Latest Power Automate Features to Boost Productivity

  1. Application Insights Integration for Monitoring Power Automate Flows
    The integration of Power Automate with Application Insights allows users to monitor and analyse the performance of their automated workflows. By connecting Power Automate with Application Insights, you can track flow execution, view real-time telemetry data, and gain insights into failures, performance bottlenecks, and usage patterns. This integration helps improve workflow reliability, optimize performance, and enhance troubleshooting, making it easier to maintain and troubleshoot automation processes.
Latest Power Automate Features
The above image refers to the Overview panel in Application Insights, providing key metrics and data to monitor and troubleshoot workflows.
Failures panel in Application Insights, displaying information on workflow errors and issues for troubleshooting.

Availability: This feature is generally available from Aug 2024.
Reference: Overview of integration with Application Insights – Power Platform | Microsoft Learn
Video: Power Automate Telemetry Integration with Application Insights | TechTalk

  1. Simplify Flow Creation with Copilot in Power Automate
    Copilot Assistance for Streamlining Automation in Power Automate helps accelerate automation by using natural language instructions to suggest solutions. It guides you throughout the entire process, from creation to completion, making it easier to adopt automation and transform your workflows.

    Note: Copilot Assistance for Streamlining Automation in Power Automate is enabled by default in the UK, Australia, US, and India, and can be disabled at the tenant level via PowerShell.
Copilot Assistance for Streamlining Automation

Availability: This feature is generally available from September 2024.

Reference: Copilot in Power Automate – Power Automate | Microsoft Learn

Video: Building Flows with Copilot

  1. Effortless Expression Creation and Editing Using Copilot’s Natural Language Support
    With this feature, makers can easily create or edit complex expressions in Power Automate using natural language prompts. No need for complex coding—just submit your request to Copilot. To use this, Copilot must be enabled in your tenant.

type a natural language prompt

Availability: This feature is generally available from Mar 2025.

Reference: Create and edit expressions with Copilot | Microsoft Learn

4. Task Mining and Process Mining in Power Automate for Automation Opportunities

Task Mining and Process Mining in Power Automate help find tasks and processes that can be automated. Task Mining looks at repetitive tasks done by users, like clicks and typing, and suggests ways to automate them. Process Mining looks at entire workflows to find delays and problems. Together, they help businesses work faster and more efficiently.

Task Mining vs. Process Mining

Both tools aim to uncover automation opportunities, but they operate at different levels:

Task Mining and Process Mining

Availability: This feature is generally available from August 2023.

Reference:  Microsoft launches Power Automate Process Mining and next-generation AI – Microsoft Power Platform Blog

Video: Improve Efficiency with Power Automate Process Mining and RPA | BRK213H

  1. Integrate Visuals in Power BI with Power Automate for Interactive Dashboards
    Integrating Power Automate with Power BI allows you to automate workflows and visualize data seamlessly. By creating a flow in Power Automate, you can process and send data to Power BI for real-time reporting. In Power BI, build a report based on this data and embed a Power Automate button to trigger workflows directly from the dashboard. This integration streamlines tasks, improves efficiency, and offers a more interactive experience for users.

Settings:

  1. Select the Power Automate icon from the Visualizations pane.

2. In Power BI Desktop, you can also add the visual from the ribbon. On the Insert tab, select Power Automate in the Power Platform section.

3. Scroll, resize the visual, or select the Focus mode icon to see all the instructions.

Availability: This feature is generally available from November 2024.

Reference: Create a Power Automate visual for Power BI – Power BI | Microsoft Learn

  1. Cancel Active Flow Runs for Specific Flow Versions in Power Automate
    In Power Automate, you can cancel all active flow runs for a specific version of a flow. This is useful when you need to stop unnecessary or problematic runs without impacting the entire flow. By targeting a specific version, you maintain control while ensuring your flow processes run smoothly. This feature helps clean up unwanted executions and avoids conflicts or errors, making flow management more efficient and reliable.
The image above indicates that the flow is in the process of being cancelled.
The image above indicates that the flow is in the process of being cancelled.

Availability: This feature is generally available from Apr 2024.
Reference: Cancel all flow runs for a version of a flow | Microsoft Learn

  1. Cloud-Based Automation and Task Management with Hosted RPA and Work Queues in Power Automate

Hosted RPA in Power Automate allows automation to run on cloud-based virtual machines without human intervention, making it scalable and efficient. Work Queues manage tasks by placing them in an organized queue for automation, ensuring smooth and timely processing. Together, these features streamline workflows, improve productivity, and reduce manual effort, helping businesses automate complex processes more effectively.

Availability: This feature is generally available from November 2024.

