, such as loops, which make things easier.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Power Automate for one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Power Automate is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have five people in my organization using Microsoft Power Automate.

How are customer service and support?

I rate the technical support from Microsoft Power Automate a four out of five.

How was the initial setup?

I rate the initial setup from Microsoft Power Automate a five out of five. The process took us approximately one day.

What was our ROI?

I rate the return on investment from Microsoft Power Automate a four out of five.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

With our Microsoft Office 365 license, we are able to use Microsoft Power Automate.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Microsoft Power Automate an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
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Microsoft Power Automate
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power Automate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
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Business Analyst at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Inexpensive automation which lacks strong documentation, but is recommended for multiple small projects
Pros and Cons
  • "Power Automate is not complex and is very easy-to-use in deploying most development projects."
  • "The thing which needs the most improvement is really the documentation. It should have better details of the processes."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use for this product is actually for a variety of reasons in conjunction with a few different products. We use it mostly for our accounting and invoicing purposes.  

What is most valuable?

From a development point of view, I found UiPath to be more valuable in flexibility. But Power Automate has been very easy to use in deploying most of our development, so because of that, it has become our preferred automation product.  

What needs improvement?

I think that the thing which needs the most improvement is really just their documentation. It should have better details of the processes. Right now it is on the lower end of the scale and does not have enough depth. So just adding more details and examples in the documentation would be helpful to users.  

It could really use some more capabilities with the OCR and UI functionality of the automation. Right now it is pretty good, but with that, it would be great and easier to use.  

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for probably about four months.  

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

 Power Automate is a stable product.  

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I think Power Automate is a scalable solution and it works very well for my purposes.  

Our company is quite small at the moment. We have just over a hundred users. But that is constant use and it is changing daily. We have not done a lot of scaling but it seems like there are no problems so far as we grow slowly over time.  

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before really adopting Power Automate, I did have some experience with UiPath.  

The main difference between Microsoft Power Automate and UiPath is that I think UiPath just has a wider variety of opportunities for integration. By that I mean there are more products it can work well with. So even non-Microsoft-based products work well with it, like integration with Citrix platforms. This can function without a lot of extra work. I think that is really one of the main advantages.  

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Power Automate is a much less expensive product than the competition and you can still accomplish a lot with it.  

What other advice do I have?

I think the price points for Power Automate are very good in comparison to other products in the category.  

The advice that I would have for people considering the solution is that it is better for use with multiple, smaller projects and solutions. If that is what you want to accomplish then Microsoft Power Automate is a good target product.  

On a scale from one to ten where one is the worst and ten is the best, I would rate this solution overall as somewhere between a seven or an eight. Probably closer to a seven.  

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
RPA/IA Solution Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Fast and easy to use, but if it had queue support and it was capable of doing more complex automation, it would be a much better tool
Pros and Cons
  • "It is quick, so I'm quite happy with it. It is also easy to use."
  • "It lacks a lot of functionality that other tools have. There should be queue management, and there should also be the capability to deal with a little bit more complex automation. If it had queue support and if it was capable of doing more complex automation, it would be a much better tool."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for office automation.

What is most valuable?

It is quick, so I'm quite happy with it. It is also easy to use.

What needs improvement?

It lacks a lot of functionality that other tools have. There should be queue management, and there should also be the capability to deal with a little bit more complex automation. If it had queue support and if it was capable of doing more complex automation, it would be a much better tool.

In terms of performance, it is a little bit slower with calculations than a typical Excel Macro, for example.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for about six months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a very stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is already implemented company-wide, so we don't have to scale it too much. It already has lots of functionality built-in.

How are customer service and support?

I haven't used their support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I also work with UiPath, Blue Prism, and Automation Anywhere. Functionality-wise, Blue Prism and Power Automate are two completely different tools, but they share the common RPA target.

How was the initial setup?

It was easy. It was already in the company when I joined.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are using the free version of Power Automate.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate it a six out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Business Application Group Manager at OBASE
Real User
Scalable and useful for triggering custom web services and routines, but the infrastructure part must be open for customers
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a very useful solution. You don't need to create an infrastructure in your environment just for triggers or executions. You don't need to invest in the infrastructure. With Power Automate, we can call or trigger custom web services and routines. We are also using the flow for gathering data from Microsoft Dynamics."
  • "Sometimes, Microsoft changes the game rules, and the free tools are no longer free, which makes it too hard to explain to customers. It is a SaaS service, so the cost is calculated based on the execution hours. However, we don't know the background of this cost because we cannot touch the infrastructure. They can be more open to developers or customers about this. The infrastructure part must be open for the customers."

