Microsoft Power Automate Reviews

We use Microsoft's Power Automate in two major fields. Our first use case is reducing the time it takes a user to repeat a task, like, for example, rewriting some physical information in our system. We used Power Automate to extract information from physical documents and to digitalize them. We also use it to put these documents in the correct system as soon as we receive them. We are using a robot agent to do that now for our finance department, for example. 

Our other use case with Power Automate is system reconfiguration. Before, users had to manually reconfigure the software to configure our project. When we had a major update, for example, we have to change it manually with the data for the software. Now we have a process for automatically changing that data.

We choose Power Automate because it allows us to monitor our process and know where we can gain some time. We have a cockpit that shows us all the workflow for all automated tasks in place. We have a good overview of our processes now thanks to Power Automate. This is cool because previously we organized our processes on either paper or in a Word document. This was not really an accurate reflection of the tasks taking place. Now, we can have an interactive mapping of our processes.

There is room for improvement in the collaboration between the digital team and the business partners because Power Automate is not an easy tool to use. Our business partner does not have a clue about how to use Power Automate so it would be great to have an easy user interface that business partners can understand.

There are a few limitations to the tool. For example, you can't have 100,000 interactions in an hour. I would like to see that worked out. 

It would also be good if Microsoft contacted customers directly about building their own connectors. 

We have been testing the solution since last summer, I think. We have just two solutions in production.

For now, it has been a good solution for us in terms of stability, but we don't know yet whether we will have mass production and who will use a lot of interactions per hour.

We have not had any direct interactions with their tech support. We use their forum mostly. Microsoft has a good community.

We ran into issues during the setup because our system is not entirely on the cloud or on major solutions. So we had a lot of information in a system we made. The integration of our system into Power Automate was a bit tricky. We had to put a data lake in place before automating anything because we were not very structured in terms of data. Our major issue was cleaning up the data.

We choose 10 premium licenses for our digital team. We do not have a license for everyone in the organization. That's why it would be good to have a free view-only interface for stakeholders. They don't need a premium license because they will never use it to build anything but they needed insight into what is going on to relay the information forward to other stakeholders or clients. 

I am not managing the pricing, but I think it is pretty standard for solutions of that type. However, there is always room for improvement. 

I would not recommend Power Automate to all organizations because whether or not it will work out for them will depend on a number of factors. If the organization is all in one Microsoft environment or well-connected with the cloud, it can be really good. But, the organization will have quite some costs if in a Google or Amazon environment. 

If an organization uses Power Automate, it is best if they use Power Automate's other tools like Power BI and Power Apps. That's why I think the pricing could be lower as you should be able to get several solutions in a bundle. This should be an option during relicensing, for example. 

Someone using Power Automate should also have a basic understanding of databases, Power Apps, Power BI, and Azure. You have to know the full environment to get the most out of this tool. In other words, training is mandatory.

We have been using Power Automate specifically for the COVID situation. The use case is mainly to automatically fire an e-mail every Monday morning requesting the employees of our firm to provide a response regarding their well-being. After the data is captured by using an MS form, the subsequent workflows get triggered through Power Automate. If somebody has mentioned that they have a fever or shortness of breath, we send this person's entry to our health and safety officer and our plan manager. All this is automated.

We also have another use case related to procurement where an automated flow was required for invoice processing for an external vendor.

We have been able to automate the form filling, form dispatch, and data collection activities, specifically for the COVID situation, across all offices within our firm. It is a global process covering all zones such as Europe, India, and Australia. We have also been able to define workflows for particular use cases, such as when there is a high volume of cases in a specific zone, such as India. We have created workflows so that our emergency team is directly able to connect with the R3 team that directly connects with the employee to provide the required support.

We have also gone a bit far with respect to the access part. The Power Automate flow also connects with the physical gates of our offices. Last year, we were able to control our physical gates with the data generated by the Power Automated workflow. We were prohibiting or allowing the entry of the people based on their responses that they had put in the Monday morning form. It was quite a complex use case, but we were able to roll it out globally, and it has helped a lot with the COVID situation.

The best part is the automated workflow, which is quite good and easy. It is just drag-and-drop. We are able to create workflows quite quickly. 

We are able to directly integrate the data that it generates with Power BI dashboards. Its integration is quite good with other Microsoft tools, such as Power BI. The visualization of the data has become helpful for us.

