Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users
Shaik Abdul Waseem - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager, Robotic Process Automation at Deloitte
Real User
Affordable and capable of interacting with multiple systems, but should support orchestration and cognitive AI
Pros and Cons
  • "WinAutomation is very handy to use, and it has the power to interact with multiple systems, such as SAP, Oracle, or .NET systems."
  • "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."

What is our primary use case?

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.

What is most valuable?

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.

What needs improvement?

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.

For how long have I used the solution?

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

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power Automate
February 2025
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power Automate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

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. 

How are customer service and support?

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.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

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.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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.

What other advice do I have?

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.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
IT Team Lead at Kantar
Real User
An RPA specifically for Microsoft applications, but very limited in process complexity and integrations
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is that it is very easy to use."
  • "The tasks that can be automated are limited to Microsoft applications only."
  • "Any task that is automated needs to be very simple. This tool does not seem to handle complicated tasks very well."

What is our primary use case?

The reason why we are using this product is that we like to use it where we have automation projects specifically for Microsoft products. We can automate to improve productivity and for those applications and simple tasks, it is easy to use.  

For example, suppose I get my email with Outlook. There are certain times I will get specific Excel files from a pre-determined output which I have to always place into a particular SharePoint folder. From there, some other automation gets triggered and the file is processed in a certain way. Those are the sort of things we can automate with Power Automate. It is very good at working with those simple Microsoft-product-related processes.  

We use it wherever we have workflow processes in which Microsoft products are interacting. Before using this solution, people would get those emails and the recipient had to download the file and then manually put it into SharePoint. Now, as soon as it comes into the inbox, Power Automate gets triggered and it automatically copies the file to the correct SharePoint. There is no reason that a repetitive task of this sort needs to be done manually.  

How has it helped my organization?

It offers a different option than using UiPath which is much more complicated and more expensive for simple tasks that Power Automate can do more easily.  

What is most valuable?

It is very hard to say what the most valuable features are in Power Automate because we are still exploring the product and utility. I like the simplicity of how we can create those automated activities quickly. For now, the most valuable feature is that it is very easy to use.  

What needs improvement?

There is definitely a lot of enhancement that Microsoft can incorporate into Power Automate. For example, we have quite a lot of .NET applications that we created. These are custom applications that we created using something like VB.NET or C#.NET. These are obviously applications that are not published by Microsoft. I would like it if Microsoft could enhance the capabilities of Power Automate to allow users to connect to other tools and applications in some way. That will help us create better processes without making them more complicated or having to use another automation tool. Right now, we have to use UiPath to help us make processes such as the one described. I have not seen any way that Power Automate can do that type of integration. So if we could get better integration with non-Microsoft solutions as a feature for Power Automate, that will be very useful.  

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Flows) for the last three months.  

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have not created anything complex, so we have not faced any issues in the form of glitches or any bugs to this point. When we start doing more sophisticated workflows, that may end up being a different story.  

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have not really had much of an opportunity to test the scalability of the solution yet. If we find a particular workflow that requires a change or something, it is easy to drop that version and recreate something new from scratch. It does not take much time. Scaling the number of processes up or down at this point does not seem to be an issue.  

The number of users in our company right now remains pretty small. I think there are only around 15 to 20 of us are actually exploring the capabilities. Eventually, that group should be much larger.  

How are customer service and technical support?

We have not had any reason to work with the technical support team at this point. One of my colleagues did drop them a note asking if there is a way we can use Power Automate to connect to any of the custom tools that we created. I do not believe that we have got an answer to that question yet, so it is taking some time.  

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was quite good and went smoothly. It was not complex at all. It is good that it was relatively easy because we understood that it would mostly be used for easy processes to do some small tasks. We went that way and are using the tool only for working with simple automation processes. We did spend some time trying to automate more complex processes, but as the processes became more complex the tool became more complex to use. It is much easier to use it to do non-complex things. The setup for the processes themselves is fairly easy to do.   

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This solution can save money when used for simple tasks specifically using only Microsoft products.  

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We are currently working on evaluations of various products. The thing is, we have just started to embark on our journey into RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and we have brought in UiPath to act in that capacity. We are very much, at a nascent stage of the discovery of what we can do and what the product is capable of. We are identifying processes that can be automated and we are planning to work mostly with UiPath on those solutions. We have already engaged in a contract with UiPath for use of their product at this point in time.  

Most of our work is going towards UiPath currently but we also have this Microsoft Enterprise licensing. There seems to be no reason we should not use that as well if there are ways it can provide an advantage. We are also exploring if the enhancements we would need to tie in other applications and processes to Power Automate are something that we could do internally. At this time we are working with a combination of solutions that falls somewhere between our existing processes and new capabilities with automation tools.  

