Microsoft Power Automate Reviews

I was in an insurance company prior to joining this new company, and I developed complex robots for claims processing and policy insurance. I also worked on several other processes such as interacting with APIs and downloading SharePoint reports. It was difficult to download the SharePoint report, but I did an integration in SharePoint to download the data and upload it into the local database system. So, I have created complex robots with WinAutomation.

WinAutomation is very handy to use, and it has the power to interact with multiple systems, such as SAP, Oracle, or .NET systems. It's very useful for API integration. We can also interact with the data by using wildcards and other patterns. So, there are plenty of things that are good.

There should be a comprehensive or enterprise level of application to provide the cognitive AI, and there should be orchestration so that I can control all the robots on one station. The other tools are currently providing these features. So, hyper-automation integration should be done, and it should have cognitive AI.

One drawback of WinAutomation is that it doesn't work properly on the Internet Explorer or Edge browser. On the older version of Internet Explorer or Edge, it sometimes doesn't give proper selectors while selecting the fields. I had a lot of difficulty in that area, and I want them to improve that in WinAutomation.

They should have a comprehensive platform to help the community. They should have blogs. They had a community before, but they discontinued that. Microsoft has developed a community for any support required for its product. WinAutomation should also have that.

I've been using this solution since 2015, so it has been about eight years.

It's stable. It's very good. We had been running this product for seven years, and we had developed around 300 and more processes within one organization. So, there was stability. 

Initially, in 2016 or 2017, when WinAutomation was not yet acquired by Microsoft, we were having some technical issues for which I sought support from their technical team. Later on, we didn't require any support from them. We used to handle any technical problems with it from our side. I'd rate their support an eight out of ten. They were good.

It was very good. It has been very handy, and it didn't take much time for the setup. It was very easy to set up various things.

The deployment duration completely depends on the process. It depends on how long a process is. When we were developing robots in production, it didn't take much time for us to deploy them. It was very easy for us.

We had around four people at the time, and the number kept increasing. We were providing comprehensive services, so we were managing the development and engineering jobs all together at once.

Comparatively, WinAutomation is cheaper than the other automation tools. When we purchased the license, it was around $50 or $60 per user most probably per month.

I'd definitely recommend using WinAutomation. It's very affordable, and it's durable. It gives the long-term usage scope in the organization.

Overall, I'd rate WinAutomation a seven out of ten. They have to work hard on this one. Right now, there is no competition for WinAutomation in the market. They should work on the product more.

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 mainly use it in connection with our drug inventories. We use Power Automate to import the files we get from various wholesalers. We also check the prices in our back office.

We are a pharmaceutical compounds organization and also get prescriptions. We have a portal where GPs and doctors can prescribe patients. At the moment, we are looking to put more data into the database so that we can see some statistics from Power BI.

The solution has saved us hours of work. The solution does the work instead of employees.

We are looking for more data integration with various resources. Our plan is to have a deeper look at it in November when we are in Seattle for the two conferences. We would like to consolidate the data from various sources and extract it in order to analyze it. We used an RPA tool and looked at the ML part of it as well. 

I would like to see better data integration with different sources. 

I have using Microsoft Automate for a year and a half. 

It is a stable solution. I rate the stability an eight out of ten. 

It is a scalable solution. Presently, three to four hundred users use the solution and all our clients are small organizations. I would rate it a seven out of ten. 

The technical support team is good. 

Positive

The initial setup is moderately straightforward. The deployment takes a week's time. I would rate the initial setup a seven out of ten. 

The deployment is done by consultants. 

The solution's price is reasonable. I rate the pricing a five out of ten. 

I recommend the solution but I would advise people to get a consultant even if they know someone who has knowledge of Microsoft Power Automate, as it is the fastest way to automate it. I would rate the overall solution a seven out of ten. 

We use the solution to automate internal processes like leave applications.

The solution is relatively easy to use and cost-effective. It is also easy to learn and understand. It is part of Microsoft 365, so it's free. Additionally, it is easy to integrate Microsoft Teams with the solution.

The UI of the solution is not so good. Power BI's reporting functionality should be improved. 

The next release should include more functionalities and better reporting.

I have been using the solution for three years.

I rate the stability an eight or nine out of ten.

I rate the scalability a seven or eight out of ten. Around 50 people in the organization use the solution, including five to seven administrators, 30 to 40 engineers, and nine to ten sales and marketing staff.

Previously we used Google Suite in collaboration with many other solutions. We needed it for process automation and for creating electronic signatures. It required us to subscribe to multiple solutions. However, we wanted only one or two platforms. So, we switched to Microsoft.

