Microsoft Power Automate Reviews

We have various use cases because it is used at an enterprise scale. It is mainly used for document workflow management. It is used for validating and publishing documents. It is also used for validating the SharePoint page publishing, financial approvals, and investments approvals. It is a SaaS solution, so we have its latest version.

Its integration with the Office 365 ecosystem is most valuable. We use a lot of ready-to-use templates.

Its licensing model should be improved. The pricing should be more visible and transparent. When you consume services, there are too many criteria to figure out how much it is going to cost you to use the product to its full extent.

It should also support visual process editing, which is a standard feature for BPMN 2.0 compliance. They should improve the visual designer.

I have been using this solution for three years.

It is globally stable.

We haven't scaled it up. We have between 1,000 to 2,000 users. On paper, it is easy to scale, but it is under the condition of license purchase. It scales within the limits of what has been imposed by the licensing model.

I have been more in touch with their pre-sales people than technical support. We are a large enterprise, so we have direct access to their premium support team with SLAs. Their support is very responsive and efficient.

It is simple. It is a ready-to-use product, and there is no setup. It also doesn't require maintenance from our side.

It costs us nothing because we use it on the built-in cost that is a part of our existing license for 365. To use it more extensively, there are different pricing models.

Its licensing is complex. It is complex to evaluate the cost in advance. As a result, people don't use it because they don't know what overall cost they are going to incur. There are too many criteria to figure out how much it is going to cost you to use the product to its full extent. Its licensing model should be improved, and the pricing should be more visible and transparent. 

I would recommend this solution to others. I would rate Microsoft Power Automate a seven out of ten.

The uses cases are fairly basic for my clients in the IT industry.

The email routing and management features are strong, as is the report consolidation functionality.

The integration itself is good. I have not tried many complex workflows in it because of the different limitations. For every plugin, I need to add some money. It's not coming as a bundle.

But the basic flows look okay.

The ability to integrate with third-party services works well. However, there are frequent prompts for login and credentials, especially when interacting with server-based resources.

Power Automate has fewer features and more limitations in general. 

It's not as mature a product as some of the others, like UiPath or Automate Anywhere.

One of the main issues I've found is that Power Automate struggles with accessing Excel or other Office documents on servers. 

Even though it's a Microsoft product, we often have to log in through remote systems, and syncing can be problematic due to the way we use servers.

At the very least, they should provide access to Office 365 directly, without requiring additional logins on servers.

Most people utilizing Power Automate are already working within the Office 365 environment. Any proof of concepts (POCs) using Power Automate would naturally be built on top of Office 365.

I have been using it for a year. 

It is a stable product. I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.

It is scalable. I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.  

We get support via email. 

Positive

I primarily work with Automate Anywhere, UiPath, and Microsoft Power Automate. I've also used ServiceNow. I've experimented with the document understanding capabilities of Automate Anywhere.

Our clients prefer Automate Anywhere and UiPath. 

The initial setup is easy. I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, with ten being easy. 

The entire process takes less than an hour. 

I'm an integrator.

I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being expensive because there are charges for additional plug-ins. 

The pricing depends on the use case. If I want to use Excel, there is a cost. 

If I want to use Power BI, there is a cost. For each and every single plug-in, there is a cost. Microsoft should bundle these things. There should be a common bundle. 

I would recommend using this solution. Overall, I would rate the solution a six out of ten.

Microsoft Power Automate is deployed in the Azure cloud. Microsoft has a version of Power Automate Desktop to develop desktop flows and that's also saved in the cloud. We use Microsoft Power Automate on the project site. We have done a few projects on the site and the solution is used for video processing automation.

The most advantageous aspect of the solution is its cloud capabilities. With an E3 license, we can access Microsoft Power Automate at a reduced cost. If we are only using the application, we need the Microsoft Power Automate attended mode add-on. Other than that, the solution is free, since all customers are using a Microsoft-based license for their communication and an E3 license for the add-ons.