What other advice do I have?

I have a few comments and advice for people considering the addition of RPA in their workflows. I would suggest that they do as much streamlining of their processes as possible. If they can get smaller things up and running by creating the process with a simple tool it may help their efficiency as well as their bottom line. When you go for big tools like UiPath and all the other robust RPA solutions, the cost of creating those smaller processes will be higher than they need to be. If people have a Microsoft Enterprise license, they could actually use the Power Automate tool to make their processes much more lean and efficient. Doing the same thing by employing any of the RPA-related solutions and tools might be a lot more effort.  

On a scale from one to ten where one is the worst and ten is the best, I would rate Power Automate, overall as a product as a six-of-ten at this point. It has got a lot of room for improvement.  

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power Automate
February 2025
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power Automate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Architecte Entreprise Collaboration at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Good integration with the Office 365 ecosystem and globally stable, but needs better licensing model and support for visual process editing
Pros and Cons
  • "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."

What is our primary use case?

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.

What is most valuable?

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

What needs improvement?

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.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is globally stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

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.

How are customer service and technical support?

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.

How was the initial setup?

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

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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. 

What other advice do I have?

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

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Maria Irimias - PeerSpot reviewer
Data, Analytics & AI | Business Hyperautomation | Intelligent Workplace Service Manager at Accesa
MSP
Top 10
Advance automation with user-friendly no-code platform templates
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft Power Automate is a no-code platform which is very easy to learn, allowing businesses to build their own small automations."
  • "The licensing model could be improved to make it easier to understand and follow, as it is difficult to determine if the embedded license provides all functionalities or if additional licenses are needed."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case for Microsoft Power Automate is in the direction of citizen developers, mainly small automations built by business people themselves. We also use it for automations in finance departments with Power Apps.

How has it helped my organization?

Hyperautomation strategies are built around UiPath and Microsoft Power Platform, improving service delivery. It is easy to learn for business users, facilitating quick setup of automations.

What is most valuable?

Microsoft Power Automate is a no-code platform which is very easy to learn, allowing businesses to build their own small automations. Templated flows enhance automation capabilities, and document understanding is also highly valuable. The integration with AI in process automation is anticipated.

What needs improvement?

The licensing model could be improved to make it easier to understand and follow, as it is difficult to determine if the embedded license provides all functionalities or if additional licenses are needed.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Microsoft Power Automate since 2020, about four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Once you know how to build automations and bypass limitations, they are stable and work correctly.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Microsoft Power Automate is best suited for citizen developers. Managing it at the enterprise level with more complex business processes can be more challenging.

How are customer service and support?

I am satisfied with Microsoft's customer support as we are a partner and receive fast responses.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The setup requires time for configuration and may require an administrator. It is time-consuming.

What was our ROI?

Our customers have seen return on investment with Microsoft Power Automate. However, it's important to consider licensing limitations to avoid high costs.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Costs depend on the automation complexity. Licensing can be based on per user or per flow, with the potential for high costs if not carefully managed. The cost for licensing can increase due to licensing fees.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

When evaluating, it depends on needs. UiPath is more mature for enterprise-level automation but more expensive, while Microsoft Power Automate is a good start for small automations and for those already using Microsoft products.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend trying Microsoft Power Automate. It is a low-code platform and is easy to learn, allowing quick start to automation.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
Head of IT/Department leader at Apoteksverk
Reseller
Top 20
Allows employees to create and automate workflows and tasks across various applications
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution has saved us hours of work."
  • "I would like to see better data integration with different sources."

What is our primary use case?

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.

How has it helped my organization?

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

What is most valuable?


What needs improvement?

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. 

For how long have I used the solution?

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

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

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

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

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. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support team is good. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

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

What about the implementation team?

The deployment is done by consultants. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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

What other advice do I have?

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. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
DJ Kim - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at BigxData
Real User
Top 5
Easy to use, cost-effective solution to automate internal processes
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is relatively easy to use and cost-effective."
  • "The UI of the solution is not so good."

What is our primary use case?

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

What is most valuable?

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.

What needs improvement?

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.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

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

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

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.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

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.

What about the implementation team?

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.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is free with Microsoft 365.

What other advice do I have?

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.

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.
PeerSpot user
Deepak Thomas - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Lead at Standard Bank South Africa
Real User
Top 20
Stable and scalable; third-party integrations are relatively easy
Pros and Cons
  • "Third-party integrations with third-party applications are quite easy."
  • "The speed of the application could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

Our use case is for presenting price regeneration. I'm the technical lead for robotics and we are customers of Microsoft. 