The solution is not so difficult to deploy. The deployment takes up to two hours. I could deploy the solution myself. One engineer is enough for the maintenance of the solution.

The solution is free with Microsoft 365.

I would recommend Microsoft Power Automate to those who use Microsoft 365. We search the instruction manual, FAQs, and other online documents when we face issues with the solution. Overall, I rate the product a nine 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 use case is for presenting price regeneration. I'm the technical lead for robotics and we are customers of Microsoft. 

As a part of the Microsoft suite, this is a convenient product for us because it integrates well with other Microsoft products. We've also found third-party integrations with third-party applications is quite easy.

I think the speed of the application could be improved. If you're looking at Power BI dashboards, for example, the back-end processing is fine, but when you look at it from a UI point of view, which is what the client sees, the speed of execution could be improved. 

We've been using this product for five years. 

We haven't had any issues with stability. 

The scalability is good, we have around 25 users. 

Microsoft provides very prompt support. 

The initial setup is relatively straightforward and takes a couple of weeks. There's not much maintenance involved because it's part of a larger solution. 

We have seen ROI on investment although it's difficult to quantify. 

The product is fairly priced; the cost is part of the enterprise solution. 

I recommend doing a POC to ensure the product is fit for purpose. 

I rate this solution nine out of 10. 

We use the solution to automate our daily workflows. We generate customer invoicing and payroll with its help. We can automate the pre-defined steps for repetitive tasks using it. In other words, it works like a digital employee for us. We need to design the tasks and schedule them. Based on the preset time, the solution directly triggers and performs those tasks.

The solution's valuable feature is its compatibility with all Microsoft products like SharePoint, Azure, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Teams. We can incorporate all necessary Microsoft products in Power Automate Desktop. It helps us streamline the workflows of various applications. 

They should provide the connectors in Power Automate Desktop like Power Automate Cloud. Microsoft is already working on it. They released a SharePoint connector in Power Automate Desktop as a preview. So like that, we have hundreds of connectors in Power Automate Cloud required to be incorporated into Power Automate Desktop. For example, we need an exchange server to connect to an email account in Power Automate Desktop. It isn't easy to create a connection. It is simple with Outlook, but it is challenging with IMAP or POP-related settings. While using Power Automate Cloud, we log in to create the connection. But, while using Power Automate Desktop, we have to provide the server details instead of just logging in.

They should include a custom plugin feature so that we can add our custom connections. 

We have been using the solution since August 2020.

It could have been more stable initially, say in 2020. Since its new release in 2023, the stability has improved. Moreover, adding multiple actions takes it into not responding mode very frequently. In this case, communicating with the cloud environment consumes a lot of time. They need to work on these areas to improve stability. I rate the solution's stability as an eight.

It is a scalable product.

I have contacted the Microsoft community for a few issues. They respond within an hour. There are a lot of Microsoft users and everyone contributes to the community.

We switched to Microsoft Power Automate as it's very economical. I worked with Intellibot; they charged us $1,000 per annum. In comparison, the charges for Power Automate are $190 per month. Microsoft Power Automate has its benefits. As it is cloud-based automation, there is no need for any physical machine. Within the cloud environment, automation could be performed, reducing the expenses of additional resources like a machine. Also, if a big company acquires other products, they change the licensing model. It has already happened a couple of times with ProcessRobot and Intellibot. Since Microsoft is a big brand, it won't sell its products to other vendors. Due to our experiences, we decided to go with the bigger brand in the market. So we chose Microsoft.

The setup process is easy. You just have to log in, get the desktop.exe file, double click, and install.

The licensing model of the solution includes cross-selling. That means Microsoft provides Power Automate as an add-on product with other products. Also, it offers other add-on products with Power Automate. In this way, we can increase the credits with the provided options.

I advise others to go for Microsoft Power Automate. It's the best tool to my knowledge in the RPA industry. I rate it as a nine.

It is easy to migrate from other tools to Power Automate. We had more than 30+ in-house automations, and estimated a year for migration. Instead, it just took three months. We finished every automation in a short span. It helped us quicken the process of picking up new automation projects.

I've primarily used some automations, however, it was just for practice. I automated a few activities here and there. I have not used it extensively. For example, I can use it to read some emails or share files, or pull information from Sharepoint, et cetera. It can help me create new records for auditing purposes. It can pull data to show we are in compliance. 

The most valuable features include its ease of use for automation creation. It's very easy to use. We can go online and watch videos and figure out how to use it. 

It can help us improve many processes and workflows. It helps with efficiencies. 