What is our primary use case?

We are using it to trigger web service calls and gather data. There are some companies in Turkey and Sweden that are using Power Automate.

What is most valuable?

It is a very useful solution. You don't need to create an infrastructure in your environment just for triggers or executions. You don't need to invest in the infrastructure. 

With Power Automate, we can call or trigger custom web services and routines. We are also using the flow for gathering data from Microsoft Dynamics.

What needs improvement?

Sometimes, Microsoft changes the game rules, and the free tools are no longer free, which makes it too hard to explain to customers. It is a SaaS service, so the cost is calculated based on the execution hours. However, we don't know the background of this cost because we cannot touch the infrastructure. They can be more open to developers or customers about this. The infrastructure part must be open for the customers.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for two years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support depends on the type of partner agreement. We have a premium agreement with Microsoft, so there is no problem with support operations. For support for any Microsoft product, such as Dynamics, Azure, or Power Automate, we can easily talk to their support.

How was the initial setup?

It is very easy to install. It took just one day.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Microsoft Power Automate a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
PeerSpot user
Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Consultant
Good support, easy setup, scalable, and useful for automating our business processes
Pros and Cons
  • "Currently, we are mostly using the desktop part of it for data. We are basically extracting the data and then putting it in."
  • "When comparing with Automation Anywhere, there are a couple of things that this product doesn't have. One of the major things is the key management system. It would be great if they improve this. Its documentation can also be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for automating our business processes. We are using it for sending reminders and these sorts of things. Every Excel update also happens through Power Automate.

It is still under the review stage. We are not using it in production. Currently, we are waiting until the product is completely stabilized. We are expecting it to happen by September 2021. We are using its latest version. It can be deployed on the cloud and on-premises.

What is most valuable?

Currently, we are mostly using the desktop part of it for data. We are basically extracting the data and then putting it in.

What needs improvement?

When comparing with Automation Anywhere, there are a couple of things that this product doesn't have. One of the major things is the key management system. It would be great if they improve this. Its documentation can also be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is not yet stable. It is a new solution, and it is not completely stable. Microsoft is still doing some work on it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. We have 30 to 40 users of this solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We are using Automation Anywhere. Power Automate is integrated with Office 365, so we wanted to see if this can be utilized or not.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward. It didn't take more than 20 minutes.

What about the implementation team?

I did it myself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Currently, we are using the free license for testing. After everything is done, we'll buy the license.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend this solution. I would rate Microsoft Power Automate an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Solutions Architect at Alfapeople A/S
Real User
Easy to use and intuitive with good flow features
Pros and Cons
  • "It's an intuitive product. It's not overly technical."
  • "The issue lies more in how you learn the solution. The information is very generalized. It could be extremely useful to have more specific information about how to use various features within the platform."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use the solution for automation. I also use it for invoicing.

How has it helped my organization?

To automatically register some data has saved me a lot of time. In the past, I would look in an Excel sheet every day at 8:00 am and I would have to download a spreadsheet and match some values with another spreadsheet. That kind of task took me almost three hours. Now in almost three minutes or two minutes, it's done.

I also find that it's helped with invoicing in relation to taxes. I can download the invoice, and match it with my ERP system and they match the values with the invoice and the system. If it matches, it gets saved in a spreadsheet with many invoices. I could have 10, 20, or even 30 invoices a day or 100 invoices a week. With this solution, I don't need a person to review that. The robot handles that task.

What is most valuable?

One of the most valuable feature that Power Platform has is the integration with Power BI and the AI Builder, in the firts one, you ca create visualizations and show indicators of revenue, execution, progress, ranges, of whats going on in the solutions, in the second one, you can create an intelligent model to show projections in a matter of minutes, it's so ieasy o create a robot in these software

What needs improvement?

The issue lies more in how you learn the solution. The information is very generalized. It could be extremely useful to have more specific information about how to use various features within the platform. The solution has a lot of moving parts and aspects that need to be understood. Making the training process easier would help people onboard faster.

The desktop interface is a little rough to manage. You can't view the bottoms or the menu or the characteristics of what you need to use. It's very unclear in the desktop application. That said, the cloud application it's more useful. It's much neater and more organized.