What is most valuable?

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.

What needs improvement?

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. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using this product for five years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We haven't had any issues with stability. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good, we have around 25 users. 

How are customer service and support?

Microsoft provides very prompt support. 

How was the initial setup?

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. 

What was our ROI?

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

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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

What other advice do I have?

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

I rate this solution nine out of 10. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
General Manager at Consilio
Real User
Intuitive, integrates well with other products, and doesn't require hard coding
Pros and Cons
  • "To me, what's most useful in WinAutomation by Softomotive is that it's quite intuitive, especially because most of the capabilities of the older WinAutomation remain. You also don't need to do or know hard coding, and this is another useful feature of the solution. I also like that WinAutomation by Softomotive integrates very well with Microsoft products, especially Microsoft Office, and this is great news because most companies use Microsoft Office. Having a very good integration with the Microsoft Office suite covers a lot of bases, and is one of the advantages of WinAutomation by Softomotive."
  • "What needs improvement in WinAutomation by Softomotive is its stability. Stability is quite important to me. Another area for improvement in the solution is robot scheduling because it's not 100% accurate, in particular, it's 90% accurate. The monitoring of the robot could also be improved because it's not very straightforward, and you have to look in a few places or at least two places which means that monitoring is not a one-glance process."

What is most valuable?

To me, what's most useful in WinAutomation by Softomotive is that it's quite intuitive, especially because most of the capabilities of the older WinAutomation remain. You also don't need to do or know hard coding, and this is another useful feature of the solution.

I also like that WinAutomation by Softomotive integrates very well with Microsoft products, especially Microsoft Office, and this is great news because most companies use Microsoft Office. Having a very good integration with the Microsoft Office suite covers a lot of bases, and is one of the advantages of WinAutomation by Softomotive.

What needs improvement?

What needs improvement in WinAutomation by Softomotive is its stability. Stability is quite important to me. Another area for improvement in the solution is robot scheduling because it's not 100% accurate, in particular, it's 90% accurate. The monitoring of the robot could also be improved because it's not very straightforward, and you have to look in a few places or at least two places which means that monitoring is not a one-glance process.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using WinAutomation by Softomotive for one and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

WinAutomation by Softomotive is not a very stable product. It used to be a desktop application and was installed locally. It's a desktop application, but it's a cloud application at the same time, so the main problem is the integration with cloud services, the updates, and the refresh rate, plus its compatibility with other Microsoft applications. This means that WinAutomation by Softomotive requires frequent updates, and this is not bad. It's okay, but the point is that it's not very stable in the short run. The WinAutomation by Softomotive team usually addresses this issue, so if my company has a problem today, for example, within a few days, that issue will be solved, but in the short run, the solution is not very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

WinAutomation by Softomotive is a scalable product.

How are customer service and support?

I didn't use the technical support for WinAutomation by Softomotive much. At the very beginning, I used it because of the licensing requirement when I transferred my account from WinAutomation by Softomotive to Power Automate. Currently, the documentation is pretty good, so I didn't use the technical support even through chat, phone, or email correspondence, so I'm unable to evaluate support for the solution.

How was the initial setup?

In terms of the installation of WinAutomation by Softomotive, it wasn't as straightforward, specifically for the license administration because you have to be enrolled on the portal. I'm referring to the new version of WinAutomation which is now Power Automate, but the original WinAutomation by Softomotive only took ten minutes to install. The Power Automate version, on the other hand, wasn't impossible to install, but it wasn't straightforward.

What was our ROI?

I could say that my organization has ROI from WinAutomation by Softomotive.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

My company switched to a monthly payment for the WinAutomation by Softomotive license. I don't have the exact figure, but it roughly amounts to 500 Euros a year which isn't bad.

What other advice do I have?

I use WinAutomation by Softomotive, but the solution was bought by Microsoft, so it's now a part of Power Automate.

In my company, about twenty people use WinAutomation by Softomotive daily. I belong to a small company.

My advice to people looking into implementing WinAutomation by Softomotive is that it's a good solution, and I would recommend it for small-scale operations, for example, to automate back office operations. I would not recommend it for large-scale or for critical operations because it returns quite a lot of errors, not only automation errors, but also errors when liaising with other applications, so in some cases, those applications may not run properly, resulting in errors. From my point of view, I will not recommend WinAutomation by Softomotive for critical operations, unless it's stabilized in the future, and at the moment, the "transformation" of WinAutomation into Power Automate is still ongoing.

My rating for WinAutomation by Softomotive is nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Power Automate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: February 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Power Automate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.