Given the speed of advancement in the business landscape, it has become essential for organisations to invest in tools that boost efficiency, optimise processes, reduce errors, and save resources. According to Gartner's predictions for 2023 and 2024, a large percentage of companies plan to implement process automation to stay competitive, enhance work efficiency, and meet customer demands.
Business Process Automation (BPA) is a transformative approach that has helped companies with digital transformation, time management, cost reduction, and productivity.
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Advantages of Business Process Automation
Some of the main advantages of Business Process Automation (BPA) include:
Reduced Errors: Manual tasks when automated reduce the risks of mistakes and human errors.
Increased Efficiency: Automation of time-consuming tasks saves time for high-value ones.
Minimised Response Times: BPA minimises the time needed for customer service, approvals, and requests.
Improved Decision Making: Based on data analytics, BPA enables companies for better decision making.
Compliance Implementation: Through BPA, regulatory compliance and adherence to internal policies are achieved.
Reduced Costs: Optimising processes helps you eliminate inefficiencies. This is how organisations can lower operational expenses and reallocate resources more effectively.
Microsoft Power Automate
Microsoft Power Platform’s Power Automate has revolutionised workflow automation by allowing automation of repetitive and manual tasks. It helps you create easy-to-build flows and configure a handful of applications.
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Automation Using Power Automate
Approximately 86% of Fortune 500 companies have migrated their existing workflows using Power Automate for the sake of productivity. Follow these steps to automate processes using Power Automate:
Identify Process
As a first step, identify the exact process you want to automate. Look for all the operations that are time consuming, manual, or repetitive. Prioritise processes that are the most prone to errors or will produce the highest efficiency gains.
Define Automation Goals
Clearly define the objectives and expected results of the automation that you are planning. Create a flow chart or a diagram to finalise the process, inputs, and outputs. Ensure the outcomes align with your organisational goals.
Set up Power Automate
Register for Power Automate using your Microsoft account and select a plan that meets your requirements in terms of features and budget. Familiarise yourself with the UI, including the navigation pane where you can create flows and view templates.
Choose Flow Type
Decide whether you need a cloud flow or a desktop flow:
Cloud Flows: These are triggered by events and allow connecting various applications. To create a cloud flow, specify an event/trigger e.g., a new email, a new SharePoint file in a specific folder, etc. Add actions and conditions based on your process requirements such as send an email, add a new record, etc.
Desktop Flows: These automate tasks on your desktop instead of cloud such as extract data from documents, automate other repetitive tasks, etc. Create a new desktop flow, add actions, and define inputs and outputs.
Utilise Templates
Power Automate also provides ready-made templates to serve as a starting point for your automation. Using these can both save time and provide insights into best practices for flow creation.
Build and Test the Flow
Configure connectors to different services and third-party apps (Microsoft Office, Dynamics 265, etc.) and give permissions to them as required. Using the chosen flow type, build your automation by adding necessary actions, conditions, and loops. Once built, thoroughly test the flow to ensure it performs as expected and meets the defined goals.
Implement Governance and Best Practices
Establish governance around your automation process. This includes naming conventions, documentation, and maintenance practices. Doing so helps in managing the automation environment effectively and reduces the associated risks.
Monitor, Optimise, Design
Post deployment, monitor the performance of your automated process on a regular basis. Collect data on inputs and outputs to assess the effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. Regularly optimise the flow based on this feedback to enhance performance and reliability.
Training and Support
Provide training sessions and material for the end-users and devise a mechanism to drop feedback or report issues related to the automated workflow. Maintain detailed documentation of the flow for future reference or troubleshooting.
Conclusion
Business Process Automation (BPA) empowers organisations with streamlining workflows, reducing errors, and saving time to do the manual work. Incorporating Power Automate helps businesses of all sizes with staying competitive and achieving greater success in the market by leveraging the benefits of process automation. The team at Tetra Technology specialises in workflow automation using Power Automate. Book a call with us today and explore more options of digital transformation.