Sep
22
2020
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Microsoft brings new robotic process automation features to its Power Platform

Earlier this year, Microsoft acquired Softomotive, a player in the low-code robotic process automation space with a focus on Windows. Today, at its Ignite conference, the company is launching Power Automate Desktop, a new application based on Softomotive’s technology that lets anyone automate desktop workflows without needing to program.

“The big idea of Power Platform is that we want to go make it so development is accessible to everybody,” Charles Lamanna, Microsoft’s corporate VP for its low-code platform, told me. “And development includes understanding and reporting on your data with Power BI, building web and mobile applications with Power Apps, automating your tasks — whether it’s through robotic process automation or workflow automation — with Power Automate, or building chatbots and chat-based experiences with Power Virtual Agent.”

Power Automate already allowed users to connect web-based applications, similar to Zapier and IFTTT, but the company also launched a browser extension late last year to help users connect native system components to Power Automate. Now, with the integration of the Softomotive technology and the launch of this new low-code Windows application, it’s taking this integration into the native Windows user interface one step further.

“Everything still runs in the cloud and still connects to the cloud, but you now have a rich desktop application to author and record your UI automations,” Lamanna explained. He likened it to an “ultimate connector,” noting that the “ultimate API is just the UI.”

He also stressed that the new app feels like any other modern Office app, like Outlook (which is getting a new Mac version today, by the way) or Word. And like the modern versions of those apps, Power Automate Desktop derives a lot of its power from being connected to the cloud.

It’s also worth noting that Power Automate isn’t just a platform for automating simple two or three-step processes (like sending you a text message when your boss emails you), but also for multistep, business-critical workflows. T-Mobile, for example, is using the platform to automate some of the integration processes between its systems and Sprint.

Lamanna noted that for some large enterprises, adopting these kinds of low-code services necessitates a bit of a culture shift. IT still needs to have some insights into how these tools are used, after all, to ensure that data is kept safe, for example.

Another new feature the company announced today is an integration between the Power Platform and GitHub, which is now in public preview. The idea here is to give developers the ability to create their own software lifecycle workflows. “One of the core ideas of Power Platform is that it’s low code,” Lamanna said. “So it’s built first for business users, business analysts, not the classical developers. But pro devs are welcome. The saying I have is: we’re throwing a party for business users, but pro devs are also invited to the party.” But to get them onto the platform, the team wants to meet them where they are and let them use the tools they already use — and that’s GitHub (and Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code).

Apr
17
2017
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Microsoft launches updates to PowerApps and Flow

 Microsoft’s business-centric IFTTT competitor Flow and its ‘low-code’ PowerApps platform are both getting major updates today. While these are obviously different services that solve different issues, both aim to help non-developers make better use of their existing data and services without having to write their own code. While Flow, at its core, uses the… Read More

Oct
05
2016
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Built.io launches an IFTTT for business users

flowexpress-overview-pg-banner-2c With Flow, Built.io has long offered an integration tool that allowed technical users (think IT admins and developers) to create complex, multi-step integrations with the help of an easy to use drag-and-drop interface. Now, however, the company has also launched a more basic version of Flow that is aimed at business users who want to create IFTTT-like integrations between applications like… Read More

Jul
11
2016
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Built.io Flow makes building enterprise integrations easier

2016-07-11_0836 Built.io’s Flow is a drag-and-drop tool for building enterprise integrations. It’s a bit of a mix of Yahoo Pipes (R.I.P.) and IFTTT for connecting services like Salesforce and Marketo to help automate the sales process in an organization, for example. Today, the company is launching a major update of Flow that will make it easier for businesses to build more powerful… Read More

Aug
13
2014
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Intuit Acquires ItDuzzit, An IFTTT-Style Service For Businesses To Connect Cloud Apps

Clouds on a blue sky More acquisitions for Intuit as it continues to build out its cloud services platform for small and medium businesses. It has bought itDuzzit — a Chicago-based startup that provides tools for businesses to integrate different web and mobile apps with each other: think IFTTT for enterprises. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it looks like that product will continue to live on,… Read More

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