Do you always do the same things at work every day? You’re not alone. In fact, according to a 2023 study, McKinsey Global Institute (2023) estimates 20–30% of activities in knowledge-based occupations (managers, professionals, analysts, etc.) are repetitive and could be automated with current technologies. One such platform is Microsoft’s Power Automate.
What Is Power Automate?
Microsoft Power Automate is a dynamic tool designed to streamline your workflow by automating repetitive tasks and business processes in a low-code environment. With Power Automate, you can easily connect your favorite apps and services, set up intelligent workflows, and watch routine actions like approvals, notifications, and data collection happen automatically. Whether you’re freeing up time from tedious data entry or integrating complex multi-step business processes, Power Automate brings powerful automation to everyone, letting you focus on the tasks that provide the greatest organizational impact.
Wait. Are Automation and AI the Same Thing?
Power Automate and AI agents like Copilot serve up productivity in totally different ways. It helps to think of Power Automate as your backstage crew, quietly orchestrating the routine, rule-driven stuff behind the scenes. It’s perfect for building automated workflows that handle repetitive tasks, saving you from manual drudgery. In contrast, Copilot is your quick-thinking digital best friend, powered by generative AI. It understands context, gets your sense of humor, responds to natural language, and jumps in with creative suggestions, summaries, and real-time answers. Power Automate automates the “if this, then that” work, while Copilot interprets intent and bends to meet you in the moment.
How Can I Use Power Automate to Streamline My Work?
Let’s dive into why you need to use the Power Platform to make your workday a bit easier.
Ever find yourself downloading the same report every single day? This can be automated with Power Automate! Below, I will walk you through the steps to get that report automated. Let’s give you back that time you desperately deserve.
First up, we would look at the website you are downloading your reports from. After that, we would check to see what API connectors the website has. Then we would set up a custom API with a basic “call,” sometimes referred to as an API “request.”
An Application Programming Interface, also known as an API, allows systems to communicate with each other. A great analogy on how an API works is to imagine yourself at a restaurant, and as the customer you have a request (your food order). When you sit down, the waiter gives you a menu—this is the API documentation or interface. It lists exactly what you can order and what you can retrieve with your request. The waiter is the API itself, as they take your order to the kitchen. The kitchen is the database or server where the information is held. When your meal (API request) is ready, the waiter will bring it back to you. The waiter in the restaurant and in the API request are necessary to get your food and your intended result.
Once we’ve got that down, we can have the report downloaded to a shared location, such as your OneDrive or SharePoint. Lastly, we would set up automation to send an email to the required recipients.
You can schedule report delivery in any cadence. For example, you can schedule the trigger for the report to run Monday–Friday, excluding holidays, at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Then, grab your cup of coffee and read the report that automation brought you. You just operationalized an aspect of your job, returning time to your schedule.
Some websites may not have API support, but there are other approaches you can take to automate your work. Some users deploy robotic process automation (RPA) for desktop automation. Although this isn’t as efficient as the other scheduled automation, this can be a bridge between older sets of data that lack API interface.
If you would like to learn more about leveraging the Power Platform to automate your organization’s individuals or enterprise works, contact your Connection Account Team.
Jonathan Moye
Jonathan joined Connection in 2021 as a Sr. Technical Support Specialist, providing Level 2 IT support for as many as 2,900 users. He holds AZ900, AI900, MS900, SC900, and PL900 certifications from Microsoft, a VTSP-HCI and VTSP-Foundation from Broadcom, and VMSP Public Cloud certification and Sales Professional Fundamentals certification from Veeam. Jonathan lives in southern Indiana and is an avid rock climber with a deep curiosity for technology. When he’s not navigating rugged terrain, he’s exploring the digital landscape—blogging about Microsoft innovations, IT trends, and user experiences.
