The wonders of Power Automate
Updated June 07, 2024

The wonders of Power Automate

Phillip Templeton | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Power Automate

We use Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) to automate business processes ranging from simple emails based on data entry to a full email survey system built using this software, Outlook, and Microsoft Forms. We use the vast amount of connectors to link our data to the solutions offered to create complex systems using very little code.

Pros

  • Connecting solutions
  • Data manipulation
  • Automation

Cons

  • Better error messaging for troubleshooting
  • More non-premium connectors to compete with the premium connectors
  • Clearer understanding of the limits within the flow and the ability as an administrator to adjust those limits on your environment.
  • Automating solutions has had a vast positive return on investment
  • Less manpower to do the same tasks
  • Full automation, which frees manpower to work on other tasks
We are a full Microsoft Stack user. We use Power Apps for custom applications, Power BI for data analytics, Teams for communication and this software to tie all our solutions together. Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) has connectors into most, if not all, of the applications that we use, and we use it heavily to manipulate all applications to obtain our desired solutions.

Do you think Microsoft Power Automate delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Microsoft Power Automate's feature set?

Yes

Did Microsoft Power Automate live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Microsoft Power Automate go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Microsoft Power Automate again?

Yes

Microsoft Power BI, PowerApps, Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365)
Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) is best suited for a low-code environment where you want to automate a solution that would normally require several systems. You can do this from a single solution and do so with little understanding of code. Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) does have some limitations where you would need to switch to Azure Logic Apps to obtain the right connectors for the job.

Using Microsoft Power Automate

2 - We use Power Automate to bridge the gap between systems to provide functionality that would not otherwise be available in those systems. Some functionality includes emailing specific users based on certain criteria in our CRM or in building out additional functionality in conjunction with Power Apps in an easy low-code no-code environment.
2 - Anyone can learn to use Power Automate the system is very easy to maintain, update, and create. There are many connectors built into Power Automate that can be utilized or you can create your own to suit the needs of your business. That is the power of Power Automate. It can connect any system that has APIs.
  • Extending functionality to systems that may otherwise be limited
  • Automation of tasks based on certain criteria
  • Connecting systems that would not otherwise connect with eachother
  • Created an email survey system with Power Automate and Exchange Server
  • Converting data from a Power Apps form into a PDF that is then sent out
  • We created an HR Onboarding system using Power Automate, Power Apps, and Sharepoint.
  • We are looking at ways to convert data from one system into other formats and loading it into a database
  • We are also looking at pulling data from our ticketing system using APIs from within Power Automate
  • Automation is always something we are looking at and Power Automate is the tool to use for automating future processes for a more streamlined process
Power Automate is a great product that has a vast array of options on how to use it. Your imagination is the only hurdle with using Power Automate as there is no limit to what can be done with the system. It has brought a lot of value to our business through the use of custom systems, connectors, and streamlining processes.

Microsoft Power Automate Support

There are many avenues for support for Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow). There is the support through Microsoft as well as forums and websites dedicated to providing support and information. The Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) docs pages are very useful for providing insight into what a function does and how to use it. You should be able to use all of these avenues to build a robust flow.

Using Microsoft Power Automate

Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) is very user friendly. It is mostly just click to add functions or connections and then fill in pertinent information to ensure that the connector functions the way that you want. I was able to create my first flow within minutes just by looking through the connectors and piecing it together.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • With Power Automate, you can create vast systems that would normally take a team of programmers.
  • You can scrape emails.
  • You can Automate emails based on other actions.
  • Determining which connector to use as there are many to choose from.
  • The error messages aren't always the most useful.
Yes - The mobile interface seems to work well for basic tasks like approvals or if you need to trigger an automation. The mobile interface will also allow you to switch between environments if your organization has multiple environments to choose from. I think that for creating automations, it is easier to use the web interface.

Comments

More Reviews of Microsoft Power Automate

  1. Home
  2. Workflow Software
  3. Microsoft Power Automate Reviews
  4. User Review of Microsoft Power Automate