Microsoft shouldn't charge extra for the database license if you want to store the data in the database during the trial. We wanted to have a historical trend of the data, and we started with the trial version of the tool. The database license is not included with the trial version, and you have to purchase it separately. Because we had a budget constraint, we had to pull all the information manually from the system, massage it, and push it to the dashboard. About two months ago, we have upgraded to the full-fledged version in which the database is integrated. The database license should be there in the trial version, but they have totally decoupled it. They should have provided a bundle, at least for the trial version, so that once a person or a firm gets a sense of it, they can start building. It might be because they wanted to sell additional licenses or premium licenses, and that's why they have added it in the premium version.

It should have more cognitive features. Automation Anywhere and UiPath are different because they have cognitive functionality plus intelligent automation. The cognitive functionality is currently not there in Microsoft Power Automate. It is just for workflow automation and basic bot-level tasks. It should have more cognitive features, which probably will be launched in a couple of years.

I have been using this solution for the past one and a half years.

It is quite a stable product.

It is scalable. There is no doubt about Microsoft products in terms of scalability. Because of its scalability, we are able to have use cases that require a higher load.

From the build perspective, only our team builds it. We have around 10 to 12 developers who create and support Power Automate solutions. In terms of its usage, we are currently using it only for two use cases. We also have other tools, but we are using Power Automate for the use cases with less budget. Its license cost is comparatively less as compared to Automation Anywhere.

We have annual support, and there is also a community. My team connected with the community forums, and most of the things got resolved there. They connected with the support once for an issue, which got resolved. Their support is good.

We are also using Automation Anywhere, but we needed a tool that is cheaper than Automation Anywhere. Power Automate fits there well.

Its deployment was quite easy. We already have Microsoft suite across our company. Our complete ecosystem is Microsoft-based, so it was not a challenge. It took one or two days to get things in place. For complete documentation and implementation, it hardly took two weeks.

As per our current agreement, Microsoft is supposed to provide support. So, we had an external consultant who helped us out.

Its licensing cost is comparatively less as compared to Automation Anywhere. We have bought a two-year license agreement.

I would recommend this solution to others. It is one of the powerful tools. The best part is that it fits very well with the Microsoft ecosystem. It is not at the same level as Automation Anywhere and UiPath, but being a Microsoft product, I see a bright future for this. In one and a half years, it will be one of the key players in the RPA industry.

I would rate Microsoft Power Automate an eight out of ten.

We have clients in a number of different industries. We were evaluating Power Automate for a hospital in Kansas City. We were looking at a couple of different use cases with regards to their vendor onboarding and some of the back-office processes. 

The initial setup is pretty easy.

The entire product is pretty easy to pick up and learn. We've got some developers and some software engineers that have picked it up. We have RPA specialists that are are deep specialists in UiPath, and they picked up Power Automate relatively quickly. We have guys that are trained in multiple platforms such as Automation Anywhere or Blue Prism and they got it right away.

The solution lacks maturity. That will come with time.

The complementary suite of capabilities with regards to task capture and being able to self-document a process needs improvement. The whole document handling aspect, OCR recognition and capabilities, need to incorporate some more of an AI type of approach with document extraction and document handling. 

Being able to handle various types of forms and complex documents is important. Obviously, we handle a lot of documents like invoices that could have multiple formats and multiple pages of content, and very complex material contracts. That area is where it shows that UiPath has come a long way and Microsoft has a ways to go. 

If I look at the suite of tools that UiPath has, it's very robust and extensive. There are complimentary tools that help determine the applicability of a process. Being able to have tools that help assess things like a business case, savings, applicability, etc., relatively quickly, which we see with UiPath, for example, is integral to a good product. 

I've been using the solution for less than a year.

A criticism of Microsoft is that they typically bundle everything together, like with the Office 365 or Dynamics 365 or whatever the package of all the different options are. You get it whether you want it or not. The problem with that is, the content that you're giving away in the bundle is either not fully baked, or fully thought out or all that valuable. Some might be buggy or not do exactly what they are supposed to.

Clients are frustrated that they're getting stuff that they don't want. They'll ask us "why am I getting all these other packages as part of my bundle, that don't make sense?". I would rather see a really innovative and leading tool, rather than a whole bunch of tools that do lots of things. 

We haven't really reached out to technical support. We haven't really gone into production. Most of the issues, anything that we've had to do technically, we've figured out.

The initial setup is very straightforward. Our team picked it up really quickly. The question is if it's really solving the trickier problems on not. The more complex problems, is where the value is going to be. Process automation is becoming a commodity. Therefore, the differentiation is in really being able to handle the more complex problems, especially at an enterprise level.

We're able to handle implementations ourselves. We're a reseller and gold partner with Microsoft.

I'm unsure as to what the licensing costs are. It's not something that I generally deal with.

We're a vendor, therefore, we tend to use various solutions according to our client's needs. We've evaluated UiPath against Power Automate, for example.

