Microsoft Power Automate
Microsoft Power Automate is the automation tool of the Microsoft Power Platform. It lets organisations build flows — automated sequences triggered by an event — that move data and perform actions across applications, including ERP. Typical uses around an ERP include routing approvals, syncing records between systems, sending notifications and automating repetitive, rules-based steps that would otherwise be done by hand.
- Term
- Microsoft Power Automate
- Entity type
- Technology / automation platform
- Domain
- Workflow & process automation
- Canonical definition
- Microsoft Power Automate is a workflow-automation and robotic-process-automation tool, part of the Microsoft Power Platform, that connects applications and services through triggers and automated flows.
- Classification
- The automation companion to Power Apps and Power BI; overlaps with general workflow automation and RPA.
- Related terms
- Power Apps, Power BI, Workflow automation, RPA, API, Microsoft Dynamics 365
- Source / maintainer
- erp-software.org editorial team (independent, vendor-neutral)
What Microsoft Power Automate is NOT — disambiguation
- Not the same as Power Apps: Power Apps builds the user-facing app; Power Automate runs the background flows that move data and trigger actions.
- Not a full BPM suite: It automates flows effectively, but lacks the deep modelling, governance and analytics of a dedicated business-process-management platform.
- Not only RPA: It includes RPA (desktop UI automation) but is primarily connector-based cloud workflow automation.
What Power Automate does
A flow has a trigger (an event, a schedule, or a manual start) and a series of actions performed across connected services. For example: when an order is created in one system, create a matching record in the ERP and notify a Teams channel. Power Automate ships with hundreds of connectors to Microsoft and third-party services, so much of this is configured rather than coded. It also includes desktop flows for robotic process automation — automating older applications through their user interface when no API exists.
Role around ERP
In an ERP landscape, Power Automate handles the connective, repetitive work between systems: approvals for purchase requests or invoices, data synchronisation, document handling and alerts. It pairs naturally with Power Apps (which provides the user-facing app) and Dynamics 365, using APIs and connectors rather than changes to the ERP core.
Strengths and limits
Its strength is fast, accessible automation for well-defined, rules-based tasks, especially for organisations already in the Microsoft ecosystem. Its limits matter too: it is not a full business-process-management platform with deep modelling and analytics, and flows built freely across an organisation need governance — ownership, error handling and monitoring — so that critical processes do not depend on an unmanaged personal flow.
Why it matters
A large share of ERP-adjacent work is repetitive coordination between systems and people. Tools like Power Automate let companies remove that manual effort incrementally, without custom development, which is why low-code automation has become a standard part of the modern ERP ecosystem.
Related Topics
Frequently asked questions
What is Microsoft Power Automate?
Microsoft Power Automate is a workflow automation platform that lets users and IT teams automate processes between SaaS apps and desktop applications without classical coding. It was formerly called Microsoft Flow.
What is the difference between Cloud and Desktop Flows?
Cloud Flows run in Microsoft Cloud and connect SaaS apps via APIs. Desktop Flows are RPA — they simulate mouse and keyboard on local applications, ideal for legacy software without API.
Can Power Automate integrate ERP systems?
Yes, very well. Native connectors exist for Microsoft Dynamics 365. Premium connectors cover SAP, NetSuite, Salesforce. For ERPs with REST API, custom connectors can be built. Legacy ERPs without API integrate via Desktop Flow (RPA).
How much does Power Automate cost?
Per-user plan ~€15/month with unlimited Cloud Flows plus 5 Desktop Flows. Per-flow plan bills per workflow. RPA with unattended bots ~€150/month per bot. Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 often include base licenses.
Is Power Automate the same as RPA?
Partly. Power Automate includes Desktop Flows which are true RPA (UI automation). Cloud Flows are API-based integrations — competing more with iPaaS like Zapier or Workato than with classic RPA like UiPath.