Reference: Introduction to the Power Automate Hosted RPA – Power Automate | Microsoft Learn

Video:  Power Automate Hosted RPA – Efficiently scale RPA operations

  1. View and Compare Multiple Action Properties Panes Simultaneously in Power Automate
    This feature lets you pin an action properties pane and open another one side-by-side. It allows for easy comparison of properties, copying values between panes, and taking screenshots, improving workflow efficiency.

Availability: This feature is generally available from Aug 2024.
Reference: View two action properties panes simultaneously | Microsoft Learn

  1. Mark Input Parameters as Optional in Manual Triggers for On-Demand Flows

This feature allows you to mark input parameters in manual or Power Apps triggers as optional in Power Automate’s modern designer, a capability previously available only in the classic designer. This makes it easier to run flows on demand without requiring all input parameters.

The image shows that you can now mark any input parameter in a manual trigger as optional in the modern designer.

Availability: This feature is generally available from Mar 2024.
Reference: Mark input parameters in triggers as optional | Microsoft Learn

10. Enhanced Creation and Testing of Seamless Approval Workflows in Power Automate

Streamline approvals with Power Automate. Easily create and test workflows to manage document and process approvals across platforms like SharePoint, Dynamics 365, and Salesforce.

Example:

  • Trigger: The workflow starts when someone creates a vacation request in a SharePoint Online list.
  • Add to Approval Center: The request is added to the approval center and emailed to the approver.
  • Notify Requester: An email with the approver’s decision is sent to the person who requested the vacation.
  • Update List: The SharePoint Online list is updated with the approver’s decision and comments.

Availability: This feature is generally available from October 2024.

Reference: Create and test an approval workflow with Power Automate – Power Automate | Microsoft Learn

ESG Compliance Tool Sustainability Reporting

ESG Compliance Software Application

What is an ESG Compliance Tool?

ESG compliance toolis an Enterprise software tool accessible over the internet to Manage, Track and Report the ESG goals of any organization. This application helps organizations in collecting the data that is related to the BRSR report. The data that is collected is used by the application to generate a report which is in the format that is given by SEBI, and this report can be submitted to SEBI. ESG management can be complex, time consuming and expensive. That is why we offer a sustainability tool designed specifically for the needs of your company, so you are not stuck in spreadsheets or email chains all day long!

What are the Benefits of an ESG Tool?

This application helps in quick and organized collection of data across different departments in an organization for the yearly tedious task of data collection. 
The tool has built in an approval hierarchy which can be configured so that every data that is submitted can be approved before it goes to be generated in the report.  

Data collection will become more fun and entertaining when using the tool than it is now, when paper usage is still in use. 
The ESG app helps in providing quick insights regarding the total data that has been entered, which would not be possible using the paper/excel based data collection.

All the data that has been collected through the years can be viewed at any point of time in the ESG Tool. 
There is surety in the data stored as access to these data can be defined based on the roles/users. 
The application keeps track of all the data that is changed and modified at a given point of time. 

ESG Compliance Software Application

ESG Importance and what Data Can Be Analyzed with an ESG Platform? 

Investors, companies and banks alike are more closely examining the impact of ESG factors as climate change appears to be growing more imminent and social injustice issues have been pushed increasingly into the limelight. 

Just recently there has been an emphasized focus on sustainable matters: especially since the younger generations of today are labeled as “sustainable natives.” These people have brought sustainability to the forefront of the economy and will continue to do so. We, the investors, have no choice but to be more aware and look for investments that comply with ESG criteria; otherwise, we risk not only our money but also having to look at ourselves in the mirror every morning and ask ourselves if it was worth it. 

Independently both shareholders and investors look at overall numbers to make sure organizational goals are aligned toward a sustainable and long-term growth. While caring about social issues as much as financial ones, each player must also be aware of their individual pressures in terms of generating revenue for the company’s growth. 

Business data that an ESG Compliance tool can analyze include: -Environmental metrics – including carbon emissions, water usage efficiency and recycling rates -Social metrics – including employee turnover rates and diversity statistics -Governance metrics – 
ESG platforms are a great way to analyze many types of data. These include:

  • Environmental Impact  
  • Social Responsibility  
  • Governance  
  • Corporate Citizenship 
  • Sustainability Reporting  
  • Compliance with Laws and Regulations 
  • Financial data  
  • Sales and marketing data  
  • Customer service and support data  
  • Human resource management or HRM data  
  • Product development, engineering, and manufacturing (PDEM) data
    and many more reports generated!
ESG-Compliance-App-Various-Departments

How Does an ESG Platform Work? 