We have evaluated Power Automate and we're trying to get some competency there. I don't believe it's to the same level as where you have the maturity as UiPath.

We've also looked at Blue Prism and found their capabilities quite mature.

I'm using the latest version of the solution.

We would typically evaluate the solution as an on-Cloud deployment. However, we would use either cloud or on-premises deployment models, depending on the situation. It's not implemented in our organization. We're a vendor or a partner. We provide services to implement it.

I'd advise other organizations that if you are looking for industrial strength, I don't think this solution is quite it. However, if you're poking around and are going to use it lightly, it might be a way to venture into process automation. It would allow you to try it out without a big commitment. If there are companies that are serious about it, it's probably not the right option. It's not ready yet. Microsoft is maybe trying other ways to build out the capabilities, through acquisition avenues. Therefore, I'm not sure if that's the platform to get. There will be too many growing pains.

Overall, I'd rate the solution five out of ten.

I really like the Excel operations and the templates that the solution has available. If you're looking for 10 items, chances are there are templates already for six to eight of them. We just have to download or integrate that template and our work has been done for us, in a sense. 

It's really user friendly. One of the coolest features that I've found is when we are writing some functions or some custom line of code, there is specific virtualization that we are working with that we are utilizing for recording. 

In just in one click, we can see any documentation, etc., that we need. It makes it very easy to navigate. 

I'm still new to Microsoft. I don't know if there are features or aspects of the solution which are lacking. I need more time to work with it to really decide if there's anything I'd like to have on the solution that's not already there.

All the services on the Microsoft platform are great. If we want to try something like with SharePoint or Azure or the 365 CRM, then we can't with the everyday community edition of the Microsoft Power Automate. It would be a good thing if there was some sort of trial period. Let's say you have 14 days. That way, can log into the loading screen with Power Automate, and get to utilize services like SharePoint, OneDrive, 365 CRM or etc. to see if they like them. It would be a good way for Microsoft to cross-sell or up-sell.

Otherwise, it's expensive, to buy all these extra applications, without knowing if or how you could use them or integrate them into your work.

One thing that I would really like to recommend is that they should get an actual learning environment or LMS where we can go and find all the different tools, how to utilize the different tools of Power Automate, and documentation or tutorials in video form on how we can create our own custom templates. 

Right now, what we have to do is we have to navigate to a different platform, for example, YouTube, and search on YouTube to see whether there are different kinds of techie guys that have updated their information about the Microsoft Power Automate. Microsoft Power Automate needs its own in-house LMS, where we can get the entire knowledge of the product from beginning to end. 

I've only been using the solution for two or three weeks.

I have not tried any kind of real-world problems so I can't say too much about the solution's stability. 

I haven't used the solution long enough to really test the scalability. I'm not sure how scalable it is.

The initial setup is very straightforward. Even a person who has one or two years of coding skills can install the solution quite easily. It's pretty simple. You don't have to be a Microsoft expert. I, for example, would be able to handle it, and I am very new to Microsoft.

I'm using the latest version of the solution. I tried to follow some YouTube tutorials from different people who are actually doing some good work with Microsoft Power Automate, however, they're using different versions as compared to the latest version that I'm using. The layout and the modules and everything is different as compared to the previous versions.

I use the cloud deployment model because it has some free storage or free allocation with the subscription.

I would definitely recommend the solution. Even small businesses would benefit from the solution. Any company would be able to integrate it. There are a lot of tasks you could handle with the solution. It's great for handling customer inquiries, for example, if you had a business with inquiry forms on sales sites.

It also offers one of the cheapest rates as compared to other automation tools. Other automation tools charge a huge amount for license fees. Microsoft Power Automate offers decent fees for the automation tools they offer. 

The solution is also excellent for businesses due to the fact that it's totally based on the cloud. You can use it in anywhere and you can execute your flows from your mobile. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. If they offered some better tutorials, I'd rate them higher. No one wants to go and read through dozens or hundreds of web pages. The tutorials need to be interactive or video so that it's easy and engaging. If Microsoft was able to offer that, they'd be close to perfect.

Microsoft Power Automate has helped one of my clients to update a SharePoint list automatically. There was no need to open the SharePoint list every time and update it. Instead, a flow that runs and updates it.

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it easily integrates with Azure DevOps.

We need to buy a premium license for Microsoft Power Automate because some features are only available for premium licenses. It would be really helpful if Microsoft offered some premium features in the standard version. Instead of bringing everything to the standard version, it would be really helpful if Microsoft classified one or two important things as standard, which are regularly worked upon.

The solution's licensing model is very complex and not straightforward. The licensing model needs to be reviewed and changed. Sometimes, Microsoft Power Automate's portal becomes a little bit slow.