When it comes to cloud computing, there are many limitations when dealing with large amounts of data. For example, if we are managing more than 10,000 or 1 million records, the API layer has some redundancies. These limitations take a lot of time to process. For example, if we have 10,000 records, our cloud workflow will take more than three hours to complete. Clearly, there is room for improvement in the workflow process.

I have been using the solution for two years.

The solution is highly stable due to its use of Azure cloud services, boasting a 99.9 percent stability rate.

The solution is scalable; we can introduce multiple bots and a multiple-bot architecture is available. Therefore, scalability is possible with Microsoft Power Automate. We need to develop our own architecture to handle the multiple bots, share records, and share the workload with the bots.

We created a few tickets with Microsoft technical support regarding a time issue. We then created a workflow that initiated cloud workflow and handed it over to the Microsoft Power Automate desktop, which took some time. The flow worked, but after an hour and a half, it automatically disconnected due to either a lack of available sessions or an error. We created a ticket and Microsoft resolved it quickly, taking only one day. The issue was caused by the group policy, which had enabled a session timeout of between 30 minutes and an hour, resulting in the issue.

Positive

The initial setup is quite straightforward. We can create a production environment and a development box. We can then move our solution to the UID environment and then to production. The deployment process takes two to three days.

The solution is $150 per month for the unattended add-on, and the normal Power Automate comes with an E3 license.

I give the solution a nine out of ten.

The solution is more cost-effective. We were initially going to convert the customer's automation because they already use the Microsoft Platform.

Microsoft Power Automate has plenty of examples and templates. It is easy for new users to start development. I recommend the solution.

The primary use cases we are focusing on are applying automation to processes and integrating systems with API uploads. We have developed a module to handle private information related to the applications and API uploads to ensure the process is feasible without any challenges.

I believe document reading has been beneficial when dealing with Microsoft. 

There have been some challenges. We have struggled to take advantage of the power of the program due to the complexity of the reports we want to send to Microsoft. This includes client complaints, large discrepancies, and delays from data centers to solve the issues. As a result, we have faced both advantages and disadvantages. After some time, I believe Microsoft may have made changes to the backend that we are not aware of. This could cause issues, and the client has experienced instability in the current process. To address this, we need to make sure that any changes to the backend are documented and communicated clearly to avoid any potential issues.

The technical support has room for improvement.

I have been using the solution for six years.

I give the scalability of the solution a seven out of ten. The licensing is not bad but scaling requires additional work on the solution.

The solution is intended more for small and medium-sized organizations, not for large more complex companies.

We have 5,000 people using the solution.

The technical support attempts to address any queries, but their knowledge is limited. They try to come up with solutions for new problems and document them if they yield results so that if someone else has the same issue, they can get the same solution. However, they are technically struggling. To resolve the issues, Microsoft created a system where their internal technical team works with a mediator who understands the problem but may not understand the technical details. This mediator then takes the ticket up to the technical team analyzes the issue and provides a resolution. This system has saved them time in responding to and resolving the issue.

The initial setup is great. We're currently building with the connectors. However, automating the process may require additional hardware, which can take time to implement. We have to apply the policy and see how their applications access information. To accommodate the additional hardware, our plan has to be adjusted, but if we don't involve any alternatives, we can deploy more easily. 

The automation portion if required is a different department but for the basic setup, we only require two to four people.

The license is 20 million rupees per month. The cost is okay but we are paying per month. Microsoft is providing a license that is automatic which is very helpful. But we know that of the solution, we don't have any annual subscriptions. We pay monthly, otherwise, we choose another solution.

Microsoft is providing an automatic license with a cost of $20 million per month, which is reasonable. However, we don't have any annual subscription options, so we must pay monthly or choose another solution.

I give the solution a seven out of ten.

