Power Automate: Implementing digital automation
Power Automate achieves the implementation of automation in three ways:
- Digital Process Automation (DPA)
- Robotics Process Automation (RPA)
- Hyper Automation — an enterprise platform approach
Digital Process Automation
Digital Process Automation, also referred to as DPA, is the implementation of digital automation through open systems and services, and application programming interfaces (APIs).
Recently developed systems and services are often built by vendors with an open approach. There is an understanding that their customers have such a diverse range of requirements, and a diverse pre-existing ecosystem of technologies and services that together contribute to complex operational processes. Therefore, vendors realise that in order for them to ensure customers get maximum value from their products and services, they offer the ability for them to be extended to work in the unique environment of each of their customers.
From a technical perspective, this extensibility is achieved through APIs, which defines how other components or systems can use that service, specifically outlining the types of requests that can be made to the service, how those requests are achieved, the format of the data, conventions to follow, etc.
Ultimately, that extensibility of the product is achieved by removing barriers to other technologies and services interacting with it.
Across the Power Platform, and within Power Automate, we achieve a connection and interaction between different data sources, systems, and services through data connectors. The data connectors are created using APIs. There are over 300 data connectors that already exist across the Power Platform and within Power Automate. If you come across a scenario where a particular connector does not exist for the system and service you are attempting to drive automation with, a custom connector can be created using an API definition posted by the vendor.
The form of using APIs and data connectors across the Power Platform, and in Power Automate is referred to as digital process automation (DPA). When attempting to implement automation, DPA should always be the first option explored.
Robotics Process Automation
Many organisations have been around for many years, and with that experience come legacy systems and services that were developed and procured in a period where open technology was not the norm.
Some vendors of those legacy systems and services have updated and upgraded their products to become open, and DPA enabled. Unfortunately, that is not always possible or has been the case.
Closed systems within organisations often lead to employees finding manual workarounds to move data into that closed system. For example, manual and duplication of data entry, Excel spreadsheets, static data extracts from those closed systems, etc.
Robotics process automation, also known as RPA, drives automation in legacy systems and services at the user interface level. Within Power Automate, this type of automation is referred to as UI flows, and are created by recording the clicks and keyboard presses used to complete a particular process. A ‘virtual worker’ or robot then follows those steps to complete the activity, removing the need for employees to complete those manual workarounds with closed systems, freeing up their time to complete more high impact and strategic tasks.
Automation at a user interface level through robotics process automation should be considered once digital process automation has been ruled out as an option. However, there may often be cases where a combination of both is required in order to fulfill end-to-end automation through an enterprise business process.
Hyper Automation
Above we have discussed how Power Automate provides an end-to-end automation service, by offering both options of DPA and RPA, which can be used in combination across enterprise business processes.
Recently, Gartner identified hyperautomation as one of the top 10 strategic emerging technology trends of 2020, but what is hyperautomation?
According to Gartner, hyperautomation is “end-to-end automation beyond robotics process automation by combining complementary technologies to augment business processes”.
One of the technologies that Gartner list as an enabler to hyperautomation, and offers the tools to augment business processes further than simply DPA or RPA, are low-code application platforms, sometimes referred to as LCAPs.
The Microsoft Power Platform, which Power Automate is a core component of, is a low-code application platform that beyond automation includes the following technologies to augment and enhance business processes:
- Power Apps: low-code application development
- Power Virtual Agents: low-code chatbots
- Power BI: low-code business intelligence and analytics
Though Power Automate is the automation service that will largely be used to drive automation throughout an organisation, the wider Power Platform can be used to augment business processes and enhance them further. It opens up broader conversations around digital process transformation, for example: “assessing the reliance on paper and how those forms could be digitised? (Power Apps)”, as well as understanding “how readily accessible information and data is from the process and if that could be enhanced (Power BI)?”.
This broader platform approach, alongside an RPA and DPA automation service, is what enables and unlocks hyperautomation.