ESG Platforms are designed to help companies manage their environmental, social, and governance risks. This blog will go over the basics of what an ESG platform is and how it works.  

There are many diverse types of ESG platforms, but all have a few things in common:  

  • they provide reporting on sustainability performance,  
  • tools for managing risk,  
  • data analytics capabilities for understanding trends in the marketplace,  
  • and collaboration with stakeholders.  

ESG platforms work by providing information that helps organizations make more informed decisions about their business practices. They do this through various ways such as providing data or insight into specific markets or industries; connecting with other relevant stakeholders; guiding decision-making processes; helping identify potential opportunities for improvement; and creating transparency around sustainability performance. The ESG compliance app works on the PowerApps platform. Only users who are authenticated and have access to the application in the Power Platform Environment can work on the application. 

ESG Compliance Software Application

What are the Different Components of an ESG Compliance Tool?

The ESG Compliance Tool comprises of 4 components (Department Users, Department HODs, Corporate Affairs and Management) which works together for seamless UX. 
The Department Users part of the tool is where the data is collected. These collections of data will happen across different departments, and once collected, will be submitted for review. 
The Department HODs part of the application is where the data submitted is reviewed. This data is only the data that belongs to one department and can be sent back for further corrections. This process can happen multiple times until satisfactory data is submitted. Corporate Affairs and Management are the key stakeholders who would be using the application as Data providers and Approvers. 

The management section is used to review all the answers that are submitted by the people using the Approver section. This data can be sent back/verified based on what the user feels. This section also allows a user to generate reports that contain the data in a report format and allows a user to export their data into multiple report formats.
The Management Application can manage the reporting data collation and control access across the departments. The admin Management controls the users and the departments that exist in the system. 

ESG Compliance Software Application
ESG Compliance Software Application

The Moral Obligation of an ESG Strategy for a Company 

It is important to think about how your company is going to be affected by the world around you. ESG strategy can help a business anticipate and plan for any potential risks, such as climate change or increased regulation. ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance factors that are related to sustainability. One of the most important aspects of an ESG strategy is understanding what your company does well in terms of these three factors. For example, if a company has a powerful reputation for its fair treatment of employees, then it would have an advantage over another company with lower scores on this metric. It is also essential for companies to monitor external developments that could affect their operations – such as new regulations or changes in consumer behavior due to technological advances. 

Today, investors want companies to give the highest importance to these. New investments and growth of a corporation are to be focused on the sustainable goals which are defined. Every business must have a plan for sustainable development to get investments from investors. The investors will look at the vision and mission for the future of the organization. 

ESG Compliance Software Application Future 

Karinne Chapel, Chief ESG Data and Digital Officer at BNP Paribas Corporate and Institutional Banking, agrees that these initiatives are beneficial for the environmental community because it is a collaborative effort to improve transparency and awareness about what everyone can do to mitigate the dangers of climate change. 

Much like in previous years, according to the Global Sustainability Report 2019, published by the G&A institute a year ago, it was found that corporate sustainability reporting has increased over time. For instance, 65% of the companies participating in Russell 1000 index published sustainability reports in various years of research and only 60% did so in 2018. The percentage of largest 500 companies by market cap referring to sustainability issues has increased from 86% in 2018 to 90% in 2019. 

ESG Compliance Software Application
ESG Compliance Software Screens

ESG Compliance and Management Dashboard 

ESG compliance Dashboard is a cutting-edge data visualization and reporting tool to monitor the ESG key performance indicators in real time to present the correlation between the complex environmental, social and governance issues. 

The purpose of the ESG dashboard is to assist businesses during large-scale ESG compliance procedures, explore and increase internal as well as external ESG activities to enhance the effect in the extended term. This allows management to see the progress across the organization on a variety of topics, such as environmental sustainability and employee satisfaction, that have been defined. The goals can be monitored and based on that the improvement could be efficiently measured. ESG stakeholders and senior pros need a dynamic yet easy-to-use ESG dashboard to aid and help them range through the complicated processes involved with ESG assets and legislation.  

Sysfore ESG application is built on the latest Microsoft Power platform tools like Power Apps, Power Automate and Power BI. This helps it more easily to configure and manage the ever-changing landscape of ESG parameters and helps the organization to scale as required. 

ESG Compliance Software Application

Conclusion: Why Every Business Should Care About ESG Management 

ESG is a hot topic for businesses. It can be difficult to understand, but it’s important to know what ESG stands for and how it impacts your business. Environmental Social Governance are the three pillars of ESG management. These encompass all aspects of environmental protection, social equity, and corporate governance. When you invest in these areas, you not only help protect the environment but also promote sustainable development practices that will benefit everyone involved in your company. There are many benefits to investing in ESG management including: -Earning public trust -Increasing employee engagement -Lowering operational costs. 

