What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case is the automation of tasks.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the ability and ease of linking multiple connectors within the same flow. For example, you can have the same flow connections with Outlook, SharePoint, and DLLs.
It is a low-code environment, which means that it is more agile in terms of automation. You are able to start with one automation and then easily modify it for other uses.
The interface is user-friendly. It took me perhaps a month or two to understand what the dynamic is and how it works, and then how it can be linked to the sprint. I would say that it takes two or three weeks to learn the basics, but then it becomes easy to work with. The more you learn, the more you can evolve the flow, and you can implement additional scenarios.
What needs improvement?
I would like to have chatbot assistance available, where you can open it and receive help on the spot. For example, if you are struggling in the middle of implementing a flow, you can easily communicate with the chatbot, perhaps providing the error message, and it will search for a resolution. In my case, I posted my error message on Google and saw that other people had similar problems. I was able to check the community platforms and I found the solution in one of the posts.
The documentation can be improved because although they do have a manual of about 500 pages, it does not cover all of the possible scenarios. It would be good to have one that covers different scenarios or different commands, provides basic knowledge about the commands, and even basics about JSON. Also, the user manual and learning guides that they have can be made more user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Power Automate for about six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have had some issues with stability where I received a surprising error message and still don't know why it happened. While it has been primarily stable, so far, we are not yet in production so I am not fully certain how it will perform. If the performance is good and there are no glitches or automation errors, then I will feel confident in the stability.
My impressions at this point, from what I have experienced, is that the stability is high.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
With respect to scalability, because we haven't implemented the solution yet, I am not sure if it will scale or not. My feeling is that it will scale because it already has multiple connectors for what most organizations frequently use.
It is fully designed but until it is implemented and I see the results, I will not feel comfortable commenting on whether it will scale well. My feeling at this point is that it is of medium scalability.
At this point, as the solution architect, I am the only one who is using it. In the future, we will have other people in my team using it.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not posted to the community, so I don't know how reactive they are. From what I have seen, as I searched the forums, it seems that people are responsive. My feeling is that community support should not be an issue.
At the same time, I still think that they should have more friendly documentation and chatbot assistance.
I would rate the support a three out of five.
How was the initial setup?
I would say that the initial setup is easy and user-friendly, but you should still have basic knowledge in advance to do it properly.
Power Automate is included with Office 365.
What was our ROI?
In terms of resources and in terms of cost, this solution is efficient.
What other advice do I have?
I see Power Automate as a quick-win solution for many enhancements that can be used in any organization. Rather than a task that involves heavy coding on a third-party application, such as a CRM or with Salesforce, Power Automate can be leveraged for good results. Overall, I would say that my experience using this product has been good.
My advice for anybody who is considering this product is to create a prototype or a proof of concept, first. At the end of the day, management needs to buy into the solution. They should see, however, that it brings value to the business. It is a product that I recommend, although they do need to fix the small glitches that I experienced in the flow.
I would rate this solution 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: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.