Automation platform
Power Automate
Power Automate lets a business automate routine steps without writing a full application. It is strongest inside Microsoft 365. We design and build the flows, and we tell you when another tool would serve you better.
- 1,200+ clients helped
- Building since 2010
- 15 services, one team
- 50+ technologies
At a glance
What it is
Power Automate is Microsoft's tool for automating routine work between the programs a business already uses, especially Microsoft 365.
Problems it solves
Approvals sit in inboxes, files are copied by hand, and teams on Microsoft tools want automation without a custom build.
Who it suits
Organizations that run on Microsoft 365 and want to automate approvals, notifications, and data movement.
How to choose
Choose Power Automate when most of your work already lives in Microsoft tools. Choose another platform when you connect many non-Microsoft systems or need more control.
What it means
Automation that lives next to your documents
Most office work is a chain: someone asks, someone approves, someone updates a record. Power Automate turns a chain like that into a flow that runs by itself. It watches for a trigger, such as a new form entry, and then performs the steps.
Its main advantage is where it sits. If your staff already use Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and Excel, the flow can reach all of them with your existing sign-in. There is little to install and little new to learn.
It also has a second mode for software that has no connection to offer. A desktop flow can copy values between screens the way a person would. This is often called robotic process automation, or RPA, and it is best kept for cases where nothing better exists.
Options
Power Automate beside the other platforms
Power Automate
This pageSuits
Work inside Microsoft 365, approvals in Teams, and organizations with Microsoft licenses.
- Trade-off
- Connections outside the Microsoft world can be limited or need a premium license.
Suits
Quick links between many popular web tools with little set-up.
- Trade-off
- Costs rise with volume, and complex logic gets awkward.
Suits
Visual, multi-step flows with branching across many services.
- Trade-off
- More to learn than the simplest tools.
Suits
Teams that want control, self-hosting, and custom code in their flows.
- Trade-off
- You run and secure more of it yourself.
Choosing
Which kind of flow do you need?
Power Automate covers several different jobs. The right one depends on what you are connecting.
What are you trying to automate?
Choose this when
A request needs a yes or no from a person, and the people use Teams or Outlook.
- What you get
- A cloud flow with an approval step, reminders, and a record of the decision.
- Keep in mind
- Define who approves when the first person is away.
Choose this when
Values copied from forms, spreadsheets, or SharePoint lists into other places.
- What you get
- A scheduled or triggered flow that keeps the places in step.
- Keep in mind
- Keep one place as the source of truth to avoid conflicting copies.
Choose this when
An older program that offers nothing to connect to.
- What you get
- A desktop flow that works through the screens, as a last resort.
- Keep in mind
- It breaks when the screens change, so it needs upkeep.
Choose this when
Most of your systems are outside Microsoft 365.
- What you get
- A comparison with other platforms before you commit.
- Keep in mind
- The cheapest tool to start is not always the cheapest to run.
What DECHY can do
Working with Power Automate
Design
- Mapping the process, the people, and the exceptions before building.
- Choosing between Power Automate and another platform on the facts.
Build
- Approval, notification, and data-movement flows.
- Connections to Microsoft 365 and to outside systems.
Govern
- Naming, ownership, and review rules so flows stay manageable.
- Limits on who can connect to company data.
Look after
- Monitoring failed runs and fixing them.
- Updating flows as your process changes.
Technical depth
How we build with Power Automate
What we settle early on Power Automate work: flows and connections, reliability, data and security, and when to build outside the platform, so nothing surprises your team later.
We separate flows by purpose, keep each one small, and use shared connections owned by a service account rather than a person's own sign-in, so a flow does not stop when someone leaves.
- Every flow handles failure: retries for temporary errors and an alert for the rest.
- Run history is reviewed on a schedule, and fixes are tracked.
- Limits on how often connections can be called are designed in, not discovered in production.
- Data policies decide which services may be combined, so company data does not flow to personal tools.
- Secrets and keys are stored in the platform's secure store.
Heavy logic, high volumes, or tight performance needs can be better served by a small custom service that the flow calls. We build those through our automation and software work.
Common questions
Questions about Power Automate
Is Power Automate included with Microsoft 365?
Some use is included with certain Microsoft 365 plans, with limits. Premium connections and desktop flows usually need extra licenses, so we check this before we design.
Power Automate or Zapier?
If your work lives in Microsoft 365, Power Automate is usually the more natural fit. If you join many outside web tools quickly, Zapier or Make may be simpler.
Can business staff build their own flows?
Yes, and that is a strength. It is also why governance matters: a few rules about ownership and data keep it safe as the number of flows grows.
Can you rescue flows that have grown messy?
Yes. We review what exists, retire what is unused, and rebuild the fragile parts so they are documented and monitored.
Have a different question?
Tell us what you are weighing up and we will answer it plainly.
Ask a questionAlready a client? Email support@dechytech.com
Tell us which process to automate
Describe the steps, the people, and the tools involved. We will say whether Power Automate fits and outline a first flow.