The functionalities are very similar to other types of languages. It's not hard to learn, which means we'll be able to make more workflows in the future. 

It is stable.

It can scale well.

The solution comes bundled with Microsoft 365. 

I haven't come across any downsides to the solution.

We'd like to see even more free courses to help people learn to automate smarter. 

For countries in our region, it's not very well known. Microsoft has to do a better job of advertising it and how it can help businesses so that it becomes more well-known and widely used. 

So far, the solution has been stable. The workflows have been good. There are no bugs or glitches. 

The scalability has been fine so far. I haven't come across anything that would make me think it wouldn't be. 

We plan to use it more to make more workflows in the future. 

I've never used technical support in the past. 

In our company, we have people looking for new opportunities and tools to help the sales force in automation matters. 

The pricing is not clear to me. I don't deal with that. We have Office 365 and the solution is included in that bundle. 

It's a good product. If a company needs to automate something, it's a very useful tool.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

We could use it more. It's still new to me. 

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've primarily used it to update some legacy systems for our client, as well as government compliance systems and web-based reporting systems that don't have APIs.

With the desktop version, we can automate many things. The ability to do a lot of things is one of the most valuable features.  

For our clients with web-based reporting systems that don't have APIs. There was no other way to get the data into the systems than to manually enter it. We were able to automate that process entirely. We now collect information on a front-end power app, store it in a cloud database, and then push it into these external systems. 

The fact that we can do that for them is probably the most powerful piece for the people. 

We have removed an entire repetitive business process that didn't add any real value to the business but was required for compliance reasons.

There is a lot that could be done to improve the product. With debugging, sometimes things don't work because of timing, and just learning how to do that.

We were able to use a lot of JavaScript in that product using the desktop version, which was a huge help in terms of speed. 

The debugging tools require improvement as well as the monitoring which goes along with it. 

When things don't work as they should, it's usually because you're dealing with third-party websites. The importance of timing cannot be overstated. These are the areas that need to be improved.

One of the issues was that there wasn't a lot of documentation when we first started because Microsoft had purchased the product and began integrating it.

We started when Microsoft's product still used Selenium, and then they bought this product and switched over to it, which is a much better product. However, it is a third-party product. It has not yet been fully integrated.

We are using the most up-to-date version of Microsoft Power Automate.

We use Microsoft Power Automate both on the cloud and the desktop. We have done a lot more with the desktop than with the cloud.

Stability, it's fairly stable. They released a large number of fixes.

Scalability is the biggest challenge from my perspective because it is literally designed as a single-user product, at least the RPA piece of it is.

When you are trying to do what we are doing and running flows on behalf of people, trying to make it enterprise-ready and hardened is probably the most difficult challenge right now. 

Instead of running it on the client's desktop, we are running it on virtual gateway machines on their behalf, and they have support for that. We're doing it now for some other clients, and so far, we have done some pure RPA power automation.

Getting it enterprise-ready, and running it in the background on behalf of the users is probably the most difficult challenge.

I haven't used technical support at all.  have used mostly the web or we have figured it out ourselves.

I don't have a direct support contract with Microsoft. I've been doing the majority of this.

It's been a couple of years or so since it was set up, but I would say that it was pretty straightforward. It didn't take much to get it set up and running.

We believe it is a solid product that will continue to improve, and it is well integrated. It is integrated with the cloud, the database data verse, and power apps, with which we have a lot of experience and really like using power apps for doing things quickly. 

It's the first RBA product that I've really used. I've looked at it for a long time. We have done a lot of RPA work over the years, probably for the last six or seven years, just doing pure JavaScript, literally just writing JavaScript to automate these types of things. From our perspective, this is a huge step forward because we took a lot of pretty complex JavaScript code and logic and were able to put it in a format that we believe may make the code more maintainable and not just sort of stuck in the heads of one or two programmers.

We have completed a few projects, and just finished another one in which we were able to fill out 10,000 forms for a client who needed to do it as quickly as possible when a system went down. We reduced a process that would have taken weeks to four hours. We believe that the product has a lot of merits when used in the right places,  and I suppose we are still figuring out when it's the right tool.

I haven't used the UI path or some of the "higher-end" components. I believe one of the advantages of this device is its low cost. It's now built into Windows 11, it's a part of it.

When they say low code, no code, I would say the downside is that, while this is partially true, you still need to think like a programmer when trying to debug it or set up an enterprise-wide system.

I think it's functional, but I think it's got a way to go and it's hard for me to wait because I really haven't used those other products, We've been doing it mostly by hand for quite some time. I would rate Microsoft Power Automate a seven out of ten.