Microsoft is predicting that improvements will come in the future which will be better than what's currently available in the market. Even if they can build simple and medium processes, they still need to add certain elements and acquire certain licenses in order to run the machine from one place to another. We need to let go of the keys, such as a community rotation which we are automating. I don't believe updates should be pushed for those who are happy with the version they are using because that version is capable and we have fixes for any issues that may come up. Microsoft is now focused on automating development processes. It is important that Microsoft give the community rotation back to users, as we are all users. Regardless of size, we need to be aware of the upgrades that are being made.

We don't believe additional personnel is required for maintenance. We currently have adequate processes in place and automation. In total, there are fifty processes running, two for every system. Therefore, we do not anticipate needing to increase personnel for maintenance purposes.

The other departments have implemented the AP60 and are currently working on it. In my department, we are using Power Automate which is working but I need to check what progress the other departments have made and if they are facing any challenges to determine if it is easier to build with AP60 or with Power Automate.

There are many alternative solutions to Power Automate that also are cloud-based that I believe offer an annual subscription but I am not sure.

I would suggest starting with simple or medium processes, rather than complex ones. Begin with a pilot project to determine if it is profitable or not. We should also try to find a way to automate the process, as it could otherwise become stuck. Additionally, it is important to consider any issues that could arise with the elements that are currently working; the same elements may fail tomorrow. Ultimately, if we can handle these issues in the development phase, the solution will function great.

We primarily use the product for credit card operation customer complaints.

The solution is great for some of our backend processes, for example, accounting and financial processes, and also for IT batch processes. 

The solution is very easy to set up.

The initial setup isn't too difficult. 

I heard from my team that it's quite immature. If you compare it against Automation Anywhere and Blue Prism, it seems there is less experience in the product. The desktop version of the on-premise solution seems as if it's not as mature as Automation Anywhere.

We need a more powerful desktop option.

We started using the product this year. We've used it for about four months at this point. We're using it for three processes. 

We haven't used the solution for too long. We are at the beginning of automation. We are not ready to escalate just yet. However, we do plan to increase usage in the future. 

We've contacted local support in the past. At the time, it was just a simple question, as we have developed a simple process. We've just had small questions and issues.

Currently, we are also using Automation Anywhere. 

The product is easy to set up. Actually, we're a very large Microsoft customer. All of our solutions are mostly Microsoft. All of the security fields are already solved by Power Automate, which makes it easy to implement and to set up. It's not a problem at all.

Each process took us about two months to set up. Since we define them, it's quite easy. The operational processes are very easy to maintain and to operate. There are no issues with that. It's a simple three-step process, it's not a complex task.

We are looking for automation and are looking at options such as UiPath and Blue Prism.

We are looking for some solution for logistics.

We are a customer and an end-user. 

We are using the solution on our desktops, however, I don't know which exact version we are using. 

I'd advise other users that it is very simple to implement Power Automate, however, new users have to be careful with how they expand it and develop complex processes. That said, we don't have experience with processes more complex than a one or three-step process.

I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten.

Repetitive interactions between legacy systems and Excel managed by human resource. By collecting small tasks, there would be tons of time/effort we can replace with RPA. However, my challenge was major RPA solutions are not so much cheap to be applied to these small tasks. I believe Power Automate would be sufficient and cheap enough as Microsoft announced it will be free for Win 10 users (with basic functionalities).

It is still a persona trial phase so not much change has been brought. However, I have convinced Power Automate Desktop can be enough for many use cases where much investments are difficult.

Interaction with Microsoft Excel is good and will be more better in the future.

More detailed explanatory manuals are desired. As new features are introduced every month, I would like to know what is new and what is changed recently.

I have been using this solution for a couple of months. 

I'm not sure whether the desktop version is stable. It is relatively new. It was launched in May. I haven't really tried it. But the trial version I'm using has been stable so far. 

I haven't tried to scale it, so I'm not quite sure. 

So far, the tech support has provided me with good enough support and knowledge. 