Their AI builder has improved, however, it could be interesting to look into how to build a project that can make projections about a task or a process. If that feature could be more user-friendly, that would be ideal. Right now, it's not very clear how to use it. Maybe a person that has more knowledge wouldn't be as confused. I'm not like a developer. I'd need it simplified for me.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about a year to a year and a half so far. It hasn't been an extended period of time.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I haven't experienced any issues with the stability of the solution. There aren't bugs or glitches. It doesn't seem to crash or freeze. It's been good so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product can integrate with other solutions, and therefore it can work with high workloads or low workloads. It's very scalable. 

We have anywhere from 100 to 500 users.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support of Microsoft has been good. It's not often that we call into Microsoft directly, however, at least, not so much for this particular solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not complex. It's quite straightforward. We found the process to be very easy.

The deployment is very fast. It only takes a minute or two.

It's a subscription. Therefore, you only need to log in and make a project, and if you already know how data deploys it's within minutes that you can start.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is subscription-based.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated Automation Anywhere, among other solutions. There are many, however, I'm more comfortable with Microsoft.

What other advice do I have?

We're a Microsoft partner.

I have used Flows and it's very easy to use it, however, not in advanced terms.

I'm not sure which version of the solution we're using. It's my understanding that it is the latest, however, I don't know the exact version number.

I'd warn new users that they have to know about the concept of RPA. It's very difficult to get on board with this kind of solution if you don't know about RPA. You have to make everything step-by-step. You have to know how to make a diagram flow. You need to understand what comes first and what's in the middle, and what's next. In order to successfully dive into using the solution, a user must be familiar with these kinds of concepts and labels.

If you don't know about the process or haven't read about BPM, it could make it very difficult to implement RPA. I suggest new users if they aren't familiar, read a little about RPA in the beginning and then learn about the processes.

It's a good product. I would rate it nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Chief Operating Officer at NGMROBOTICS LTD
Real User
Easy to set up, stable, and very easy to use
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup isn't too difficult."
  • "Technical support needs to be able to respond quickly to queries. Right now, they are much too slow."

What is our primary use case?

Currently, we are in an active search with a provider for on-premise, and therefore we use it to automate our process of moving our permits to electric housing and preparations.

What is most valuable?

We use the solution for building processors and it's really easy to use for this task. It gives you another way to move the path. 

With Microsoft, there are a lot of great process management tools. 

The initial setup isn't too difficult.

What needs improvement?

The availability could be a bit better.

Technical support needs to be able to respond quickly to queries. Right now, they are much too slow.

I'd like it if it were possible to have the solution as an on-premises installation, however, that is not possible. It only is available on the cloud.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with the solution for the last six or seven months. It's been less than a year at this point. We haven't used it for very long yet.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Power Automate, compared to Softomotive's product, offers the most in terms of versatility. Stability is not an issue. It has been very good for this product. We did not have that kind of problem with our customers or any installation. We don't seem to have to deal with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. We're happy with it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

At the moment, we have 80 professional developers on our team that work with the product. On top of that, we have various companies that use it. We have 50 or so different customers using the cloud.

We use the product regularly. We're on it on a daily basis.

Scalability is very, very easy to accomplish. If a company needs to expand the solution, it can do so easily.

How are customer service and technical support?

The solution's technical support isn't that great. They could be better. They're slow to respond when there are issues. They really need to be faster in this regard.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also work with Softomotive WinAutomation as well as ProcessRobot. Using more than one solution allows us to cross-manage better.

How was the initial setup?

The initial implementation wasn't too hard, or, at least, that was my understanding. I didn't directly participate. However, I did not notice the team dealing with any complexity. It's pretty straightforward. Any organization shouldn't have too many problems setting it up.

The maintenance of the license is largely handled by Microsoft. We handle everything else.

What about the implementation team?

We handled the implementation in house. We did not need outside help and we did not hire an integrator or consultant or any person of that nature. We handle the implementation for the customers if we need to.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licensing itself isn't that great. That said, the solution is very cheap. It's on the lower end in terms of price, if you look at the entire market. It's rather affordable.

What other advice do I have?

We're Microsoft partners.

We're using the latest version of the solution right now.

I would definitely recommend the product to other organizations. Overall, we've been pretty happy with it, even though we haven't used it for too long.

In general, I would rate the solution at an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Power Automate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: April 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Power Automate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.