So why wait! Register now > ESG Compliance software app enquiry
Free DEMO for the first 10 sign-ups

6 Reasons to consider Robotics Process Automation

6 Reasons to consider Robotics Process Automation

RPA also know as robotics process automation is becoming an increasingly popular solution for businesses who want to improve quality, efficiency and save time. This blog will look at 6 Reasons to consider Robotics Process Automation that can help your business. RPA which basically means performing repetitive manual tasks by automating them. It is a process which helps in increasing productivity and reducing repetitive, manual tasks. It is a cost-effective approach to solving the problems of a company with a series of repetitive tasks. RPA can be applied to a broad range of tasks and it is a good option for small and medium sized businesses. 

Robotics-Process-Automation-RPA

Programmed robots are called robots because of their ability to operate on their own, without any human control. Here are some of the main benefits of using robots. It is much faster because robots process things faster than humans. The programmed robots also do not make any mistakes, unlike humans. They are also able to perform a larger number of tasks, unlike human resources. Robots can work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, unlike human resources. 

The automation process can be very simple and easy to execute, but sometimes there could be a few obstacles that need to be overcome. Here we will discuss the basic processes and how we can overcome these obstacles. 

When it comes to customer satisfaction, businesses cannot afford to ignore the importance of employing chatbots. Assisted by artificial intelligence, chatbots are capable of fulfilling your customers’ needs better than you can. Artificial intelligence chatbots are capable of responding to a vast array of inquiries. 

6 Reasons to consider Robotics Process Automation (RPA)

1. Understanding the basic principles of RPA. 

  • Helps you automate your organization’s repetitive, administrative tasks. 
  • Allows you to focus on strategic initiatives and key tasks. 
  • Gives you more time to focus on your customers and business goals. 
  • RPA is a low-cost and highly scalable solution for organizations of any size. 

2. What can you automate? 

  • Automate your manual processes with RPA to boost your productivity and save time to focus on more strategic work. 
  • Manage, control and monitor your business from anywhere in real-time. 
  • Get the power to run your business from any device, from anywhere in the world. 

3. What are different ways to automate? 

  • RPA is an intelligent automation technology that is used to eliminate repetitive tasks. 
  • RPA-based software robots can execute repetitive tasks quickly and accurately without human intervention. This automated tool can be trained to perform the same set of operations, over and over again. 
  • RPA can automate manual tasks such as filing, data entry, and other such activities that are simply putting information into a system. 
RPA-Robotics Process Automation-Benefits

4. How is RPA implemented? 

  • RPA is implemented in most organizations today with no or little disruption. 
  • RPA is the new evolution in the technology arena. 
  • It is the best way to help organizations focus on the critical issues in their business. 
  • RPA is being used in different fields in day to day life. 
  • RPA is the new revolution that helps in cutting time, cost and efforts. 

5. Why is RPA taking off right now? 

  • RPA – the future of IT projects. RPA is software robots that transfer data between IT systems. 
  • Require does not require complex programming skills, a lot of replay instances based on workflow automations  
  • It can be built into existing enterprise systems or it can be made into a separate web service. 

6. How does RPA help in your work workflow? 

  • RPA is a cutting edge technology that allows you to automate your business processes. 
  • Automate your business processes in hours, not months. 
  • Improve productivity, reduce costs and eliminate errors. 

Some Use cases for reference 

When it comes to automating repetitive tasks, RPA is the answer. RPA is a key component in the evolution of the industry. It makes automation possible by bringing together intelligent machines and knowledgeable humans. 

Businesses are always looking for ways to automate their processes. A life safer means simpler ways to streamline business processes. Whenever you want to automate some process, you have to program it yourself. Why write code when you can build complex workflows by dragging and dropping actions? 

RPA-Use-Case-Automation

RPA use cases examples 

The large volume of invoice and expense reporting has repetitious and time consuming manual tasks. Prior to RPA, this reporting was typically done manually; tracking the processing of transactions from receipt to payment. The process may require dedicated service representatives, as well as data entry clerks who often make errors or even face limited options as processing is frequently cumbersome. Speedily paid invoices may result in quality goods and services delivered by vendors. RPA can help eliminate delays and incorrect payments through much streamlined processes utilizing automation and auto-decision making capabilities – saving both organizations and individuals time and money! 

Meet Sysfore Technologies, an enterprise grade solution provider to automate all your business processes. 

To wrap up in a nutshell 

RPA is the best technology for automation and one of the most effective ways to automate processes in your company, making your processes more efficient without manual interventions.

So let us know what would you want to automate?