Power Automate has two versions. The initial setup of the trial version is really easy. All you have to do is just activate the environment and you can start working on it. However, for desktop version, you need to install the software. It should be as easy to download and install as the Office 365 environment. 

How long it takes to deploy will depend on how confident you are with your development. The development itself is not easy. 

I live in Japan and there are not very many consultants available for the latest Power Automate yet as Microsoft is investing quite a lot and new versions are released every month.

Should be high, as unattended RPA capabilities are available at almost free as I can utilize it under o365 license. No extra costs to start small and you can pay extra if you need premium services.

I would recommend Power Automate. Those will small use cases can use a free license. 

We evaluated Blue Prism and Pega. However, Pega was a bit difficult to use for citizen developers. It requires some support from consultants or engineers, so it's a bit of an investment. They're small and if we introduced consultants or engineers, then it wouldn't pay off. So for that use-cases, yeah, users lost interest. 

Our clients utilize Power Automate for data collection and management in various ways. One primary use is integrating Customer Engagement (CE) with finance, operations, or other business systems. Additionally, we employ Power Automate to facilitate additional processes, such as automating workflows.

Firstly, enhancing Power Automate to work synchronously instead of asynchronously would eliminate the need for additional coding, saving time in project implementation. Secondly, addressing the limitations on the number of processes in Power Automate tracking would enhance its usability and flexibility for various scenarios. Incorporating a more intuitive user interface or experience would be beneficial for overall solution implementation. While PowerApps can provide this to some extent, it faces limitations, particularly with large datasets. Overcoming these challenges through enhancements or optimization would be valuable for implementing enterprise-class solutions effectively.

We have been using Microsoft Power Automate for 2 years.

I rate the platform's stability an eight out of ten.

Certain limitations apply to product scalability in enterprise environments or critical systems. We work with medium-sized businesses.

The deployment time depends on specific project requirements. Complicated configurations take three to four months to complete, while certain simple projects can be completed within two weeks.

I rate the process an eight out of ten.

When we purchase the Microsoft Dynamics license, the Power Automate license is often free, albeit with some limitations, such as a certain number of transactions per user. Given the substantial allocation provided, this arrangement typically suffices for most users. However, if premium features are desired or the project demands exceed the allocated resources, additional charges may apply accordingly.

I rate the pricing a six out of ten.

One of the automations we've implemented with Power Automate that significantly saves time involves discount application on quotations. When a discount is applied at the quotation level, we utilize it to automatically apply line-level discounts to the respective lines, distributing them equally.

The feature most useful for integrating different applications is its ability to create flows. Specifically, we use flows to integrate with finance and operations.

The cloud-based nature of Power Automate has greatly benefited our workflows. It operates exclusively on the cloud, eliminating the need for on-premises deployment. It enables low-code development, eliminating the need to create plugins. It saves a significant amount of time, reduces efforts, and enhances reliability in our automation processes.

I rate it an eight out of ten.

We are using Microsoft Power Automate for automating approval.

The most valuable features of Microsoft Power Automate are user-friendliness and low coding functionality.

When you try to create a flow or work on the flow in Microsoft Power Automate you cannot undo changes. There are no options to edit or, undo an action. This feature would be useful. The editing option within the flow can be enhanced.

In a future release, they could extend the flow run limits. When the flow is running it will be terminated.

I have been using Microsoft Power Automate for approximately three years.

Microsoft Power Automate is reliable.

I rate the stability of Microsoft Power Automate a nine out of ten.

We have five developers and IT managers that are using the solution.

The solution is scalable.

I rate the scalability of Microsoft Power Automate a nine out of ten.

We opened a few tickets with support from Microsoft Power Automate. The support is responsive.

I have not used a solution similar to Microsoft Power Automate.

We did the implementation of the solution in-house.

The solution is managed by the global tenant. We have three people who manage it.

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Microsoft Power Automate a nine out of ten.