I have been using Microsoft Power Automate for one year.

I rate the solution a six out of ten for stability.

I rate the solution a six out of ten for scalability.

The solution's technical support responds generically, but we would need some issue-specific responses.

Neutral

On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup a five out of ten.

The solution's implementation takes only a few minutes.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing two to three out of ten.

We have benefits with Microsoft Power Automate, like automatically updating records when they pop up. I would recommend Microsoft Power Automate to other users because it easily integrates with other Microsoft products, which is one of the big benefits to us. Microsoft Power Automate is easily acquirable.

The solution's licensing model is very complex. Compared to other RPA tools, Microsoft Power Automate is easy to work with. Other RPA tools are bought at a higher price, but Microsoft Power Automate is not very expensive.

Overall, I rate Microsoft Power Automate a six out of ten.

We use the solution for dashboard reporting, RPA, and account management.

The product has helped us with support generation. We supported a client who required 42 hours of manual work every month. The solution enabled us to automate the process and save time.

The solution is integrated with Microsoft. It can be integrated with different platforms. The product is very reliable and very easy to use. Anyone can learn to use it.

The product should improve its RPA capabilities.

The product should add AI capabilities.

I have been using this solution for four to five years.

I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.

I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

The initial setup is easy. I rate the ease of setup a nine out of ten.

The time taken for deployment depends on the project. A small project would take a week to deploy. RPA, on the other hand, takes two months.

I use the latest version of the solution. We use the solution daily. People using the solution should maximize their usability to get a good return on investment. Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Microsoft Power Automate is used to automate tasks and schedule workflows.

Microsoft Power Automate has helped us automate tasks that have reduced human error and increased efficiency.

Microsoft Power Automate offers over 200 connectors that enhance the user experience.

Microsoft Power Automate is limited if we want to create a complex flow because we have to split the log into two flows.

The licensing cost is high and has room for improvement.

In a future release of Microsoft Power Automate, I would like to request the addition of a synchronous action, which would allow us to choose whether we want the solution to immediately synchronize any changes we make, for example, in an Excel document through SharePoint.

I have been using Microsoft Power Automate for five years.

I give the stability of Microsoft Power Automate an eight out of ten.

I give the scalability of Microsoft Power Automate an eight out of ten.

The technical support was able to resolve my issue but their response was delayed.

Neutral

I previously used UiPath before switching to Microsoft Power Automate.

The initial setup is straightforward and I give it a nine out of ten. We are working on a solution where each environment can have multiple solutions. Within each solution, we are creating a batch that includes Microsoft Power Automate, which can be easily deployed to higher environments. This allows for automated quality control of the pipeline, but data flow can also be manually imported and exported if necessary. There are several deployment possibilities, including importing it via pipeline or solution. One person is enough for the deployment.

The implementation was completed in-house.

The licensing cost is expensive. I give the cost a three out of ten.

I give Microsoft Power Automate an eight out of ten.

We have six developers that use the solution in our organization.

I recommend Microsoft Power Automate as an excellent automation tool. Our organization has successfully utilized this solution in various applications for automation, and it has proven to be highly effective.

Our company uses the solution to process insurance claims and related activity. We have around 80 developers and three administrators. Depending on clients' needs, we might scale in the future. 

The solution is really easy to use compared to other tools. 

The western license is fantastic.

The solution integrates more easily and with more tools than Automation Anywhere. 

There are frequent version updates and that impacts different algorithms so we have to adjust our code. 

The solution should include connectors and DevOps capabilities with its standard package. 

I have been using the solution for three years. 

The stability is good so is rated a nine out of ten. 

The scalability is good with no doubts. 

We have been developing on Microsoft's data products from beta release onwards. They bought and merged an automation company into their product so we know the different methods. We diagnose things and that feedback ends up inserted within very big containers. 

Technical support is good but their response times are slow. 

The setup is straightforward. 

We implement the solution in-house. 

Our typical use cases can be handled by two or three developers and take about six to eight weeks to implement. 

First, we create the DDS. Then, we create software flows, standards, and login processes. We add efforts, exceptions, vendors, record reviews, and testing. Finally, we perform UAT and production. 

The pricing is reasonable and the western license is fantastic. 

They have a premium service that includes connectors and the SQL server sanitizer team. If they change this service to be standard, then pricing will be even better. 

We also use Automation Anywhere but there is some maintenance involved. 

The solution integrates with other tools better than Automation Anywhere. 

The solution is a good product. It integrates well with apps, virtual agents, and other tools. It has all the capabilities of Microsoft and Windows. 

I rate the solution an eight out of ten.