Businesses rely on a wide range of processes to keep day-to-day operations running. From approving invoices and managing documents to onboarding employees and responding to customer enquiries, these tasks need to happen consistently and efficiently.
However, manual processes can take up valuable employee time, create bottlenecks and increase the risk of errors. Process automation helps businesses streamline workflows, reduce repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.
With Microsoft technologies such as Power Automate, Power Apps and SharePoint, organisations can automate workflows, connect applications and improve how information moves across the business. In this guide, we explain what process automation is, its key benefits and how businesses can use Microsoft technologies to automate everyday processes.
What is process automation?
Process automation is the use of technology to automate repetitive, rule-based tasks and workflows, reducing the amount of manual work required to complete them.
Rather than employees having to manually move information between systems, send routine notifications or chase approvals, automated workflows can handle these steps based on predefined rules. Microsoft provides a range of tools that can help businesses automate processes, including Power Automate, Power Apps, Power BI, SharePoint and Microsoft 365.
How does process automation work?
At its simplest, process automation works by defining what should happen when a particular event or condition occurs. For example, imagine an employee submits a purchase request.
Without automation, someone may need to:
- Check the request.
- Email the relevant manager for approval.
- Record the approval.
- Notify the employee.
- Update the relevant system.
With an automated workflow, these steps can happen automatically once the request is submitted.
Microsoft Power Automate can trigger the approval process, send notifications, update records and move information between connected applications according to predefined rules. This means employees still make the decisions that require human judgement, while repetitive administrative steps can be handled automatically.
What are the benefits of process automation?
Process automation can offer several benefits for businesses, particularly when organisations are dealing with large volumes of repetitive tasks.
Reduce repetitive manual work
Employees can spend significant amounts of time completing repetitive administrative tasks, such as copying information between systems, sending emails or updating records. Automating these tasks can free up time for employees to focus on work that requires greater judgement, creativity or customer interaction.
Improve accuracy
Manual processes can increase the risk of mistakes, particularly when employees have to enter or transfer the same information multiple times. Automated workflows follow predefined rules, helping organisations create more consistent processes and reduce avoidable errors.
Speed up workflows
Processes can slow down when employees are waiting for approvals, information or updates from another team. Automation can help move tasks to the right person automatically, send reminders and notify employees when action is required. This can help reduce bottlenecks and keep work moving.
Improve visibility
Automated processes can create a clearer record of what has happened, when it happened and who was responsible for a particular action. This can make it easier for businesses to monitor processes, identify delays and understand where improvements could be made.
Reduce operational costs
By reducing the amount of time employees spend on repetitive tasks, automation can help businesses make better use of their existing resources. It can also reduce the costs associated with errors, delays and inefficient processes.
Microsoft tools that can support process automation
Microsoft’s Power Platform provides a range of tools that can work together to automate processes and improve how organisations manage information.
Microsoft Power Automate
Power Automate is Microsoft’s workflow automation platform and is one of the key tools businesses can use to automate repetitive processes. It allows organisations to create workflows that connect different applications and services.
For example, Power Automate could be used to:
- Automate approval processes
- Send notifications and reminders
- Move information between applications
- Create and update records
- Manage document workflows
- Trigger actions when specific events occur
Power Automate can connect with Microsoft applications such as SharePoint, Teams, Outlook and Excel, as well as many third-party services.
Microsoft Power Apps
Power Apps allows organisations to create custom business applications without having to develop a traditional application from scratch. For example, a business could create an app for employees to submit maintenance requests, record inspections, report issues or update operational information.
Power Apps can then work alongside Power Automate to trigger workflows based on information submitted through the application. This combination can help businesses replace manual forms, spreadsheets and email-based processes with more structured digital workflows.
Microsoft Power BI
Automation is not only about completing tasks automatically. Businesses also need to understand how their processes are performing. Power BI can bring together data from different sources and turn it into interactive reports and dashboards. For example, a business could use Power BI to monitor approval times, outstanding tasks, production information or service performance.
These insights can help organisations identify bottlenecks and find further opportunities to improve their processes.
SharePoint and Microsoft 365
SharePoint can provide a central location for documents, information and business processes, while Microsoft 365 applications such as Teams and Outlook can be incorporated into automated workflows. For example, an organisation could use SharePoint to store documents and Power Automate to notify relevant employees when a document needs to be reviewed or approved. This can help reduce reliance on email chains and ensure important information is easier to manage and access.
Examples of process automation
Process automation can be applied across almost any area of a business.
Employee onboarding
When a new employee joins an organisation, several tasks may need to be completed across HR, IT and management. Automation could trigger tasks for creating accounts, requesting equipment, sending documentation and notifying relevant teams when each stage has been completed.
Invoice approvals
Instead of manually emailing invoices to different people for approval, an automated workflow can route invoices to the appropriate approver based on factors such as department or value. The workflow can then record the decision and notify the relevant team.
Document approvals
Businesses often need employees to review and approve policies, contracts and other documents. Automation can notify reviewers when a document is ready, send reminders if an approval is overdue and maintain a record of completed approvals.
Customer enquiries
Automation can help route incoming enquiries to the appropriate team, create tasks and send an initial acknowledgement to the customer. This can help businesses respond more consistently while focussing on more important tasks.
At Bridgeall, we help organisations streamline workflows, reduce manual tasks and improve visibility using Microsoft technologies.
Our Power Platform consultancy services for manufacturing help businesses identify opportunities for automation and develop solutions using Power Automate, Power Apps, Power BI and Microsoft 365. From automating repetitive administrative tasks to connecting processes across departments, we can help you find practical ways to improve efficiency.
For manufacturers, process automation can also help reduce manual processes, improve operational visibility and support more efficient workflows.
To learn more, watch our webinar on process automation using the Microsoft Power Platform.
